When words become meaningless, action is all that remains. Uchiha Itachi's eyes, as deep and dark as the night sky, watched the subtle, yet astounding, transformation in Kagami's demeanor. It was an aura that seemed forged in a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, a pressure so immense it made his own heart hammer against his ribs. An unprecedented sense of dread, colder and sharper than any blade, shot up his spine.
He stared at Kagami with alarm and uncertainty, instantly recognizing that to hesitate now would be a fatal error. Without a moment's delay, Itachi's body surged forward, a phantom in the dim light. The sword in his hand sliced through the air, a streak of silver lightning aimed directly for Kagami's throat. The attack was the culmination of all his skill and experience as a shinobi, a sudden assault he was confident could catch any opponent, no matter how strong, off guard.
However, just as the blade neared its mark, time itself seemed to warp, stretched by an unseen force.
Kagami's counter was deceptively simple. He merely raised his hand, his fingertips seeming to channel an otherworldly power. An invisible slash erupted from his hand, instantly shattering Itachi's blade and continuing its path toward him.
"A jutsu without hand seals?"
Itachi's pupils constricted. He could feel it distinctly—this power wasn't born from a surge of chakra. It was an attack entirely outside his realm of understanding. If he hadn't activated his Sharingan in that split second, he wouldn't have even seen the invisible cleave. A mortal terror seized him, the blood freezing in his veins as the shadow of death became a tangible entity.
The invisible attack tore through the air with the force to shake mountains, cleaving directly toward Itachi's body. It moved with suffocating speed, as if time itself had stopped to witness the blow. Where the slash passed, the very air seemed to split in two with a sharp whistle.
To his own horror, Itachi watched as his body was effortlessly sliced in half, as fragile as parchment. The slash continued unabated, splitting the entire house cleanly in two.
Yet, this chilling scene was not followed by a spray of blood. Instead, just as the force of the attack passed through him, Itachi's bisected form dissolved into a storm of countless black-winged crows, their feathers shimmering as they scattered in every direction, each beat of their wings a frantic echo of a heart escaping the Death God himself. Itachi had sensed the overwhelming threat and, without a moment's hesitation, used his Crow Substitution Jutsu.
His figure flickered amidst the chaotic flock before reforming a short distance away. His face was terrifyingly grim, his eyes burning with an unprecedented solemnity. He realized he had catastrophically underestimated Kagami. The speed and raw power of that single attack were far beyond what any ordinary Kage-level shinobi could withstand. If he hadn't been ready, he would have died instantly.
A bead of cold sweat trickled down his forehead, landing on the ground with a faint, crisp sound that seemed deafening in the silence.
But Itachi had no intention of retreating. He still had trump cards to play, and he refused to believe Kagami was truly unbeatable. More importantly, for his brother Sasuke to live in peace, he could not, and would not, choose to flee.
Seeing that Itachi had survived, Kagami felt no surprise. Itachi was the Uchiha clan's greatest prodigy, after all; it would have been strange if he had fallen to a single, casual attack. In truth, Kagami wasn't taking him seriously. He had used less than a fraction of his true power in that last strike. If he had been serious, that attack could have rent the entire village asunder.
He needed to acclimate to the tenfold power of Sukuna that now surged through him, and he decided Itachi would make for adequate practice. It wouldn't be too late to end his life once he had a better feel for his new abilities. This wasn't arrogance; it was a simple statement of fact. The original Sukuna's power rivaled that of legends like Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama. With that power amplified tenfold, he felt no fear at the prospect of facing both of them at once. He could even potentially obliterate the Sage of Six Paths himself with a well-aimed Spatial Cleave. In this era, he was virtually invincible. With such power, a little arrogance was to be expected.
The only thing that gave Kagami pause were Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan abilities: Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi. Sukuna had shown no particular defense against genjutsu, and a powerful illusion like Tsukuyomi could very well affect him. And while Amaterasu had a mixed record in the stories, its power was not to be underestimated. If those inextinguishable black flames caught him, he would have to rely on his new healing abilities to counteract them. While his cursed energy was vast, it wasn't infinite. A constantly burning flame could eventually wear him down. He would have to avoid it at all costs.
He couldn't help but sigh. It was just like Itachi to possess not one, but two abilities that even he had to be wary of. No, three. Uchiha Shisui's Kotoamatsukami was also in Itachi's possession. However, both Tsukuyomi and Kotoamatsukami required eye contact. Knowing this, he simply wouldn't look Itachi in the eye.
Just then, Itachi's grim voice cut through Kagami's thoughts. "Kagami, you possess this much power, yet you hid yourself away, pretending to be a nobody who couldn't even become a shinobi. What is your goal?" In his mind, all Uchiha were extremists. For Kagami to hide this level of strength, he must be plotting something monumental.
Kagami felt a flash of irritation. What conspiracy? If not for the system, he was a good-for-nothing who couldn't even pass for a Genin. But he couldn't reveal the system's existence, so he let the assumption hang in the air, a cold snort his only answer. "I only wanted to live a quiet life with my family," he said, his voice dripping with ice. "But you forced my hand."
"Since that's how it is, I'll stop hiding." A terrifying new resolve settled over him. "After I kill you, I will kill Hiruzen Sarutobi. And then, I will become the Hokage myself."
He wasn't just talking. The idea had bloomed in his mind, fully formed and undeniable. Hiruzen and the Konoha elders had orchestrated his clan's demise. Was he supposed to just endure it? And he was too tired to find a new place to live. Since he now possessed this overwhelming strength, why not just eliminate the current leadership and take over? With his power, it wouldn't be difficult.
He didn't care if anyone else agreed. If they didn't, they could die. He would simply replace them with people who would obey.
Only the weak need the approval of others. The strong have no need to ask for the opinions of the weak