With his new perspective, Kagami no longer cared about the lives of anyone outside his family. He wouldn't bat an eye if the entire Hidden Leaf Village burned to the ground. After all, if one village fell, there were others. In short, his philosophy had become simple: those who follow me will prosper, and those who defy me will perish. If the people of Konoha were sensible, they could all coexist peacefully. If not, then he wouldn't be to blame for the consequences.
Hearing Kagami's audacious declaration, Itachi's face turned ashen. "The Third Hokage was right," he seethed, his voice filled with righteous anger. "The Uchiha clan is truly a clan of evil! I must eliminate you here and now!" In his mind, Kagami's words were treasonous. The title of Hokage was sacred, not something to be seized by brute force.
Kagami scoffed, a smirk curling his lips. "If you think you can, then try."
With that, he violently swung his arm, his muscles coiling like a leopard about to pounce. As his arm moved, the very space around it seemed to tear. A dazzling light gathered in his palm, weaving itself into a complex, grid-like pattern of slashes. Each line of light held the power to shred anything in its path, and the destructive volley tore through the ruins of the house, whistling straight for Itachi.
Seeing the attack, Itachi's pupils constricted. His Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun wildly, the tomoe bleeding into one another until they formed the profound and mysterious pattern of his Mangekyo Sharingan. At this critical moment, a powerful, otherworldly energy surged around him. A gigantic, half-bodied red skeleton materialized from thin air, as if summoned from the underworld itself, radiating a cold, solemn aura. This was Susanoo, the ultimate defense of the Mangekyo Sharingan. The skeleton, formed from pure, glowing red chakra, assembled itself at an incredible speed, encasing Itachi in an seemingly indestructible barrier.
Kagami's volley of slashes crashed violently against the red skeleton. The moment of impact created a deafening roar. The force of the attack sent ripples across the surface of the Susanoo, but it failed to penetrate the seemingly fragile defense. Dust and debris filled the air, obscuring the view. Through the swirling haze, Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan stared coldly ahead, as if mocking Kagami's overconfidence. In Itachi's mind, his Susanoo possessed the strongest defense in the world; it was impossible for Kagami's attack to break through. No matter how powerful Kagami was, he stood no chance against the might of the Susanoo.
"This is Susanoo, the power granted to the Uchiha's Mangekyo Sharingan. It possesses the world's strongest defense," Itachi declared coldly, his voice echoing from within the spectral warrior. "You cannot break it. Now, let me use this divine power to eliminate you!"
Feeling the rapid drain on his chakra and ocular power, Itachi knew he had to end the fight quickly. His reserves were not yet vast enough to maintain the Susanoo for a prolonged battle.
Kagami paused for a moment, looking at the Susanoo, but Itachi's words only made him sneer. "Idiot," he mocked, "what makes you think I can't destroy that?" He had only used a thousandth of his power, yet Itachi had mistakenly believed it was his full strength. "Since that's the case, I'll get a little more serious."
His words carried an undeniable finality, and his eyes suddenly became as sharp and cold as ice. The very air around him seemed to solidify as an oppressive aura spread out. He slowly raised his right hand, his five fingers pressed together as cursed energy leaped between his fingertips, condensing into an invisible blade.
Suddenly, his arm whipped forward like a bolt of lightning. A dazzling, crescent-shaped slash tore through the sky, its piercing scream ripping through the night. It moved like a silver thunderbolt across the horizon, striking directly at the towering Susanoo. Wherever the slash passed, space itself seemed to split in two, leaving a deep, hideous crack that was unsettling to behold. This time, he used one percent of his strength. It would be more than enough.
Itachi's pupils constricted at the sight, a flicker of disbelief flashing in his eyes. He could feel the terrifying power contained within that single attack—it was at least ten times stronger than before. With his keen perception, he knew instantly that the first stage of his Susanoo could not withstand this blow. The attack was moving too fast for him to even summon the Yata Mirror to defend.
Casting aside his shock, he gritted his teeth and pushed his chakra to its limits. It surged out of him like a bursting dam, pouring frantically into the Susanoo. He had to counter Kagami's attack with an even stronger defense.
The Susanoo's skeletal form began to grow flesh and armor, its size expanding as it transformed into its second stage. The slash clashed with the armored Susanoo, and the resulting explosion was a deafening roar that seemed to shake space itself. Itachi's chakra was consumed at a ferocious rate. Blood streamed from the corners of his eyes, and his face turned pale. The two forces collided in a violent spectacle, as if the very heavens and earth were at war.
The enormous sound, even with the Root's sound-dampening barrier active, startled countless people in Konoha.
"What was that?" Numerous shinobi looked toward the Uchiha compound, their expressions grim. They wanted to investigate, but they were stopped by Danzo's Root operatives. "The Hokage has ordered that all shinobi are forbidden from entering the Uchiha district!" Danzo's agents were still in the process of slaughtering the Uchiha; he couldn't allow anyone to interfere.
Danzo himself looked toward the distant, glowing red giant, his eyes filled with a fanatic greed. "So this is the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan," he whispered. "It's truly beautiful. I must have this power for myself!"
He hesitated for a moment, but then decided to lead his subordinates to stealthily infiltrate the battlefield. He believed the Uchiha clan was mostly dealt with, and it was the perfect time to harvest their Sharingan. Besides, the Uchiha who could use Susanoo must be nearly out of chakra. There shouldn't be much danger in moving in now. Perhaps he could even take this opportunity to kill Itachi and claim his eyes.
Still, he decided to be cautious. He would wait until he was certain Itachi had lost his ability to fight before moving in for the kill. For now, he would just go and collect some new eyes.