Facing Satsuki's tearful cries and pleas, willing to sacrifice her own life for Naruto's safety, the hearts of both individuals in the arena were in immense torment.
Beneath Uchiha Itachi's mask-like coldness, forcing his only younger sister to make such a desperate choice, a suffocating pain pulsed through his heart.
But the plan had to be executed; there was no turning back from this blood-stained path.
He could only bury this pain deeper, arming himself with an even colder demeanor.
And at this moment, the one whose heart was even more turbulent, even experiencing a sharp pain, was Naruto, who appeared to have lost consciousness and was at the mercy of others.
Although he was about to be stabbed himself... hearing Satsuki say such things... felt even worse than getting stabbed! This idiot!
An intense sense of guilt entanglement around Naruto's soul, choking him almost to the point of suffocation.
Listening to Satsuki's tearful pleas, for the first time, he deeply regretted his decision for this 'bitter stratagem'.
To awaken that damned Sharingan, he had to make Satsuki endure such immense pain and fear, even make her say such things... he was a complete and utter scoundrel!
Damn it! Why did the Uchiha's power have to awaken in such a cruel way?!
Just as Naruto was engulfed by surging guilt and regret, Itachi's cruel voice rang out again.
"Remember this powerlessness and weakness. If you want to kill me... then hate me, resent me, and then... live on, ugly and clinging to life."
"No... please... stop!"
The next moment—*Thud!*
An entirely unexpected, extremely sharp and profound surge of pain suddenly erupted from Naruto's body!
The cold metal pierced through his muscles and tissues without obstruction, bringing a terrifying, tearing sensation.
Ugh—! So painful! This guy! He's serious?! His attack is too ruthless!
The intense pain almost made Naruto fail to maintain his feigned unconsciousness.
He quickly and frantically mobilized all his willpower and Chakra control techniques, desperately suppressing his body's instinctive spasms and resistance.
He fully maintained the stability of the Chakra controlling all of the Menma Shadow Clones within him, absolutely not allowing all the clones to dissipate collectively due to severe injury.
He had to continue to 'play' an unconscious 'hostage' being cruelly harmed.
However, all this internal roaring and suppressed agony appeared as a completely different scene in the eyes of another person—Uchiha Satsuki.
She only saw him, without hesitation, precisely plunge that cold, gleaming short sword deep into Naruto's body!
Warm, crimson blood instantly gushed from the wound, quickly staining Naruto's upper garment.
All surrounding sounds were instantly drawn away, even the frantic pounding of her own heart... all these things she didn't want to hear, didn't want to know, transformed into the sharpest awl, forcefully striking her eardrums, pouring into her already overwhelmed brain.
So painful.
So disgusting.
Something extremely dark, extremely violent was frantically expanding, crashing, and roaring within her chest, screaming to break free!
Anger
Sorrow
Hatred
Love
Extreme emotions surged wildly within her, violently impacting her last line of rational defense, pushing her fragile spirit to fall into an abyss—
Buzz—!
A scorching pain, as if her eyeballs were melting, suddenly erupted from deep within her eyes!
The next moment, her black eyes, completely drenched in tears, under the catalysis of extreme emotion, suddenly took on an ominous crimson hue, forged from blood and curses.
The power that reflects the heart's eye—the Sharingan.
Uchiha Itachi stared intently at those long-awaited crimson eyes that had finally appeared.
But in Satsuki's world, everything was different.
Her vision became clearer than ever before, even able to capture tiny dust particles in the air and the texture of distant leaves, yet the entire world was covered with a blood-red filter.
All confusion, fear, and pleas were completely incinerated at this moment, leaving only one incredibly clear, incredibly firm thought, branded deep into her soul like a red-hot iron—
The course of action has been decided.
She knew there was something she absolutely had to do.
She had to kill Uchiha Itachi.
She must kill, kill, kill until he is dead! She must utterly crush him, burn every single cell that makes up his body with fire, and completely erase the existence named "Uchiha Itachi" from this world!
If she didn't do this... she wouldn't be able to avenge the blood feud of her parents and clan, wouldn't be able to repay Naruto for the death he endured, and wouldn't be able to quell this all-consuming hatred in her heart!
Her thoughts were completely stained by thick, pitch-black hatred.
After killing him—this filthy body of hers, which has carried too much pain and sin, will also die with him.
Mad killing intent and self-destructive tendencies intertwined, her consciousness began to become unstable under the extreme load, and harsh noise began to mix into her thought processes.
In those ominous crimson eyes, three pitch-black tomoe spun frantically, faster and faster, almost blurring into three dark streaks.
Surging hatred, like an invisible whip, forced them to break through a certain limit, transforming towards a deeper, more powerful form!
Spin! Spin again! Almost pulling, merging, and outlining the prototype of a more complex, more dangerous pattern—
However, just at the last moment before that pattern was about to form!
—!
Her body let out the strongest protest! A violent, sharp pain instantly spread throughout her body, every cell wailing and disintegrating!
Uchiha Satsuki, her still-tender body and far from mature Chakra, simply could not withstand this terrifying power from deep within her bloodline, which had suddenly awakened and was attempting to run wild further.
Her vision suddenly went black, all power receded like a tide, and intense dizziness and a feeling of exhaustion instantly engulfed her.
A second before her consciousness completely sank into darkness, her Sharingan, gradually blurring due to the backlash of power, captured one last image—
On that cold, twisted face that she swore to kill at all costs, a single, crystal-clear drop seemed to be quietly falling from the corner of Uchiha Itachi's eye.
This was the last, incomprehensible thing Satsuki saw before losing consciousness.