Compared to the mental realm created by the Shackling Stake, Tsukuyomi was an infinitely more potent version.
The moment the technique was triggered, as long as the victim made eye contact, an unknown, alien dimension would manifest before them.
In this world, every factor—including time, location, and geography—was under the absolute control of the caster. It allowed the user to deliver a devastating psychological blow to the opponent, an attack once hailed by Zetsu as the ultimate mental strike.
Uchiha Kaede found himself suspended on a cross, his movements completely restricted.
"Uchiha Kaede, what exactly are you plotting?"
Itachi was in no hurry to torture him. He was only concerned with Kaede's true objective.
He had originally thought Kaede was merely an ambitious man similar to Danzo, but now it was clear he had deeper designs. Itachi felt he had to uncover the truth.
Considering the mysterious masked man who had orchestrated the Nine-Tails incident, Itachi knew all too well that both Konoha and the Uchiha were being manipulated by shadows.
Unable to find the true puppet master, he used this clan assessment to trap Kaede within the Tsukuyomi world.
Though Kaede had tried to deploy his End of Days earlier, Itachi had been one step faster in pulling him into the illusion.
"So, this is Tsukuyomi?"
Standard Genjutsu works by disrupting the target's senses, like sight and hearing. Itachi's Tsukuyomi, however, dragged the enemy's very soul into a constructed world to break their spirit.
If an ally were caught in a Genjutsu, Itachi could even use Tsukuyomi to enter their mental space and dispel the foreign chakra.
The most terrifying aspect of the technique was the time dilation: no matter how long the victim suffered in the mental space, only a fraction of a second passed in reality.
They would be broken before they even realized they were under attack.
Seeing Kaede's indifferent expression, Itachi frowned. He thrust a katana into Kaede's torso, but the latter's expression remained unchanged.
The powerful flames burning within Kaede's body seemed to autonomously repair his astral form.
"This technique is terrifying, yes, but it isn't without a solution."
Looking at the Itachi standing across from him, Kaede sneered. "Genjutsu costs little chakra, but it is extremely taxing on the mind.
No matter how long the illusion lasts for the victim, the caster's mind endures the exact same duration of mental strain."
As Kaede spoke, although Itachi kept his expression perfectly neutral, a flicker of emotion stirred in his eyes.
"For you, maintaining this world requires a corresponding expenditure of spiritual energy. If you keep me here for three days, you must expend three days' worth of mental endurance to sustain it."
Itachi did not deny the claim. He looked at Kaede with an unwavering gaze and drove the blade in again. "I will ask you once more: what is your purpose?"
"What is the point of persisting in this? The village... the clan... they are nothing more than shackles to you."
Uchiha Itachi, who had been contemplating the nature of the village and the clan since childhood, had always been a stubborn individual.
Even in the face of such a disadvantageous situation, he was determined to shoulder everything alone—even to the point of using "Madara" to clear the Uchiha's name regarding the Nine-Tails attack.
He had hoped things would change, but he had discovered with a sense of tragedy that neither Konoha nor the Uchiha had evolved.
This left Itachi's eyes with a weariness that didn't belong to someone his age.
After a long silence, Itachi spoke in his usual indifferent tone: "I only want your answer."
"Hahaha... Uchiha Itachi, you really are a foolish little brother. So naive, so pure."
Itachi didn't respond. Just as he raised his blade to strike again, the surrounding environment began to undergo an unnatural shift.
With a low chuckle, the Mangekyo in Kaede's eyes began to spin at high speeds. "Itachi, you didn't think you truly had absolute control over this world, did you?"
Kaede's words were provocative. Itachi sensed something was wrong just as a wave of intense, searing light erupted, sweeping toward him.
Suddenly, a black-haired figure wearing a red-clouded black robe and the "Azure Dragon" ring appeared like a ghost.
With a fluid movement of his hands, a Dust Release (Jinton) attack transformed into a unique, eight-sided prismatic light that shone brilliantly.
Faced with the destructive power of Dust Release, Itachi quickly summoned a vortex of air currents to dissipate the energy.
Regardless of its form, Dust Release was a physical world power; in this world of pure consciousness, it was merely a powerful mental projection.
Though he neutralized the attack, Itachi dared not be careless. He watched warily as a mysterious man emerged from the darkness.
An avatar in a mental projection didn't necessarily reflect one's true appearance in the real world. The Dust Release might not even be real—it could be a simulation of the technique using raw spiritual energy.
Itachi couldn't confirm the identity, but anyone capable of infiltrating this conscious realm possessed extraordinary Genjutsu skill.
Holding a silver mask that represented Shiraishi's primary consciousness, Deidara stood opposite Itachi in silence.
"Did your Mangekyo cause this?"
Facing Itachi's question, Kaede slowly stepped down from the cross that had bound him. "At the same moment you triggered Tsukuyomi, I released End of Days."
Because Tsukuyomi is a visual-based Genjutsu, its effectiveness is severely reduced against enemies who are also masters of the visual arts.
In fact, the "pull" of Tsukuyomi on Kaede had been delayed. During that delay, Shiraishi's mental network had triggered an automated defense.
Considering the sensitive identities of the others, only Deidara had entered the Tsukuyomi world alongside Kaede.
While Itachi understood that End of Days had provided a visual buffer, he couldn't comprehend how this person had so easily invaded a private conscious realm—especially since no outsiders were present during the battle.
Moreover, the moment Deidara donned the mask, the aura he radiated made Itachi's heart skip a beat. An inexplicable sense of dread washed over him.
As Deidara put on the silver mask, his consciousness was superseded by Shiraishi's main persona. A divine light radiated from him, seemingly purifying everything in the vicinity.
Soft music filled the air as the radiance of the Divine Sword bloomed, making the world feel as if it were being reborn.
Such a powerful purification Genjutsu!
To be able to set a "Genjutsu within a Genjutsu" inside his own Tsukuyomi world made Itachi's hands tremble. The strange light began to overwrite the rules of the Tsukuyomi dimension.
Ultimately, Tsukuyomi was a mental construct. While its technique was flawless, it began to show signs of instability when confronted by such a brutal, overwhelming amount of raw spiritual energy.
A spiritual force of this magnitude... in this era, only one monster was capable of such a feat.
"Aoki Shiraishi..."
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