Crimson markings bloomed around Itachi's eyes, streaking down to merge with the tear-troughs beside his nose.
Swish! The flames on his black cloak blazed to life, dyed a fierce red by surging senjutsu chakra.
His eyes opened. His gaze had utterly changed.
Shikkotsu Forest Sage Mode. Engaged.
A state of perfect clarity—'Bright Mirror, Still Water.' No excess emotion, no distracting thought. In combat, absolute calm reigned. It meant never missing an opening.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Completely different from Naruto or Kabuto's Sage Modes. I can't sense any emotional fluctuation from him at all. Is that the nature of Shikkotsu Forest Senjutsu?"
CRACK!
Lightning erupted from Sasuke's right palm—the Chidori, infused with the power of his White Cursed Seal, transforming into a lance of pure white lightning. Coupled with his Stage Two's explosive speed, he shot forward in a blinding thrust.
—White Chidori!
Whoosh—!!
But Itachi vanished the instant before impact, reappearing on the ceiling.
"That speed… only Sage Mode could make that possible!"
Sasuke skidded to a halt. The lightning in his hand sharpened into a spear. With a snap, he drove it into the ceiling.
Itachi dodged again. And with impossible speed, he flashed before Sasuke, seized the opening as Sasuke retracted his arm, and slammed a palm into his chest.
—Katsuyu Sage Palm!
BOOM!
Sasuke was blasted back down the shattered steps. He tried to move—and froze. White and blue, rubbery matter erupted from his entire body, pinning him in place.
Sasuke recognized it instantly.
"A slug… is coming out of my body…!?"
When Itachi first joined the Akatsuki, he'd fought the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, and been immobilized by a 'Coral Palm,' nearly dying to a Tailed Beast Bomb. This Katsuyu Sage Palm was a far more terrifying version.
Because… the slugs secreted acid. They would dissolve their immobilized target on the spot.
Sssss—!
Smoke rose from Sasuke's body, inside and out. A searing, fiery pain. His flesh was melting.
—Adaptive Modification: Snake Shedding!
Death's threat brushed his neck. Instinct took over. He activated his ultimate survival skill.
RIIIP. A new Sasuke tore free from the sloughing husk of his back. Landing, his serpent tail split into legs. He stared at the dissolving remains, mind racing. "Itachi's killing intent just became decisive. Is it the absolute calm of his Sage state? Or…"
Before he could finish, Itachi shot up through the hole in the ceiling.
"He's going outside? Why!?"
Sasuke leapt after him.
Outside, under the open sky, Itachi was already weaving hand signs mid-air.
A sea of flame, covering half the heavens above, coalesced into a wrathful, glaring fire-crow. A wave of scorching heat rolled out in all directions!
—Sage Art: Fire God Crow!
SCREEEECH!!!
The colossal bird of flame plummeted.
Sasuke's hands flew. A seal he'd created.
—Fire Style: Flame-Wreathed Serpent!
The technique he'd used against Kakuzu. A fire dragon that consumed other flames to grow. In a clash of fire techniques, it was theoretically undefeatable.
But Itachi's next move defied expectation. He raised two fingers. The descending Fire God Crow… was suddenly clad in armor of blazing red Susano'o ribs!
"He's putting a Susano'o coat on a Sage Art fire technique!?"
BOOOOOOM—!!!
The Flame-Wreathed Serpent's absorption was useless. It scattered before the impact.
Sasuke's Mangekyō blazed. As the crow closed in, his own crow-demon Susano'o materialized. The black-flame greatsword in its grasp stabbed straight into the crow's armored chest.
KABOOM!!!
The Fire God Crow detonated. The Susano'o armor plating shattered. Fragments shot inward, piercing through Sasuke's own Susano'o defense—
Sasuke's left arm was sheared clean off at the shoulder. It hit the ground with a wet thud. Blood sprayed.
Inside his battered, flame-engulfed Susano'o, Sasuke clutched his stump.
"So that's it. The Susano'o coat wasn't to strengthen the fire… it was to create shrapnel upon detonation. The real kill. It punched straight through even my crow-demon Susano'o's defense…"
"Itachi was always a master of maximizing limited chakra. With senjutsu… he's ascended to another level entirely."
Shhhhk. Shhhhk. Sasuke snatched up his severed arm, pressed it to the clean-cut shoulder. The White Cursed Seal's healing power flared, reconnecting flesh and bone. A chill ran down his spine. If that fragment had hit my neck instead… I'd be dead. But even Itachi can't predict shrapnel trajectories perfectly. Which means… he used that move knowing it had a real chance of killing me.
His suspicion hardened into certainty.
But he needed one more test.
Clap!
—Wood Style: Advent of the Flowering Tree Realm!
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
Massive trees erupted. Bizarre flowers bloomed instantly, releasing a cloud of paralyzing pollen that flooded the mountaintop platform.
Itachi responded. His full crow-demon Susano'o took form. The gourd-sword, Totsuka Blade, in its hand… opened without releasing the blade. A powerful suction force erupted, drawing every mote of poisonous pollen inside!
—Totsuka: Swordless Seal!
But the Flowering Tree Realm was an extension of the Deep Forest Emergence. Even without the pollen, the forest itself was a colossal threat.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Itachi's Susano'o raised the Totsuka Blade proper, cleaving through oncoming trunks.
Sasuke held his seal. For every tree Itachi felled, ten more surged forward. Soon, the Susano'o was entangled, held fast by powerful, coiling wood.
A glow focused in Sasuke's left eye, aimed at the forest.
—Blaze Style: Black Tree Realm!
Whoosh…!
Amaterasu's black flames ignited the wood. Instantly, the Susano'o was swallowed in an inferno of black fire!
Sasuke waited, conserving his strength. "Itachi. Even in Sage Mode, you can't maintain that full Susano'o indefinitely. When it collapses, you won't escape the black flames."
Inside the Susano'o, Itachi's expression remained deathly still. Slowly, he raised a hand, forming a seal Sasuke had never seen.
"Sasuke… it seems you still can't break my 'reality.'"
—Sage Art Ice Style: Flame Seal!
CRACKLE! CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
A wave of freezing cold emanated from the Susano'o armor. The tree realm… and the black flames clinging to it… were instantly encased in ice.
"—The reason. You should understand it now."
Sasuke's pupils contracted to pinpoints. Then, he closed his eyes. "So… it is as I thought."
In the forest, the three observers watched a completely different scene play out on the crystal ball.
In the temple hall, with its shattered walls and steps… Itachi and Sasuke stood motionless, locked in a silent standoff.
Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "From the moment Itachi activated Sage Mode… they've been standing perfectly still. A genjutsu battle?"
Karin, her sensory perception stretched to the limit, wiped cold sweat from her brow. "It's incredible… It's clearly an illusionary battle… but both their chakras are fluctuating wildly, like they're in a real life-and-death fight!"
Orochimaru maintained his hand seal, eyes shut. He was using a unique method to directly observe the 'genjutsu' in real-time.
"Freezing the 'black flames' within the illusion… As I thought. Itachi has mastered that technique, and found a unique application for it…"
Sasuke opened his eyes. "So… it is Tsukuyomi."
Itachi's voice was a placid lake. "Sasuke. Even knowing it's Tsukuyomi… escape is impossible."
In that moment, alongside his shock, Sasuke felt a surge of genuine, profound joy.
"Brother… you really have kept pace with me…"
Fzzzt!
The mark on Sasuke's forehead—the Yang Seal—flared. Its patterns expanded, crawling across his skin.
—Yang Seal: Release!
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Itachi watched. As the seal on Sasuke's brow unleashed its power, the ice encasing the Susano'o trembled violently… and began to shatter.
That seal… It doesn't just sustain his ocular power. It amplifies it. This Tsukuyomi construct is destabilizing!
Sasuke raised two fingers.
—Break!
CRACK—!!!
The scene… shattered.
They were back in the temple hall. The two brothers, standing in their original positions, facing each other.
Itachi staggered back, a hand clapped over his left eye. "Ugh… You… broke my Tsukuyomi…?"
Karin gasped. "No! Sasuke's chakra, it just suddenly—!!"
Kabuto stared, bewildered. "But… they're both still just standing there! Not moving!"
Orochimaru's eyes snapped open, a flicker of disbelief in their depths. "Itachi… you… what have you…?"
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
Read up to (100+ ) advanced chapters on Patre\on
Visit us here: patreon.com/BingeInk
Happy reading, everyone!