In Konoha, very few shinobi were proficient in swordsmanship.
There was Kakashi and Sasuke, but both had access to chakra reserves, thanks to their internal "batteries."
Samehada returned to Kisame's side, channeling chakra to repair his battered body.
"What? You're not convinced?!"
Shinho's attention was drawn to Naruto Uzumaki's loud and spirited voice.
Following the sound, Shinho saw the now-chaotic Mirror Lake, where raging waves surged endlessly.
The cause of this havoc was none other than Isobu, the Three-Tails.
With its three tails and turtle-like appearance, its body was covered by a thick, spiked shell.
At this moment, however, it had withdrawn its head and tails, its entire body bound by golden chains, Karin's Adamantine Sealing Chains.
Naruto, clad in his Tailed Beast Cloak with five tails visible, stood atop the turtle shell, repeatedly punching it.
Each punch caused Isobu to tremble violently, sending ripples through the lake below, turning it into a turbulent sea.
"Damn it!"
Naruto abruptly retracted his fist and shouted, "Let's see if I can break this shell of yours!"
He had asked countless times already, but the Three-Tails stubbornly played the role of a "cowardly turtle," completely ignoring him.
"Eight Gates! Open!"
Naruto's crimson chakra cloak gained an additional layer of green energy.
With a single punch, he struck down.
The resulting upheaval was even more outrageous.
The ground quaked, mountains trembled, it was as though a massive earthquake had struck.
Shinho smirked slightly.
Fortunately or unfortunately, Naruto didn't yet have access to Kurama Mode or Sage Mode.
Even so, Isobu wasn't equipped to withstand such an onslaught.
After several rounds of continuous pounding, Isobu finally gave in.
It didn't want to face death again so soon after its revival.
A Nine-Tails Jinchuriki wielding the Eight Gates, combined with Adamantine Sealing Chains…it was a futile struggle.
Isobu could only resign itself to its fate.
..
[Achievement Unlocked: "Gently Awaken Your Sleeping Heart" – Reward: Five-Element Bear Skin Gu]
[Five-Element Bear Skin Gu: A Rank Five Gu insect. Drastically reduces the effects of Wind, Fire, Lightning, Water, and Earth elemental attacks on the user.]
..
Two lines of text appeared in front of Shinho.
The achievement was unexpected but logical.
The reward, however, felt a bit redundant.
After all, Shinho already had the Turtle Jade Wolf Skin Gu, another Rank Five defensive Gu.
Regular jutsu were practically ineffective against him.
Still, he wouldn't complain about having additional defensive Gu. The more, the better.
With the Five-Element Bear Skin Gu reducing basic elemental jutsu and the Turtle Jade Wolf Skin Gu absorbing the rest, Shinho felt confident he could withstand even Madara Uchiha's most powerful Fire Style attacks.
Shinho looked into the distance.
Now, the only remaining battle was between the Uchiha brothers, Itachi and Sasuke.
…
Half an hour had passed.
"Itachi! Didn't you want to kill me? Why are you running?!"
Sasuke, his body surrounded by crackling lightning, closed in on Itachi at high speed.
Itachi remained silent.
He needed to create more distance.
The battle between Shinho, Kisame, and the Three-Tails had been earth-shattering.
Being too close would only cause unnecessary interference.
"Damn you!"
Sasuke formed hand seals.
His movement paused momentarily as he looked skyward, releasing a flurry of fireballs.
Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!
Sasuke accelerated once more, throwing shuriken concealed within the flames.
The fiery projectiles spread like blooming flowers, enveloping Itachi.
"You're still as impatient as ever," Itachi remarked, glancing back.
Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!
From Itachi's mouth emerged a massive fireball, growing larger as it consumed the Phoenix Flower flames.
The scattered embers rained down, forcing Sasuke to dodge.
The brief delay allowed Itachi to gain more ground.
"Stand still, damn it!"
Enraged, Sasuke clenched his fists, lightning surging around him.
Chidori Current!
The sound of chirping birds filled the air as lightning engulfed Sasuke's body, significantly boosting his speed.
"This will do," Itachi murmured as Sasuke closed in.
He stopped and turned to face his brother.
"Itachi!"
Sasuke drew his Lightning-Fire Sword, his voice dripping with anger. "Have you finally realized you can't run?!"
"I was merely concerned about Shinho," Itachi replied calmly. "Now that he can't interfere for a while, I'll take your eyes in my leisure."
A flash of scarlet light flickered in his eyes as he activated his Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Dream on!"
The Lightning-Fire Sword in Sasuke's hand buzzed with ear-splitting energy. "Do you think I'm still the same Sasuke as before?!"
In an instant, Sasuke closed the gap between them, slashing through the air with his sword.
The blade's sharp arcs were as cold and piercing as a winter gale, sending alarm bells ringing in Itachi's mind.
This was the legendary swordsmanship of Konoha's White Fang.
Clang!
Itachi parried with a kunai, but in the next moment, the kunai shattered into two.
The Lightning-Fire Sword continued its trajectory, slicing toward Itachi's neck.
Black feathers scattered through the air.
Itachi dissolved into a flock of crows, reappearing a short distance away.
Touching his neck, he said, "You've improved quite a bit, Sasuke."
"Stop acting so self-righteous! You don't deserve it!"
Sasuke surged forward, his body enveloped in lightning once more.
Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!
Itachi reacted instantly, releasing a roaring fire dragon from his mouth.
Lightning flashed.
Sasuke stopped in his tracks.
The fiery dragon before him split in two, dissipating with a mournful wail.
"Itachi," Sasuke raised his Lightning-Fire Sword high and said coldly, "Stop underestimating me!"
"I'm not underestimating you," Itachi replied, shaking his head.
"You're not? Then, is this all you've got?"
Sasuke's face darkened as his figure vanished from where he stood.
He became a streak of lightning, roaring toward Itachi, his Lightning-Fire Sword enveloping his brother in a web of deadly strikes.
Countless arcs of sword energy converged into the shape of a venomous snake, lunging at Itachi.
But the moment Sasuke struck, his expression shifted.
Boom!
Itachi's body exploded into a burst of chakra, the shockwave rippling outward.
Body Flicker Technique!
Sasuke planted his feet firmly, accelerating to escape the blast radius.
"Impressive," Itachi's voice came from his left.
Sasuke instinctively turned to look.
Tsukuyomi!
Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan pulsed and rotated slightly.
Sasuke's body froze.
His vision shifted, and he found himself in a dark, oppressive illusionary space he knew all too well.
"Again!" Sasuke's expression turned grim.
The last time he had been trapped in Tsukuyomi, he had been forced to witness the death of Fugaku Uchiha, their father.
"I've already surpassed mere illusions like this!"
Sasuke's Mangekyo Sharingan flared, surging with immense ocular power.
Crack!
The illusionary space shattered.
Sasuke's vision brightened as he returned to the real world.
Tsukuyomi, while formidable, was still a genjutsu at its core.
The outcome of an illusion battle depended on the strength of one's ocular power.
In the original storyline, Sasuke had managed to break free of genjutsu even with his Three Tomoe Sharingan, albeit under circumstances some attributed to Itachi holding back. Others argued Itachi's illness played a significant role.
Now, with his Mangekyo Sharingan and the chakra boost provided by Satori, Sasuke's ocular power far surpassed that of a gravely ill Itachi.
As Sasuke refocused, his eyes narrowed in surprise.
Blood as black as ink was streaming from Itachi's left eye.
Sasuke recalled the scroll Shinho had given him and immediately understood the reason.
"Your eyes are already going blind," Sasuke said, his Sharingan flaring with immense power.
An oppressive aura spread around him, chilling the air.
"If I take your eyes, mine won't go blind."
Itachi endured the pain from his failed Tsukuyomi, speaking coldly.
"Is that so?" Sasuke sneered confidently. "Then I'll make sure to take your eyes first."
He raised his Lightning-Fire Sword, which erupted in a storm of light, its arcs of energy flying out like arrows.
Itachi formed hand seals swiftly.
Fire Style: Great Flame Sphere!
A massive orb of fire surged forward, colliding with the sword energy in a burst of sparks and chakra.
The heat rose as the fiery explosion lit up the battlefield.
But Itachi's expression shifted.
Behind him, space distorted.
A spiraling thunder dragon emerged, swallowing him whole.
"When did this happen?"
Itachi's pupils contracted as he caught sight of a second Sasuke not far away.
This one wielded not the Lightning-Fire Sword, but a blade forged from the twin lightning Blades: Kiba, known as the Thunder Moon.
"You've encountered it before," Sasuke said, a smirk on his face. "Let me tell you its name now, Yomi-no-Kuni."
He gestured, summoning the Thunder Moon sword to his hand as the shadow clone disappeared.
"Unfortunately, you won't live to appreciate it," Sasuke said, watching Itachi struggle within the thunder dragon's grasp.
But his smile froze in the next moment.
Black flames appeared out of nowhere, consuming the lightning dragon as though it were nothing.
"Yomi-no-Kuni, huh?" Itachi clutched his right eye in pain, his voice strained. "A fine technique."
Techniques derived from the Sharingan were often varied and unique, but space-related abilities were particularly practical.
To Itachi, Yomi-no-Kuni's ability to ignore distance made it even more suitable for battle than his own Amaterasu.
"So now both of your eyes are going blind?" Sasuke regained his composure and spoke in a detached tone. "Itachi Uchiha, your defeat is inevitable at this rate!"
"It won't be that easy, my foolish—"
"Shut up!" Sasuke cut him off, his rage boiling over as he drew his twin blades.
But in the next moment, he halted abruptly.
Itachi's eyes spun in unison, releasing an overwhelming surge of chakra that rose into the sky.
The energy condensed, forming a towering red figure, a skeletal giant cloaked in armor.
"What… what is that?" Sasuke's face froze in shock.
"Susanoo," Itachi said in a calm voice.
Sasuke's heart skipped a beat.
So this was the legendary Susano'o?
Its sheer presence was overwhelming.
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