"Surrender your futile struggles now, and I can grant you a complete corpse," Itachi said calmly.
"Impossible!" Sasuke rejected without hesitation.
"Then I will show you the power of a god," Itachi replied.
He made no visible movement, but behind him, the towering figure of his Susanoo, clad in tengu armor, raised its hand. A chilling aura swept forth as the Susanoo gripped a sword. Its blade was obscured, wreathed in flames.
"This is the Sword of Totsuka," Itachi explained.
As his words fell, the Sword of Totsuka descended from above, aiming directly at Sasuke. Despite the sword's immense size, its speed was astonishing, like a flash of light.
In the blink of an eye, it was upon him.
In the critical moment, Sasuke raised his two swords: the Thunderfire Sword and the Thunder Moon Sword.
"Lightning Style: Armor of Lightning!"
Crossing his blades, countless arcs of lightning enveloped his body, forming a protective barrier. This was a technique derived from Kurosuki Raiga's Lightning Release.
Crack!
The lightning-formed armor shattered under the might of the Sword of Totsuka. Sasuke shouted and crossed his swords to block the attack.
The immense weight bore down on him, cracking the ground beneath his feet and sinking him centimeters into the earth. Yet, he managed to hold the strike.
"It seems this is the end for you, my foolish—"
Itachi stopped mid-sentence, interrupted again.
"Not that easily!" Sasuke retreated abruptly, sheathing his swords as he began forming hand seals at lightning speed.
"Fire Style: Fire Release: Dragon Flame Release Song Technique!"
Sasuke exhaled a massive fireball, which split into five enormous fire dragons that charged toward Itachi.
"It's useless," Itachi said, shaking his head. "You can't even break my defense."
True to his words, the five fire dragons collided with the tengu armor of his Susanoo and dissipated without causing any damage. The scorching heat rose into the sky, leaving Sasuke momentarily stunned.
"So, the Susanoo can significantly enhance defense?" he murmured. That was fortunate—his Ayakaiji was designed to bypass defenses entirely.
Earlier, in his battle against Itachi, he had only used Yomi-no-Kuni because most shinobi were inherently fragile.
Defense bypassing wasn't always necessary in these cases.
But this time, his Ayakaiji could finally prove its worth.
"Is that so?" Sasuke smirked. "Then, try taking on this jutsu of mine!"
Itachi raised an eyebrow, puzzled.
Moments later, he noticed dark clouds gathering above. Thunder rumbled as lightning flashed, signaling an impending storm.
"Was this caused by the fire jutsu's you've been throwing around all this time?" Itachi realized.
A shrill chirping sound echoed. Sasuke threw a Chidori into the storm clouds. Simultaneously, his Mangekyo Sharingan flared to life.
Yomi-no-Kuni!
Ayakaiji!
In an instant, the storm erupted. Blinding lightning painted the sky blue as powerful winds surged. From the chaos, a massive beast of lightning took form. Itachi was visibly surprised.
The scale of this lightning-style technique surpassed anything he had ever seen.
Did he invent this himself? Itachi mused. Impressive. But where will his Yomi-no-Kuni strike next?
Itachi's eyes narrowed.
The next second, the space behind him distorted.
"Yata Mirror!"
Itachi turned, summoning a mirror shield in front of his Susanoo. Flames danced across its surface, radiating in all directions.
Itachi possessed two ethereal spirit weapons. The Sword of Totsuka, capable of sealing enemies, and the Yata Mirror, capable of repelling attacks. In the original series, Black Zetsu had declared the combination of these two artifacts made itachi's susanoo invincible.
The space rippled as Sasuke's Kirin clashed with the Yata Mirror.
Chakra storms exploded, intertwining fire and lightning into a dazzling display of destruction. The Yata Mirror cracked, but the Kirin was ultimately neutralized.
"What?!" Itachi's composure broke for the first time.
A perfect opportunity! Sasuke, though surprised by the Yata Mirror's absolute defense clashin against his own absolute defence negation, had anticipated that his Kirin might not be enough to end Itachi.
After all, Itachi's power was simply too overwhelming.
Fortunately, Sasuke still had his ultimate trump card: Satori.
After acquiring Satori, Sasuke had sought training methods for Jinchuriki from Shinho. Although Sasuke couldn't fully communicate with Satori, he could forcibly channel its Yin Release energy.
Leaping into the air, Sasuke summoned dense chakra that enveloped him entirely, forming a pair of ink-black wings.
These were Satori's Wings.
Yomi-no-Kuni!
Ayakaiji!
With his twin swords crossed in midair, Sasuke unleashed his next jutsu.
"Lightning Burial: Banquet of Lightning!"
The skies turned chaotic, with lightning flashes filling the entire horizon. This forbidden technique, originally used by Kurosuki Raiga as a self-destructive move, was something Sasuke could endure thanks to Satori's Chakra.
Lightning rained down like divine punishment, consuming Itachi's Susanoo entirely.
Itachi coughed violently.
Maintaining the Susanoo required tremendous ocular energy. His reserves were already critically low, and the prolonged battle, coupled with Sasuke's devastating Thunder Burial, had pushed him to his limits.
The tengu armor of his Susanoo cracked audibly.
Cracks spread rapidly across the tengu armor, extending in all directions. Finally, it could no longer withstand the strain and shattered into countless fragments.
Itachi was sent flying backward. He crashed to the ground, coughing up a mouthful of blood. His vision blurred as his ocular powers faded, rendering his Mangekyo Sharingan unusable. The intricate patterns in his eyes became indistinct.
"You've lost, Itachi," Sasuke declared, holding his twin swords as he approached.
Itachi lifted his head weakly, his vision so hazy that he could barely discern Sasuke's form until he was directly in front of him.
"Cough... cough…" Itachi tried to speak but was overcome by a violent fit of coughing, blood seeping uncontrollably from the corners of his mouth.
"Your strength was no match for me," Sasuke said, shaking his head.
Strength? Itachi's lips twitched faintly. Blood pooled beneath him, making him look utterly defeated.
Sasuke raised his Thunderfire Sword.
"You are the victor," Itachi said calmly, looking at him. "Take my eyes."
Sasuke hesitated for a moment, images of Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto flashing in his mind.
He no longer hesitated, and with a thrust, the Thunderfire Sword pierced Itachi's heart.
"Good...bye… Sa…su…" Itachi's voice faded as his eyes closed, and he sank into eternal darkness.
Sasuke stood frozen, staring at Itachi's lifeless body. After a long pause, he released the Thunderfire Sword and clutched his forehead, breaking into uncontrollable laughter.
"Hahaha… HAHAHA!"
The laughter echoed through the air, devoid of joy.
Not far away, Shinho and Naruto Uzumaki arrived, halting in their tracks. Karin, worried about the Three-Tails escaping, had stayed behind to guard it.
"Sasuke, he…" Naruto hesitated, his face full of concern as he glanced at Itachi lying in a pool of blood.
Shinho, understanding the situation, shook his head. "Let him finish sorting his emotions first."
..
[Achievement Unlocked: "You're Not Truly Happy" for Uchiha Sasuke. Reward: Purple Crystal Relic Gu.]
[Purple Crystal Relic Gu: A Rank 5 consumable Gu worm. Instantly increases the user's cultivation by a minor realm. Effective only for Rank 5 Gu Masters.]
..
Two lines of text appeared before Shinho's eyes.
As expected, the battle between Itachi and Sasuke had triggered an achievement. However, the reward caught Shinho by surprise, it was the Purple Crystal Relic Gu.
The effect was simple and direct: an increase in cultivation level.
Without hesitation, Shinho used it, advancing from mid-level Rank 5 Gu Master to Upper level Rank 5. He was now just one step away from becoming a Rank 6 Gu Immortal.
For now, being a Rank 5 Gu Master was sufficient unless Kaguya Ōtsutsuki escaped prematurely.
But at this stage, Shinho found it impossible to imagine how Obito or Black Zetsu could achieve that, given their inability to even revive Madara.
As for Kaguya, Shinho planned to assist in breaking her seal, once he reached Rank 6.
His thoughts wandered to Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths.
He had been watching the reincarnations of his sons, Naruto and Sasuke, from the Pure Land. With the storyline now completely derailed, would Hagoromo still intervene?
Shinho couldn't say for sure. Nonetheless, the Pure Land itself interested him.
Sasuke's manic laughter ceased. His expression turned cold as he retrieved the Thunderfire Sword and the Thunder Moon Sword from the ground.
"Sasuke," Naruto called out, stepping closer.
"Shinho," Sasuke turned toward Shinho Aburame and asked, "How do I awaken the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan?"
"By transplanting his eyes," Shinho replied after a brief pause. "When we return, I'll perform the surgery for you."
Sasuke nodded.
The atmosphere grew heavy.
"What do you plan to do with Itachi's body?" Shinho asked.
"He doesn't deserve to return to the Uchiha Clan," Sasuke said after a few seconds of hesitation, "Only his eyes need to be taken."
He had initially planned to bring Itachi's body back. However, upon reflection, he realized it would serve no purpose other than to reopen old wounds. The Uchiha Clan had enjoyed a long period of peace—there was no need to stir up emotions over a corpse.
"In that case, I'll take care of it," Shinho said, waving his hand, "I'll destroy it after the surgery."
With a surge of primeval essence, Shinho stored Itachi's body in his Blue sky well Gu.
"Fine," Sasuke exhaled deeply, steadying himself.
"Let's go," Shinho said, patting Sasuke's shoulder as they headed back toward the Mirror Lake.
The Three-Tails, Isobu, was docilely resting in the lake. Karin stood atop its massive shell, keeping a watchful eye. The golden chains binding it were still in place.
Not far from her, Kisame lay unconscious.
Shinho leapt onto the shell, followed closely by Naruto and Sasuke.
"Shinho-kun!" Karin called out, rushing toward them.
join my patreon for the completed story: patreon.com/HyppoTL