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Itachi's face remained calm, almost indifferent. To him, Sasuko's growth wasn't enough not yet.
"Didn't you foresee my death? And yet… You still can't defeat me. Not without the Mangekyō Sharingan. Your purpose will always remain an illusion."
Sasuko's fingers brushed the seal at her wrist, unraveling the bandage just enough to prepare her hidden arsenal. Her gaze locked on his.
"Use your eyes as much as you want. My hatred will tear through illusion and make reality itself my weapon. The reality you face… is death."
Their eyes clashed, Sharingan to Mangekyō, the air between them sparking like flint.
With a flick, shuriken filled their hands. Steel stormed the sky, blade colliding against blade in a rhythm only Uchiha could sustain. Every throw perfect, every interception flawless.
Itachi's skill was terrifying yet Sasuko's training showed. Each strike carried force, timing, and angles drilled into her by another genius. Her weapons carved arcs that ordinary shinobi could never follow.
Steel screeched. A moment's stalemate and then Sasuko lunged with the Kusanagi.
Itachi caught her wrists with surgical precision. They were locked in place for a breath until a second Itachi emerged behind her, hurling shuriken in a lethal spread.
A shadow clone? Already?
The weapons screamed closer until the curse mark along Sasuko's neck pulsed. White-scaled serpents burst forth, coiling to deflect the shuriken with fangs bared. The snakes snapped toward Itachi, jaws wide.
His Mangekyō flickered. A twist, a reversal, steel-kissed snake-scale, sparks spraying. He kicked off, slipping through the strike as the serpent's jaws clamped on empty air.
The duel was dazzling. Every move, every counter was proof of their bloodline's brilliance.
Sasuko whirled a massive windmill shuriken forward, lightning crackling into it mid-spin. The weapon shrieked as Chidori's edge carved through Itachi's guard, tearing his shoulder
But the body dissolved into a storm of cawing crows.
Vision smothered, her Sharingan pierced the swarm only to find him in front of her.
Too late.
A gut punch slammed her into a tree. Bark exploded, her body convulsing. Blood traced her lip. She forced a Chidori into her palm—
Snap.
A hand clamped her wrist. The lightning fizzled out. Another foot pinned her down. Itachi's fist sank into her stomach again, ripping the breath from her lungs.
She gasped, choking, her strength pouring out.
"Forgive me, Sasuko…" His hand rose, two fingers reaching for her eye.
"No—!"
Agony ripped through her as vision vanished from one side. Warm blood slid down her face. The world tilted, empty, unbalanced.
So this is what it feels like…? Neji endured this at five years old…?
Her lone eye burned red with fury.
Itachi tucked something away in a container a glint of her stolen eye. "You see? Without the Mangekyō, you cannot stand against me. That other eye… I'll take it too."
His clone restrained her as his real self advanced again, bloody fingers poised to strike.
Desperation ignited her curse mark, snakes bursting from her back, her chakra screaming to life. The moment his hand touched her lid—
The world shattered.
Black-and-white fragments crumbled. The battlefield dissolved into static.
The genjutsu collapsed.
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