"Samehada, are you trembling?"
As the Uchiha brothers exchanged glances, Hoshigaki Kisame sensed something strange—Samehada, usually aroused by chakra regardless of its source, was now trembling within its bandages. It let out a low whimper audible only to Kisame, as if pleading for him to run.
Two years ago, when he faced Izayoi, Samehada had been excited—as if encountering a jinchūriki, eager to feast on his chakra.
But now, it was terrified. Not a shred of appetite remained.
Thinking back to the massive chakra surge that recently shook the ninja world, Kisame had to admit—this world still harbored freakish phenomena.
Two years ago, Izayoi was just a ninjutsu prodigy who'd mastered Dust Release but hadn't yet fully integrated it into a kekkei mōra. Even with hidden Wood Release, his strength was at best Kage-level.
Now, after just two years, he had become something else—like Uchiha Madara.
Compared to that, Uchiha Itachi, who wiped out the entire Uchiha clan at age thirteen, no longer seemed all that extraordinary.
"You're too much of an eyesore here. For Nagato's sake, get out!"
Izayoi's voice suddenly thundered from behind Kisame. Drenched in sweat from fear alone, Kisame felt as if he'd just performed a Water Release technique.
Before he could even react, the world twisted in reverse—then reformed.
He was no longer in the desolate battlefield but in a misty, mountainous region.
"This is... Flying Thunder God Transfer!"
Kisame took a few seconds to adjust.
He immediately formed hand seals, activating his perception techniques and vanishing again moments later.
The scene shifted back to the wasteland.
Itachi's three-tomoe Sharingan locked eyes with Sasuke's Mangekyō Sharingan. With his chakra vision, he analyzed Sasuke's current chakra flow.
A flicker of shock crossed his eyes.
Sasuke's chakra was powerful.
Not only had his Yin-nature chakra grown, but his Yang-nature chakra had multiplied as well.
That meant both his Sharingan and Wood Release had drastically evolved.
Itachi's heart was filled with joy—and gratitude to Izayoi.
Even without a fight, he could feel Sasuke's overwhelming pressure.
Sasuke had reached his level.
What's more, Sasuke had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan three years after him. With the support of Hashirama's cells, he could endure the toll of Mangekyō powers. His ocular strength even surpassed Itachi's, allowing him to use his eye techniques frequently without the typical blindness.
In a few years, he might even wield the complete Susanoo without an eye transplant.
And if he did receive a transplant, he would surely reach the level of the next Uchiha Madara—with the potential to awaken the Rinnegan.
Itachi quickly suppressed his emotions, returning to a calm facade. He looked at Sasuke and said in a cold tone:
"You just gained eyes like mine, and you're already eager to seek revenge?"
In the past, Sasuke would have lost control at that.
But not anymore.
Flashes of childhood memories with Itachi surged into Sasuke's mind. Alongside those were the memories he had seen from Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo's souls.
Anger burned in his chest.
Through gritted teeth, Sasuke demanded, "How long are you going to keep pretending?"
Itachi's heart skipped—but he maintained his icy demeanor. "What are you talking about?"
"I already know everything!" Sasuke roared. "Why the clan was at odds with the village. Why Brother Shisui died. Your deal with Shimura Danzo, acting as a double agent—I know it all!"
"You didn't keep me alive to steal my eyes later. You wanted me to kill you with my own hands, then transplant your eyes to get the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, right?!"
Breathing heavily, Sasuke's face twisted with emotion. "You hid everything from me, made me hate you, just so I'd kill the brother who sacrificed everything for my life—and then become a hero by stepping over your corpse. That's the ending you planned, isn't it?! Bastard! What right did you have to write my fate?! Am I your puppet?!"
"I would rather have died with Father and Mother than lived like this!"
Itachi winced in pain.
He'd never truly considered Sasuke's feelings.
In the past, he had believed he was doing the right thing—sacrificing everything for peace.
But after being crushed by Madara, Itachi had lived in agony.
Not just physically, but spiritually.
Whenever he was alone, he relived the moment he killed his family.
Only death at Sasuke's hands could offer relief.
So he had endured. Waited for Sasuke's revenge.
Now Sasuke had arrived—but instead of killing him, he'd seen through the lies and rejected them all.
Itachi's stomach churned. Warm blood welled in his throat.
He swallowed it without a trace and quickly composed himself. Calmly, he changed the subject: "You've awakened your Mangekyō Sharingan. Have you gone to the stone tablet beneath the clan temple?"
"What?"
Sasuke blinked, momentarily distracted.
Not far away, Izayoi stood on a tree formed by Wood Release, watching with interest.
With his mastery of Six Paths Sage Mode, his perception had reached Tier 0.
Just like Naruto and Sasuke communicating in a galaxy-like chakra space during their final battle, Izayoi could link his chakra to others' at will.
Within that space, deception didn't exist. He could sense their true feelings.
This was the true power of the Sage of Six Paths—the ability to form bonds.
After acquiring this ability, Izayoi's Kagura Heart Eye had evolved. Just as Uzumaki Mito could perceive good and evil after becoming the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, Izayoi could now sense emotion—and even thoughts.
Itachi might've fooled Sasuke.
But not Izayoi.
He saw Itachi's pain—and enjoyed it.
That's why he'd revealed the truth to Sasuke.
Had he not become Hokage early, he wouldn't have told Sasuke the truth so soon. If the brothers had fought and the result mirrored the original, Izayoi would have consoled Sasuke afterward—redirecting him away from the darkness.
But with his early promotion, plans had to change.
If Sasuke had killed Itachi while still in the dark, then learned the truth later—even Izayoi would've struggled to contain the fallout.
Only genuine affection could anchor Sasuke.
In the original, only Naruto's bond kept Sasuke from fully falling.
Izayoi had treated Sasuke like his own son from the beginning.
And Sasuke, an emotional person by nature, could tell genuine kindness from fake.
Because of that, Izayoi was confident: Sasuke would never defect.
Whether Sasuke chose to kill Itachi or not—Izayoi would support him.
If he wanted revenge, so be it.
If he didn't—also fine.
For Itachi, death was release.
Living was an endless hell.
And clearly, Itachi still longed for that release. He sneered:
"If you've read the clan's stone tablet, you wouldn't still be so naive to think I destroyed the clan just for you. You don't understand the Uchiha's origin—or how important your eyes are to me. They'll let me surpass dimensions and become the next Madara Uchiha, awakening the…"
Before he could finish, Itachi suddenly clutched his chest, face twisting in pain.
Startled, Sasuke glanced at Izayoi. "What…what's wrong with him?"
"He triggered the curse seal," Izayoi said flatly, flying down beside Sasuke.
Itachi finally stopped trembling after a long, torturous moment.
Even he, a seasoned shinobi, was drenched in sweat.
At that moment, a black hole appeared beside Itachi.
Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Obito stepped out of it.
"You!"
Before Madara could speak, Sasuke had already locked eyes on Obito.
Raising his hand, he fired a blue-white Storm Release orb.
In Izayoi's illusion space and the memories of Hiruzen and Danzo, Sasuke had learned about the masked man.
If this man hadn't caused the Nine-Tails' Rebellion, the Uchiha massacre might never have happened.
Sasuke hated Obito more than Itachi.
The beam passed harmlessly through Obito—then twisted mid-air and flew toward Madara.
Madara remained unmoved, calmly absorbing the beam with the Hungry Ghost Path.
Looking at Sasuke, he smiled. "Temperament and looks—just like Izuna."
Then he turned to Itachi. "I sensed the curse seal. Were you about to tell him how to awaken the Rinnegan? Looks like you've figured out what I gained at the Valley of the End."
"Or were you planning to use Kotoamatsukami to rewrite his will, turning him into a puppet for Konoha? If I'm not mistaken, the eye you took had lost its power. How'd you restore it without Hashirama's cells?"
"…"
Itachi was silent.
He hadn't accounted for Madara's curse seal when crafting his half-truth.
Madara had exposed everything—confirming Sasuke's suspicions.
Itachi lowered his head, not daring to meet Sasuke's eyes.
After a long silence, Sasuke let out a bitter laugh. "So dying a hero on your brother's corpse is actually the best case?"
"Am I really just a puppet?"
Tears of blood streamed down Sasuke's face.
Then—his pupil power exploded.
The space around Obito and the others distorted.
A black hole emerged—identical to Kamui, yet vastly different.
It rapidly expanded, its gravitational pull astonishing even Madara.
This was Sasuke Uchiha's exclusive Mangekyō technique—
Great Sun Spirit!