[Boom—]
No one knew how long that kind of silent collapse had lasted.
The instant everyone's hearing recovered, they heard a deafening roar!
The fragments of the collapsing "Planetary Devastation" slammed into the ground, and in an instant the surrounding terrain changed.
The battlefield, already a wreck, became even more ravaged; as far as the eye could see, only desolation remained.
"What's going on over there?"
Jiraiya and Orochimaru's fight had already become difficult to continue, mainly because Orochimaru was finding it hard to keep going.
Whether it was their overfamiliarity or the tidal roar of power in the distance, it was affecting him.
"Was that white one just now a Rasengan? Does the Rasengan have such power?"
Orochimaru was, of course, familiar with the Rasengan, but in his memory he had never seen one that powerful!
"Did Gen win?"
Not just him; Jiraiya was a bit dazed too.
He had heard from Kakashi that Kitagawa Gen had once shattered a jutsu like a planet with a Rasengan.
Though he believed Kakashi's words and would never doubt Kitagawa Gen's strength.
But he had not seen it with his own eyes—this time, he truly had!
"Hey! Orochimaru, where are you going?"
Suddenly, Jiraiya saw Orochimaru dash toward the outside of Takigakure, which startled him at once.
But Orochimaru only cast him a glance and didn't bother to respond at all.
Although he didn't know the outcome of the battle, he would not keep tangling in this situation.
...
"Over there—what happened?"
On the other side, the Akatsuki members had been shaken dizzy.
That scene just now was vivid in their minds, and even they felt a chill at such power.
"Tch, he didn't lose, did he?"
Kakuzu's gaze was a bit sullen; he asked quietly toward the Sasori beside him.
"I don't know."
Sasori shook his head, while Hidan pressed his lips together.
"Damn it, if that kind of power crashed down on me, I'd probably be in pieces again, mm—"
Blown apart twice in a row, each time worse than the last, Hidan had a real psychological scar now.
"Let's go too."
Kisame spoke then; he had long since not wanted to stay here.
"The Nine-Tails is too troublesome; we have no good way to deal with him. We've already obtained chakra from the Seven-Tails side; there's no need to keep tangling."
"Hmph."
Hearing Kisame, the others couldn't help but snort coldly, but none voiced an objection.
Although they hadn't captured the complete Seven-Tails, in the previous assault they had already found the person and obtained part of the chakra.
The Nine-Tails' jinchūriki knowing the Flying Thunder God was indeed troublesome, and with the situation outside being overly complex, they truly didn't want to stay here.
"If they drew Ōtsutsuki Genshiki over, that would really be trouble."
Across from them, Naruto panted while watching this group warily.
But then he suddenly saw these guys scatter in all directions, which made him freeze for a moment.
"They… are leaving?"
"They probably can't keep fighting; after all, outside—"
Inside Naruto, Minato couldn't help letting out a sigh.
He and Kushina had also been watching the current situation. Although they had both heard that Akatsuki was extremely terrifying, they had not seen it before; now they were getting a sense of just how strong this group really was!
"Only, compared to Gen—"
Compared with these guys, what Kitagawa Gen was causing in the distance was the most frightening of all!
That commotion was even more terrifying than what the Nine-Tails had stirred up back then.
Especially that massive jutsu like a falling meteorite being blasted apart by a single giant Rasengan from Kitagawa Gen—that shook them to their core!
"Gen is actually that strong?"
Kushina couldn't help muttering. Even though she had seen Kitagawa Gen's Wood Release in the spiritual world, compared to what was happening now it was far off; this commotion was just too terrifying!
"Not good, could they be heading to where Gen is?"
Naruto suddenly thought of something, and at once he looked anxiously into the distance.
"Don't rush yet—Gen also has the Flying Thunder God, and he's even far better at it than the two of us."
Seeing Naruto like this, Minato immediately soothed him.
"Let's check on Sasuke and the others first; then we'll head over together!"
"Sasuke, huh—"
Naruto turned his head and nodded; he couldn't help turning to look into the distance as well.
On another stretch of ruins, Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi's battle was still going.
Even though booming sounds kept coming from afar, with tremors like an earthquake making the ground heaved constantly beneath their feet, neither of them stopped, and they fought ever more fiercely!
"Was everything I did wrong?"
At this moment, Uchiha Itachi's head was buzzing.
Facing Sasuke's assault, he had almost no thought of counterattack at all, only continuously evading.
Sasuke's words had stimulated him too much, and Sasuke's change was simply too great!
"Was I really wrong?"
Uchiha Itachi did not know, but looking at Sasuke's cold gaze filled with hatred and killing intent, for some reason, the indifference he had held before brought him no joy this time.
Although he had originally yearned for Sasuke to be like this, now none of this was the result he had hoped for!
[Whoosh—]
Just as he was thinking, a kunai flew in from who knew where, and Uchiha Itachi instantly opened the distance.
But in the next instant, Sasuke had already used the kunai's flight path to arrive right in front of him.
[Buzz—]
That short blade crackling with violet thunder flashed in a swing. The distance had widened a bit, but for Sasuke at this moment it hardly mattered!
With one stroke falling, Uchiha Itachi slipped aside in slight embarrassment, but his chest was still grazed by the electric arc.
At once a numbing sensation rose up, and blood welled from his chest!
"This Purple Lightning…"
He knew well how formidable Purple Lightning was; he himself had taken a hit from it. Now that Sasuke had learned this jutsu, he should have felt gratified.
But this Sasuke had not become the kind of person he had hoped for!
"Is dodging all you have left now?"
While his mind was in chaos, Sasuke's cold voice rang out again.
"Don't put on that disgusting look. You don't deserve it. My life wasn't spared by you—it's heaven that lets me, as an Uchiha, take revenge on you!"
"You're already in too deep. You truly don't understand the situation back then."
Uchiha Itachi clenched his teeth, barely managing to speak while dodging.
"Danzō indeed wasn't the Hokage, but he had plenty of means, he—"
"I don't want to hear your nonsense, you self-righteous bastard!"
Sasuke drew a deep breath. His chakra kept building and building, and his offensive still continued.
"You really think you were right? Then let me ask you—do you know who caused the Nine-Tails incident back then?"
"That guy is the true culprit who turned Uchiha and Konohagakure against each other. I don't want to hear any of that 'even without him, the clan would have had problems'!"
"All that is meaningless talk. I'm asking you—did you know him? Why didn't you find a way to drag him out and prove everything?"
"Why didn't you think to deal with that guy? Even just naming him could have protected the clan and protected the village!"
[Boom—]
Sasuke's fury had reached its peak. The Purple Lightning in his hand flickered with dazzling motes of light.
His eyes were scarlet, as if a powerful ocular force was brewing within them.
"Don't tell me you thought he was Uchiha Madara. If it was Uchiha Madara, all the better—that only proves even more that it wasn't the Uchiha who were at fault back then!"
"And don't tell me what would have happened if the clan knew it was Uchiha Madara. That's all your conjecture—you weren't even willing to try?"
"And don't tell me you feared he'd kill me. If that were the case, I'd rather die—but you?"
"You actually cooperated with him to slaughter the entire clan. You truly deserve to die!"
Sasuke's words struck deep, stabbing into Uchiha Itachi's heart and making him all the more dazed and pained.
In that instant, it seemed as if his heart really was about to collapse.
Wrong?
Was it really wrong?
Watching Sasuke's crazed assault surging toward him, he felt a painful sensation for some reason inside.
Sasuke had grown stronger. With the Flying Thunder God and Kitagawa Gen's Purple Lightning, he already had a foothold in the shinobi world.
Moreover, it was said Kitagawa Gen was the Hokage-designate; Sasuke was bound to have a bright future.
But none of this seemed to be proceeding along the path he had envisioned.
In his plan, although Sasuke would still be a member of Konoha, it would definitely not be like this.
He would hate himself, loathe himself, and kill himself, obtain the Mangekyō Sharingan, and—
'Gain my eyes, gain a pair of eyes that never go blind, and become a hero of Konoha!'
But all of this had already shattered; everything he had envisioned had turned into bubbles.
He had even become a clown in his younger brother's mouth.
"Die, Uchiha Itachi!"
Looking at Sasuke's blade coming ever closer, especially those eyes filled with anger and killing intent beneath their indifference, he suddenly no longer wanted to resist. Even now he still felt he had been right.
After all, he had believed the situation back then had already reached an irretrievable point!
But Sasuke did not understand—or rather, the people of Konoha did not understand him. What meaning was there in living in such pain?
[Pssht—]
The sound of metal piercing flesh rang out. Sasuke's short blade had already completely entered Uchiha Itachi's chest.
Because of the force, the short blade had even passed through Uchiha Itachi's body and emerged from the other side!
"Sorry… Sasuke."
Arcs of electricity flickered across Uchiha Itachi's body; blood dripped continuously from the corner of his mouth, and his mind grew hazy.
Yet he still tried his best to speak, as if wanting to apologize to Sasuke, as well as to bid a final farewell.
"Shut up. I don't want to hear anything from you!"
However, what he got in return was only Sasuke's cold voice.
"Don't think I'll forgive you, and don't think the wronged souls who died by your hand will forgive you."
The short blade drew out, and Uchiha Itachi's body seemed to lose all strength; he fell directly to his knees on the ground.
Sasuke, meanwhile, stood with his back to the sunlight, looking down at him from above, those scarlet eyes especially intimidating!
"I will never forgive you, nor do I have the right to forgive you on behalf of others. And—"
Sasuke spoke indifferently, and Uchiha Itachi slightly raised his head. He suddenly found Sasuke's eyes had changed.
The original three tomoe had already converged together; a brand-new pair of Mangekyō quietly gathered in his eyes!
"Mangekyō Sharingan?"
Uchiha Itachi murmured, but seeing these eyes he felt only cold inside.
And Sasuke's words completely turned his already cold heart into solid ice.
"I will never forgive you. Your words, you yourself, disgust me!"
"Back then, you really should have just killed me…"
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