"Ah."
Seeing the giant sword suspended above his head about to slash down, Uchiha Itachi could not help but let out a furious roar.
In the next moment, as he recklessly pushed his Mangekyo Sharingan to its absolute limit, his Susanoo's mature form suddenly grew massively in size. Even the two divine tools in its hands became much more solid.
Without the blessing of a Sage Body or Hashirama's cells, forcibly enhancing the mature Susanoo was immensely damaging to Uchiha Itachi's eyes. But this time, if he did not go all out, he might not even survive. If he died, then no matter how precious his eyes were, they would be useless to him.
"Those who submit will prosper, those who resist will perish."
After Ryun spoke, the enormous Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi descended with an overwhelming, unstoppable force.
Uchiha Itachi roared furiously once more. His Susanoo decisively raised the massive shield in its hand.
The Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi, said to be capable of cutting through anything, and the Yata Mirror, said to be able to block any physical attack, two supreme divine tools from myth and legend, collided head on at this moment.
The collision of the divine tools released a light a hundred times more blinding than the sun in the sky. Everyone present instinctively averted their gaze. Only the two combatants kept their eyes fixed intently on their own divine tools.
The moment the Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi truly struck down, Uchiha Itachi felt a nearly irresistible, terrifying force transmitted through the Yata Mirror. The ground beneath the red Susanoo instantly cracked and shattered under the immense pressure. Uchiha Itachi could even hear the sound of his own Susanoo's bones cracking.
The two divine tools remained deadlocked in mid air for several long seconds. The Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi, carrying a visible white stream of energy, clung persistently to the Yata Mirror. That was sword energy refined to its extreme. It seemed as if it would never dissipate until it had torn everything before it to shreds.
An attack that could pierce anything had met a defense that was impenetrable. Their prolonged stalemate led the onlookers to mistakenly believe the clash of the divine tools was evenly matched.
However, in Ryun's perception, the sword energy of the Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi had gradually bitten into the Yata Mirror. Uchiha Itachi on the opposite side clearly realized this too, because in the next moment, he poured all of his ocular power and chakra into the divine tool, attempting to stabilize the Yata Mirror's defense.
Unfortunately, his efforts were destined to be in vain. Before the Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi, there was no such thing as an absolute defense. Uchiha Itachi's ocular power and chakra were like an ant trying to shake a tree compared to Ryun's.
Crack.
Cracks suddenly appeared. Uchiha Itachi's Susanoo emitted distressing, shattering sounds. The Yata Mirror, still struggling to block the blade, had not been completely split yet, but the Susanoo holding the mirror was the first to fail under the strain.
"Ah."
Facing imminent defeat, Uchiha Itachi raised his head to the sky and let out a roar of bitter reluctance.
"Take your pride with you to hell."
With Ryun's sudden, explosive exertion, the already irresistible sword force intensified by another measure. Amidst a grating, screeching sound of cutting, the supreme divine tool, the Yata Mirror, shattered audibly.
The moment the defense broke, the infinite power of the divine sword was fully unleashed. Uchiha Itachi's semi complete body Susanoo was instantly cleaved in two by the Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi. He himself was torn to pieces by that brilliant white light.
Whoosh.
Where the divine sword's energy pointed, the earth was instantly split in two. That white stream of sword energy plowed a terrifyingly large fissure into the ground. The sword energy, having destroyed its target, eventually flew out very, very far. Amegakure shinobi on the outskirts of the Sunset Valley happened to be in the path of the sword energy's attack.
"Ah."
As the white light swept through the Amegakure shinobi troops, several hundred unfortunate souls instantly died by Ryun's sword.
"That is. Damn it."
When he sensed the carnage on the outskirts of Sunset Valley, Nagato's eyes instantly reddened. Those people were his steadfast followers, his loyal believers who saw him as a god. So many of them had died in an instant.
"Uchiha Itachi. Just like that. He is gone." Deidara murmured in a daze.
Looking at the Totsuka Blade, which had been sent flying far away, chipped but not yet completely dissipated, everyone found it hard to believe this outcome for a moment.
It wasn't that they couldn't believe Uchiha Itachi's death, but rather the sheer brought by that single sword strike from the complete body Susanoo.
Boom.
The roaring and tremors from the distance grew smaller, but persisted for a long time without completely fading away. Who knew how far that sword strike had actually reached.
The Sunset Valley battlefield fell completely silent. Even the complete body Susanoo remained motionless at this moment. Ryun looked at the place where Uchiha Itachi had died, a slight look of surprise appearing in his eyes.
"Izanagi."
As Ryun's voice fell, Uchiha Itachi's body miraculously rematerialized.
Uchiha Itachi was panting heavily. The formerly crimson Mangekyo in his left eye lost all its light in the next moment.
"Still struggling at death's door. It seems you are very reluctant."
Ryun said with a faint smile. The next moment, he voluntarily dispersed the complete body Susanoo.
The goal of killing the chicken to scare the monkeys had been achieved. There was no need to keep the mecha active.
Moreover, the current Uchiha Itachi wasn't worth a second sword strike from his complete body Susanoo.
"Itachi was clearly smashed to pieces just now, how did he suddenly come back to life." The Akatsuki members' faces were full of astonishment.
"Look at his eye. He probably sacrificed one Mangekyo Sharingan in exchange for a slim chance of survival."
"Pity. The real slim chance of survival isn't in his hands." Sasori of the Red Sand said with a serious expression.
"Itachi, don't push yourself. Submitting to him isn't something to be ashamed of." Konan spoke up to persuade him again.
They were comrades, after all. In the end, she couldn't bear to watch Uchiha Itachi die.
"My apologies, but he is not on the list of people I wish to subdue." Ryun said as he walked towards Uchiha Itachi.
Clearly, Ryun had no intention of leaving him a path to survival. Because the look Uchiha Itachi directed at him was filled with deep seated hatred. Since he was an enemy, and had no special use, then there was no need to keep him.
Just like Uchiha Shisui back in the day.
"Hey, have you all forgotten about me? Isn't it a bit too early to be talking about winning, losing, and submission?" The masked Obito's voice quietly sounded.
'This guy who only knows how to show off. We didn't see him contribute much during the fight, but he pops up right as the battle is about to end.' This thought arose in the minds of most Akatsuki members.
Hearing this voice, Ryun's steps towards Uchiha Itachi noticeably halted.
"These young Uchiha descendants who have awakened their eyes, every one of them has a death wish." Ryun suddenly uttered a meaningful statement.
These words struck Uchiha Obito's heart like a thunderclap. But the next moment, he saw Ryun change direction and walk straight towards him.
"Since you're in a hurry to die, I'll grant your wish first."
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