The Sharingan's insight was being pushed to its absolute limit.
Itachi didn't try to resist the swamp trapping his legs that would only turn him into the perfect target for Sasuke's next technique. Instead, he suddenly stomped down hard and let himself sink deeper!
In the same breath, his hands blurred through a rapid sequence of seals.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
A massive wall of earth rose from the ground before him, smoother and tougher than any ordinary earth barrier. The structure slanted upward like an enormous ramp.
Jagged stone spears struck the wall with brutal force. The shockwave shattered it to pieces, but Itachi had already achieved his goal the impact redirected the deadly spikes away, some even ricocheting into the air.
One of the flying spikes landed right before him. Itachi used it as leverage, his body moving with impossible grace as he surfed along the crumbling wall of earth and debris. He shot forward in a perfect arc timed precisely to exploit the brief lull between Sasuke's attacks!
While still airborne, his fingers completed another series of seals.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Claw Crimson!"
Blazing shuriken spun through the air, cutting through steam and smoke. Each one burned with fierce light, screaming toward Sasuke's position and every path he could possibly dodge to.
These fiery blades were fast far too fast and their trajectories unpredictable.
"Tch!" Sasuke's pupils contracted sharply.
Itachi had chosen the perfect moment to strike right as Sasuke was adjusting from his own string of techniques. The timing, the precision, the mix of killing intent and entrapment every angle covered.
Through his Sharingan, Sasuke saw the deadly arcs of every spinning weapon. His body flickered, feet tapping across the water in blinding bursts. He narrowly avoided three that would have pierced through his torso, but several others curved unnaturally midair, closing off his escape routes.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Each shuriken that struck the ground or water exploded in waves of scorching flame, sending heat and chakra turbulence rolling through the air.
The world grew hot and distorted around them.
Then came the sound cawing.
A flock of crows burst forth from the smoke, and from within their flapping wings emerged a half-formed image of Itachi himself, his Sharingan spinning rapidly.
Alarms went off in Sasuke's mind.
He tried to look away but it was too late.
The illusion had already slipped into his vision.
The world twisted violently before his eyes.
Itachi's image split into dozens, closing in from every direction like ghostly assassins. The killing intent was suffocating, freezing Sasuke's muscles as if wrapped in invisible chains.
"It's over, Sasuke," Itachi's cold voice echoed from all around, blending with the illusions.
The paralysis lasted only an instant Sasuke's Sharingan was strong enough to break the genjutsu quickly but that moment was all Itachi needed.
The elder Uchiha tore through the space behind him, moving with an inhuman speed. The gleam of a kunai caught the light a silver flash slashing toward the back of Sasuke's neck.
This was the real strike.
He had used the fiery shuriken to scatter Sasuke's focus, the illusion to paralyze him, and his own precision to deliver a perfect killing blow. Even injured and bleeding, Itachi's tactical instinct remained terrifying.
But before the kunai could find its mark, a violent burst of lightning exploded from Sasuke's body. The sudden discharge forced Itachi to pull back instantly, retreating several steps as sparks danced across the water's surface.
"You've really grown stronger, Sasuke," he admitted evenly, his expression unreadable.
"But you've strayed from the path I set for you. You haven't earned these eyes the way you were meant to."
The three tomoe in his eyes twisted and reshaped into the black-and-red pinwheel pattern of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
"The gulf between an ordinary Sharingan and the Mangekyō is as vast as heaven and earth," he said quietly. "You should have realized that by now. You've disappointed me."
Sasuke met his gaze, his expression colder than ever. He had always hated that calm face the same calm that Itachi wore when he slaughtered their clan, their parents… their home.
That false composure. That empty reason.
If Itachi was your enemy, it was terrifying. But if he was family… that calmness froze your heart.
Because you could never tell if he truly cared.
Once, Sasuke had believed in him as a brother, a protector. But that man had turned around and destroyed everything.
"Is that so?" Sasuke's voice was low, laced with mockery. He cracked his neck lightly, then sneered. "Then try to defeat me with your Mangekyō. Let's see how great your so-called power really is."
Itachi's brows furrowed slightly. Sasuke's arrogance had to be corrected but he didn't realize that same pride burned in himself.
For all his words of control and logic, Itachi was the most arrogant of them all. He never trusted anyone. He always acted on his own sense of justice.
Even the night he destroyed the Uchiha clan he hadn't informed the Third Hokage in advance. If Naruto hadn't intervened that night, Danzo would've harvested the clan's Sharingan eyes before anyone could react.
Sasuke's gaze briefly flicked toward Itachi's Mangekyō before shifting away.
(So, one of his Mangekyō abilities is the illusion Tsukuyomi… but the other? Unknown. I can't risk revealing my full hand yet.)
(If I want to win, I have to force him to use it.)
He inhaled deeply, chakra roaring through his chest.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A massive sphere of flame surged from his mouth, the heat rippling through the air.
Itachi didn't hesitate he performed the same jutsu in return.
Twin infernos clashed midair, merging into a blinding explosion of crimson light.
Their chakra collided in pure, burning willpower.
Though Sasuke's chakra had surged dramatically since unlocking the power of the Eight Gates, Itachi's Mangekyō chakra output still surpassed his by sheer force.
Every Uchiha who awakened those eyes transcended normal limits their chakra surged beyond the realm of mortals. The Mangekyō didn't just change the eye; it reshaped the soul.
That was the true gulf between them.
Sasuke's fireball began to waver under the crushing pressure of Itachi's flames.
But he didn't retreat.
His blood boiled, skin glowing faintly red from the strain.
"Gate of Limit… open!"
His chakra burst skyward in a roaring torrent. Pain lanced through every muscle in his body, but he ignored it, gritting his teeth and pouring even more power into the technique.
The Great Fireball swelled violently, forcing Itachi's flames backward until they shattered under the onslaught.
For a moment, it looked as if the river itself was on fire red light reflected in both brothers' eyes as their chakra collided again and again, neither willing to yield.
And so, beneath the burning sky, the battle between brothers raged on one seeking redemption, the other bound by guilt, both consumed by the same bloodline flame.
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