"Kakashi!!!"
"Guy!!!"
"I'll beat you this time!"
Kakashi and Might Guy clashed atop the ruins of the old Hokage Monument.
"Stop it, don't hit me anymore!"
Nohara Rin tried to intervene.
Bang!
The ropes on their shoulders snapped.
The basket tumbled down.
Books scattered across the ground in a flurry.
Snap—
Rin turned and left, as if she had made a firm decision.
Kakashi and Might Guy, now covering their faces, glared at each other—then suddenly lunged at the books.
"Mine! All mine!"
"I'm broke, Guy! Why are you making it worse?!"
"These cost me a fortune!"
"Lies!"
"I gave all my money to Kurama!"
"Kurama said these are mine!"
Kakashi froze, struck by a sense of familiarity… and then he roared:
"Sasuke!!!"
At the South Gate, Sasuke paused mid-step.
He looked back at the monument—its stone face still cracked from his Kirin.
"Yo~"
"Fancy meeting you again, little brother of Mr. Itachi."
Kisame strolled over, Samehada slung over his shoulder.
Behind him was a girl in a wheelchair, holding a sketchpad with an emotionless face.
"Take me to that beast," she said quietly.
Kisame smirked, his shark-like eyes narrowing. "He's in the mountains. Me? I'm just a guest of Konoha now. Still a proud member of Akatsuki and the Hidden Mist, but today—I'm off-duty."
He pushed Yakumo Anshin forward.
"Nara Shikaku, I've brought her."
Shikaku nodded, then smiled. "Thanks. I'll take care of her. The Fifth Mizukage is waiting in the Hokage's office."
"Appreciate it."
With that, Kisame left under ninja escort.
Sasuke inhaled deeply and rushed out through the gate.
The brothers' final battle begins!
It wasn't long before Sasuke—"Erzhuzi" as some still called him—met with Uchiha Mikoto and Uchiha Izumi, who had long awaited his return.
They had been waiting for this day for a long time.
"Mother, Izumi-nee… please don't interfere. I need to end things with him myself."
Sasuke's Mangekyō Sharingan flared to life.
Mikoto and Izumi exchanged a glance and nodded.
Sasuke passed them and climbed the mountain alone.
"Mikoto-nee… Sasuke's been overusing his eyes. If he's alone—could he be in danger?" Izumi murmured, her own Mangekyō activating.
Mikoto frowned. "I'm worried too... but Kushina will be here soon. Once she arrives, we'll go up. With us there, nothing will get out of control."
She too awakened her Mangekyō Sharingan.
"How far can your eyes see?" Itachi asked.
"You want to know how far I see?"
Sasuke's voice was low, cold. "All I see… is myself killing you."
He reached the summit and stared down at Itachi, who sat in false ease.
Itachi chuckled bitterly. "So this is what I look like… when I die?"
Whoosh—
In a blink, Itachi appeared behind Sasuke.
"I want to know too."
Sasuke whipped around, slashing backward with his chokutō.
Clang—
Itachi raised a kunai just in time.
Their Sharingan eyes met.
Wham—
Itachi lashed out with a whip kick.
Sasuke dodged—but the second kick caught him off-guard.
He raised his arm to block—
Boom—
The force sent him skidding backward.
"Chidori!"
Sasuke gathered lightning in his hand, forming a seal with one hand.
Two shadow clones appeared, both charging their own Chidori.
Seeing Itachi still calm and composed made the hatred in Sasuke's eyes burn hotter.
"Chidori Nagashi!"
Bzzt—
The three Sasukes dashed forward, forming a deadly triangle formation.
The mountain echoed with the high-pitched chirping of birds.
Lightning streaked through the air.
Itachi didn't resist. Instead, he leapt upward—
—but Sasuke had anticipated this.
All three clones followed him into the sky.
Pfft—
Three Chidori pierced Itachi's body.
But it was just a shadow clone.
Sasuke and the real Itachi crashed to the ground.
"You've gotten stronger… Sas—"
Crack!
Before Itachi could finish, Sasuke stomped on his face.
"Still playing these pathetic genjutsu tricks?"
He turned to where Itachi had been sitting—
The one under his feet dissolved into a flock of crows and scattered into the wind.
Itachi's face stayed calm, but inside, he was rattled.
"I have to wear down his chakra… Otherwise, Kotoamatsukami won't be enough to sway him."
But Sasuke wasn't fooled.
"You were planning to use Shisui's eye? Trying to overwrite my will with Kotoamatsukami?"
"You're just another selfish Uchiha."
Itachi rose slowly. "Everyone clings to what they believe is truth. They live inside the world shaped by their own perception."
"Just like you once thought I was… your kind older brother."
He stepped forward, Sharingan spinning.
Sasuke's eyes burned.
And then—they clashed again.
Sasuke stood still, eyes calm as Itachi approached him.
Even as Itachi gently covered his younger brother's eyes, Sasuke didn't flinch.
"The Mangekyō Sharingan… these eyes are cursed. From the moment they awaken, they begin their descent into darkness."
"You've overused your Mangekyō. Your vision must be failing by now, isn't it?"
Itachi's voice was quiet, almost remorseful.
"But now... I've finally gained the power to surpass even Madara."
"Sasuke... you are my new light."
Smack—
Sasuke slapped Itachi's hand away with force. The sound echoed across the battlefield.
"I told you—enough with the illusions."
"What hurts more than physical pain is the agony you've left in my mind."
"My eyes… they exist for one purpose—to kill you."
"The night of the massacre plays in my mind again and again. I remember every face. Every clan member you cut down."
Buzz—
Despite their confrontation, neither had taken a single step since Sasuke arrived.
"Heh... hehehe... HAHAHA—!"
Itachi covered his face, laughing with a manic edge. Then he snapped upright.
"Do you remember it all so clearly?"
"The Uchiha… a clan willing to murder its closest friends to unlock the Mangekyō Sharingan. Willing to pit father against son, brother against brother…"
"A filthy, cursed clan... proud of its power!"
Whish—
Sasuke hurled a shuriken straight at him.
"That's why the Uchiha are dead now."
"You're next."
"And a new Uchiha will rise from the ashes."
Itachi's eyes widened slightly, then he flicked his wrist and threw a shuriken in return.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The weapons collided mid-air, sparks flying.
In that moment, both brothers activated their Mangekyō Sharingan.
The air shifted. Tension spiked.
They lunged.
Sasuke swung his sword—Itachi caught his wrist. Itachi countered with a kunai—Sasuke grabbed his.
Suddenly, a shadow flickered behind Itachi.
Another Sasuke clone leaped at him with a kunai, aiming for the back of his head.
Sasuke smirked and launched a kick.
Itachi raised a knee to block it—
Bang!
At the same time, Itachi's kunai slashed toward Sasuke's neck—
But beneath them, the real Sasuke burst from the ground, blade drawn, aiming for Itachi's heart.
Thud! Thud!
The kunai pierced Sasuke's neck. The sword stabbed into Itachi's chest.
Both burst into smoke.
Shadow clones.
The real combatants had been hiding in wait.
Itachi's eyes narrowed—but Sasuke's Mangekyō flared to life.
"Amaterasu!"
Itachi quickly formed hand seals, his left eye closing as blood dripped from his right.
"Amaterasu!"
Both unleashed the black flames of the gods.
The cursed fires collided mid-air.
Itachi was the first to falter—his body trembled, hands covering his bleeding eye. His vision blurred.
Sasuke moved to strike—but stumbled too, grasping at his own eyes.
Their vision was deteriorating.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
They formed seals simultaneously.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Boom! Boom!
Twin fireballs clashed, exploding with deafening roars.
Itachi staggered back, breathing heavily. He was clearly the weaker of the two now—his chakra reserves and body couldn't keep up.
He flickered away in an instant with the Body Flicker Technique, reappearing in the trees.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes.
"Perfect."
He formed more seals.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Poof!
Four clones appeared around him. Each began weaving seals.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" ×5
Boom!
Five searing fire dragons tore across the forest, aimed precisely where Itachi had moved.
Itachi blurred away again—barely avoiding the inferno.
Poof!
The shadow clones vanished—chakra depleted after the massive jutsu barrage.
"Kuh—!"
Itachi clutched his eye again, blood pouring down his cheek. His breath was ragged.
From a distance, three figures watched from a rocky ridge.
Kushina crossed her arms and sighed.
"If Sasuke keeps burning through chakra like this, Kurama's gonna come knocking with the clan's expense ledger."
Mikoto and Izumi exchanged weary glances.
At least the Uchiha coffers were still deep.
"Get ready," Mikoto said, her eyes narrowing. "Kurama's coming—with the receipts."
...
TN:
Support me on Patreon(.)com/LordMerlin