Whoosh! Whoosh!
The sudden, localized, intense high temperature caused a powerful convection, resulting in a fierce, howling wind.
The massive, raging fire that engulfed the world quickly spread across the sky, fueled by this strong wind.
Within this towering sea of fire, a single spot of black flame suddenly appeared.
As soon as the black flame emerged, it rapidly expanded, immediately igniting the entirety of Naruto's Fire Release. Naruto's Fire Release could melt steel, yet this black flame was using Naruto's own flames as kindling!
"Th-What kind of fire is this?"
Sasuke was so astonished his jaw nearly dropped.
He had long witnessed Naruto's Fire Release.
The monstrous inferno that covered the Forest of Death was still vivid in his memory.
He had seen with his own eyes that under that fire, everything would turn to charcoal; even iron would become molten.
Therefore, Sasuke was completely unable to understand what this black flame was that could actually ignite Naruto's formidable Fire Release.
"That's Amaterasu!" Naruto explained.
He had encountered it while fighting Itachi Uchiha in the Duel Space.
The black flame looked very cool.
Unfortunately, he had flicked it away with a mere wave of his hand.
It was practically useless.
He had initially thought the fire was trash, but he didn't expect it to have such a powerful effect.
Worth going back and buying.
"Amaterasu?"
Sasuke turned to Naruto in surprise, his eyes clearly asking: How do you know so much about it?
"Mm!"
Naruto just nodded, offering no further explanation.
"Amaterasu, huh..."
Sasuke repeated the name, a flicker of longing in his heart.
The site was still a vast sea of fire. Naruto's jutsu was so immense that even the black flames couldn't burn it out in a short period.
The intermingling red and black flames were reflected in Itachi Uchiha's eyes.
His right eye showed two streaks of dried blood—the aftereffects of using Amaterasu.
Itachi knew his current state wasn't good.
However, the endless sea of fire was still burning, and its inability to be extinguished quickly gave him a moment to catch his breath.
He popped a blue Soothing Pill into his mouth. As the refreshing current flowed through his eyes, Itachi immediately felt much better.
Some of the pain dissipated, and his mind cleared significantly.
"This Fire Release..."
Even now, reflecting on the Fire Release Naruto had just performed, Itachi still found it incredible.
He had underestimated Naruto Uzumaki's strength.
Moreover, given Naruto's relaxed appearance, it seemed that this powerful, ultimate-move-level Fire Release was like a mere 'basic attack' to him.
And, Itachi recalled the Body Flicker Technique Naruto had shown earlier.
Itachi suddenly realized that it wasn't a Body Flicker Technique at all.
His Three-Tomoe Sharingan had seen it with absolute clarity: it was the legendary jutsu—Flying Thunder God!
Flying Thunder God?!
This was the signature technique of the former Fourth Hokage, the 'Yellow Flash of the Leaf,' famous throughout the ninja world!
Itachi had only heard its name and didn't even know how to counter it.
Then there was the terrifying Taijutsu represented by that single punch...
After all these years of association, Itachi knew how physically powerful Kisame was.
With this series of evidence laid out, Itachi suddenly felt that, if he wasn't careful, there was a very high probability he could die here.
Die?
His time had not yet come. It was not time to die.
Therefore... he must survive, he must win!
The only possibility of victory lay in that move!
He focused his gaze again towards Naruto's direction, but the sea of fire completely blocked his view.
He had to find an opportunity to use Tsukuyomi! It was the only chance for a comeback!
Buzz!
Suddenly, an extremely minute beam of white light, only about one centimeter in diameter, crossed the sea of fire, shooting from the other side into the unseen distance behind him.
Its path was right next to Itachi's face.
It was so close to his eye that a slight movement of just one centimeter to the right would have hit him.
This is...
Just as he recognized the strange white light, a sudden, extremely intense sense of danger shot through his heart.
His internal perception system was blaring an alarm.
I must dodge!
Otherwise, I will absolutely die!
Buzz~~~!
The next moment, the white light suddenly expanded, instantly turning into a one-meter-diameter pillar of light where it stood.
Immediately afterward, a blinding flash erupted within the pillar, which then vanished as abruptly as if it had never been there.
Itachi, who had barely managed to evade in time, clearly saw that the trees and rocks illuminated by that light had been directly annihilated!
Trees were snapped in half, and a perfectly circular hole appeared in the rock, the cut surface smooth as a mirror.
"What is that?"
While Itachi was still in shock, the white light reappeared.
This time, it was aimed directly at his heart.
"0.15 seconds!"
The number instantly flashed in Itachi Uchiha's mind.
The time it took for the laser to expand from minute to a cylinder was 0.15 seconds!
That was also the time left for his escape!
Absolutely!
I absolutely must dodge!
In a flash, Itachi desperately lunged again. Finally, at the last moment, before death descended, he evaded!
But.
The next second, the laser appeared again.
This time, it was still aimed right at him.
On the other side.
"Hey, I shoot! Shoot! Shoot again!"
Naruto was having a blast, playing a game of Whack-a-Mole with Itachi Uchiha.
With his 'waving arms and dancing feet,' beams of Dust Release laser crossed the sea of fire, flashing, disappearing, and continuously repeating the cycle.
Feeling that the variety wasn't enough, Naruto added Lightning Release light swords.
Swords of light, hundreds or thousands of meters long, continued the game of hide-and-seek with Itachi Uchiha.
Dodge?
Under Naruto's Sensing ability, there was no place to hide!
Lightning Release and Dust Release circulated endlessly, one after another under Naruto's command, giving the distant prey, Itachi Uchiha, no chance to catch his breath.
At the same time, Naruto was carefully controlling his power, making sure not to accidentally kill the man.
Otherwise, he would have to use the Rinnegan to revive him.
That would be too much trouble.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle~~
A flash of lightning passed, and Itachi Uchiha dodged it.
"Aww, so close!"
Naruto sighed, and another, more ferocious, thousand-meter lightning sword flashed, traversing the long distance and pointing straight at Itachi Uchiha.
"Again!"
As Naruto's various jutsu flashed, Itachi Uchiha, acting as the 'mole,' was completely helpless and forced to constantly dodge.
He was scarred several times for failing to dodge completely.
This...
At this sight, Sasuke's eyes shone!
Awesome!
It was absolutely exhilarating!
Itachi Uchiha, who had just effortlessly stomped him, was now being easily forced into a wretched state by Naruto.
If it were me... Thinking of this, the light suddenly dimmed in his eyes.
Wait.
Sasuke paused, I will definitely be able to do this someday!
As long as I keep going, if not three years, then five years, and I'll definitely succeed in five years!
Meanwhile, Itachi Uchiha continued to exhaust himself trying to evade Naruto's attacks.
He was panting heavily, his lungs bellowing like a broken bellows, yet he dared not rest for even a single second.
At this rate, forget using Tsukuyomi, he wouldn't even have a chance to use Amaterasu!
At the same time, in a certain corner.
Kisame, who had finally woken up after his wounds were barely healed by the chakra fed back by Samehada, happened to glance over.
After seeing the scene, he quietly lay back down.
Too terrifying.
The Tsukuyomi Gamble
After mercilessly bombarding Itachi for over ten minutes, Naruto pretended to have exhausted too much chakra and paused for a moment.
He couldn't forget his goal for the day: to restore Sasuke's self-confidence!
Furthermore, he had another objective.
Following Orochimaru's Konoha Crush plan, Naruto realized that because his reputation was too great, and his strength had been excessively praised by the Ninja World Daily, no one dared to attack him or Konoha!
This simply won't do!
If you don't attack me, how can I legitimately go and defeat you?
How can I use this to join the war?
And while I'm at it, wipe out your entire village?
What?
Washing powder?
Don't be ridiculous. Pat, pat, pat... A gentleman must have his honor!!!
This sort of thing must at least stand the test of history!
So, Naruto decided to give Itachi Uchiha an opportunity to "defeat him" and "defeat the God of Shinobi"!
To let everyone know: the "God of Shinobi" can be defeated!
He would also stage a show to let Sasuke understand the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan, thereby making him fully commit to achieving it!
This brief rest was the chance Naruto gave Itachi Uchiha to make his move.
It all depended on whether he could seize it!
"Oh man, I'm so tired! Time to rest." Naruto dropped his hands and announced loudly.
This volume was certainly enough for Itachi to hear.
The chance has come!
Itachi Uchiha's eyes narrowed. Even though his body was exhausted from the prolonged, extreme dodging and his chakra was nearly depleted, he still unleashed his last bit of chakra, using the Body Flicker Technique to sprint towards Naruto.
"Hmm?"
Naruto looked up, a slight smile on his lips. "You've got some nerve!"
"Hey! Naruto!"
Suddenly recalling his own earlier experience, Sasuke cried out a warning.
Alas, it was too late!
Itachi's gaze had already met Naruto's, and the three blades in his Mangekyō Sharingan spun furiously.
Tsukuyomi, activate!
[You have encountered the Genjutsu: Tsukuyomi. Data assessment in progress.]
[Your spiritual power far exceeds 130. You have the right to decide whether to enter the Tsukuyomi Dimension.]
[Enter?]
[Yes/No?]
The interface popped up, as expected.
Naruto had been caught by Tsukuyomi before in the Duel Space. The situation was the same as now: he could control whether he entered or left.
That was why he dared to confidently allow Itachi to use Tsukuyomi.
Otherwise, he would have defeated the opponent long ago!
Should I go in?
Naruto decisively chose No!
He was only here to help Sasuke build confidence, not to get himself killed.
Naruto clearly remembered that there were a few conditions under which the revival token couldn't revive him, and dying in the Tsukuyomi Dimension was one of them!
While the probability of dying, even if he went in, was very, very low—almost zero—almost zero wasn't good enough!
Mathematically speaking, infinitesimal = 0!
A gentleman doesn't stand near a crumbling wall; Naruto firmly refused.
The next second!
"Aaaah~~~"
Naruto's acting skills, worthy of an Emperor, instantly erupted.
He let out a bloodcurdling scream, clutched his head with both hands, and collapsed completely limp onto the ground.
"Such a powerful Genjutsu... I... I'm out of commission!"
Naruto: I got hit by Tsukuyomi, I'm out of commission!!!
His appearance was a living imitation of Sasuke's earlier performance, even seeming three times more severe.
"NARUTO!!!"
The sudden shift in the situation left Sasuke utterly shocked.
Can even someone as powerful as Naruto not resist that guy Itachi Uchiha's Mangekyō?
Sasuke instinctively looked towards Itachi Uchiha opposite him.
How strong is that man?
No, how strong is the Mangekyō Sharingan?
Faced with Naruto, who is like a god in my heart, is there actually a possibility of victory?
The Mangekyō Sharingan...
The longing for it intensified!
He didn't need three years, or even five years; simply owning it would be enough to be powerful!
Mid-act, Naruto peeked through the gap between his fingers.
My second disciple! I'm already invincible, yet I'm putting on a show for you to motivate you. You should repay this favor!
On the other side, Itachi Uchiha faced an even more intense backlash.
"Ugh~"
He let out a low, animalistic moan of pain.
His vision seemed to blur, and his head was throbbing fiercely; he could barely maintain consciousness!
"Itachi-san, are you alright?"
At that moment, Kisame finally arrived from the distance.
"I'm fine."
Itachi ground his teeth, struggling against the pain.
Kisame looked at him worriedly, then turned to look at Naruto, who appeared to be in agonizing pain.
"This is our chance. I'll go and capture the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki." With that, he hefted Samehada and started walking towards Naruto.
Damn it!
Naruto was speechless.
You guy, you really don't know what's good for you!
Teammate?
Help him out!
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