The genjutsu worked. Susanoo, a colossal avatar of chakra, froze, bereft of its master's will. Uchiha Yue was trapped. Obito didn't hesitate. Taking advantage of his opponent's vulnerability, he performed hand seals, and the ground beneath the giant's feet heaved.
"Piercing Wood Spike Technique!"
With a deafening crack, countless blades, hard as steel, pierced Susanoo's phantom ribs. The armor crumbled, leaving a gaping hole in the giant's chest and revealing Yue's defenseless form.
"Die!" Obito hissed, rushing forward. His hand darted toward Yue's chest, ready to rip out her heart and end the life of this unexpected enemy.
But his wrist was firmly grasped by a hand.
"What?!"
A chill ran down Obito's spine. He raised his head and met the icy, perfectly calm gaze of a recovered Yue. The next instant, Yue's hand shot toward his opponent's mask, aiming for his single eye.
Obito instinctively jerked back, activating Kamui. His body became intangible, allowing the deadly blow to pass through nothingness. Without wasting a second, he severed his own hand, which was held in Yue's steely grip, and leaped to a safe distance.
In the distance, Uchiha Itachi knelt. Clutching his bleeding eyes, he grimaced in pain and bewilderment. Impossible. Tsukuyomi—the ultimate genjutsu—a world where he is a god. In this world, he had turned Yue into a lamb, ready for slaughter. How, how could he escape?! It defied every law he knew.
"I know who you are," Yue's voice was mocking and menacing. "Uchiha Obito. Don't worry, your turn will come. I will personally dispatch you into oblivion."
He looked contemptuously at the severed limb in his hand and tossed it aside like trash. Then his gaze shifted to the crippled Itachi, still held by Obito's shadow clone.
Boom!
A tornado-like shockwave scattered everything around him and rushed toward Itachi.
In the distance, Obito stared grimly at his stump. But his thoughts weren't focused on the wound. Uchiha Obito? The name hit him like a blow to the head. No, he was Uchiha Madara, a ghost from the past, carrying the will of his ancestor! No one but Zetsu was to know his true name. No one!
Horror momentarily contorted his face beneath the mask, but was immediately replaced by cold, murderous determination. If a second ago he'd still considered retreat, now everything had changed. This man knew his secret. He was a threat to everything—the Eye of the Moon Plan, the world where Rin would live again. He had to die. Here and now.
"I'LL KILL YOU-AAAH!" Obito roared, his lone Sharingan spinning, and he charged.
Itachi saw the enraged giant rushing toward him. The genjutsu had failed. Well... then it was time for another power, awakened at the cost of sight.
Burn to ashes.
Images flashed through his fading consciousness. The father and mother he'd killed nodded understandingly at him from the Pure Lands. The entire clan, fallen by his blade, waved to him. This was his burden. His will.
"Clanmates... I have accepted your sacrifice. For the sake of peace, for the sake of the village... I will exterminate the seeds of Uchiha hatred. This is the great Will of Fire! Oh, how painful it is..."
"Uchiha Yue, die!"
At that moment, Yue was engulfed in jet-black flames. They clung to him like death itself, furiously devouring his flesh, his chakra—everything without a trace. Amaterasu. Unquenchable fire.
But through the roar of flames, Itachi heard not a cry of agony, but laughter. The pain seemed only to spur Yue's fury. To Itachi's horror, the burning figure not only didn't stop, but actually accelerated. In an instant, Yue was at his side. With one blow, he destroyed Obito's shadow clone and grabbed Itachi by the throat.
"Cough, cough... stop..." Itachi croaked, feeling his grip on life weaken. "You... don't understand... I had to... for the village... The Uchiha clan had to disappear... Why... why can't you just die for a greater purpose, like my father and mother?"
He tasted blood in his mouth. Was this delirium brought on by pain, or his sincere, twisted creed?
"Anything for Konoha! The power of Amaterasu... cough... you cannot control! Die... I beg you, die..."
Itachi looked at the figure in the black flames, and his parents were in his eyes. They had been able to accept death at the hand of their son. Why couldn't this Uchiha? Damn it... he should have killed him immediately. But it didn't matter now. Amaterasu would consume him. Even if he died himself, his mission would be accomplished.
"Sasuke... brother, live with dignity." "For the village... Shisui... see? I protected what was dear to you. I didn't fail you..."
"Heh... heh-heh-heh..." Yue's laughter grew into a roaring roar. He couldn't comprehend Itachi's logic at all. 'For the clan'? Destroy the clan for his own sake? What monstrous absurdity.
And the next moment, the unthinkable happened. The black flames enveloping Yue shuddered and, like water, were drawn into his body, vanishing completely.
"Wh... what?" Itachi whispered. His wide eyes expressed not just shock, but the utter collapse of his world. "How... is this possible?.."
Tsukuyomi had failed. Amaterasu had been absorbed. What kind of power was this? What being stood before him? And suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, a realization flashed through his fading mind. He realized that he had encountered something