Thanks to Black Zetsu's commentary, people from other worlds finally grasped what had happened.
During the fight, that Sasuke had been dragged into a world called Tsukuyomi.
Itachi and Sasuke battled inside it; in the end Sasuke broke free, and Itachi seemed to suffer backlash.
From the scattered Kunai on the ground, they could tell Sasuke had been yanked in so fast he hadn't even noticed.
Yet his final actions showed he'd realized and somehow broken Tsukuyomi.
At least that's how it looked to everyone else—though those who knew Itachi… in the Naruto World, within Akatsuki…
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!!! If Tsukuyomi were that 'gentle,' its victims wouldn't call you a demon!!"
Deidara shouted; not just him, every gaze quietly shifted to Uchiha Itachi.
If you didn't know what happened inside Tsukuyomi and only saw Sasuke and Itachi's outward behavior,
you might agree with the two Zetsu and praise Sasuke's potential for cracking Tsukuyomi.
True, future Sasuke would reach incredible heights—his later clash with that Nine-Tails kid proved it.
They would surpass even Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.
But right now Sasuke was just a strong fighter—talented, yes—but they knew better.
Tsukuyomi isn't that easy to break. As a Mangekyo Sharingan ocular jutsu, it simply can't be cracked from any angle.
Deidara now seriously suspects that Itachi went easy on his little brother—if Tsukuyomi was only this tame.
Then how could the guy Itachi once used it on have screamed, 'You demon, you stabbed me for three days and nights without letting me die!'
"Calm down, Deidara. Maybe that snake Orochimaru cooked up something."
Sasori stays perfectly unruffled. He also thinks Itachi might be holding back, but he's more inclined to believe Orochimaru whipped up something weird to counter Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan.
After all, Orochimaru once ate a loss at Itachi's hands.
This Sasuke is covered in Orochimaru's fingerprints—Curse Seal and White Snake alike.
If even Sasori can sense Orochimaru's shadow on the boy, maybe Itachi isn't pulling punches; he just underestimated Sasuke's grit and Orochimaru's power.
"Don't jump at shadows. Inside the Tsukuyomi world, Mr. Itachi had just started torturing Sasuke when the kid broke free."
"Besides, Orochimaru's power probably tipped the scales—otherwise a mere Three-Tomoe Sharingan couldn't stand against the Mangekyo's gaze."
Kisame chimes in on Itachi's side, though deep down he also thinks the Uchiha went soft on his brother.
The Tsukuyomi world Itachi created felt far too gentle.
Nothing like the nightmare the last victim described.
Itachi says nothing; he knows he couldn't go all-out against Sasuke.
Yet in the video he really did cast Tsukuyomi—and Sasuke shattered it.
Was it Orochimaru's strength, or Sasuke's own?
Whichever it was, Itachi feels a quiet pride: forcing his way out of Tsukuyomi means Sasuke need fear most genjutsu no longer. That's good news.
The footage keeps rolling.
Itachi clutches his eye in pain. Sasuke, cold-voiced: "I told you—no matter what you do with those eyes, I'll turn every illusion into reality with my hatred."
"Hn."
Itachi slowly rises, swaying as though he might collapse at any moment, and looks at Sasuke. "Turn illusion into reality?"
"Fine. I'll give those words right back to you." Calmly: "In that Tsukuyomi you just saw your own eyes gouged out, didn't you?"
His eyes narrow. "Then I'll make it real."
Sasuke's face sharpens with caution—Itachi is finally serious.
"Ah!" White Zetsu senses the shift and murmurs to Black Zetsu, "Itachi's aura just changed."
"Looks like he's getting serious," Black Zetsu replies, curious. "At this rate we might see that Amaterasu."
"Huh?! Amaterasu?! Can't wait! Coming here was the right call."
White Zetsu is equally eager. Most foes fall to Tsukuyomi alone; Itachi rarely needs Amaterasu.
The prospect of seeing that jutsu again has White Zetsu buzzing.
Itachi's right eye closes as he forms a hand seal.
Black Zetsu rasps, "If they keep trading genjutsu, this'll never end."
"The moment Sasuke broke Tsukuyomi, the genjutsu fight lost its point."
White Zetsu grins. "Then from here on it's a straight Ninjutsu showdown."
Black Zetsu adds, "If the left Mangekyo holds the ultimate genjutsu, the right holds the ultimate physical attack."
"Amaterasu—black flames said to burn whatever they touch until nothing's left."
Swish-swish-swish-swish—!!
Itachi's fingers flash through seals.
White Zetsu can barely contain himself: "He's gonna use it?!"
Buzz—! Boom—!!
Sasuke flings the fuma shuriken again before Itachi can finish.
Black Zetsu is startled. "So fast—he's not giving Itachi time to seal."
Sh-sh-sh—!!
The giant shuriken forces six-seals-a-second Itachi to halt; he watches it fly toward him.
Sh-sh-sh!!
Mid-flight the weapon splits into two.
Well-informed Black Zetsu: "Shadow Shuriken Jutsu."
Zzzzt!!
Chirping birds—lightning sheathes the blades. Anything caught head-on will be sliced clean, just like the Kunai inside Tsukuyomi.
Itachi leaps, slipping between the two spinning disks.
Crack!
Sasuke yanks two nearly invisible wires.
"—!" Itachi realizes: "Mechanical Shuriken!"
Boom—!!
The fuma shuriken explode into countless shards.
One shard buries itself in Itachi's thigh while he's still airborne.
....
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