Naruto World, Konoha Village.
"Serves you right, Itachi!!!"
Sasuke leapt up in excitement at the sight; seeing Itachi wounded by his hand, he couldn't stop a grin from spreading across his face.
It was probably the happiest smile Sasuke had worn in a long while.
Compared with his battles against Naruto,
Sasuke far preferred watching Itachi get hurt by his own attack. Serves you right! You bastard!! And you still want to take my eyes?!
"…"
Kakashi's brow creased slightly; something felt off. Back when they'd served together in the Anbu, he'd seen firsthand the level of Itachi's hand-seal speed.
From the moment Sasuke drew the fuma shuriken to the instant he hurled it, barely a second had passed.
That was more than enough time for Itachi to have unleashed most Ninjutsu—so why had he chosen to do nothing?
Had that so-called Tsukuyomi drained most of his stamina and Chakra?
No, impossible. Judging by Itachi's condition, the genjutsu didn't seem to have affected him much.
Besides… ever since the video had begun, Kakashi had sensed a subtle shift—more than a dozen new presences had appeared nearby.
Some were Anbu; others belonged to Root.
Kakashi had served in both units, so he recognized their auras at once.
'Danzo and Hokage-sama must know something; that's why they've done this.'
Kakashi glanced at Sasuke, already planning: if a fight broke out, his first priority would be protecting him.
For the sake of his old friend, he would safeguard the last remaining Uchiha.
"Just watch the video slowly; I'm here."
As Kakashi's worry mounted, Jiraiya set a reassuring hand on his shoulder, smiling. "It's been a while since I was back in Konoha, but those folks should still lend an ear to a few words of mine."
In truth, Jiraiya had sensed it too—ever since the footage started, the number of people converging on their location had inexplicably increased.
At that moment, he became certain: Uchiha Itachi was hiding some secret.
"Yes, Lord Jiraiya."
Those words let Kakashi quietly exhale in relief.
Within the Naruto World, inside the Akatsuki hideout—
"Impossible."
Kakuzu stared at the screen, stunned to see Itachi injured. "With eyes like yours, there's no way you couldn't see through that trap."
Forget the Mangekyo Sharingan—Kakuzu felt even a standard Three-Tomoe Sharingan should have let Itachi spot the gimmick.
The Sharingan's fame rested on its insight; in past battles Kakuzu had faced Uchiha before.
He had once fought Senju Hashirama—of course he had clashed with Uchiha as well.
So Kakuzu knew: Itachi could never be caught by such a cheap trick.
Yet the video showed exactly that, leaving Kakuzu baffled. It shouldn't have happened.
He wasn't alone in his disbelief; most members of the organization might fall to an attack like that,
but two of them should never have been hit—Itachi and the leader Pain. They were the strongest.
An attack of this level couldn't possibly wound them.
Deidara had gone silent, already assuming Itachi was holding back like crazy. The guy went so easy on his little brother, yet was equally ruthless to himself.
"After Tsukuyomi is forcibly broken, ocular power and stamina decrease somewhat."
Itachi spoke up; no one understood his techniques better than he did, so he offered a brief explanation,
making it clear he wasn't 'going easy'—this was entirely Sasuke's achievement.
"I see." Sasori gave a nod of comprehension; he had never seen Tsukuyomi rebound on Itachi before. If that was the case, it made sense.
Calmly Sasori remarked, "So even your Tsukuyomi isn't invincible, Itachi."
Once, Sasori had partnered with Itachi for a time. They had run into a particularly troublesome foe; Itachi had brought the man down with his Mangekyo Sharingan,
and Sasori had finished him off. In that fight Sasori had glimpsed the tip of Itachi's power.
Itachi replied in a level tone, eyes on Sasori. "Every technique has its weakness—Tsukuyomi is no exception."
The footage continued to play.
Itachi, struck by fragments of the shuriken, lay on the ground.
"Hm?!"
Black Zetsu let out a startled cry.
Sasuke's face lit up with delight at the sight. Inwardly he thought,
'The final shuriken worked.'
Not far away Itachi struggled to his feet, pulled the shuriken shards from his body, and casually tossed them aside.
"How odd." From the ceiling Black Zetsu spoke, sounding genuinely puzzled.
"What's wrong?" White Zetsu couldn't understand why Black Zetsu would say that.
"Nothing." Black Zetsu's hoarse voice explained, "It just feels like Itachi should have dodged that."
Below, Itachi's face contorted in Pain, sweat streaming down.
At that moment he shifted his gaze to Sasuke.
In that instant the scene through Itachi's eyes appeared: Sasuke seemed to split into three, as if using Shadow Clone,
but the three figures quickly merged back into one.
"Buzz!"
Another stab of Pain surged; Itachi instinctively pressed a hand over his left eye.
Seeing this, Sasuke kept his smug smile. "Side-effects from Tsukuyomi? How does it feel, huh?"
White Zetsu caught on as well, hardly believing it. "From the instant he broke Tsukuyomi, Sasuke seized control of the fight and slowed Itachi's every move."
"This battle… Sasuke might actually win."
"No." Black Zetsu spoke, calm as ever. "It's still too soon to call."
Bang! Sasuke formed seals, eyes locked on Itachi. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Flames burst from his mouth, a blazing sphere racing toward his brother.
Itachi grunted in Pain, chose not to counter, and leapt aside to evade.
Crackle-crackle-crackle!!!
Sasuke wouldn't let him escape. Blue light shimmered in his hand—Chidori already primed—and he sprang up to strike.
!!!
Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan spun lazily; the blue lightning of Sasuke's charge reflected in his crimson eyes.
BOOM—!!!
With the explosion, the scene shifted outside.
Sasuke's strike had shattered the ceiling; thick smoke billowed upward.
The brothers' death-match had moved to the open air.