"Cough, cough!"
Itachi Uchiha coughed grimly, assessing the condition of his arms.
Such power! Just a little more, and my arms would have snapped!
What kind of jutsu is this?!
He didn't have time to think.
In his field of vision, Musashi Ryomiya was closing the distance with teleport-like speed.
Itachi forced his trembling hands up.
Even through the intense pain in his arms, his hand seal speed was far beyond that of an ordinary Jonin.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage... Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
Roaring flames instantly drowned out everything in sight.
A Fire Style jutsu far exceeding the power of a Fireball, heating the air until it scorched.
Against such a wide-range attack, the standard response was to dodge or wait for the flames to die down.
Itachi assumed his opponent would try to go around or wait it out.
But as the thought crossed his mind, a sight of pure disbelief greeted him.
A figure wrapped in lightning suddenly burst straight out of the inferno.
"Impossible! He charged head-on through a Fire Style of that magnitude?!"
The impact of the fire dragons and the searing heat caused the Lightning Armor to crack continuously.
The high-temperature flames and gas burned Musashi's skin.
But he ignored the damage completely.
Eight Gates Released: Gate of Limit open. I can already use the super-speed of the Reverse Lotus.
I have to use my speed advantage to end this fast.
Using the Eight Gates isn't suited for wait-and-see tactics.
Defeat the enemy!
Use overwhelming power and absolute speed to end the fight in the shortest time possible. That is the Eight Gates combat style, and the only way to minimize the side effects.
Facing the onrushing Musashi, Itachi's expression shifted slightly.
He could only forcibly mobilize his chakra.
"Body Flicker Jutsu!"
Using the high-speed movement technique taught by Shisui Uchiha, he vanished instantly.
But before he disappeared, the tyrannical force still grazed his body.
A sharp, violent pain shot through him, making Itachi realize just how dangerous this was.
Before he could even figure out a counter-strategy, Musashi exploded with speed again. Vanishing from his spot, a fist expanded rapidly in Itachi's vision, aiming straight for his cheek.
WHAM!
The fist smashed through the kunai Itachi had raised in a panic to block.
Itachi tried to use the momentum to retreat.
However, the force was too great—far exceeding his limit.
As his body flew backward, a clear sensation reached his brain.
My arms... are broken.
"I can't weave hand signs now!" Itachi muttered to himself.
Seeing Musashi still chasing him relentlessly, the fist aimed once again at his face...
A look of annoyance flashed in Itachi's eyes.
His right eye bulged, and blood instantly spilled out.
"Amaterasu!"
Pitch-black flames appeared out of thin air.
Blocking the line of sight to buy time to dodge, the flames also latched onto his opponent's body.
Unable to dodge in time, Musashi smashed straight through, crashing through several walls.
The flames on his body refused to extinguish, radiating the threat of death.
Itachi spoke, "Musashi! Very good!"
"I admit it, you've pissed me off!"
"That technique just now... it was the Forbidden Jutsu, the Eight Gates, wasn't it?"
"The power is indeed formidable. I didn't expect you to master such a technique."
"You are worthy of dying under my Sharingan."
"Musashi, this is the other jutsu of these eyes—Amaterasu."
"Flames that completely incinerate whatever is in their field of vision."
"No hand signs needed. Impossible to dodge."
"How will you handle this?!"
Musashi leaped out from the ruins of the brick walls.
Black flames danced on his body, seemingly burning even his chakra.
Yet, he showed zero nervousness.
Looking at Itachi, his voice was cold and tinged with disdain.
"Itachi, I told you. Don't start flexing until you've actually beaten your opponent."
"There is no such thing as an invincible jutsu."
"Tsukuyomi isn't. And this whatever-the-hell Amaterasu isn't either."
Itachi's face went cold. "Musashi, have you learned to talk big now too?"
Musashi fired back, "I'm not a naturally narcissistic Uchiha like you."
Crack! Crack!~
Sounds of shattering rang out.
On Musashi's body, the Lightning Armor—which was barely holding together while being gnawed by the black flames—began to crack.
POOF!
The cracks shattered open. The broken chakra armor detached from his body, taking the black flames with it.
Itachi watched coldly. "Creative. Stripping away the surface chakra to get rid of Amaterasu. But Musashi, you're mistaken."
"This jutsu is released by my eyes. As long as I have my eyes, you can't escape."
As his voice fell, black flames appeared out of thin air again.
They landed on Musashi, who had just shed his Lightning Armor.
Musashi wasn't surprised. Massive amounts of chakra surged out, covering his body again in an instant.
But the sheer speed of Amaterasu still caused the flames to scorch his skin.
"Musashi, with your chakra reserves, how many times can you use a method like stripping away your chakra?"
Musashi scoffed.
"I've really had enough of you, Itachi. Would it kill you to stop fronting for one second?"
"My chakra is limited, but your eyes aren't omnipotent either! How long can a pair of eyes support a jutsu like that? Watch out, or you'll bleed dry!"
"Damn it!" Itachi cursed under his breath.
He increased the output of his ocular power again!
The black flames burned violently, rapidly dissolving Musashi's chakra armor.
POOF!
The chakra armor shattered again. Just as Itachi thought it was over, a halo of light suddenly lit up on Musashi's body.
The powers of Yin and Yang Release emerged, and ink-black runes floated up one by one, flowing across his skin.
This was the power of Yin-Yang Release, and a countermeasure Musashi had prepared in advance—Fire Sealing Method!
Using his own body as the medium for the seal, he had prepped the formula beforehand.
Unleashing it at the critical moment.
Itachi's eyes narrowed sharply.
He couldn't recognize the specific formula, but he could tell that what appeared on Musashi was clearly a prepared sealing jutsu.
"This guy! When did he learn Sealing Jutsu?!"
He felt a deep sense of doubt about his own judgment.
In his eyes, Musashi had always been that mediocre, "Youth"-obsessed commoner ninja.
Although he had some clever tricks for slacking off on the battlefield, Itachi had confirmed that his talent was low.
Since when did he become this excellent?!
Cultivating the Eight Gates to a level that gave Itachi a headache.
Not only that, but he also had impressive talent in Lightning Style.
He had even mastered the notoriously difficult Sealing Jutsu!
And Itachi had noticed none of it!
Wait!
Itachi suddenly realized something was wrong.
It wasn't just the surprising talent.
Why do I get the feeling that all these methods... were specifically designed to counter me?!
Itachi was full of suspicion, but felt it was unlikely.
Probably just a coincidence.
If Musashi knew what he was thinking, he would have laughed in his face.
Since their first meeting nine years ago, he had been thinking about how to deal with Itachi Uchiha.
The runes flowing on his body suddenly changed. Several lines of script slithered out, rapidly wrapping around the remaining black flames on his body.
The Yin-Yang Release power wasn't eroded by the black flames like normal chakra; instead, it began to constrict.
As the runes tightened, the last wisps of black flame were completely extinguished.
"Itachi, I have plenty of sealing formulas left. But how many more times can you use Amaterasu?"