As an elder of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Taka naturally knew the vast chasm that existed between an ordinary Sharingan and a Mangekyo. Therefore, he made an immediate decision.
"Listen to Fugaku! We will clear out the others as quickly as possible."
Since both the Clan Leader and the Elder had spoken, the other Uchiha ninjas no longer hesitated. Led by Elder Uchiha Taka, they sprinted out from under the protection of Fugaku's Susanoo. They flanked from both sides, surrounding the Hidden Leaf ninja squad led by Shikaku.
Itachi Uchiha and Fugaku Uchiha, father and son, maintained a tacit understanding and did not interfere with the others. Shikaku also accepted Itachi's arrangement. After all, removing a formidable foe like Fugaku from the main fray significantly reduced the pressure on his team.
"I'm sorry, Father. For the sake of the village, I must make this decision."
Itachi drew his long blade from his waist. Though his tone carried a trace of guilt, he remained remarkably firm.
By this point, Fugaku no longer felt disappointment or anger over Itachi's betrayal. He simply said plainly, "This is the path you chose, Itachi."
"Come then. Since it has come to this, let us see whose path is right and whose is wrong."
Casting aside the last of his hesitation, Fugaku moved forward under the protection of the massive blue skeletal giant. He charged toward his son and opponent—Itachi Uchiha!
Itachi gazed at the blue giant constructed of chakra surrounding Fugaku, his tone heavy. "So this is the legendary Susanoo, said to be manageable only by those with the Mangekyo Sharingan..."
Clearly, Itachi had heard legends of Susanoo before. However, he had awakened his Mangekyo only recently and had not yet mastered such a powerful technique. Nevertheless, for the sake of the village, Itachi would never give up this fight. He held his blade in one hand while his other hand quickly formed signs.
"Fire Style: Great Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
The hand signs were completed in less than a second. Scorching flames erupted from Itachi's mouth, condensing into a massive, ferocious fire dragon that crashed head-on into the approaching giant.
Fugaku did not choose to dodge this attack. In fact, he likely couldn't. The massive size of Susanoo was a double-edged sword; while it granted immense attack and defense, the trade-off was a significant decrease in mobility.
However, this did not mean Fugaku was a sitting duck. The skeletal frame rising from his body raised its blue chakra blade and struck out violently. As a blade light flashed, the blue chakra brilliance filled Itachi's vision. The terrifying fire dragon he had exhaled was instantly split in two by the sharp chakra blade.
The dragon, which had looked so imposing just a moment ago, dissolved into a spray of scattered embers. Fugaku controlled Susanoo to crash through the collapsing sea of fire, following up with another downward slash!
Fortunately, Itachi had foresight. He never expected his fire dragon to cause substantial damage to the Susanoo's explosive defense. Therefore, the moment his Mangekyo Sharingan caught the dragon being neutralized, he immediately threw himself backward.
The massive, sharp blade struck the ground. Surging power poured out, easily slicing the three-story building behind Itachi in half before it collapsed with a roar. Within the spreading dust, Itachi's eyes emerged, filled with wariness. The power displayed by Susanoo had indeed exceeded his initial expectations.
He pulled a scroll from his person and opened it with blinding speed. A puff of white smoke erupted from the scroll, followed by a dense swarm of shuriken that shot out like a violent rainstorm, blanketing the massive Susanoo.
That wasn't all. Itachi quickly formed more signs and exhaled a large volume of fire onto the shuriken. He transformed the iron rain into a rain of fire to assault Fugaku.
"Fire Style: Super Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
Against this frequency and range of attack, Susanoo's massive body had no way to defend. It could only allow the fire-wrapped shuriken to clatter and explode against its skeletal frame.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Continuous explosions rang out, and the blue giant was instantly shrouded in rolling thick smoke. Itachi stood firmly on a nearby building, his eyes calmly watching the front as black crows circled above the battlefield.
Suddenly, the smoke was sliced open by a blade of light. The blue giant appeared in Itachi's vision once more. This time, however, the skeletal frame surrounding Fugaku was now wrapped in "flesh" also made of chakra. It looked more like a true giant—if only it could grow legs.
A new form of Susanoo? Did he enhance its defense?
Itachi stared at the changing blue giant, constantly analyzing it. The original Susanoo was merely a massive skeleton. While it had great defensive power, it still had vulnerabilities, such as the gaps between the bones.
This was why Itachi had used a large-scale area-of-effect ninjutsu; he wanted to use a saturated attack to threaten Fugaku, who was hidden beneath the frame. He hadn't expected Susanoo to have an advanced transformation. Now that it was reinforced with "flesh," the vulnerabilities were gone. If he wanted to break through its defense now, he would have to use an exceptionally powerful offensive ninjutsu.
While Itachi analyzed his enemy, Fugaku's gaze also pierced through the chakra surrounding him to land on Itachi.
"Itachi, even though you have awakened the Mangekyo, your father has not spent all these years in vain."
"Look closely. This is the true way to use the Mangekyo Sharingan!"
Fugaku intended to show the true strength of the Mangekyo. Under his control, the blue giant advanced like an invincible tank. The blade in its hand fell repeatedly toward Itachi. With every strike, a building was pierced or severed, and deep gouges were carved into the earth. Everything blocking Fugaku's path was marked for destruction!
Facing such terrifying attacks, Itachi's only choice was to use his agility to weave through the alleys, using the buildings as cover to distract his father. Unfortunately, as the last nearby house collapsed, Itachi found himself with nowhere left to hide on this battlefield!
"Feel the true power of the Mangekyo, Itachi!"
Fugaku brought Susanoo directly before Itachi. In that unstoppable moment, the razor-sharp chakra blade fell without mercy. The airflow from the blade's swing disheveled Itachi's hair. Bathed in the azure light and unable to dodge in time, Itachi was sliced in half.
"Is the battle over?"
Shikaku, while fighting the other Uchiha, spared some attention for this side of the battlefield. He knew clearly that compared to their own skirmish, the outcome between Itachi and Fugaku was the key to the entire conflict. If Itachi fell, they honestly had no suitable way to deal with that chakra giant. Not to mention they had to remain constantly alert against Fugaku's Mangekyo; one lapse in focus could land them in a genjutsu.
If Itachi failed, the only one left in the village who could stop Fugaku would likely be the Hokage.
Unlike the Hidden Leaf ninjas, joy did not appear on Fugaku's face. Instead, a trace of wariness emerged. He didn't believe his son would be defeated this quickly.
This is... a Crow Clone.
As Fugaku expected, the Itachi he had struck instantly turned into a flock of crows and vanished.
"Are you above?"
Fugaku suddenly looked up. The crows circling in the sky gathered together, and five identical versions of Itachi appeared simultaneously in mid-air.
"Fire Style: Great Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
Five voices rang out at once. Five fierce fire dragons, powerful enough to distort the air, fell together. Intense firelight exploded once again against the massive Susanoo.
When the smoke cleared, Fugaku was still unharmed.
"Itachi, if this is the extent of your strength, you won't be able to stop the Uchiha Clan's plan."
Fugaku looked calmly at his descending son and offered a sharp critique. Itachi's emotions did not waver at his father's provocation. Instead, he stared back with his Mangekyo, speaking calmly. "I admit, Father, your mastery over the Mangekyo far exceeds mine. However..."
Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly, testing him. "With your body, can you really endure the burden of using the Mangekyo for a long period?"
As a fellow wielder, Itachi knew exactly how severe the side effects were. Beyond the massive chakra consumption, it placed a terrible strain on the body. Most importantly, the heavy drain on ocular power caused irreversible damage to the eyes. This was exactly why he hadn't used Tsukuyomi to finish off Inabi Uchiha directly; he had to save enough strength to deal with his father.
Hearing Itachi's words, Fugaku's expression shifted slightly, but he spoke with disdain. "This is nowhere near my limit for using the Mangekyo, Itachi."
As soon as he spoke, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his eyes. He involuntarily clutched his eyes tightly. Though his years of ninja training allowed him to endure the pain without screaming, two trails of blood flowed uncontrollably through his fingers.
This meant he was approaching his limit!
Seeing this, Itachi finally breathed a quiet sigh of relief. To be honest, maintaining his Mangekyo while constantly dodging Susanoo's attacks for this long had placed a massive drain on his own stamina and chakra. Fortunately, his strategy of attrition was working; his father truly could not maintain Susanoo indefinitely.
Compared to the beginning, the chakra color of the half-body giant was starting to fade. However, Itachi did not launch a blind offensive. He was observing—watching to see if his father had truly reached his limit or if he was setting a trap.
"It seems a victor won't be decided here anytime soon."
An insect hidden in the ruins was syncing the battlefield situation to Simu's eyes. Not only this, but the status of other battlefields and the movements of other Leaf forces were all under Simu's control. For instance, Danzo Shimura was currently hiding at the edge of the battlefield!
The old man had become incredibly confident after absorbing Yi and gaining powerful Wood Style. If Simu guessed correctly, Danzo was waiting for Itachi and Fugaku to exhaust each other before jumping in to reap the rewards. He already possessed Wood Style and one of Shisui's Mangekyo; if he could seize the two pairs from Fugaku and Itachi today, even Hiruzen Sarutobi would no longer be a concern. Danzo was determined to take the Hokage seat!
Unfortunately, Simu would not let the old man have his way.
"In that case, I'll cause a little bit of trouble for you all."
Simu shifted his focus back to his immediate surroundings. He was currently in an apartment somewhere in the Leaf Village, disguised as Kimura. Even with the battle raging elsewhere, two Anbu squads—six ninjas in total—were hidden around this apartment. Their purpose was to protect an important figure.
The person they were guarding was none other than Uzumaki Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Kimura straightened his clothes and walked toward the apartment in broad daylight. As he approached, he clearly felt himself being locked onto by a strong killing intent. After taking another step, two masked Anbu appeared before him. One blocked his path while the other rested a hand on his sword hilt.
"Mr. Kimura, the Leaf is currently under a special state of emergency. Please return to your residence immediately and do not wander about!"
The Anbu's words were cold and serious. Kimura had every reason to believe that if he weren't a "famous figure" in the village, he would have been knocked unconscious and taken to the Anbu headquarters without question. In times like these, any factor that might threaten the village's safety had to be eliminated.
Faced with this obstruction, Kimura simply smiled and pushed up his glasses. "I am just here to find a friend."
The brows of the Anbu beneath their masks furrowed. They glanced at each other, and the fingers on the sword hilt tapped out a signal. The message was clear: Use genjutsu to neutralize him! Without authorization from the Hokage, this was the safest method, as the target was just a merchant.
Thus, the genjutsu was activated. The surrounding scenery began to distort and change.
In the eyes of the two Anbu ninjas, the refined middle-aged merchant before them suddenly began to bleed profusely. The blood was black, foul-smelling, and utterly filthy. By the time they tried to react, the ground, the sky, and even the air were filled with the putrid blood.
They realized they had fallen into a genjutsu, but it was too late. The surging, filthy blood filled the world, pouring into their mouths and noses until...
Suffocation.