"...Tejima... Shinichi."
The short sword trembled faintly in Itachi Uchiha's grip. He lowered his head, quietly repeating the name.
So it was him. The twelve-year-old boy who had captured Orochimaru alive. The prodigy the Konoha elders and the Third Hokage viewed as the next Kage. He was Sasuke Uchiha's classmate… yet now stood at the very pinnacle of Konoha.
'If it was him… then it wasn't surprising he knew these buried truths.'
A tense string in Itachi's chest finally loosened. There was no conspiracy here. No grand calculation, and no probing from Danzo. Just someone strong enough—someone who shared a bond with Sasuke—choosing to tell him the truth.
For Itachi Uchiha, it was a profound relief.
Was this… an entrustment?
At last, he could leave Sasuke Uchiha's future in the hands of someone both strong and trustworthy. Far better than his original plan—forcing Sasuke to walk alone through hatred, only to manipulate his fate with Kotoamatsukami.
The sky of the Tsukuyomi world rippled, reflecting the turmoil in Itachi's heart. Itachi's lips parted slightly. "...I'm sorry, Sasuke.
"...Sor…ry?"
Sasuke echoed the word blankly, unable to comprehend it.
But a second later, those two syllables ignited the lava that had been building inside him for six long years.
"You're saying sorry to me?!"
Sasuke lunged forward.
This time, the Tsukuyomi world offered no resistance.
Grabbing Itachi by the collar, Sasuke shook him violently, screaming at the calm, unflinching face of his older brother.
"Why?! Why did you do this?! Six years—six whole years! Do you know how I survived all this time?!"
Sasuke Uchiha's voice cracked as he shouted.
"Every day, I thought about how to kill you! In my nightmares, all I saw was you butchering Mom and Dad! My only reason to live was revenge!"
His grip tightened violently on Itachi Uchiha's collar, his body trembling.
"And now you're telling me… all of this was for me?! You slaughtered everyone—just to keep me alive?!"
Sasuke's roar shattered at the end. The two-tomoe Sharingan in his eyes spun wildly, trembling under the sheer weight of his anguish—Then, with a sharp pulse, a third pitch-black tomoe formed and locked into place.
Three-Tomoe Sharingan!
Itachi's eyes widened slightly. He gazed at those newly evolved eyes, a faint, bitter smile appearing on his lips.
The evolution of the Sharingan… was proof of the hell Sasuke had endured.
...
Boom!
Far from the illusion, the Wood Golem's massive foot slammed down, shaking the earth and sending stagnant water splashing in all directions.
Kisame Hoshigaki darted rapidly through the water mist and splintered wood, desperately trying to create distance. But the Golem followed him like a shadow.
What really made his pulse pound was the purple-patterned Wood Dragon snaking through the waves to cut off his escape. The Wood Dragon reared its head, its jaw snapping at his flank with a piercing whistle.
"Tsk!" Kisame gritted his teeth and rapidly formed hand seals. "Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique!"
A massive water shark surged from the depths, crashing head-on into the oncoming dragon.
Crash!
Water detonated outward as wood splinters filled the air. For a brief moment, the Wood Dragon stalled—
Then the purple patterns along its body flared to life, greedily devouring the dispersing chakra from the shattered shark. The damaged sections regenerated instantly.
With renewed force, the dragon coiled and lashed out again, lunging forward in relentless pursuit.
'This Wood Dragon... its ability to absorb chakra is stronger than Samehada's?!'
Kisame's heart sank.
"Kisame Hoshigaki," Tejima Shinichi called calmly, gazing down at the figure struggling through the marsh below. "Your Water Release, your Samehada… your title as the 'Tail-less Tailed Beast.' If this is all you amount to..." He slowly raised his right hand, palm aimed directly at the trapped shark-man, "...then die here."
He clenched his fingers. The Wood Human's massive palm descended over Kisame's head, casting an overwhelming, inescapable shadow.
"Don't be so arrogant!" Kisame glared at the approaching palm. Unable to dodge, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes.
"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
Kisame's chest swelled. The veins on his neck bulged as he spat toward the massive wooden hand. A thick pillar of water erupted upwards, blasting dead-center into the descending palm.
Boom!
The water cannon collided with the wood. Water exploded wildly, turning the sky into a sea of white foam. The sheer force of the violent water pillar actually halted the strike, pausing it in mid-air for a split second.
"Futile," Shinichi said, his gaze indifferent...
"Mere Water Release cannot compare to my Wood Release."
The wooden muscles of the golem's arm tensed, driving even greater force downward. The stalled palm began to descend once more.
Crash!
The towering water pillar finally shattered, bursting into countless streams. With the last obstruction gone, the colossal wooden hand crushed through the air as it plummeted.
"Argh!" Kisame only had time to cross his arms over his head before the massive hand slammed him into the murky marsh below.
Boom!
The earth trembled. Water and mud erupted ten meters into the sky as a ring-shaped shockwave tore outward, snapping the remaining trees like brittle twigs. The wooden palm sank deep, flattening everything beneath it.
A few seconds later, the massive limb slowly lifted.
The murky mud churned, revealing a battered figure lying motionless at the center of the crater.
"…Hmm?" Shinichi frowned slightly. "You're quite tenacious."
Sure enough—
Poof!
The Kisame at the bottom of the pit burst into a puddle of clear water, dissolving into the mud. A Water Clone.
Almost simultaneously, the moisture in the air skyrocketed.
"Hidden Mist Technique!"
Thick white fog rolled in, swallowing the battlefield in seconds. Visibility dropped to nothing—even the towering Wood Golem became a vague silhouette in the haze.
Shinichi stood in the mist, his expression unchanged. He simply closed his eyes.
A second later—his eyes snapped open.
His gaze locked onto the Wood Golem's left elbow. Wet, splashing footsteps rapidly approached from below, scaling the Golem's thick arm. The steps were intentionally light, but against Shinichi's heightened perception, there was nowhere to hide.
The mist split apart violently.
A dark figure burst through, launching from the elbow joint.
Kisame surged forward, gripping Samehada. Its bandages had completely unraveled, revealing its vicious, writhing barbs as he brought it crashing down toward Shinichi's head.
"Die!"
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