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Twin Perfect Susanoo, one real, one a mirror clone, moved as one. Their assault was relentless.
Four hands against two.
The Totsuka Blade plunged. Again. And again.
The sealing power was absolute. Madara-Naruto's armored giant faltered, then shattered like glass.
Victory. But at a cost.
Itachi's Sage Mode flickered, then died. The mirror clone vanished in a puff of smoke. His own Perfect Susanoo reached its limit, dissolving into fading shards of chakra.
Silence.
It seemed… they were back where they started.
Then Madara-Naruto smiled.
The backup plan. Activated.
When he'd first used 'Ikutsuhikone' to flood the field with curse-mist, he'd done more than just disrupt Itachi's senses. A single shadow clone, wrapped tight in a protective shell of that same mist, had been buried deep. Hidden.
The Totsuka Blade's gourd couldn't absorb mist protecting a clone from within.
Itachi never sensed it.
That clone had gathered natural energy all along. Waiting. Patient.
For this exact moment.
"To defeat my Perfect Susanoo…" Madara-Naruto's voice cut through the quiet. "You spent everything. Just as I planned!"
POOF!
The clone dispersed. Sage markings flared back to life across Madara-Naruto's face.
BOOM!
No Nine-Tails chakra this time, but his speed was still terrifying.
Shik! Itachi's hand flicked. Shuriken appeared between his fingers—three, four, six—and flew in a wide, deceptive arc. His other hand formed seals mid-throw.
—Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!
Poof-poof-poof-POOF!
The air filled with spinning metal. Hundreds of blades, each trajectory a lethal puzzle, blanketing Madara-Naruto's entire advance.
"This shurikenjutsu…" Madara-Naruto's eyes tracked the impossible storm. "Can't knock them all down. Using Susanoo now would just slow me. Fine then!"
Crack!
Wood erupted from his right shoulder. It snaked around his body in a protective cocoon, a living shield that rattled with the impact of countless blades.
WHOOSH! Fire met him head-on—Itachi's Great Fireball.
"Hmph!" A smirk. Madara-Naruto's hands flew together. —Sage Art: Fire Release!
This time… his fire won.
Itachi held his ground for a second, then was forced back, the inferno pushing him. His right eye focused through the flames.
—Amaterasu!
Black fire bloomed, a devouring flower that swallowed the fireball whole.
But Madara-Naruto was already moving, a blur from the side. "No Nine-Tails chakra for the Piercing Heart Kill. But this will do."
—Frog Kata!
THUMP!
No Sage Mode. No perception of natural energy flow. The invisible strike hit Itachi square in the ribs.
He was thrown, skidding across the ground.
Madara-Naruto closed the distance. No mercy. Hands already weaving another seal. "Your Mangekyō is fresh. I know this. After overdrawing your eyes for the Perfect Susanoo… you have ten minutes. Ten minutes where you can't summon that armor again. You have nothing to stop what comes next. And my eyes are certain… the you before me is no clone."
Stay alert for his Kotoamatsukami… This range is perfect.
The seal complete, Madara-Naruto thrust both palms forward.
—Sage Art: Yin Release Lightning Dispatch!
CRACKLE-SNAP!
Purple, forked lightning erupted from his hands. A branching net of pure destruction. Itachi had no shield. No defense.
It hit him.
ZZZTT—CRACKLE!
A thousand needles. Tiny, sharp, vicious. They pierced his skin, burrowed into muscle, scraped against bone, danced inside his organs. Paralysis warred with a pain so deep it felt like his marrow was boiling.
On Pale Moon Island, hearts leaped into throats.
Kabuto's face was grim. "He never used this lightning against me. Itachi's in serious trouble."
Nagato moved instantly. "Orochimaru. Send me to the battlefield. Now."
Orochimaru's golden eyes slid to Sasuke.
Sasuke's knuckles were white. Fear was there, sharp and cold in his gut. But deeper than that was a lifetime of knowing his brother. Past and present.
His nii-san… never entered a fight without a plan. Never faced a corner he couldn't escape.
Not even this one.
Sasuke's voice was hard, certain. "Trust him. He's the type of man who only grows stronger when pushed to the edge."
On the battlefield…
Madara-Naruto maintained the crackling current. "Ten more seconds! You'll be completely incapacitated! Your brother isn't coming to save you?!"
Black Zetsu murmured, "Itachi… your legendary name ends here."
"Brother!! Finish him! For the Uchiha's pride!" Izuna shouted.
Within the cage of purple lightning, Itachi's finger twitched. Lifted.
"Hn?" Madara-Naruto's eyebrow rose. Still struggling? Futile.
But then—Caw-caw-CAW!
Madara-Naruto's eyes widened. Itachi's body… dissolved into a flock of scattering crows.
"A clone?! Impossible! I confirmed it wasn't!"
His mind reeled. Did I… fall for a genjutsu before I even checked?
Danger. His real body could strike from anywhere!
He cut the Yin Release Lightning.
FWOOM.
The illusion vanished.
Itachi dropped from the air, landing hard on one knee.
"Brother! Why did you stop!?" Izuna cried out.
In his shock, understanding dawned on Madara-Naruto. "That… the scene of you turning to crows. That was the genjutsu?"
Itachi pushed himself up, breathing hard. "Correct. A simple one called 'Ephemeral.' Triggered just by seeing a finger. Under normal circumstances, it's fleeting. Like a leaf passing before your eyes. But you'd already been caught in my Sage Art: Mind Current. You would hesitate. And that moment of doubt… gave this insignificant illusion its value."
Zzzz…
As he spoke, the Sage markings on Madara-Naruto's face faded, vanishing entirely.
Itachi managed a thin smile. "It seems… that Sage lightning drains your natural energy swiftly as well. Now we are truly back at the starting line."
"To make Uchiha Madara falter twice with genjutsu!" Madara-Naruto's voice held anger, but beneath it… a spark of profound respect. "You are truly remarkable, Uchiha Itachi."
He laughed then, a sound of grudging admiration. He extended an offer, not as a taunt, but with a strange, twisted grace. "A man like you… had you been born in the Warring States era, the Uchiha would never have bowed to the Senju. Itachi. We are both survivors of our clan. Why must we fight? Bring your brother. Let us join forces."
Itachi's smile turned enigmatic. "Join you? To plunge the entire world into a dream from which they cannot wake?"
Izuna was confused. "A dream you can't wake from? What does that mean?"
Black Zetsu remained silent, its yellow eyes unreadable.
Madara-Naruto stared deeply at Itachi. "I see… You know of it. Did that man tell you?"
Itachi didn't answer. His mind raced, sorting through the mission parameters.
Black Zetsu told Jiraiya: separating it from Naruto will trigger the Black Cursed Seal and kill the host. We can't just extract Naruto. Hence, Project Lure-Madara.
The final goal of the project… is to awaken Naruto's dormant consciousness.
Current intel: the Black Cursed Seal activates with emotional extremes. It pushes the host's body beyond its limits. The more the seal is forced out, the more Naruto's body must adapt to survive that power… accelerating his own awakening.
Therefore, this battle's purpose… is to force a greater liberation of the Black Cursed Seal.
I must push Madara here. To the very brink.
A risk. But a calculated one.
Itachi pulled back the sleeve on his right arm. The skin there was pale, unnaturally so—the site of the Hashirama cell transplant from Orochimaru.
He bit down.
Dark red blood welled up.
Then, without hesitation, Itachi dipped his fingers in the blood and smeared it directly over his own eyes.
Madara-Naruto's breath caught. His pupils constricted to pinpricks. "The blood of the Forest Senju… to anoint the pupils of the Uchiha… That can only be… the forbidden art from the age of Indra!!!"
Itachi brought his hands together in front of his chest—the Ram seal.
ROOOOOAR—!!!
Behind Itachi, the air warped. Reality screamed.
A deity rose. Four eyes blazed with malevolent fury. A visage of divine wrath given form.
—FORBIDDEN JUTSU: ASURA'S MANIFESTATION!
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