A Sage's Pursuit of Power

The battle between Sasuke and Itachi had been ongoing for quite some time.

Itachi was actually quite pleased with Sasuke's growth. Except for opening the Mangekyō Sharingan a bit later than expected, Sasuke's other ninja talents were almost flawless.

So much so that Itachi was finding it somewhat difficult to handle him. This was primarily due to two reasons: his own body was in worse condition than in the original storyline, and Sasuke was much stronger than his original counterpart.

Itachi was conflicted. There were many things he wanted to say to Sasuke. But after a previous conversation with Aoba, he concluded that the best outcome for Sasuke was for him to say nothing at all and die by Sasuke's hand.

This would serve as a punishment for himself and as a form of redemption for Sasuke.

In reality, the original plotline was the epitome of maximizing Sasuke's pain. If Itachi had simply and peacefully died by Sasuke's hand, Sasuke could have experienced a little less suffering. After all, Sasuke's obsession was revenge.

But even that revenge wasn't allowed to be straightforward or satisfying. It had to leave him conflicted and tormented.

Aoba often felt that the entire story seemed to have an almost malicious intent toward Sasuke.

Look at Naruto: no matter how tragic his early life was, later on, his parents appeared to provide him with final help and comfort.

Friends died for him, his love interest stayed by his side, and though his life wasn't perfect, most of his regrets were eventually resolved.

But Sasuke's situation was entirely the opposite.

He spent half his life achieving his revenge, only to be told in the end that his revenge wasn't pure enough, because his enemy was his elder brother, who not only killed his parents but also saved Sasuke himself.

Thus, Sasuke was trapped in a paradox: no matter what he did, a scar would remain in his heart forever. It was like stabbing a knife directly into his chest.

Itachi had made a pact with Aoba not to reveal the truth about the past to Sasuke and simply die by his brother's hand, helping him take the final step forward.

But for some reason, Itachi couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss. His body was clearly failing, yet he was still holding up in battle.

This was already beyond his expectations.

The key issue was that he now had to hold back even more obviously.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu."

Itachi unleashed Uchiha's signature fire technique. But in the next moment, something felt wrong.

Based on his calculations, the timing of the technique was decent. However, the Great Fireball Jutsu wasn't particularly fast, and Sasuke should have had enough time to react.

Yet as soon as he executed the jutsu, he had an inexplicable feeling that something was off. The speed of the Great Fireball Jutsu suddenly increased.

From the chakra gathering to the formation of the jutsu and the fireball's trajectory, everything accelerated by more than double.

In a split second, Sasuke failed to react in time and was struck head-on by the Great Fireball Jutsu.

"Sasuke!!"

Itachi was alarmed, terrified that he might have accidentally killed Sasuke. What shocked him even more was his momentary loss of control.

"No, it wasn't me losing control, it was the chakra inside me that lost control," Itachi thought. His ninja instincts were sharp, and he immediately sensed something was wrong.

Even so, he couldn't identify the source. All he could deduce was that his chakra was acting abnormally.

"Could it be genjutsu? When did I fall under it?" Itachi could hardly believe that someone could cast genjutsu on him without his noticing.

The first person that came to mind was Aoba Kamikawa, but upon further reflection, it seemed unlikely. That person's plan was clearly to elevate Sasuke.

Yet his actions just now seemed intent on killing Sasuke.

On the other side, the startled Sasuke deactivated the partial Susanoo shield surrounding him. In the nick of time, he had used a simplified Susanoo to defend himself.

Following Aoba's advice, Sasuke had specifically trained in activating parts of Susanoo, allowing him to use it primarily for defense while minimizing the strain on his Sharingan.

In practice, Susanoo's abilities weren't particularly effective in one-on-one combat.

The technique was more suited for taking on multiple opponents or clearing waves of enemies, with its most significant advantage being its omnidirectional defense.

However, once Susanoo was activated, its massive size and extended attack range came at the cost of a ninja's agility and speed, turning the user into an oversized target.

Against a master like Itachi, the technique's utility was limited.

Just as Sasuke prepared to continue, he suddenly felt a surge of chakra within Itachi's body, exploding with terrifying intensity. Moments later, black flames erupted around him.

Sasuke recognized the technique instantly and activated Susanoo without hesitation to block the Amaterasu flames.

But the next moment, Itachi's blood-red Mangekyō Sharingan appeared before him.

"Tsukuyomi."

Sasuke's own Mangekyō Sharingan activated as well, but he felt his brother's ocular power completely overwhelm his own. Without the slightest chance to resist, he was dragged into Itachi's mental world.

Meanwhile, Itachi was panicking. He had no idea what was happening. In all his life, he had never encountered anything like this. Had he fallen under Kotoamatsukami?

But those affected by Kotoamatsukami wouldn't notice it. The only thing Itachi could confirm was that some force was trying to kill Sasuke.

Under Tsukuyomi, Sasuke was immobilized, while the Amaterasu flames began consuming him.

When Itachi's ocular techniques were unleashed in full force, they were nearly insurmountable for a conventional ninja.

Fortunately, in the final moment, Sasuke instinctively summoned another layer of Susanoo to barely shield himself from the initial blaze of Amaterasu.

And in the next second, Minato and Kakashi finally arrived.

Minato, being the son-in-law of the Uzumaki clan, immediately stepped forward to intervene.

"Sealing Fire Technique."

The raging Amaterasu flames were sealed away, and in the next moment, both Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi collapsed to the ground.

"Sasuke." Kakashi rushed over to support Sasuke. After examining him, he found that Sasuke hadn't suffered much damage.

"His mind took a hit, but it's not serious."

While Sasuke's condition wasn't severe, Itachi's was a different story. After Minato checked him, he discovered that Itachi's situation was dire.

Not only was Itachi's body extremely weakened, almost to the brink of death, but his chakra reserves were completely depleted.

The most critical issue was that Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan had fully closed.

During his final attack on Sasuke, Itachi's Sharingan had unleashed its full power without regard for the cost. While it succeeded in overpowering Sasuke instantly, it also completely drained Itachi's ocular power, leaving his Mangekyō permanently sealed.

"What on earth is going on? This is completely different from Aoba's plan."

Kakashi was astonished. This was the first time he had seen one of Aoba's plans fail so disastrously.

Having worked with Aoba for a long time, Kakashi had grown accustomed to Aoba's seemingly unstoppable success. This sudden failure, especially one so significant, left him momentarily at a loss for how to process it.

Before long, Aoba arrived at the scene. After hearing Kakashi and Minato's account of what had happened, his expression grew grim. However, a faint hint of mockery soon appeared on his face.

"Couldn't resist, huh?"

Check out the patreon and get 50 chapters in advance -> SaintXI

Currently on Chapter 301 - Discovery of a Sinister Truth