Naruto: Drop System

"Is that all the power your eyes have?"

Staring at Uchiha Sasuke, who had just activated his three-tomoe Sharingan, Uchiha Itachi sat on a stone chair, his demeanor lofty as he looked down at him. "It seems you still haven't obtained the same eyes as mine," he said calmly.

"Itachi, I have a question for you!"

Ignoring Itachi's taunt, Sasuke sought to confirm what Uchiha Yusuke had once told him. "You killed our father, our mother, and all of our clan but spared me. Was it because you wanted my eyes to gain eternal visual power?"

Hearing this, Uchiha Obito and Zetsu, hiding in the shadows, were astonished.

Could Sasuke actually know about the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan? This was a closely guarded secret known only to a few, even among the Uchiha clan.

Even Obito had only learned it from Uchiha Madara, and Itachi had learned it from Obito.

After all, the Mangekyo Sharingan was already legendary in the ninja world.

Sasuke was only seven at the time of the Uchiha massacre. How could he know such a secret? Was it Orochimaru? Or was there someone else?

Itachi's face remained unmoved, but he felt an immense weight in his heart.

If it was Orochimaru, then that was manageable; Orochimaru's weaknesses were glaring, and the Sharingan itself was his kryptonite.

But if it was some unknown individual, things would be out of his control.

Despite his heavy thoughts, Itachi looked at Sasuke with a hint of admiration. "It seems you've grown over the years," he said.

"So, I was right?" Sasuke's face darkened.

"Yes," Itachi admitted. "The reason I spared you was to gain eternal visual power and become the next... Madara."

The three tomoe in Itachi's eyes began to spin, shifting into a unique pattern. His chakra entered Sasuke's mind, forcing him to relive a story Itachi had fabricated about Madara and Izuna, brothers who would fight each other for their eyes. "The Uchiha clan is a bloodline of those who will go to any lengths, even killing kin, for the Mangekyo Sharingan and eternal power. This is our fate!"

Finally, Itachi stood up from the stone chair, his body emitting a black aura as he laughed wildly at Sasuke. "Sasuke, you are my new light, my spare set of eyes!"

"My foolish little brother, I will kill you and free myself from our clan's cursed destiny, gaining eternal power and achieving ultimate evolution!"

His chakra radiated Itachi's madness and killing intent, filling the already chilly cave with a bone-chilling cold.

The air grew frigid, and a cold wind blew through, cutting to the bone.

In the past, the sight of Itachi in this state would have terrified Sasuke, despite his hatred.

But now, Sasuke drew the Kusanagi sword from his waist, his gaze cold and resolute. "I have no more doubts. Today, I will avenge our parents and our clan. Your life and your eyes—I'll take them both!"

He once thought his gentle brother only distanced himself out of necessity.

He believed Itachi slaughtered the clan for reasons he couldn't disclose.

Leaving him alive on that fateful night and again years later was proof of that.

But now, it was clear how foolish he'd been.

Itachi had spared him only to claim his eyes and obtain eternal power; he had merely been a backup pair of eyes.

It was exactly as Uchiha Yusuke had told him.

But… who would obtain whose eyes was still undetermined!

"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"

Sasuke attacked first, unleashing a sharp lightning spear at Itachi.

With a loud crash, the spear obliterated the stone chair and wall.

But Itachi's figure vanished into a flock of black crows.

In an instant, Itachi appeared behind Sasuke, kunai in hand, aiming for his waist, but Sasuke dodged swiftly, his Kusanagi sword transforming into a beam of light that shot toward Itachi.

Itachi, struck by the light, dissolved again into crows.

Emerging from the shadows, Itachi engaged Sasuke in a fierce melee, exchanging blows in a fierce battle of ninjutsu that tore apart the cave, spilling their fight from the hidden Uchiha stronghold into the forest, igniting the trees in flames…

Neither knew how long they'd been fighting.

From Sasuke's perspective, he was holding his own against Itachi.

But in Obito and Zetsu's view, after Itachi mentioned becoming the next Madara, Sasuke's expression had gone vacant.

"Hmph…"

In less than two seconds, Itachi let out a grunt of pain, showing visible distress.

Sweating and exhausted, Sasuke looked at him proudly. "Tsukuyomi? So much for that!"

"He broke Itachi's Tsukuyomi? Unbelievable!" Zetsu gasped.

"Just a three-tomoe Sharingan defeating Tsukuyomi—it's astonishing," Black Zetsu echoed in disbelief.

Could it be Indra's chakra?

Only Obito and Yagyu twitched slightly at this conclusion.

As with Yakumo Kurama's kekkei genkai, Tsukuyomi drags the victim's mind into a world controlled entirely by the caster—where time, place, and even physics are subject to the caster's will.

Just as Itachi had once immobilized Kakashi, he could trap his target and torture them for three days and nights.

Unless one's chakra overpowered Itachi's, they would be helplessly at his mercy within Tsukuyomi.

Without even the Mangekyo Sharingan, Sasuke's chakra wasn't anywhere near Itachi's level.

If Itachi had truly wanted to kill him, he could have done so in seconds, as he had years ago.

But instead, Itachi allowed Sasuke to escape Tsukuyomi, damaging his own spirit to weaken himself while boosting Sasuke's confidence.

This wasn't holding back; it was practically gifting him victory.

Finally breaking free of the nightmarish Tsukuyomi, Sasuke, now brimming with confidence, charged at Itachi.

The Two Brothers Reenact Their Battle from the Tsukuyomi World in Reality

The intensity of the battle far surpasses the original story.

Uchiha Itachi refrains from using his Mangekyo Sharingan for a devastating advantage. Facing Uchiha Sasuke's Five-Element Jutsu and composite ninjutsu learned from Hundred Faces, he is forced to employ techniques not used in the original, such as Fire Release: Great Fire Destruction and Great Flame of Demise.

Lightning and fire waves explode within the cave, shattering layer upon layer of the rock walls.

Before long, half the mountain—artificially constructed to look like a natural cliff—is brought crashing down.

The flames and lightning break through the walls, spreading into the nearby forest and quickly igniting the trees.

A sea of fire spreads, and thick, chakra-fueled smoke and intense heat rise into the sky.

In no time, the once blue sky turns pitch black, rumbling with distant thunder.

"It seems that's all you have."

Standing atop a boulder like a small mountain, Sasuke, now out of his second cursed seal state and breathing heavily, looks down at a disheveled but uninjured Itachi with a proud grin. "Now, I'll kill you with a technique you can't possibly avoid!"

At his words, the sound of a thousand chirping birds echoes from Sasuke's hand.

Blue and white electric sparks wrap around his hand.

Raising his crackling hand toward the sky, Sasuke guides the lightning above to form the head of a mythical Kirin, emerging from the clouds.

Witnessing this, Yagyu shakes his head.

Compared to their final battle, Sasuke's Lightning Release: Kirin here has a much longer charge time and requires artificially induced clouds.

If Itachi truly wanted to kill him, he could end it with Amaterasu while Sasuke is guiding the lightning.

Like Kakashi, Sasuke now has enough power to threaten a Kage, but in terms of true strength and maturity, he is still far from the level of the Five Kage.

Without Susano'o from the original story, he would likely be swiftly defeated by the Fourth Raikage.

Apart from Danzo and Gaara, he'd stand little chance against any other Kage.

Looking at the lightning Kirin in the sky, Itachi is taken aback; it's a technique he has never seen.

It seems to be Sasuke's own creation.

Its power and scope undoubtedly reach S-rank mastery.

To develop an S-rank technique at his age?

At this thought, Itachi can't help but feel a bit gratified.

Noting that Sasuke still has enough chakra to wield such lightning techniques, Itachi realizes he hasn't pushed his brother to his limits or triggered Orochimaru's backup plan.

Thus, he decides to take Sasuke's Kirin head-on to further weaken Sasuke's strength and reveal the hidden divine power of the Mangekyo Sharingan to him in the process.

"Lightning Release: Kirin!"

Sasuke, unaware of Itachi's intentions, summons the massive Kirin with Chidori, guiding it as a giant lightning column to strike down at a speed of one-thousandth of a second.

The speed is incredible, and the scale so vast that, as Sasuke claimed, it's nearly unavoidable.

Boom!

Blinding white light engulfs the world, and the thunderous explosion reaches even into the forest, where Kisame Hoshigaki, playing with a child, along with Suigetsu Hozuki and Jugo, hear it.

Looking toward the collapsing mountainside, Suigetsu and Jugo share a worried glance.

Kisame, too, feels a premonition; he fears this may be the last time he sees Itachi.

A lightning column that size should leave a bottomless crater in the ground.

But as the blinding light fades, the expected crater doesn't appear.

Instead, standing before Sasuke is a towering figure in a tengu helmet, its upper half a semi-transparent red—Itachi's Susano'o.

Having never seen Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees, Sasuke is wide-eyed with shock, witnessing a technique of such caliber for the first time.

"With only a three-tomoe Sharingan, he managed to force Itachi to use Susano'o. Impressive!" White Zetsu remarks.

"It should end here... right?" Black Zetsu says uncertainly.

After using Kirin, Sasuke's chakra is nearly depleted, and his three-tomoe Sharingan has reverted to his regular black eyes, clearly indicating his dire situation.

Itachi, though extremely weakened, can still maintain Susano'o, so by all rights, the outcome seems decided.

But with the destined clash between Asura and Indra yet to come, and this generation's Indra not yet at his peak, could Sasuke truly die?

If he did, would that mean… Itachi is Indra's true reincarnation?

Swish—

A flash of light splits the massive boulder beneath Sasuke's feet cleanly in two.

The giant sword in Susano'o's hand strikes Sasuke, knocking him to the ground.

Emerging from the rubble, Sasuke's confidence is gone, replaced with pure terror as he looks at Itachi, bloody and barely holding up Susano'o, stumbling toward him.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

Using the last of his chakra, Sasuke summons small fireballs toward Itachi, but they are easily blocked by Susano'o.

Now so weak he can't even perform a body flicker, Sasuke stumbles backward over a stone, finally collapsing to the ground in despair as Itachi draws near.

As if sensing the moment, the cursed seal on Sasuke's neck glows red. But instead of spreading, white snake heads emerge from Sasuke's body.

Eight snake heads emerge, sharing a single body that grows rapidly until it forms an enormous eight-headed serpent rivaling Susano'o.

Orochimaru, his upper body unclothed, rises from one of the snake heads.

Looking at the weakened Itachi and Sasuke, Orochimaru's fragmented soul lets out a hoarse laugh. "Looks like I win..."

Shing—

Before he can finish, a burning blade pierces his body.

"Heh... It's useless; I am immortal… huh?"

Even with his body impaled, Orochimaru smirks proudly, prepared to boast about his Eight Branches Technique.

Yet before he can finish, he feels a terrifying suction force, stealing control of his body and the serpent's.

Seeing the gourd in Susano'o's hand, Orochimaru's eyes widen in horror. "That's… the Totsuka Blade! You actually have it?!"

Without wasting time, Itachi pulls hard with Susano'o, sealing both Orochimaru and the eight-headed serpent into the Totsuka Blade's gourd, leaving only a small white snake on the ground.

"Amaterasu!"

Upon seeing the small white snake, Itachi uses his Mangekyo Sharingan's unique technique, setting it ablaze with inextinguishable black flames.

Then, Itachi continues toward Sasuke.

As he looks at his brother, slumped on the ground, exhausted, terrified, and out of chakra to fight or flee, Itachi's vision begins to blur, seeing Sasuke revert to his younger self.

A faint smile forms at the corner of his bloodied lips.

Finally reaching Sasuke, Itachi raises two blood-stained fingers and gently taps Sasuke's forehead, using his remaining vision to place a Transcription Seal on him. With a faint, whispered apology, he says, "Sorry, Sasuke… This is the last time."

With these final words, Itachi's Susano'o vanishes, and his chakra and life force fade rapidly.

His body collapses before Sasuke.

Seeing this, Yagyu and Uchiha Obito, who had been hiding, make their move.

A spatial vortex appears next to the dazed Sasuke.

Green branches emerge from the ground, binding both Sasuke and Itachi's body.

Obito steps out from the vortex, reaching to pull them into Kamui's dimension.

At that moment, Yagyu's upper body emerges from the wood, hand coated with chakra, pressing toward Obito's body.

Recognizing the chakra as an unknown sealing technique, Obito instinctively avoids contact.

Suddenly, Yagyu appears, taking Sasuke and Itachi and vanishing without a trace.

The struggle between the brothers ends with Yagyu's victory.