XX-level Hokage

But Itachi simply stretched out his hand and pointed to the left. Sasuke turned to look.

Itachi was sitting on the stone chair watching him.

Then Sasuke looked at Itachi lying beneath him, and Itachi instantly transformed into a flock of crows.

Chapter 150: Sasuke VS Itachi (Part 2)

"A crow exactly like the ones from before, is that your signature illusionary farce?" Sasuke said coldly, looking at Itachi sitting on the stone chair.

"Do you want to know the answer? Although it's not the end yet, I'll still listen." Itachi looked at Sasuke and spoke. "I'll say it again," Sasuke's cold voice came.

Then Sasuke instantly appeared behind Itachi and stabbed him with the Kusanagi Sword, piercing through the stone chair and Itachi's chest. Itachi's expression was one of shock, and blood flowed from his mouth.

Sasuke, who was staring at Itachi, turned into a bunch of black shadows.

"Illusion? There's another mysterious power." Blood trickled from the corner of Itachi's mouth as he spoke softly.

"Finally, I have one last question for you. Here's what I said: you bastard, answer my question. Until you answer, the pain in my chest will last..."

"Continue," Sasuke said, his eyes filled with cold indifference as he turned to look at the Kusanagi sword in his hand.

"Did they deliberately avoid important positions?" Itachi asked softly.

"You once said that if I could also awaken my Sharingan, there would be three people, including you, who could use the Mangekyou Sharingan. So, who in the Uchiha clan possessed the other Mangekyou Sharingan at that time?" Sasuke asked coldly.

"Why would you care about something like that?" she said softly.

“So that I can kill that guy after I kill you,” Sasuke said. “Kill him?” Itachi asked, somewhat puzzled.

"When you killed all your clansmen, you said there was another person with the Mangekyou Sharingan, and you didn't kill him."

In other words, that guy was your accomplice, because even you couldn't have wiped out the entire Uchiha Guard by yourself. Sasuke said calmly.

During his time at "Root", he realized that some things are not as they appear to be, and only through deep thinking can one discover the hidden truth.

"You noticed that?" Itachi's tone was somewhat wistful.

"Who is he?" Sasuke asked coldly. Itachi remained silent.

Sasuke pushed the Kusanagi sword, plunging the entire blade into Itachi's body.

Itachi said expressionlessly, "Uchiha Madara." Sasuke's eyes widened instantly.

He remembered what Mashiro had said to him not long ago.

"Sasuke, have you ever thought about why the Konoha higher-ups suspected the Uchiha clan after the Nine-Tails' attack?" "I don't know."

"Because the higher-ups saw that the Nine-Tails' eyes displayed the Uchiha pattern, indicating that it was controlled by the Uchiha clan to attack Konoha."

“Control? How is that possible? How much ocular power would it take to control the Nine-Tails?” “Then, Sasuke, in your memory, do you know any Uchiha clan members who could do such a thing?” “Perhaps only the legendary Uchiha Madara could do it.”

"Uchiha Madara?!" Upon realizing this, Sasuke's expression instantly turned panicked.

"One of the two founders of Konoha, and the first to awaken the Sharingan, Uchiha Madara," Itachi continued. "The founder?! Madara should have died long ago, are you kidding me?" Sasuke roared.

"Madara is still alive. Believe it or not, it's up to you," Itachi said softly. "Don't talk nonsense," Sasuke said, not believing Itachi's words.

In response, Itachi said, "People rely on their own knowledge and understanding, and are bound by these things, even calling them reality, but..."

However, knowledge and cognition are often ambiguous, and the reality based on them may be an illusion. People live within their own perceptions; don't you think that's true?

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Sasuke sensed something was wrong.

"Madara is dead. That's just wishful thinking on your part, just like how you used to think I was a kind older brother." Itachi turned to Sasuke and said coldly.

Upon hearing this, Itachi's words from the night of the massacre began to echo in Sasuke's ears again.

“I have been playing the role of the older brother you expect me to be, in order to measure your capacity.”

"What happened that night, I could only think of as an illusion when I was young. Although I have tried to convince myself that it was just a cruel illusion all these years, it was all undoubtedly real," Sasuke said with hatred.

Then he stretched out his right hand, and lightning appeared, rushing in another direction and piercing through the stone chair.

“But my eyes are different now. My Sharingan can see through genjutsu.” Sasuke unleashed Chidori once more.

"Still as assertive as ever, huh? Well, I'll take that for now," Rong said, sitting on the stone chair.

Immediately afterward, Itachi, whose body had been pierced by Sasuke, vanished. It was still a genjutsu.

"Let's end this acting here," Sasuke said, looking directly at Itachi.

"While loving strength isn't a bad thing, Sasuke, it seems you haven't yet developed the same vision as me. Haven't you killed all the people important to you yet? Did you come to me with such naive thoughts?" Itachi said calmly.

"Then hurry up and kill me with your Mangekyou Sharingan, or is it that even I am not capable of letting you measure my own strength right now?" Sasuke said, having regained his composure.

"What remarkable confidence." Itachi smiled and stood up from the stone chair.

On the wall to the side, Jue was showing his face, watching everything that had happened. "Those two haven't moved an inch since just now," Bai Jue said.

"It's just a contest of illusion techniques," Black Zetsu explained. Rong walked down the steps and met Sasuke's gaze.

"The Mangekyou Sharingan is a special eye. From the moment it is awakened, these eyes begin to connect with darkness, and the more it is used, the more it is sealed away." Itachi said, activating his Mangekyou Sharingan.

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked, looking into Itachi's eyes. "The Mangekyou Sharingan will one day lose its light," Itachi said.

"Blindness, is this the price for gaining the power to tame the Nine-Tails?" Sasuke seemed unfazed by this.

"It seems you've already read that stone tablet." Itachi said, walking step by step towards Sasuke. "Madara, who exactly is he?" Sasuke asked.

"He was the first man to tame the Nine-Tails with the Mangekyou Sharingan. He was my partner and my teacher. He was a man who would never perish, and he was also the only one to uncover another secret of the Mangekyou Sharingan," Itachi said softly.

"Another secret of the Sharingan?" Sasuke said softly, unaware of this. "Besides the eye power that tamed the Nine-Tails, is there anything else?" Sasuke asked.

“That’s right, another secret, the most important secret,” Itachi said softly. “What is it? Answer me,” Sasuke asked, looking at Itachi.

"Then let's talk about the Uchiha's past..." (This part is too long, skip it. If you're interested, you can watch the series. In short, it's about Madara taking over his younger brother Izuna's Mangekyou Sharingan to achieve the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, and then being defeated.)

"In other words, Madara is a good-for-nothing now. The one who truly masters the Uchiha's peak isn't that guy. The one who will transcend that man, surpass Madara, and truly approach the peak will be me. And now, I can finally obtain the power to surpass Madara." As he spoke, Itachi clenched his fists tightly, and then his expression became incredibly crazed.

"Sass, you are the new light to me, you are my accessory. The Uchiha clan was originally a vile clan that would fight with their friends for the Mangekyou Sharingan and with their own brothers for the eyes of eternity, and then take pride in this power. From the moment you were born into this clan, you were dragged into this bloody fate. Come on, little brother, I will kill you, free you from the fate of your clan, and personally grasp true eternity."

The power to remove limitations and liberate oneself from one's own limitations.

Itachi spoke maniacally, and a monstrous orange chakra surged from behind him, beginning to emanate from Sasuke.

As Itachi continued speaking and the orange chakra drew closer, Sasuke's mind began to flood with past memories.

Then, Sasuke suddenly opened his eyes and took off his black robe. "So that's what it was all for?"

Everything that just happened was still an illusion.

“You should have already seen how you died. You have no chance of defeating me with the Mangekyou Sharingan,” Itachi said softly. “No matter how you use those eyes, I will kill you with my hatred, and you will only have one path: death.”

After Sasuke finished speaking, he took a sudden step forward, and a shuriken flew out instantly. Almost simultaneously, Itachi also threw a shuriken.

Countless shurikens flew out, clashed, and sparks flew.

In the end, Itachi was faster and grabbed Sasuke's wrist. Just as the two were facing off, several sharp claws came from Itachi's shadow.

Itachi had no choice but to release Sasuke. "What an interesting power."

Looking at the group, Itachi said softly.

At this moment, in the study of Mashiro's villa in Konoha.

Zhen Zi was sitting at her desk, holding Zi in her arms, and the two of them were working together on the documents in their hands.

Just then, Shiro suddenly spoke up: "Shiro, would you like to hear a story?" Hearing this, Shiro put down his pen and nodded gently.

"Once upon a time, there was a cursed family. The members of this family had a special constitution, which gave them a very delicate and sensitive heart, and thus endowed them with a powerful force."

This power is generated based on their special constitution; the more turbulent their emotions and the more intense their resentment, the stronger their power becomes.

Even advancing to this level of power requires killing friends and family with one's own hands, leading to friends turning against each other and brothers killing each other. Hearing Zhenzi's words, Bai frowned slightly and said softly, "Then this family is too pathetic."

"Yes, it's so tragic, especially after this trait was discovered by people with ulterior motives. This curse was gradually artificially amplified, and then..."

Thus, tragedy struck. (Author's Note)

These two chapters are almost entirely based on the original work, including the dialogue. It was a huge amount of work, and I'm exhausted.

Chapter 151: Susanoo

Meanwhile, as the battle intensified, Sasuke and Itachi began to unleash their hidden techniques. Sasuke activated the cursed seal attached to his body.

After Kabuto's modifications, Sasuke has basically mastered the power of the seals.

A huge claw emerged from behind Sasuke, slamming into Itachi's attacking hand and sending Itachi flying.

Itachi landed on the ground and looked at Sasuke. "Amaterasu"

Instantly, black flames clung to the fleshy claws on Sasuke's back, and a sharp, searing pain caused Sasuke to let out a pitiful howl. At that moment, Itachi lunged at Sasuke, kicking him against the wall, then extinguished Amaterasu and stepped on Sasuke. Sasuke tried to resist, but Itachi had already gripped his neck.

Reaching out, and amidst Sasuke's terrified gaze, he removed Sasuke's left eye.

"Aa ...

Then a black power surged from his body. "The mask."

Sasuke used the power of the shadows and kicked Itachi, sending him flying and crashing heavily into the opposite wall.

Itachi got up from the ground, took out a transparent jar from his pocket, put Sasuke's eye into it, and then looked at Sasuke opposite him.

Sasuke, clutching his gouged-out eye and covered in black and purple markings, stared intently at Itachi. "Are you ready to hand over your other eye too?" Itachi asked.

But Sasuke laughed and said, "I sensed it." Then everything turned black and white, and the scene before him shattered instantly.

Sasuke, panting heavily, looked at Itachi not far away. It was still Itachi's genjutsu.

"The backlash must be unpleasant," Sasuke said, looking at Itachi.

Itachi was currently facing the backlash from the Mangekyou Sharingan, his eye closed. "You, you broke my Tsukuyomi..." Ryou said in disbelief.

"Strange, why didn't Sasuke fall down after being hit by Tsukuyomi?" White Zetsu asked, who was spying on him. "No, he wasn't hit; he broke free from Tsukuyomi," Black Zetsu said.

"Huh? How could someone who only has Sharingan possibly defeat someone with Mangekyou Sharingan?" White Zetsu said in disbelief.

"The Sharingan is just a ninja's weapon, and the strength of a weapon depends on the user's power. Even someone with shuriken can lose to someone skilled at throwing stones. The important thing is the difference in power. In other words, Sasuke's talent has already surpassed Itachi's imagination," Black Zetsu explained.

“I should have said it before, no matter how you use those eyes, I will kill you with my hatred,” Sasuke said coldly. He was most wary of Itachi's genjutsu, especially the genjutsu from the Mangekyou Sharingan, and he had specifically consulted Mashiro about it. Mashiro told him…

"Itachi's Tsukuyomi adjusts its intensity based on the target. If the genjutsu intensity of Tsukuyomi is 100, the intensity released by Itachi will vary depending on the type of enemy."

If Itachi uses a level 100 Tsukuyomi against you, you have absolutely no chance of winning. However, if it's level 10 or 20, you still have a chance.

Only those with Sharingan power surpassing that of the caster and possessing strong mental fortitude can break Tsukuyomi.

"The masked state can increase your eye power several times over, naturally enabling you to break through Tsukuyomi at strength below 100." Sasuke firmly believed in Shinji's words because he knew who was behind Shinji; Ryo had been killed by that person once.