At this moment, Itachi had finally realized the truth, Sasuke was never caught in Tsukuyomi.
Sasuke didn't need him to hold back in order to escape from Tsukuyomi, because he had never actually been caught in it in the first place!
What Itachi saw was merely an illusion, something that Sasuke had allowed him to see, including the scene where Sasuke supposedly fell into Tsukuyomi...
"Maybe it is, or maybe it isn't," Sasuke replied calmly as he looked at Itachi. Even he wasn't sure if his ability could truly be considered a form of Tsukuyomi.
During their shuriken battle, Sasuke had already anticipated that Itachi would use his genjutsu again, yet he wasn't worried in the slightest.
Because this was exactly what he had been waiting for.
One of the abilities of his Mangekyō Sharingan was also a genjutsu, but it was different from Itachi's Tsukuyomi.
Perhaps his ability was born from his yearning and expectations for the future. Unlike Tsukuyomi, it wasn't something he could freely control.
If Tsukuyomi was about creating a spiritual world where the caster could do whatever they pleased, then Sasuke's genjutsu was about immersing the target in their own inner world.
Within this illusion, everything would unfold according to what the target most desired in their heart, keeping them trapped in their own fantasies.
This was something that no other genjutsu could achieve, not even Tsukuyomi. After all, no genjutsu user, not even Itachi, could truly know what their enemy desired most in their heart.
Only the person themselves could understand their own deepest desires, making their own mind the prison that trapped them in illusion.
And when the trapped person realized they were in a genjutsu, the illusion would begin to change.
It would then tear apart all of their hopes right before their eyes, delivering the cruelest form of punishment imaginable.
Just like what Itachi experienced in the illusion, he had no hopes for himself anymore. His only wish was for Sasuke to follow the path he had laid out for him.
After that, he could peacefully accept death.
But perhaps there was still a sense of guilt lingering in his heart, which was why he saw an afterlife where he was 'forgiven.'
Unfortunately, Sasuke's control over his Mangekyō Sharingan was not yet strong enough.
As a result, the illusion was not perfect. Moreover, because Itachi also had the Mangekyō Sharingan, his resistance was strong, allowing him to eventually sense that something was off.
If Itachi had chosen to fully immerse himself in that dreamlike afterlife, his body in the real world would have become nothing more than an empty shell—alive, but with a mind that could never return.
However, Sasuke wasn't surprised that Itachi had managed to break free.
After all, this was Itachi, Sasuke knew how powerful his brother was, especially as a genjutsu master.
Sasuke also understood that his ability was still incomplete, but he had a feeling...
The power of his genjutsu wouldn't just grow stronger as his Mangekyō evolved, it would also become more effective the deeper his understanding of "happiness" became, making it even harder for people to distinguish from reality.
Perhaps one day, if his eyes reached an unmatched level of power, and he fully understood the life he truly wanted, then this genjutsu would be perfected.
At that point, it might even become a real world, his own true inner world.
Even if someone realized it was an illusion, would they really choose to escape when faced with their most desired reality?
Perhaps not... because that was the perfect world they had always longed for.
But for now, Sasuke was far from reaching that level, so his ability was still limited.
Even so, it was more than enough to counter Itachi's Tsukuyomi, as it seemed to naturally suppress his brother's illusion, leading Itachi to believe he had full control of the situation.
In reality, it was Itachi's overconfidence in his Tsukuyomi that caused him to fall so deeply into Sasuke's illusion.
He firmly believed that his Tsukuyomi had trapped Sasuke and that Sasuke needed him to hold back in order to break free. This made him think he was in complete control, pushing everything towards the outcome he expected.
Little did he know, it was precisely because of this that he was caught in Sasuke's 'Tsukuyomi.'
Ironically, Itachi's own Tsukuyomi did land on Sasuke, but since he was already trapped in Sasuke's genjutsu, everything he saw within his own illusion was also fake.
Thus, when Sasuke was pulled into Tsukuyomi's world, he merely stayed there quietly for a moment before effortlessly walking out. He never needed to "break" anything.
"So my Tsukuyomi really did land on him?" Itachi murmured as he felt his dwindling eye power, finally realizing the situation.
"Itachi, your strongest genjutsu is useless against me," Sasuke said, staring at his brother with a confident smile.
At last, he had overcome that illusion. No longer would he be tormented by Itachi's genjutsu.
As a child, he had been tortured by Itachi's Tsukuyomi, left mentally scarred. Every night, he would relive that nightmare.
Then, on the night of their second encounter, he had once again suffered under Itachi's Tsukuyomi. But that time, he had seen a vision of Itachi being defeated…
Even though the pain remained, that vision had filled him with hope.
Now, he had finally overcome Tsukuyomi!
"You've gotten stronger," Itachi suddenly smiled, surprising Sasuke.
Even now, his brother could still smile?
"Sasuke, my foolish little brother... Do you really think genjutsu is my only strength?"
As he spoke, Itachi's hands swiftly began forming seals, so fast that Sasuke's eyes widened in shock.
So fast!
The fastest hand seals Sasuke had ever seen before belonged to Kakashi. But now, Itachi's speed seemed to surpass even that!
At this moment, Sasuke realized something crucial.
If it was a contest of sheer ninjutsu power, he might not lose.
But right now, with Itachi's insane speed and his head start on forming seals, countering with his own ninjutsu would be a terrible idea.
In the next instant, Sasuke threw a kunai straight at Itachi.
"It's useless. Against these eyes, no thrown weapon will work," Itachi said as he effortlessly sidestepped the kunai, not even slowing down his hand seals.
However, just as he completed his jutsu and prepared to unleash a Fire Release technique, he noticed something strange.
Sasuke had disappeared from sight, replaced by the very same kunai he had thrown earlier.
That kunai… it looks familiar.
It was the exact same kunai Sasuke had thrown at him a moment ago.
If the kunai was here, then where was Sasuke?
Suddenly, the sound of chirping birds filled Itachi's ears. Chidori?
It was coming from behind him!
His instincts screamed for him to turn around, but his battle experience told him, it was already too late.
Sasuke's eyes locked onto Itachi's back. In his hand, Chidori crackled with energy, now infused into his blade.
"Chidori Blade!"
Sasuke's eyes were filled with determination as he swung his sword without hesitation.
His strike landed, but it wasn't a direct hit. Sasuke watched as Itachi narrowly avoided a fatal blow by rolling away, causing the sword to only graze his shoulder.
Blood dripped from Itachi's wound, and his body was now covered in dust from his evasive maneuver. This was probably the first time Sasuke had ever seen his brother in such a disheveled state.
However, Sasuke had no time to revel in the moment. As soon as Itachi finished his roll, his hands were already at his mouth.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Without even aiming, Itachi immediately unleashed a massive fireball in the direction behind him.
Seeing the approaching inferno, Sasuke pushed off with his legs, leaping onto the rooftop. His hands moved swiftly to form the same hand seals.
But Itachi noticed Sasuke's actions and didn't hesitate. The roaring flames surged toward Sasuke's position.
The instant Sasuke completed his hand seals, the fire was already upon him.
At that moment, Sasuke's left Mangekyō Sharingan glowed briefly, and in the next second, his body vanished from the ceiling, replaced by a single kunai.
In an instant, Itachi's Great Fireball engulfed the kunai's location, completely piercing through the ceiling.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Sasuke, now standing where he had initially started, had already completed his seals. He brought his hand to his mouth and exhaled a scorching, massive fireball toward Itachi.
Even for Itachi, there was no time to end his previous jutsu, form new seals, and counter Sasuke's attack.
With the enormous fireball rushing toward him, Itachi leaped upward through the hole his previous fireball had created, escaping outside.
"You're not getting away."
Seeing this, Sasuke stopped his own fireball attack and immediately pursued Itachi outside the hidden base.
However, the moment Sasuke emerged from the ceiling, another wave of fire surged toward him.
He already finished forming seals and launched another Fire Release jutsu in such a short time?
Sasuke was once again astonished by Itachi's hand seal speed, but he didn't panic.
Normally, someone mid-air without flight capabilities would have no way to dodge.
Sasuke couldn't fly either, but he had another method.
He threw several kunai in different directions. Just as the flames were about to consume him, his Mangekyō Sharingan glowed again.
In the next instant, the place where Sasuke had been standing was suddenly occupied by a different figure, Itachi!
Seeing the fire rapidly approaching, Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan widened in surprise.
"Amaterasu!"
In an instant, black flames ignited at his focal point, consuming the approaching fire in mere moments.
The legendary black flames of Amaterasu. Flames that could burn through anything, even ordinary fire itself!
Sasuke had already landed safely on the rooftop, watching as the red flames were devoured by the black ones. His pupils shrank at the sight.
So this is the fabled Amaterasu... Truly terrifying. I must never let it touch me.
"This is another one of your Mangekyō abilities, isn't it?"
Itachi, now covering his tightly shut right eye, asked as fresh blood trickled down from it, it was the price of using Amaterasu.
When he first saw Sasuke appear behind him, his initial thought was that Sasuke had learned the Flying Thunder God Technique.
However, Itachi quickly realized something was off.
Flying Thunder God didn't involve swapping positions with an object, it allowed instant teleportation to a marked location.
So this had to be one of Sasuke's Mangekyō Sharingan abilities.
Still, even after figuring out the nature of the ability, he hadn't expected Sasuke to be able to swap positions directly with him.
Sasuke didn't answer his question. Instead, breathing slightly heavier, he said, "You'd better go all out. If you don't, you won't get another chance."
This was, of course, the power of Sasuke's left eye.
When he first discovered this ability, he had also thought it was similar to Flying Thunder God.
But he quickly realized the differences.
Firstly, as Itachi had deduced, he couldn't teleport freely, he could only swap positions with objects.
Secondly, not all objects could be used, only those infused with his ocular power.
That meant if Sasuke could embed his power into an enemy's body, he could swap positions with them as well. This was exactly how he had used the technique against Itachi.
However, swapping with a kunai required very little chakra, while swapping with an enemy consumed a significant amount of his ocular power, hence why Sasuke was slightly out of breath.
Of course, the most difficult part was embedding his ocular power into another person. That alone was an enormous challenge and didn't seem very feasible in normal combat.
But for Sasuke, it wasn't difficult at all.
As long as his right eye's genjutsu ensnared the target, his ocular power would naturally imprint itself on their body. Even if they broke free from the illusion, the imprint would remain.
And the only way to remove Sasuke's mark was to erase his ocular power from their body, otherwise, they would never be able to escape his ability.
However, Sasuke looked at Itachi. His brother clearly didn't have the means to remove his imprint.
Thus, during their genjutsu battle, Sasuke had already prepared to use his second Mangekyō ability, he had just been waiting for the right moment.
The previous situation had been a rare opportunity, Itachi was mid-air, unable to dodge, and the Great Fireball was right in front of him, leaving almost no time for a reaction.
Yet, even under those circumstances, he had still managed to react and escape danger using Amaterasu.
Indeed, Itachi was strong. But this was exactly the Itachi Sasuke had always known.
Even though Itachi had received help that night, if he hadn't been so powerful himself, he wouldn't have been able to annihilate an entire clan!
Sasuke wanted to defeat the real Itachi, the one who wasn't holding back.
A smile spread across Sasuke's face. He could feel it, he could win!
At this moment, he was the one with the advantage.
Itachi silently watched Sasuke. If that was his ability, could he still use Amaterasu against Sasuke?
If he used Amaterasu, what if Sasuke swapped places again?
Even though Itachi could dispel Amaterasu, the flames would still leave damage in the brief moment before vanishing. On top of that, each use of Amaterasu inflicted significant strain on his body.
Itachi quickly considered another strategy, what if he used Amaterasu on both himself and Sasuke at the same time?
But he quickly dismissed the idea. Sasuke didn't have to swap places with him. He could just swap with one of the kunai he had scattered around the battlefield.
For the first time, Itachi felt powerless.
This time, he wasn't holding back, he was seriously trying to defeat Sasuke.
And yet… even for him, defeating Sasuke wasn't going to be easy.
His genjutsu had no effect.
His Amaterasu was rendered ineffective by Sasuke's space-swapping ability.
But then, Itachi's lips curved into a small smile.
At this moment, he felt a deep sense of relief, Sasuke had truly grown this strong.
"My full strength, huh?" Itachi murmured, almost asking himself the question. Then, he smiled.
"Very well… let me show you my strongest power. Just don't regret seeing it!"
As soon as Itachi finished speaking, a brilliant orange aura engulfed him.
That aura quickly formed into a massive Tengu warrior, one hand wielding the Yata Mirror, the other gripping the Totsuka Blade.
"Sasuke, this is the ultimate power of the Mangekyō Sharingan, Susanoo! The invincible power that stands above all!"**
"Invincible power?" Sasuke scoffed. "If I remember correctly, your Susanoo was already cut apart once before by Natsuro. It's far from invincible."
Looking at Itachi's colossal Susanoo, Sasuke felt both awe and excitement.
Awe at the sheer power of the technique.
And excitement because… Natsuro had once cut through Itachi's Susanoo.
How did he do it?
Sasuke thought about it. It was likely because Natsuro used Wind Release's slicing properties, something that neither Sasuke's Fire Release nor Lightning Release could replicate.
But that didn't matter.
Because Itachi using Susanoo meant he was finally going all out.
Which meant…
If Sasuke won now, he would have beaten Itachi at his absolute strongest!
Itachi remained silent for a moment.
Hearing Sasuke mention Natsuro, he was reminded of that battle.
Even now, Itachi could clearly recall that overwhelming power.
Back then, he had sensed that Natsuro wasn't fully familiar with his own strength.
But if that unfamiliar power had easily crushed all four of them, then…
What if Natsuro truly mastered his abilities?
Would even Pain, the so-called leader of the Akatsuki, stand a chance against him?
Perhaps not.
And what about that man who called himself "Madara"?
Could even he defeat Natsuro? Maybe... maybe not.
At that moment, Itachi hesitated. Could he entrust Sasuke to Natsuro?
Could Sasuke truly walk his own path, not the one Itachi had planned for him?
Sasuke suddenly threw his head back and laughed, gripping his forehead.
Itachi was stunned.
What's going on?
Sasuke felt pure joy, an unparalleled happiness he had never felt before.
He had finally reached this moment. He had finally come this far.
Looking at Itachi's Susanoo, Sasuke made a decision, he wouldn't rely on Sage Mode. Even though he knew he could learn it in the future, Sage Mode was ultimately an external power.
Today, he would win on his own terms.
No genjutsu. No Amaterasu. No outside help.
Just him, his own Mangekyō Sharingan, and...
"Susanoo! You're not the only one who can use it!"
As soon as Sasuke shouted, a surge of violet light erupted around him.
That purple light rapidly condensed, forming a skeletal frame around his body.
"Not enough! It's still not enough!"
Sasuke shouted as his eyes bled, his vision blurring from the immense strain.
Forcing Susanoo into its advanced forms was taking a huge toll on him.
But he didn't care.
He wanted to defeat Itachi's Susanoo with his own Susanoo!
He wanted to surpass Itachi in every aspect of the Mangekyō Sharingan!
The skeletal Susanoo around him flared up once more, its violet aura surging.
Then, muscle and flesh began forming over the bones, rapidly constructing a fully-armored Tengu warrior clad in violet samurai armor.
Sasuke clutched his eyes, feeling his vision screaming in protest.
This isn't a power I should be using yet.
But Sasuke didn't care.
Right now, all that mattered was defeating Itachi.
Sasuke stared directly at his brother, his crazed laughter echoing in the night.
He wasn't just laughing.
He was roaring with joy.
"ITACHI! COME ON! KEEP GOING! I'M GOING TO COMPLETELY CRUSH YOU!"
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Currently on Chapter 320 - Chapter 321 - Little Natsuro: Old Man, Take This!