Chapter 214: Pierced

He wanted to finish off Link in just one shot.

Deep down, Uchiha Itachi had long known this fact. Ever since he was very young and had gone to war not long after becoming self-aware, his combat experience was absolutely no less than that of many veteran top-level shinobi.

He had been watching Link's movements this whole time and was probably one of the few who truly understood just how much stronger that kid had become.

With Uchiha Fugaku present, releasing a genjutsu outright would be totally counterproductive, so he had to wait for the critical moment.

Matching it with Amaterasu's destructive power... His gaze suddenly froze. The Amaterasu that had hit its target was still burning, yet Link remained standing in the same spot. Even the nearby ghost seemed unscathed. On closer inspection, there was a thin layer of ice—just a few centimeters thick—covering the area in front of both of them.

"Sizzle—sizzle—"

The sound of ice melting was incessant, and yet the ice in front of the two showed no sign of thinning. No matter how strong Amaterasu is, it has to make proper contact to be effective.

[Is it that Ice Release user's ability? Or—]

Itachi was not in a hurry. Even if Amaterasu hadn't succeeded, he still had a next step in mind.

"Die!" Like a flash of lightning, Uchiha Sasuke joined the fray, showing no mercy as he drove a Chidori-charged hand straight toward his own older brother's chest.

Itachi looked increasingly exhausted. His expression remained as cold as ever, and he used the Body Flicker to dodge in an instant.

His foolish younger brother had grown at an astonishing rate with Link's help, but still hadn't reached Itachi's level. Even using Chidori wouldn't do—if even Kakashi himself wouldn't be able to land a direct hit on Itachi while he had his Sharingan active, Sasuke definitely couldn't.

A giant broadsword came slashing in, as relentless as a shadow. Momochi Zabuza's face was filled with anger, the muscles on the arm gripping the blade bulged, and his eyes looked like a demon's, ready to devour someone.

[This guy—there's no way to avoid it.]

Itachi quickly judged the situation, clutched a kunai in his hand, and thrust it forward to parry the blade of the Executioner's Sword.

The kunai was too short; in this rushed situation, there was no time to mount any other attack. All he could do was choose the worst option—a head-on clash—just to buy himself an instant.

"Clang!" Sparks flew in all directions at the impact of metal grinding. In the next second, the tip of the kunai snapped on the spot.

But that fleeting moment was enough for him to lean backward and dodge the attack, then try once more to slip away—"Pshk!"

A kunai sank into his shoulder. It seemed Uchiha Fugaku was already waiting there for his son to come over. In one swift move, he became the first in this battle to land a real blow on Itachi.

"Thud!" Baki, who was about to throw his second Wind Blade, ate a direct hit from Sharingan: Genjutsu and collapsed on the spot. There was nothing he could do—Sunagakure's strategy for dealing with the Sharingan basically amounted to "if it's one-on-one, run away; if it's two-on-one, ambush." They never had a real solution for the Sharingan's illusions.

"Huff—" Uchiha Itachi's breathing grew labored, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Uchiha Fugaku certainly held nothing back; he had meant to kill his eldest son outright. It was just that Itachi reacted at the last second, causing the kunai's angle to shift slightly.

It ends here, Itachi.

So he thought, but in the next instant, a huge, orange-tinted skeletal arm suddenly appeared and swatted him away.

Itachi's expression wavered for a moment. His body swayed slightly, but he quickly steadied himself.

"Crack, crack, crack—" Link pulled Haku along as they emerged from the still-burning Amaterasu. With nothing blocking them, it was now clear that his body was covered by an armor of ice, exuding a chilling frost.

The "White Album," as seen in the manga used by its original owner, would freeze into a suit of armor and prevent injury. The problem was that, when the original user died, one could see lots of liquid falling off—it was basically a body-attachment-type stand, akin to "Love Deluxe," which attaches to hair, and thus visible to the naked eye.

Link didn't actually need that kind of ice armor, so for the sake of concealment, he had never had White Album form any sort of defense—until now. The moment he saw the space distort from the incoming Amaterasu, he made contact with the area around him and froze a layer of ice over it.

If clothes can be removed to drop Amaterasu, naturally an ice layer can briefly isolate it, too.

Ice Release?!

Haku stood off to the side, looking rather dumbfounded. His expression turned slightly complicated.

Once again, Link had his shadow stand guard in front of him. He absolutely could not afford to be caught in another genjutsu. Even if the opponent seemed on the verge of collapse, he couldn't let his guard down.

In the original story, even when Itachi's eyes had turned white on both sides—and his Sharingan deactivated automatically—he could still use the third form of Susanoo and the Totsuka Sword.

Uchiha Fugaku did not overestimate himself by charging in alone. Instead, he reawakened Baki from the genjutsu. Like at the beginning, the three Elite Jōnin formed a triangle around the enemy.

Link's shadows also regrouped, sealing off every gap in that formation.

Two Eight Gates–empowered shadows quietly closed in on Baki, preventing any weak points from being exploited.

Meanwhile, over yonder, Utakata and Hoshigaki Kisame were still locked in a tangle. Coming from the same village, they both specialized in Water Release techniques and had some notoriety; they knew each other's strengths well.

Kisame couldn't absorb any chakra with Samehada; in a standard fight, he had no quick way to claim victory.

Without entering a Tailed Beast form, Utakata's own strength was only so far beyond that of a normal Elite Jōnin.

Both sides had ample chakra, bombarding each other with Water Release. It was a flashy spectacle, but they wouldn't be deciding a winner anytime soon.

They were both taught by the same master, so neither could break the other's jutsu.

"Link!" Having failed to land a blow on his brother, Sasuke landed beside his friend—only for his Chidori to pierce right through Link's chest as though it were nothing.

"?!?!" ×5

"These little shadows of his are getting stronger and stronger."

From a distance, Black Zetsu surfaced halfway out of the ground. Seeing the obviously upgraded strength of the shadows, he couldn't help but sigh.

"What exactly is your relationship to them?" White Zetsu suddenly asked. "Are you guys brothers?"

Black Zetsu's face went dark.

White Zetsu didn't notice and went on enthusiastically, "Could you hide yourself inside the shadow ninjutsu—"

"Shut up," Black Zetsu snapped. He was about to say something else, but then saw Itachi activating Amaterasu, so his attention shifted back to the battlefield. "Ah, Amaterasu. That kid is finished if he doesn't bring out some other secret technique. That's Itachi for you."

"It's Ice Release—he used that ability before." White Zetsu, noticing the layer of ice between Link's body and the Amaterasu, said with some regret, "At this rate, the situation doesn't look too good for Itachi. Sasuke's here too."

"Man, I really wanted to see a father-and-sons battle without all these extra people in the way."

"Hey?!"

On the battlefield, the situation had taken a drastic turn. The newly arrived Sasuke had apparently driven his hand clean through Link's chest in one strike. Blood sprayed everywhere, and everyone—both living and the resurrected—was stunned. In the next second, Sasuke himself knelt painfully on the water's surface.

Haku reached out, pressing a hand on Link's chest in an attempt to save him.

Wasting no time, Uchiha Fugaku turned to rush toward his younger son. Momochi Zabuza used his Executioner's Sword to cut him off, leaving Baki all by his lonesome to face Uchiha Itachi. The sight was almost comical.

Off in the distance, Utakata suddenly charged over in a frenzy. His speed spiked, and even Kisame couldn't stop him.

"This is about to get interesting," White Zetsu said gleefully.

Black Zetsu, on the other hand, wore a grim expression. He had a hunch that this kid from Konoha—Link—might not actually die. The brat had far too many weird techniques. Black Zetsu had been watching him closely; the kid would always avoid revealing too much intel when alone, and every time he fought, he'd pull out something new.

While Black Zetsu was pondering, the atmosphere on the battlefield grew bizarre.

Hoshigaki Kisame landed not too far away. "I was just getting excited, but it looks like our fight is temporarily on hold."

He hefted the massive Samehada in one hand and said, "Itachi-san, this is the first time I've seen you this beat up."

Itachi's shoulder was still pierced by a kunai; blood continued to drip. His black-and-red Akatsuki cloak was tattered from the exchange with Zabuza's broadsword, and because of the Dragon Fire Technique swirling around him—constantly killing off the attacking shadows—his hair had curled slightly from the heat.

His body had been pushed to the brink; he was extremely exhausted, and even his Sharingan had deactivated.

The ever-calm "Scarlet" of the Akatsuki had finally been forced into such a predicament.

"Partner!" Hina came bounding over anxiously. No matter how worried it might have been about getting caught up in the fighting, it couldn't stand by after seeing its "litterbox attendant" beaten to within an inch of his life.

It even forgot to add "meow" to its speech.

A rare, murderous aura showed on Utakata's usually calm face. "I'll kill all of you—!"

And by "all of you," he clearly meant not just the pair in front of him, but even the kneeling Uchiha Sasuke in the distance.

Just as he was about to strike, Uchiha Fugaku, who stood between Utakata and his younger son, spoke in a grave tone: "It's a genjutsu. Sasuke is under a genjutsu, and you—"

"Clack."

A hand pressed down on the arm Fugaku was holding his kunai with.

"Father." Blood and tears streamed down Sasuke's cheeks. The tomoe in his eyes spun faster and faster, finally merging into an eerie shape.

[So fast—when did Sasuke—?]

Fugaku was astonished. He could sense that his younger son's chakra was no longer the same.

[He actually broke free of Kotoamatsukami.]

Itachi's face remained impassive, but inside he was thoroughly surprised. Seeing the birth of yet another Mangekyō Sharingan, his initial shock turned into relief.

No matter what, Sasuke now had the strength to stand up to "Madara." As long as Sasuke then killed him, Sasuke would become the hero of Konoha.

But the Six-Tails Jinchūriki and that ninja cat could be a hassle—they would have to be dealt with.

His train of thought abruptly cut off when his eyes met Sasuke's, and his entire world went black.

In that moment, his Sharingan abilities—Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi—were taken away. Even if he mustered the remaining chakra to activate Susano'o, how long could he hold out in total darkness?

A new Mangekyō Sharingan ability?!

In the final second of his vision, he saw Sasuke rushing toward him, lightning flashing in his hands. But he did not attempt to evade; he simply stood still, quietly accepting it.

The deep darkness brought him an unfamiliar sense of tranquility. His lifeless eyes closed. Let it end here.

As for everything else, he had already done all he could.

In the next second, his body was pierced through. Under the massive force, he was flung backward. There wasn't much pain; his life and vitality slipped away bit by bit, and finally, even his consciousness sank into endless darkness.

[Forgive me, Sasuke.]

~~~

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