"Silence! I can already see through your genjutsu and lies!" Sasuke roared, launching a Chidori toward Itachi, who sat on the other throne.
In truth, he had already pinpointed Itachi's real body.
"Although your eyes are strong, they're still not my eyes, Sasuke," Itachi said to him.
"So what? Then use your Mangekyo Sharingan to kill me now!" Sasuke spat, his voice dripping with defiance.
Itachi slowly opened his eyes, stood up from the throne, and calmly said:
"You *seem* very confident."
At this moment, Naruto realized that although he could indeed see everything right now, it was only what he *wanted* to see—what Itachi and Sasuke allowed him to see. He felt like someone trapped in a script written by others, forced to walk a predetermined path.
He had to break free—even if the Nine-Tails itself couldn't help him. He'd already come to understand that.
Now he finally understood why the Nine-Tails hated the Uchiha clan and their Sharingan so much—it was because even the Nine-Tails was nothing more than a puppet under the influence of the Sharingan.
Right now, he felt like a one-legged runner in a race—possessing great strength but unable to use it.
He knew absolutely nothing about genjutsu. His knowledge of the Sharingan barely went beyond what Danzo had told him, and he'd never even heard of Tsukuyomi before. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
Because this world belonged to them, and he was just a powerless outsider... In this world, anything unnecessary must be erased.
Itachi unfastened his hooded Akatsuki cloak, revealing his clothing underneath.
"The Mangekyo Sharingan comes with a unique side effect."
"What else could it do—besides drive people mad?" Naruto snapped bitterly.
Ignoring him, Itachi continued explaining to Sasuke:
"From the day you awakened your Mangekyo Sharingan, your eyes have been gradually losing their light. The more you use it, the faster that process accelerates."
"What?!" Sasuke asked, confused.
"One day, your Mangekyo Sharingan will completely lose its sight forever."
Sasuke's expression remained firm as he slowly uttered the word "Blindness." This shocked Naruto.
Even those powerful eyes of yours had such a flaw? If he'd known this three years ago, he should have endured Tsukuyomi back then—and made Itachi suffer now too.
"This is the cost of controlling the Nine-Tails?"
"You really did study that stone tablet well," Itachi said, a hint of pleasure evident in his tone as he slowly descended the throne's steps.
Sasuke seemed unaffected, but Naruto could hardly move at all.
Every move Itachi made could be the last thing he ever saw.
Sasuke asked, "Who is Madara?"
Instantly, Itachi's eyes transformed into the Mangekyo Sharingan:
"A man who tamed the Nine-Tails and treated it like a toy."
Naruto's eyes widened at those words. He knew who this person was—Madara Uchiha. The Nine-Tails had always snarled that name, cursing the man endlessly, especially during its encounters with Naruto.
Yet Itachi had claimed he was still alive, sent a chill down Naruto's spine.
"My partner, my mentor—the only person in history to ever grasp the ultimate secret of the Sharingan. An immortal, unbeatable being. He is Madara Uchiha."
***
On the ceiling, a strange plant-like man watched this battle unfold. This was the very individual who had witnessed Naruto defeating Deidara.
If he thought he had a chance, he'd have already come down to fight Naruto himself.
The blonde kid didn't stand a chance here.
In fact, he knew that opposing Naruto could lead to only one outcome: being torn to pieces.
He wasn't the Akatsuki's strongest fighter, while Naruto had already faced Kakuzu and Pain, survived both and kept fighting afterward.
That kind of power was way beyond his reach. He was just a spy—not a warrior.
However, after failing with his opening remarks, the blonde kid found himself stuck in a terrifying situation—one he could only describe as his worst nightmare made real.
This was a battle unlike anything he'd ever experienced, a battle he couldn't win, a battle neither side could afford to lose.
"They haven't moved at all..." the plant-man murmured.
And indeed they hadn't.
Ever since Naruto entered this space, he'd been dragged into the genjutsu duel between Sasuke and Itachi.
After his failed introduction, he got unintentionally dragged into it. As they exchanged glances, they also locked eyes with him, turning the confrontation into an all-out melee.
"They're fighting with their eyes," the plant-man stated.
Itachi's expression remained calm and unshaken, like still water. You couldn't even tell he was exerting effort.
Sasuke was similar—his gaze sharp but clearly prepared for this moment, handling everything with ease.
Then there was Naruto. His eyes twitched uncontrollably, his hands shook, and sweat poured down his face.
He tried resisting the genjutsu through sheer willpower. Instead of trying to focus and overpower the illusion with mental strength, he let himself become part of the illusion.
If he had more experience, he might have realized the right approach was to let the illusion flow naturally, like water.
But Naruto had only two ways of dealing with genjutsu—either completely avoid it or, when on the edge of being fully controlled, hurt himself deliberately to break free from the technique.
He'd never been caught in eye-based illusions like this before—he'd never faced a fully matured Sharingan.
Yet staying conscious through this chaotic battle so far had been nothing short of miraculous.
Through sheer force of will, he gradually adapted to this conflict, managing to survive the clash between two genjutsu masters.
While he had lasted this long largely due to his own Sharingan—without it, he might have already fallen—he'd never faced a battle this grueling.
This kind of fight couldn't be won by raw combat talent alone.
He didn't belong here, not in this fight—right from the start, he was doomed to lose.
******
##Within the Genjutsu Realm##
What Itachi had just revealed left Sasuke and Naruto stunned into silence.
Madara Uchiha.
He didn't go blind—he stole his younger brother's eyes instead, and gained incredible power through the reborn Mangekyō Sharingan.
He once fought against the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and finally met his end in battle at the Valley's End.
He founded the Akatsuki, pulling the strings from the shadows.
On the day Naruto was born, he orchestrated the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha, compelling the Fourth Hokage to intervene.
"It's him…" Naruto thought. "How is someone like him still alive? Why would Itachi tell me all this?"
"Madara Uchiha is nothing more than a hollow shell of who he once was," Itachi declared. "He's no longer worthy of bearing the title of the strongest Uchiha. The only one who can surpass him, who can transcend the invincible Madara and achieve true eternity, is me."
He stared at Naruto and continued speaking.
"You're different from Madara, Naruto—you were never part of my plan. You will die here for invading my domain…"
Itachi turned his gaze toward Sasuke, a grin bordering on madness spreading across his face.
"And you, Sasuke! Just like Madara and Izuna, you will become my new light!"
Both Sasuke and Naruto were stunned by Itachi's sudden shift in demeanor and instinctively took a step back.
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