Naruto's mind was slipping away. The pain from sealing Amaterasu hadn't eased—it had only intensified.
His breath came fast and uneven. Desperation drove him to instinctively draw chakra from the Nine-Tails.
Two tails blazed furiously behind him, hurling debris into the air with their immense power.
"Calm yourself, brat! Don't let rage cloud your senses!" The Nine-Tails' voice echoed inside Naruto's mind, trying to reason with him. "You know using chakra like a painkiller is pointless—it will only make you more dependent on my strength, until you lose yourself completely!"
But Naruto could no longer hear reason.
A third tail formed behind him, completing his transformation into Three-Tails mode.
"Snap out of it! Are you really going to give up and hand control over to me? If you do, you'll never take your body back again!" the Nine-Tails warned anxiously.
"No!" Naruto shouted inwardly in response. "I won't hand control over to you! I just… need to ease the pain..."
He knew full well that relying too long on the Nine-Tails' chakra would leave lasting damage.
Right now, he had only one choice—to use the power of Three-Tails to entirely numb his left arm, buying himself temporary relief from Amaterasu's torment.
At least until the sealing was complete.
After conveying this thought to the Nine-Tails, he ignored its warnings and focused all his strength into his left arm.
His left arm trembled violently, slowly going numb, and his mind started clearing up. He realized—he needed to hurry.
If the sealing wasn't completed in time, his left arm would be permanently crippled. Even if he managed to escape Amaterasu's torment, he'd end up a broken man.
Naruto slowly rose to his feet. Behind him, three tails thrashed wildly, radiating a chilling, corrosive aura.
His left eye burned blood-red, and his right eye ignited into the crimson Sharingan.
Enough of playing defense—he was turning the tide!
"I will win! My father sealed me within the Nine-Tails because he believed in my strength to defeat Madara! So first, I'll crush you two Uchihas!"
Itachi sensed the shift and a cold dread gripped him.
"This can't go on—we're going to die by this kid's hand!"
Before he could move, Naruto surged forward like lightning.
Was his target Sasuke?!
No matter what, he had to stop Naruto!
At that moment, Sasuke suddenly appeared behind him. With the Sword of Kusanagi in hand, he sliced through the massive serpent corpse blocking his path to Itachi.
Itachi found himself caught between a rock and a hard place—on one side, a Naruto whose power was spiraling out of control; on the other, a Sasuke burning with hatred. And he was already completely drained. How could he possibly deal with this?
Sasuke looked at Naruto standing behind Itachi, noticing how completely he had unleashed the Nine-Tails' power.
"Hmph. What does it matter even if you've grown stronger?"
"What you possess is just a tiny fraction of the Nine-Tails' full power. Compared to that, it's completely insignificant!"
Before he even finished speaking, Naruto suddenly crouched low on all fours and let out an earth-shattering roar.
A terrifying wave of chakra erupted from him, turning the stone roof beneath to dust.
Itachi swiftly raised his arms to shield his vital points, but the sleeve of his Akatsuki cloak was shredded by the shockwave, and he was flung backward, crashing hard against the wall.
Gritting his teeth, he struggled to rise, coughing violently as blood trickled from the corners of his mouth.
"I have no choice... I won't last without using that jutsu..." Thinking this, he slowly rose to his feet, his expression hardened with determination.
Sasuke's wings buckled under the force of Naruto's chakra surge, deflecting most of the blast, but he still staggered backward a few steps.
The broken rooftop trembled beneath their feet, offering no stable ground, and he helplessly flailed as he lost his footing, finally being hurled skyward.
Beating his wings furiously to regain control, Sasuke glared angrily at the charging Naruto.
Naruto leapt high into the air, forming the Tora seal with both hands while taking a deep breath.
"I won't let you destroy everything!" he shouted. [Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!]
A massive fire dragon erupted from Sasuke's mouth, rushing forward with unstoppable force, burning everything in its path.
The flames were so intense they warped the surrounding air, creating visible heatwaves.
Naruto's heart lurched in alarm, and he desperately tried to channel his chakra to move, but it was already too late.
His already shaky chakra control had grown even worse in his Three-Tails state; its immense power now beyond his control.
Until now, he'd always crushed his enemies with raw power, ignoring precise chakra control. Now, he was paying the price for that mistake.
Without a way to resist, the fire dragon swallowed Naruto whole. Amidst a deafening explosion, a thick plume of black smoke shot skyward.
"That's it! Your Sealing Technique is used up—you can't block my attacks anymore! This is it—"
Sasuke's voice echoed from within the smoke, yet before he could finish, two massive crimson chakra claws burst from the smoke, grabbing his arms and dragging him inside.
"It's over," Naruto's voice emerged from the smoke, laced with menace.
As the smoke cleared, Naruto's figure stood unscathed.
Burns across his body healed at an incredible rate, as if they'd never been there.
The two figures slowly descended from the air, Naruto dragging Sasuke closer with his chakra limbs.
In his right hand formed a whirling sphere of chakra, encased in a layer of crimson flame that pulsed with destructive energy.
"Die, Sasuke! Rasengan!"
The Rasengan struck Sasuke squarely in the chest. The unbearable pain twisted his face, not a sound escaping his lips.
He watched helplessly as his own body began disintegrating from the point of contact, finally dissolving into ashes and vanishing into nothingness.
Itachi personally witnessed Sasuke being consumed by the Rasengan, stunned beyond words.
The two slammed heavily onto the rooftop, Sasuke's pained gasps reaching Itachi's ears.
"**Sasuke...**" he murmured, his voice stunned, disbelief flashing in his eyes.
Naruto looked down at Sasuke's battered body, thinking he must be dead.
Starting from where the Rasengan had struck, Sasuke's body had completely vanished, leaving only empty, tattered clothes behind.
That he was still alive surprised Naruto slightly, but he knew Sasuke wouldn't last much longer.
Though filled with killing intent, Naruto hadn't yet lost his mind to the point of killing him without mercy.
He was about to land the final blow and end the fight when suddenly, Itachi's furious, deafening roar rang out.
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