"Nine-Tails? Are you there? Are you still angry with me?" Naruto felt uneasy. He had never seen the Nine-Tails behave this way before.
But this wasn't the time to worry about that now—he had more important things to deal with.
Slowly turning around, he stared at the fatigued Sasuke and coolly remarked,
"Your chakra... it's completely drained."
He wasn't wrong. Sasuke had reached his limit and was no longer capable of fighting back.
"And me... I still have some left." Saying this, he drew his tanto from behind his back and slowly advanced toward Sasuke.
Sasuke murmured in despair as he closed his eyes. He knew there was nothing he could do anymore. All he could do was wait for death.
"Is this... really the outcome you wanted?" A familiar voice suddenly came from behind.
"Itachi?" Sasuke's eyes flew open in shock, staring at the unbelievable sight before him.
There stood Itachi, slowly rising to his feet. Although he still seemed very weak, his eyes shone with unshakable determination.
A burning skeletal figure rose from the ground, enveloping Itachi within it.
"Sasuke, you're truly strong. If I hadn't used this, I would've already been defeated by you. Now behold my final technique—[Susanoo]!"
The spectral skeleton instantly morphed into an armored colossus, protecting Itachi inside.
He turned his head toward Naruto and said,
"You're fortunate to witness this form. I suggest you use whatever moves you have left now."
In Konoha, many ninja had spoken of how terrifying Itachi Uchiha was, and Naruto had heard those words more than once.
Ever since he barely escaped their first encounter three years ago, those words had echoed constantly in Naruto's mind.
To Naruto, Itachi was someone who required constant vigilance.
Yet now, witnessing Itachi's power firsthand, Naruto couldn't help but admit that calling Susanoo overwhelming didn't do it justice.
Itachi Uchiha truly was a frighteningly powerful man.
"How is he still standing?!" Naruto wasn't scared anymore—just amazed.
He'd hit Itachi hard with Nine-Tails Chakra, yet Itachi kept fighting within Susanoo.
Speaking of Nine-Tails Chakra, Naruto couldn't summon even a drop of it right now.
He had already exhausted himself earlier trying to survive [Heavenly Lightning], and now facing Itachi's Susanoo, he was completely powerless.
"Why does the whole world seem to be against me?! Fine. Guess I'll have to use that move after all."
Compared to Naruto, Sasuke treated Itachi's threat far more seriously and anxiously.
Naruto looked like he could keep going—those injuries didn't seem to bother him much.
But Sasuke had no way to retreat anymore. He could only use [Heavenly Lightning] once, and just to survive its attack, he had used [Cellular Regeneration Ejection] again. On top of recovering his right side from Naruto's earlier attack, he was now utterly spent.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! What now?! What else can I do?!"
"Would you like me to lend you some power?"
That voice...
"No..."
Since his defeat by Naruto several years ago, Sasuke hadn't heard the voice that whispered in his mind.
But now, at the depths of despair, it had returned—and stronger than ever.
"Admit it, Sasuke-kun. You need me."
"Shut up... Get out."
"Do you truly want to avenge Itachi, or are you just content letting Naruto fight for you? Hehe... I believe he has enough strength to kill you and take out Itachi as well. Just sit back and watch."
Grabbing the cursed seal on his neck, Sasuke fell to his knees. His sharp, demon-like fingernails dug deep into the ground as he struggled internally.
"Come on, release me. Your deepest wish will come true."
As Sasuke screamed out in agony, Naruto leapt away from the Uchiha.
The cursed seal on Sasuke's body began to swell until it finally burst open, revealing eight colossal snake heads erupting from within.
The creature was bone-white, each crowned with jagged spines.
Naruto distanced himself as far as possible and groaned under his breath:
"Great... Just fantastic..."
He shouted inwardly:
"Hey! Nine-Tails! Wake up!" But there was no reply.
"Damn it! Am I really going to have to beat this thing on my own?" Naruto snarled as he saw several snake heads turn toward him, opening their mouths threateningly.
Protected inside his Susanoo, Itachi watched as the monstrous Eight-Headed Serpent roared at him and his guardian spirit.
"So this is Orochimaru's Eight Branches Technique..." Itachi muttered.
He tried taking another step forward, and his Susanoo mimicked the motion.
But suddenly, his legs buckled, and he dropped heavily to his knees, spitting a gush of blood onto the ground.
"No... Naruto's Nine-Tails chakra accelerated my deterioration."
"Not now..." Gritting his teeth, Itachi forced his Susanoo to grab for the gourd strapped to his sash, but his vision began to blur and tilt.
The multi-headed serpent roared toward Itachi, charging forward to crush the Susanoo.
"Has it come to this...? I can't lose now. Not yet." Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and Itachi could do nothing else. His coughing revealed the state of his body, and his Susanoo flickered and began to vanish.
Meanwhile, Naruto faced three of the serpent's heads that were intent only on killing him and the weakened Itachi.
"Gotta admit..." Naruto said cautiously while watching the giant snakes preparing to attack, "I'm genuinely surprised. How'd you even get this from Orochimaru? Dunno — and I don't even wanna find out."
Naruto created a pair of Shadow Clones, each holding a Rasengan in hand.
"I made this move to counter Susanoo, but an enemy of my enemy is my friend... Right now, you're the biggest threat."
As the clones began manipulating the chakra around the Rasengan, a white, four-pointed star shape spun like a Fuma Shuriken around it, while the spiraling core at its center drew everything inward.
It began letting out a ringing screech like a clanging bell, provoking the serpent and causing all eight of its heads to erupt into violent, guttural snarls.
"Come on! Come on! Want to eat me? Then come and get me..." Naruto muttered as he charged toward the giant snake, rushing forward with his lethal new technique. "Try tasting this!"
The snake heads attacked simultaneously, targeting Naruto as he charged forward.
But just as their strikes were about to connect, just before impact Susanoo slammed into them with heavy force, disrupting their formation.
Taking advantage of the opening, Naruto leaped into the air and unleashed his technique: [Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!]
He slammed his attack down onto the snake's heads, and all eight heads let out a thunderous chorus of guttural snarls.
Itachi gritted his teeth against the intense pain, using every last bit of strength remaining to block the serpent's assault.
Naruto's Rasenshuriken struck the hydra head-on, countless miniature wind blades ripping through its body before finally severing all eight heads.
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