Uchiha Itachi had never intended to kill Shihouin Naraku from the beginning, though whether he could actually accomplish such a feat was another matter entirely.
At this point in their battle, however, it was no longer a question of mercy. If Itachi didn't fight back with ruthless precision, he would be the one to perish. So he unleashed the abilities of his Mangekyō Sharingan one after another, coordinating his attacks with Hoshigaki Kisame.
Even with their combined effort, Itachi found himself at a disadvantage.
He had discovered something troubling—Shihouin Naraku's resistance to genjutsu was unnaturally high. Although Itachi could still drag him into the illusory realm with his abilities, he couldn't dominate the space as completely as he had done with previous opponents.
Despite clearly being trapped within Itachi's genjutsu, Shihouin Naraku seemed to grow more excited as the battle raged on!
"Clang!"
The sharp blade continued its assault, instantly splitting Uchiha Itachi in two.
"Crash..."
The Itachi who had been struck by the sword light transformed into a crow, wings flapping as it took to the sky. Black feathers drifted slowly downward.
"Caw—caw—"
Amid the mournful cries, numerous crows gathered in the air, and the illusory figure of Uchiha Itachi materialized once more.
"In that case..."
Itachi's scarlet eyes pulsed with renewed dōjutsu power.
An enormous crimson moon appeared in the sky behind him, its presence eerily unnatural.
In the next second, the red moon descended like a meteor, hurtling toward Shihouin Naraku's position.
In Naraku's eyes, the red moon grew progressively larger as it crashed down with terrifying momentum.
"Illusions remain illusions!" Naraku shouted.
He gripped Kurikara tightly, channeling his chakra to the blade's tip, his eyes fixed on the descending crimson moon that resembled a falling meteorite.
"Crescent Moon Sky Rush!"
The pitch-black blade light shot upward with a piercing whistle, slashing at the red moon. A sharp friction sound echoed through the space, and in the next moment, the blade light flashed brilliantly as it cleaved the red moon perfectly in half.
"Boom..."
Shihouin Naraku stood motionless as the red moon split into two perfect semicircles that crashed to the ground of the illusory realm, creating ripples that seemed to shake the entire world.
At this point, Uchiha Itachi could no longer maintain the stability of his genjutsu. Shihouin Naraku's eyes flashed with realization as he returned to the real world.
In the physical realm, only a moment had passed.
"Kakashi was tortured by Uchiha Itachi's Tsukuyomi for what felt like three days, though only a second passed in reality," Naraku thought to himself. "Yet I only battled with Itachi in the genjutsu for less than twenty minutes."
"The difference must be due to my spiritual strength and resistance to illusions," he reasoned.
"Because of my genjutsu resistance, Itachi needs to consume more chakra and dōjutsu power to control the flow of time or manipulate position and mass within the illusory space. If he had attempted to create an exaggerated time dilation like he did against Kakashi, his chakra and ocular power would have been exhausted before he could even begin the torture."
Having figured this out, Shihouin Naraku felt a surge of confidence in his spiritual attributes. When he had previously fought against Uchiha Obito, he had destroyed the opponent's genjutsu with a single sword strike.
Now, facing the Mangekyō Sharingan-level illusions of Uchiha Itachi, he wasn't at a disadvantage!
"When my spiritual attributes improve further," Naraku muttered to himself, "Itachi won't even be able to pull me into his genjutsu next time."
Standing on a large tree branch, Shihouin Naraku observed the enormous water prison where Hoshigaki Kisame, transformed into a shark-like form, attacked his Shadow Clone repeatedly.
Yes, from the very beginning, what Kisame had trapped was merely Shihouin Naraku's Shadow Clone.
Both Itachi and Kisame had assumed that the moment Tsukuyomi struck Naraku, he had lost the ability to control his body. Neither could have anticipated that his resistance to genjutsu was so formidable that he'd had time to perform a Substitution Jutsu and leave a Shadow Clone in his place.
So Shihouin Naraku's real body had been waiting nearby all along, while Hoshigaki Kisame had only been attacking the clone.
"Kisame! Run!" Itachi shouted.
Although only a moment had passed in reality, Itachi—after his genjutsu space was shattered—had already vaguely realized that Kisame had only trapped a Shadow Clone!
His first reaction was to shout a warning, trying to get Hoshigaki Kisame away from the Shadow Clone!
But Kisame, submerged in his enormous water prison, couldn't hear Itachi's warning and continued his relentless assault, his figure darting swiftly back and forth through the water.
"It seems Kisame is having quite the time," Naraku said with a smirk. "Let me add some fireworks to his fun!"
Shihouin Naraku raised his left hand and whispered, "Art is an explosion! Katsu!"
"Bang!"
When Hoshigaki Kisame charged at the Shadow Clone again, he was shocked to see visible cracks appearing across "Shihouin Naraku's" body.
But it was too late for him to escape. With a muffled sound, the Shadow Clone exploded. Flames and lightning instantly engulfed Kisame.
The flames, hindered by the water, only flashed momentarily, but they caused the massive water prison to shake violently.
Powerful electric currents coursed through the water and struck Kisame's shark-like form directly, making his body convulse uncontrollably. Completely paralyzed by the electricity, he was unable to break free.
"See you later!"
Shihouin Naraku's figure appeared above the water prison as if he had teleported there. Meeting Kisame's fear-filled eyes, he raised Kurikara with both hands and brought it down without mercy!
"Crescent Moon Sky Rush!!!"
"Yasaka Magatama!"
In this moment of extreme danger, Uchiha Itachi disregarded the strain on his eyes and forcefully activated the second form of Susanoo.
By now, Susanoo's skeletal form had developed networks of energy resembling muscles and flesh, its appearance enhanced by chakra that looked like a protective cloak.
Under Itachi's control, Susanoo hurled three massive, interconnected comma-shaped beads at the airborne Shihouin Naraku, much like throwing a giant shuriken. The Yasaka Magatama spun rapidly through the air and instantly pierced through Naraku's body.
But Shihouin Naraku, who had activated his Observation Haki, immediately transformed into his elemental state. Even when struck by the Yasaka Magatama, he sustained no damage.
"Swish!"
Itachi's intervention proved futile.
The dark blade light launched from Kurikara's tip cut through the water prison like a hot knife through butter, easily tearing through the massive volume of water and fiercely slashing Kisame, who remained paralyzed by lightning and unable to move.
"Splash..."
The ruptured water prison collapsed instantly. Enormous waves crashed down, flooding a large section of the forest below.
A thin line-like wound appeared across Hoshigaki Kisame's forehead, revealing a trace of his blood.
His body was carried away by the massive current, flowing through the forest until it smashed against a huge boulder and came to rest.
As the water gradually receded, a spark descended from above and landed on Kisame's body, instantly igniting a fierce fire. In the blink of an eye, his form was reduced to ashes.
With barely a sound, Shihouin Naraku stepped onto the boulder, Kurikara in hand, and gazed at the spot where Kisame had vanished, leaving no trace behind.
"Farewell, honest man who loved to make hand seals..."
"Clang!"
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