Sasuke was sent spiraling back by Kanon's blade. With a sharp sweep of his hand, white lightning descended from the heavens, the Chidori Sharp Spear. In a single exchange, he thrust the bolt down from high above.
Watching the lightning descend, Kanon's lips curled into a faint smirk. She swung a flash of white light from her hand, her own white Chidori colliding with Sasuke's spear and knocking it off course in an instant.
While still mid-air, Sasuke hurled several kunai trailing steel strings. The moment Kanon saw them, she knew exactly what he was planning.
"Pointless," Kanon muttered. With a flick of her wrist, she threw a single shuriken, her hands blurring through signs.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
In an eyeblink, the lone shuriken multiplied into dozens, intercepting and knocking Sasuke's kunai out of the sky. Sasuke gasped, his purple Susanoo flaring into existence to catch the remaining shuriken with its massive hand.
"Is that all you've got, Kanon?" Sasuke began to taunt, but Kanon cut him off.
"Look at your Susanoo's hand."
"What?!" Sasuke's eyes widened. Tied to the shadow-cloned shuriken were several steel strings, the very tactic he had intended to use.
"Damn it!" Sasuke tried to release his grip, but Kanon's voice reached him first.
"Sage Art: Fire Release: Dragon Flame Song!"
Several fire dragons roared toward Sasuke's Susanoo, and the steel strings were suddenly coated in oil. The terrifying heat left Sasuke reeling, and before he could recover, a violent blast of wind erupted from Kanon's mouth.
Oil plus fire, reinforced by wind, it was Jiraiya's signature masterpiece: Sage Art: Goemon!
The overwhelming onslaught forced a scream from Sasuke as he was sent staggering through the air. A technique that had once required Jiraiya, Fukasaku, and Shima to perform together was now being executed by Kanon alone. Had Fukasaku been there to witness it, his jaw would have hit the floor.
Sasuke's Susanoo shattered under the pressure. He tumbled across the ground, his purple ribcage flickering as it struggled to mitigate the damage.
But Kanon's next attack moved faster than he could roll. A Sage Art: Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan was already inches from his face, leaving him with no room to maneuver. He could only brace himself behind his ribcage, but Kanon had no intention of holding back. She slammed the Rasengan directly into the skeletal armor. The violent, grinding rotation forced a guttural scream from Sasuke's throat.
"AAAAAAGH!"
With a thunderous explosion, Sasuke and his Susanoo were blasted through several massive stalactites before finally coming to a halt.
Hearing Sasuke's cries, Kanon stood in the center of the cavern, her hair disheveled as she laughed hysterically. Tears streamed from her eyes even as her laughter grew more manic. In this moment, she had lost sight of what she had done or what she should do; all that remained was the drive to crush every enemy before her, even if that enemy was her own brother.
Itachi and Kabuto both felt the shift in the battlefield.
"Sasuke!" Itachi yelled toward the wreckage.
"You're next, Itachi Uchiha," Kanon said, turning her gaze toward him.
"Kanon! You..." For the first time, Itachi felt a surge of genuine anger.
"Are you angry? This is just a small gift in return," Kanon sneered. "Compared to the agony you've put me through, this doesn't even account for a ten-thousandth of it!"
"But he is your—"
"Shut up, you beast!"
"Are you about to say he's my brother?"
"You talk too much, Itachi! I haven't had a home for a long time. I have nothing left."
"I can't even feel my own existence anymore!"
"I don't know what you and that guy were hoping for, but this is reality, Itachi Uchiha."
Witnessing Kanon's madness, Itachi felt a crushing weight of shame. He could sense a level of despair radiating from her that he had never encountered before. The current Kanon was more extreme than Madara, more extreme than anyone, and he was the one who had forged her into this.
"An apology now won't stop you, will it?"
"Then let our fists do the talking," Itachi said softly.
"Where was this attitude before, Itachi?"
Kanon stood poised with her sword. With a single sweep, she slashed at Itachi. Simultaneously, Kabuto leaped into the fray beside her. In an instant, Itachi found himself driven onto the defensive.
Amidst the flash of blades and Itachi's retreat, Sasuke finally pulled himself up from the rubble. Seeing Itachi struggling, his heart wrenched. Watching Kanon and Kabuto coordinate was like watching a true pair of siblings. They moved in perfect sync, like lifelong allies; whenever Kanon's strike missed, Kabuto was there to follow up, and vice versa.
The sight filled Sasuke with a bitter ache. Deep down, he knew this was largely his own doing. If not for his impulsiveness that day, Kanon might still be by his side, the kind, bright, and gentle little sister she used to be.
But that was all in the past. Now, Kanon had severed their ties completely. There was no turning back. He wanted to apologize, but the words felt impossible to utter, especially now.
"Nii-san! I'm coming!" Sasuke shouted, his body trembling as he charged toward Itachi.
"Stay back!" Itachi yelled.
But it was too late. In a sudden shift of rhythm, Kanon disengaged from Kabuto. Her lips curled into a smirk as her hands moved into seals. Sasuke's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan spun, manifesting his purple Susanoo once more. In its hand, a magatama of black Amaterasu flames formed.
"Finally willing to use a killing move, Sasuke?"
"Don't push me..." Sasuke hissed through gritted teeth.
"Then kill me! Carry out your brother's will!" Kanon laughed. Her words mirrored the ones she had spoken that day on the beach at sunset, when Sasuke's Kusanagi sword had run through her abdomen.
"Argh! Don't push me!"
Sasuke's Susanoo moved. He hurled the Yasakani Magatama wreathed in Amaterasu directly at Kanon. The moment the attack left his hand, Sasuke was struck with instant regret. The girl before him was his last living relative; Itachi was already a dead man.
Seeing Sasuke finally strike with full intent, Kanon's smirk widened. She showed no fear of death; instead, she raised her Kusanagi sword and charged straight toward the Magatama.
"Get out of the way!"
"Stop being so hypocritical, Sasuke!" Kanon lunged forward. A skeletal hand manifested behind her, hurling its own Yasakani Magatama to collide with Sasuke's.
BOOM!
The massive collision generated a violent shockwave. However, the black flames of Amaterasu managed to catch onto Kanon's hand.
Because she had deployed so many shadow clones during this war, her current form was unable to phase through attacks. The black flames began to consume her left palm.
Sasuke instinctively moved to use Kagutsuchi to extinguish the flames on her hand, but Kanon's next move left him paralyzed. Even Itachi and Kabuto's pupils contracted in shock.
With a cold, expressionless face, Kanon used her Kusanagi sword to instantly sever her own left hand.
Blood sprayed into the air as the delicate hand fell to the ground. This display of self-cruelty was something neither Sasuke, Itachi, nor even Kabuto had expected.
"You bastard!" Kabuto roared in fury. He threw Itachi back with a full-force blow and lunged toward Sasuke with blinding speed.
Sasuke was so haunted by the sight of his sister's severed hand that he didn't even think to dodge. He stood there, petrified. Images of Kanon's childhood and the sweet smiles she used to give him flashed through his mind. Now, the girl standing before him was a mutilated, bleeding shadow of herself.
"Sasuke! Watch out!" Itachi cried.
BAM!
A wave of agonizing pain sent Sasuke's world spinning. Kabuto's punch shattered the Susanoo's ribs and slammed into Sasuke's face. Sasuke was sent spiraling away, his vision blurred.
"You piece of filth! You call yourself a brother?!" Kabuto screamed. He rushed to Kanon's side, immediately applying Medical Ninjutsu to staunch the bleeding.
"I'm just a shadow clone, but... thank you for helping me," Kanon whispered, nodding weakly to Kabuto as cold sweat beaded on her brow.
Seeing that faint, warm smile, tears actually pricked at the corners of Kabuto's eyes. He pulled her into his arms. "I won't let you do that again."
"But as a shadow clone, I can't use Kagutsuchi... I had to cut it off, or the Amaterasu would have spread," Kanon tried to explain.
"No excuses! I have ways to absorb Amaterasu! You are not allowed to do that again, not even as a clone!"
"Why..."
"Because your clones are different from everyone else's... they bleed!" Kabuto hissed.
As those words echoed through the cave, Itachi, who had been about to strike, froze. Sasuke, picking himself up from the ground, was consumed by a tidal wave of guilt. In that moment, both brothers lowered their heads in shame. It was a bitter irony; a stranger like Kabuto showed Kanon more genuine care than her own flesh and blood ever had.