The battle continued as the sun moved closer to the west. Though the sky had yet to darken, it was clear that in a short while, the sun would set as usual.
Red Susano'o clashed with purple Susano'o, and the overwhelming force reduced the entire building to rubble. Looking around, there was hardly a single intact spot left.
Itachi was panting heavily. After maintaining Susano'o's third stage for such a long time, his eyes had completely lost their vision. All he could see was shadows—everything around him had merged into a single, indistinguishable blur.
His pupils had dimmed, losing their once brilliant shine.
Yet even in this state, he looked at Sasuke with that same gentle smile. "Your eyes must be reaching their limit too, right?"
Sasuke was also breathing hard, though not as heavily as Itachi. Hearing his words, he fell silent, a trace of hesitation flashing in his eyes. "Yeah…"
His voice was soft, but Itachi caught the slight change instantly. He immediately understood Sasuke's condition. "I see… So your visual power is still intact, and your eyesight hasn't been affected, has it?"
Sasuke didn't answer, but that was exactly the case.
With the boost from Six Paths Yin Power, his eyes had already surpassed an ordinary Mangekyou Sharingan. Just like the Eternal Mangekyou, they wouldn't lose their sight. So even after all this fighting, Sasuke's visual power wasn't drained—in fact, he still had plenty left.
Sasuke's Sharingan is different from Obito's. Obito could use his freely because the cells from Hashirama replenished his eye power. But Sasuke's current state is more like Obito in Six Paths mode—his eyes won't go blind anymore. These are two different concepts.
As for chakra, it's not a big issue. Since Sasuke can use Sage Mode, his chakra reserves have already expanded significantly due to natural energy and the power of the Six Paths. At the very least, his chakra level far surpasses Kakashi's.
Right now, Sasuke is a bit tired, but it's still within an acceptable range. Meanwhile, Itachi has almost completely drained his eye power and has very little chakra left.
"You've lost, Itachi." Sasuke looked at him and spoke softly. "Come back to Konohagakure with me. Let's talk to Tsunade-sama and explain everything—she'll help you…"
"It's fine." Itachi slowly—
—stood up. The massive red Susano'o raised its sword once again. "I lost a long time ago. Now, I just want to see how far you've come."
He never intended to win in the first place. Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to fight Sasuke head-on like this.
Itachi's fighting style is similar to Kakashi's—he follows the traditional ninja approach: testing the opponent when things are unclear, gathering information, forming a strategy, striking at key moments, and finishing the battle with a final ninjutsu attack.
But Sasuke, after spending so much time with Kurama and Naruto, has turned into a reckless fighter. Even when he doesn't know his opponent's abilities, his first instinct isn't to test them—it's to go all in right from the start.
If it were anyone other than Itachi, Sasuke would probably have gone straight into Sage Mode and used Susano'o. He'd start with a "Six Paths Sage Art: Amaterasu Arrow" as a greeting, then follow up with some other weird Six Paths technique to go all out.
Forget testing the waters—his way of saying hello is throwing out a big attack. If it hits, the opponent is done for. If it misses, he'll just fire another one.
That's how the Genin of Team 7 say hello.
"If you see my full power, will you finally agree to come back to Konohagakure with me?" Sasuke's voice carried a trace of hope.
But Itachi simply shook his head. "I could lie to you, but I already told you—the last lie was my final one."
Sasuke clenched his fists instantly.
Itachi couldn't see it, but he could imagine Sasuke's expression. "Sasuke, we need to speed things up."
His chakra and eye power were nearly gone. If he didn't finish this quickly, he wouldn't last until sunset.
As soon as he spoke, the towering Susano'o suddenly moved. The gourd-sword in its right hand erupted with energy, and a bright light flickered in Susano'o's eyes. The next second, it swung its arm, slashing at Sasuke even faster than before.
Sasuke's expression shifted slightly. Itachi's sudden increase in speed caught him off guard. He could only control Amaterasu to form a black shield in front of him.
But the sword in Itachi's Susano'o seemed to carry a strange power—it cut through Amaterasu's defense almost instantly. The full-force attack landed directly on Sasuke's purple Susano'o.
Seeing cracks spread across Susano'o's armor, Sasuke's face finally changed. "How is that possible?!"
Both of them were using third-stage Susano'o, and Sasuke even had the power of Six Paths Yin to enhance his. By all logic, his Susano'o should be stronger than Itachi's.
Yet Itachi broke through his defense with just one strike?
What was going on?
Itachi couldn't see Sasuke's reaction, but he still smiled as he explained, "Susano'o's strength isn't just about eye power—it also depends on how well a ninja controls their chakra and dojutsu. If the same Susano'o is controlled with better chakra control, its strength increases."
It's like the difference between water and ice—its density determines its toughness.
Sasuke had stronger chakra and dojutsu, but his control over Susano'o wasn't as refined as Itachi's. A Susano'o built purely by overwhelming chakra and eye power was like a castle made of water—it only looked solid.
Blocking another attack from the red Susano'o, Sasuke crossed his arms in front of him to absorb the impact. His purple Susano'o mirrored his movements, but just two simple attacks had already left cracks all over its armor.
Sasuke immediately channeled his chakra, trying to repair the cracks, but his speed was far behind Itachi's relentless attacks.
With another impact, Sasuke was forced back two steps, unable to control his movements. Itachi's dim eyes locked onto him. "If you don't go all out now, your Susano'o won't withstand the next attack."
Three red tomoe appeared in front of his crimson Susano'o, burning with a flame-like red aura. Itachi spoke softly, "Susano'o: Yasaka Magatama."
In the next second, the three tomoe shot out, carrying an overwhelming force as they charged toward Sasuke.
Sasuke's expression tensed. He instantly assessed the power behind the attack—judging by his Susano'o's current repair speed, if this hit landed, half of Susano'o's body would be blown apart.
Realizing this, Sasuke's eyes widened as he quickly formed hand seals. A purple aura surged around him, and his once-bright red pupils turned deep violet. His Sharingan transformed, its original crimson color replaced by a dark purple hue, and even the Mangekyou pattern subtly changed.
"Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation!"
Under Sasuke's control, the earth itself seemed to come alive, growing and forming a shield alongside Susano'o to block the incoming attack.
As Yasaka Magatama struck, a deafening explosion erupted.