Naruto World, the border of the Hidden Sand Village.
"This fellow named Sasuke is quite impressive." Yakushi Kabuto watched Sasuke using Kirin against Uchiha Itachi in the video, a strange light flickering in his eyes.
Not just Yakushi Kabuto, but the white-haired youth standing beside Orochimaru—Kimimaro—was also looking at Sasuke with an unusual gaze.
The boy was excellent, and the Ninjutsu he used—aside from Lightning Release and Fire Release—mostly consisted of life-saving skills developed by Lord Orochimaru.
The Cursed Seal of Heaven, the Orochimaru-style Substitution Jutsu, and so on.
Plus the kusanagi sword in Sasuke's hand; Kimimaro felt that this existence named Sasuke...
...should be Orochimaru's next vessel.
This made Kimimaro feel a hint of envy. In fact, he had already prepared to give his own body to Lord Orochimaru.
And Orochimaru also wanted Kimimaro's body.
Unfortunately, due to a bloodline disease, Orochimaru couldn't take Kimimaro's body, so he had to settle for a random female body to possess.
Even so, Kimimaro remained Orochimaru's second-most capable assistant; the first was naturally Yakushi Kabuto.
"Itachi..."
Orochimaru looked at Uchiha Itachi in the video, a hint of wariness and doubt flashing in his eyes. Logically, Itachi shouldn't be that weak.
Although the strength Sasuke was displaying now was already very, very formidable.
But Orochimaru always felt that Itachi hadn't shown his true power yet.
As someone who had once ambushed Itachi and even sought the Mangekyo Sharingan, Orochimaru was one of the few who had truly fought Itachi and lived to tell the tale.
Thus, he knew Itachi's terror well. Over all these years, Orochimaru had never even thought of seeking revenge on Itachi.
On one hand, he had become a traitor to the Akatsuki Organization and couldn't show his face; if he did, Pain might kill him personally.
And it wasn't just Pain who wanted him dead; there was also the "Artist Duo," Sasori and Deidara, who were equally difficult to handle.
On the other hand, it was simple: he couldn't defeat Itachi. Back then, he had only survived because Kabuto saved him.
Now, Itachi was also accompanied by Kisame, another guy who was not to be trifled with.
Thus, out of options, Orochimaru could only set his sights on Sasuke. This kid hadn't fully grown yet, making him the easiest target.
It just so happened he was going to Konoha to cause trouble; kidnapping the boy along the way would be perfectly natural.
Elsewhere, within the Akatsuki Organization.
"...This Ninjutsu."
Deidara, who had previously looked down on Sasuke, had a flash of surprise in his eyes. This Ninjutsu was actually pretty good.
"Itachi, your brother's creativity is quite good."
Sasori also gave a slight compliment. Although the conditions for activating this Ninjutsu called Kirin were a bit harsh.
Either the heavens had to cooperate by forming thunderclouds naturally, or one had to manually use Fire Release to create them.
Despite the difficulty, the power looked impressive, and it was quite aesthetically pleasing—it even had a bit of an artistic flair.
Yes, aesthetic!
Sasori and Deidara: one loved the art of eternity, the other loved the art of explosions.
The two of them had their own different interpretations of the word "art."
Why did the two of them hate Orochimaru so much? On one hand, he had betrayed the Akatsuki; on the other, he was just plain disgusting.
Especially since Sasori had once used the Third Kazekage to fight Orochimaru.
And Orochimaru had used Edo Tensei to bring out another Third Kazekage.
From that moment on, the grudge between Sasori and Orochimaru was set in stone.
Just moments ago, Sasori and Deidara were still quite averse to Sasuke because he used Orochimaru's techniques, but now that he had unleashed Kirin...
...Sasori and Deidara actually thought a bit better of him. Not bad, this kid; the technique he created was quite pleasing to the eye.
"It is indeed good. This Lightning Release isn't particularly hard to learn." Kakuzu also spoke up, rubbing his chin with interest. "Perhaps I could learn it."
"..."
Itachi silently glanced at Kakuzu, saying nothing.
"Is Itachi dead?" White Zetsu asked. He really wanted to know if the Itachi in the video had died.
Black Zetsu said raspily, "It's impossible to dodge an attack like that. Unless Itachi has a way to block it, but his body in the video seems to have reached its limit."
Black Zetsu's implication was clear: Itachi was a dead man.
Although Black Zetsu knew how terrifying Itachi could be when serious, he noticed that Itachi never truly went for the kill in his fight against Sasuke.
Sasuke, on the other hand, was different. He was calculating; he knew Itachi's Ninjutsu before the fight even began and step-by-step steered the battle in his favor.
Itachi held back, while Sasuke went all out.
Even though there was a gap in their strength, even Black Zetsu felt that Itachi was doomed at this moment.
Because isn't this the death he desired?
To die at the hands of his younger brother, then return to Konoha Village and restore the glory of the Uchiha.
Unless... he still has some unfinished goal, otherwise, ending it now would be the best choice.
"Itachi still has a trump card."
Pain spoke. He knew Itachi still had a trump card to play, so things definitely wouldn't end so quickly.
Inside the video.
"Rumble—!!!"
Accompanied by the roar of Kirin, lightning invisible to the naked eye crashed down as a blue light flashed.
A terrifying explosion rang out. This strike was horrific; the lightning destroyed everything in the vicinity, forcing even Black and White Zetsu to retreat to a distance.
A moment later, the lightning dissipated, and smoke rose from all around.
Sasuke gasped for breath, the Chidori in his hand still flickering, though from the sound of it, it seemed he couldn't maintain it much longer.
"To think it reached such a level." Black Zetsu marveled at Kirin's power.
In that instant, it had actually destroyed more than half of the landscape. The power was truly immense.
Not far away, Itachi's figure appeared. His Akatsuki uniform was gone, and he lay face down on the ground.
Sasuke stared at Itachi's body, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan still active, and the Chidori in his hand chirped softly.
"Is Itachi already dead?" White Zetsu asked, seeing this and assuming Sasuke had won.
At this moment, Sasuke also thought Itachi was dead. The Chidori in his hand vanished, and he could no longer maintain his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
"It's over..."
With those words, Sasuke knelt on the ground, his voice sounding quite emotional. "It's finally over."
Sasuke was extremely emotional. Finally, he had finally killed Itachi—his brother, the sinner of the Uchiha Clan.
The screen dimmed slightly. Everyone watching the video frowned. Was it over? Impossible.
But just as the screen went black, a voice suddenly rang out.
"Is this... the sight of my death... that you wanted to recreate?"