On the other side,
Kisame, watching from the sidelines, and Obito, watching from the shadows, were naturally also completely bewildered!
They had been intently watching the life-and-death duel between the brothers... where did this sudden arrow from the sky come from??
There's such a plot development???
They were also completely bewildered,
Trying to look up into the sky.
However,
No matter how they looked,
There was only a bright sun in the sky.
There's nothing else.
Even Itachi, who had seen Kyo's figure just now, suddenly noticed,
At some point,
The figure had vanished...
However at this moment,
What they didn't know was,
Kyo was still there, unchanged.
Only, around his body, a special Kido called "Bakudo #26: Kyokko" was wrapped.
This Kido could use Spiritual Pressure to distort the light around the user, achieving invisibility.
And at this moment,
Under Kyokko, Kyo held a silver spirit bow in his hand, a helpless smile on his face.
Tsk...
Seems like I overdid it a bit...
Not only did I destroy the crow's Mangekyo, but I also blew these brothers away...
In fact,
Kyo originally didn't plan to intervene.
So,
When Itachi first tried to use Kotoamatsukami, Kyo only spoke to interrupt him.
But unexpectedly,
These two brothers were too procrastinating.
After a bout of agonizing,
Sasuke hadn't killed Itachi, and instead gave Itachi another chance to release Kotoamatsukami...
This time,
Kyo naturally couldn't sit idly by.
With Sasuke's Lightning Release casting speed, wanting to be faster than the Mangekyo Sharingan's Kotoamatsukami was completely a dream.
Therefore,
Helpless,
Kyo could only use his bow.
An arrow formed from spirit particles, in an instant, he drew the bow and shot and destroyed that crow harboring Shisui's Mangekyo.
This was... physically countering Kotoamatsukami.
This way,
The following battle,
Had no major suspense.
Kyo's heart stirred slightly, and the silver bow in his hand instantly dispersed into spirit particles, disappearing into the air.
At the same time,
Kyo looked down at the bewildered Sasuke below and chuckled, transmitting his voice:
"You're welcome."
"Continue fulfilling our cooperation."
"...!?"
Sasuke below heard this, his pupils shaking in shock.
Then,
Realizing,
He gritted his teeth, showing an unhappy expression.
He naturally recognized Kyo's voice.
Precisely because he recognized it,
He felt unwilling in his heart.
Unexpectedly...
At this critical moment,
It was his former enemy who had saved him...
And it seemed,
That guy had been watching the battle here all along, which was why he suddenly intervened at that critical moment...
Although Sasuke didn't know what that Mangekyo crow was for,
From the fact that Kyo intervened,
It must be significant.
Sasuke slowly raised his hand and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
Then he stood up, and slowly walked towards Itachi again.
No matter the situation,
His goal of revenge always remained unchanged.
Even if he was schemed against by someone like Kyo, he had to here and now slay his blood enemy, Uchiha Itachi.
This point had never changed.
Thinking this,
Sasuke had already walked in front of Itachi.
And his expression had long returned to its icy coldness.
He slowly raised the broken Kusanagi Sword in his hand, pressing it against Itachi's neck, and said coldly and calmly:
"What was that move just now... Itachi?"
"Do you still have an extra third Mangekyo Sharingan...?"
"..."
"Is that the reason you wiped out our clan?"
Sasuke's tone was extremely cold.
His killing intent was equally fierce.
However,
After the words fell,
Itachi on the ground already had no heart to explain.
His pupils were slightly dilated, gazing at everything invisible in the high sky, as if looking at something, and as if looking at nothing.
Until after a moment,
His gaze slowly turned to Sasuke again.
And this time,
There was even a relieved, wan smile on his face.
He looked at Sasuke and slowly spoke, saying:
"That move just now..."
"Heh... no need to worry about it anymore, Sasuke."
"Anyway, you're about to kill me soon... so, no need to worry."
As he spoke,
Itachi suddenly coughed lightly a few more times.
Then,
His complexion had become even paler.
Seeing this,
Kisame beside him was momentarily stunned, then slightly gritted his teeth, trying to grip Samehada and go forward to rescue him.
But,
Just before he moved,
Itachi ahead spoke again.
This time,
As if using all his remaining strength, he looked at Sasuke and, in an extremely faint voice, slowly said:
"Live... well, Sasuke..."
"Now you... possess the power enough to change the entire Shinobi World..."
"So... live on."
"For me... protect Konoha..."
In this final moment of his life,
He finally entrusted the deepest words in his heart to his younger brother.
No longer holding back.
As the words fell,
Consciousness ceased.
At this moment, Itachi's pupils rapidly faded. No more emotion, no more consciousness, as if falling into some kind of nameless abyss. His heartbeat stopped, his breathing stopped, his thinking stopped.
And until the end,
He couldn't, as before, raise his hand and tap Sasuke's forehead one more time.
He also ultimately couldn't say that phrase again —
"Forgive me, Sasuke."
"Maybe next time."
A cold wind passed.
The last trace of warmth was also taken by the wind.
The scene was utterly silent.
So quiet you could almost hear everyone's heartbeat and breathing.
And Itachi's heartbeat and breathing,
At this moment,
No longer existed.
Sasuke still held the broken silver blade in his hand, pressed against Itachi's neck,
But at this moment, he suddenly froze.
Uchiha Itachi... is dead...?
Is this the end...?
Thud.
It was as if the strength was suddenly drained from Sasuke's body,
He sat down on the ground beside him, leaning against the nearby ruins, slightly frozen.
His expression showed no excitement, only a look of absent-mindedness.
This outcome was completely different from what he had anticipated.
What he wanted was to kill Uchiha Itachi mercilessly, amidst his fear and regret.
But...
Before he could truly make a move,
He actually died on his own.
And that speech of his just now...
What did it mean?
Let me... live on? For him... protect Konoha...??
Was this actually,
His last words before dying...?
Sasuke's breathing paused slightly, his pupils gradually losing focus.
A long time ago,
He had heard others say,
People often returned to their truest state before dying.
But why...
Would Itachi, this Missing-nin who wiped out his clan... say something... completely inconsistent with his persona?
Sasuke's heart was full of doubts and complicated thoughts.
A breeze passed,
Lifting his hair.
And at this moment,
He suddenly saw Kisame, holding Samehada, gazing this way from the side.
Sasuke put away his thoughts, then indifferently raised his eyes to look at Kisame, and said flatly:
"What?"
"As a fellow Akatsuki's member, do you want to avenge Uchiha Itachi?"
As he spoke,
Sasuke stood up, indifferently raised his blade, and as his Rinnegan flickered, he said:
"If you want to go back alive and report to them,"
"I suggest,"
"Don't do anything so foolish and pointless."
As the words fell,
Crackling lightning appeared on the blade, wrapping it, forming a layer of lightning.