Sasuke Chapter 86 I'll Break Your Legs And Make You Kneel Before the Gravestones of Our Clansmen

On the banks of the Naka River, three figures stood facing each other across the water.

Sasuke stood alone on the shore, while Kisame had already planted the massive Samehada on the ground, unable to contain his excitement.

And Itachi stood silently, his face hidden beneath his bamboo hat, revealing no expression.

"After all these years, returning to this place again." Sasuke was the first to break the silence, "Don't you have anything to say?"

Itachi remained silent.

"Not going to speak?" Sasuke let out a derisive laugh, filled with suppressed madness, "Fine."

Slowly, he raised his sword, pointing it at the brother he had once admired most. His eyes were filled with hatred, etched deep into his bones.

"Then I'll break your legs and drag you back to Konoha like a dog."

"I'll make you kneel before the gravestones of our clansmen and watch as the village you cherish most turns to ashes, bit by bit."

These words, venomous and resolute, even drew an intrigued low chuckle from Kisame, who couldn't help but grin.

"Oh? Quite an interesting declaration, Itachi-san."

Itachi still did not respond, but his Sharingan clearly reflected Sasuke's face, which is slightly twisted by hatred.

‘Has the hatred grown to this extent?’

Itachi calmly assessed the situation within his heart.

‘Good. Everything is proceeding according to plan.’

‘As long as this hatred drives him to awaken the Mangekyo, after my death, Shisui's eye will steer him back onto the right path, making Sasuke the hero who defeated a Missing-nin and protected Konoha...’

"Then, I'll start with you."

Seeing that Itachi remained unmoved, Sasuke wasted no more words.

He first set his sights on the more irritating shark-faced man.

His hands quickly formed hand seals in front of his chest.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

He took a deep breath, his chest swelling, and then spat out a massive fireball, far larger than any ordinary Great Fireball.

Using the most basic Uchiha Clan’s Ninjutsu as an opening was a declaration based on bloodline.

"Ha! Just a mere Fire Release? You're looking down on me."

Upon seeing this all-too-familiar technique, a contemptuous smile spread across Kisame’s face. He, too, quickly formed hand seals.

"Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique!"

A massive water shark, composed of high-density Chakra, surged from the river, opening its maw wide as it fearlessly charged toward the enormous fireball.

This technique could absorb the Chakra from the opponent's Ninjutsu, growing even stronger in the process.

Water and fire collided violently above the river's surface.

As Kisame expected, the outer flames of the Great Fireball began to shrink at a visible rate upon contact with the Water Shark Bullet, being absorbed.

However, just as his sinister grin widened, his expression suddenly froze.

At the core of the flames, after the orange-red blaze was absorbed, a fist-sized black flame was exposed!

This mass of black fire burned quietly, emanating a heart-palpitating aura of death.

The Water Shark Bullet's Chakra absorption was rendered utterly ineffective against it.

"What?!"

Kisame's contempt instantly turned to shock.

‘He took the bait.’

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Sasuke's lips.

That was never purely a Fire Release Ninjutsu.

The interior of the Great Fireball was wrapped in Indra's black flames!

Freed from the constraints of the outer Chakra, the black flames erupted violently, instantly devouring the Water Shark Bullet from within.

Unabated, they continued to shoot toward Kisame and Itachi!

"Interesting!"

After a brief moment of shock, Kisame reacted swiftly.

A truly cruel expression appeared on his shark-like face.

He held the massive Samehada horizontally in front of him, pouring immense Chakra into it.

The barbs on the blade writhed as if alive, emitting a series of eager cries.

"Let me see which is stronger… your strange flames or my Samehada!"

He roared, preparing to charge forward and forcibly slash through the black flames with Samehada!

However, just as he was about to rush toward the black flames…

"Kisame."

A calm voice stopped him.

Uchiha Itachi's figure quietly appeared in front of him.

Kisame's movements halted abruptly, a look of confusion on his face.

Itachi did not turn around. Instead, he quickly formed hand seals.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A massive ball of orange-red flames, even larger than the one Sasuke had spat out, roared from Itachi's mouth, colliding violently with Sasuke's black flame fireball mid-air.

The surface water of the river instantly evaporated, and scorching heat waves spreading wildly in all directions.

But Itachi's expression grew increasingly solemn.

After the two fireballs collided, they did not completely dissipate. Instead, his own attack was actually being overpowered!

He could clearly see his Great Fireball being gradually eroded by the black core within Sasuke's flames.

"What?!" Kisame also noticed something was wrong, his face filled with disbelief.

‘Itachi-san's Fire Release... is being suppressed?!’

‘There was no more room for hesitation.’

Itachi made a resolution in his heart.

A trace of crimson blood-tears slowly trickled from the corner of his right eye, falling into the cold river water beneath his feet.

The spinning three tomoe of his Sharingan underwent an eerie transformation in that moment.

"Amaterasu."

A cold name was softly uttered from his lips.

At the focal point of his gaze, upon the Great Fireball that was on the verge of being completely consumed, a small cluster of black flames materialized out of thin air.

The moment this cluster of black flames appeared, it spread outward madly, instantly devouring the Great Fireball he himself had released.

Then it met Indra’s black flames.

Two black flames of similar nature but utterly different origins finally collided directly.

There was no expected violent explosion.

The two masses of black flames, like two beasts tearing at each other, frantically eroded and annihilated one another.

The Naka River after the battle fell into an eerie, deathly silence.

Kisame watched this scene that defied all reason, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

Turning to look at his partner beside him, he saw Itachi still standing there calmly, though the right eye beneath his bamboo hat that had shed tears of blood was now slowly closing.

However, Itachi's mind was far from as calm as his outward appearance.

He understood better than anyone what had just happened.

‘The ‘quality’ of that power, that concept of burning everything to ashes without ever extinguishing...’

‘Without a doubt, it was the same thing as my Amaterasu.’

‘This should have been a power that could only be mastered after experiencing the most extreme pain and hatred, upon awakening the cursed Mangekyo Sharingan.’

‘But why...’

For the first time, Itachi's confidence in his plan wavered.

He slowly raised his head, his Sharingan piercing through the layers of mist to lock onto the slender figure in the distance.

Sasuke stood there calmly, the black flames on his blade not yet extinguished.

Itachi's heart sank.

‘It seemed Sasuke's black flames did not originate from Dojutsu, but from that strange sword.’

‘But according to the village's intelligence, Sasuke hadn't left the village these years.’

‘Moreover, he had basically had no contact with outsiders.’

‘So where did Sasuke obtain these two strange swords? I had never seen similar weapons before.’

‘Furthermore, Sasuke knew many strange, unrecorded techniques...’