"What is this? It paralyzed my body? But it's a pity. Even if my body is numbed, my spirit remains untouched, so there's no problem," Yakumo laughed coldly. The stagnant blade moved again with another slash.
"Ahh!" Sasuke let out a painful scream as his eyes were gouged out by Yakumo's blade. This wasn't genjutsu; it was real physical damage. Yakumo had the power to turn everything within his genjutsu into reality, similar to Izanami, but Yakumo's technique had no side effects. Anything within his genjutsu could become reality as he wished.
"What?" The masked man turned around and noticed that Sasuke's eyes had flown out of their sockets. These were Mangekyou Sharingan eyes, and they looked exceptionally alluring under the sunlight.
"Sasuke!" Naruto roared in anger. Almost losing his composure, he realized that Sasuke had lost his eyes. Losing the eyes was a tragic event, even for someone with a bloodline limit like him, let alone for other ninja who lost their vision.
"Damn it!" The masked man didn't seem too worried about Sasuke's missing eyes. They could retrieve the eyes that were floating in the air and transplant them back later, a common procedure in the world of shinobi. In the worst case, they could even modify Sasuke's body similar to his own or Black Zetsu. With such incredible regenerative abilities, it wouldn't matter even if the nerve damage was extensive. They could always use techniques similar to those of Orochimaru to grant Sasuke the cells of Hashirama Senju or the Uzumaki clan to enhance his recovery abilities. Moreover, in the masked man's view, ten Sasukes were not as important as regaining the Mangekyou Sharingan. Just retrieve the Mangekyou Sharingan, and everything would be fine.
Just as the spatial distortion around Sasuke's Mangekyou Sharingan was about to pull them inside, a white snake, or more accurately, a white dragon, suddenly appeared from below and snatched the Mangekyou Sharingan, devouring it before transforming into white mist with a soft "poof."
"Orochimaru!" The masked man's voice for the first time revealed such strong emotional fluctuations that he couldn't hide his anger.
"Hehe, leaving such a pair of eyes for this useless kid is not as good as enhancing my own power," Orochimaru, though he had completely recovered his soul and didn't have to worry about soul damage anymore due to his special abilities, remained indifferent about obtaining the Mangekyou Sharingan. However, a pair of Mangekyou Sharingan eyes that could further enhance his own strength were too tempting to pass up. He already had so many abilities; adding another pair of eyes wouldn't make a difference.
Sasuke was currently in deep despair. These eyes had always been his greatest pride, especially after acquiring the Mangekyou Sharingan. Despite realizing that his eyes weren't as invincible as he had thought, Sasuke still cherished them. These eyes were his motivation for survival, and the pursuit of evolution and power was deeply ingrained in the Uchiha clan's genes, just as the Senju clan held great value in the concept of love. Now, having his eyes taken away, and worse, by the man he had looked down upon before, Orochimaru, was more painful than death.
"Don't cry so miserably. I did this to let you see more clearly how you have nothing to be proud of. It's such a shame. There's a genius of an older brother who sacrificed everything for a foolish younger brother, someone who falls behind in every aspect and is even considered a foolish weakling compared to his brother. The older brother even gave his younger brother the Mangekyou Sharingan, but this foolish little brother remains just as foolish as ever," Orochimaru taunted.
Yakumo knew that Ryoha didn't like Sasuke, and she was aware that this guy was a typical backstabber. Since Ryoha had contempt for Sasuke and couldn't be bothered to deal with him, she decided to help her senior brother Ryoha. She felt deeply grateful to Ryoha for changing her life. She had gained the life she had always dreamt of, escaped from the detestable Konoha, and spent every day with Tsunade and lived happily in the Land of Snow with people like Bulma.
If they hadn't met, it would be one thing. But since they had crossed paths, Sasuke could only consider himself unlucky. As for the Mangekyou Sharingan, she had no interest in it. In fact, she intentionally ignored it, letting Orochimaru and others fight over it like dogs.
"Yakumo, when did you become so ruthless? But I like it," Orochimaru said, experiencing a mixture of joy and disappointment. He had expected Ryoha to be affected by the White Rage, but to his surprise, it had no effect on Ryoha at all. This provided some comfort. He had obtained the Mangekyou Sharingan, and once he transplanted the cells of Hashirama Senju and the Uchiha clan and combined them with this pair of Mangekyou Sharingan, his overall strength would improve. As for the masked man's retaliation, he was not worried at all. With his current strength, the masked man was no match for him, and even if he couldn't defeat the masked man, couldn't he escape?
"Orochimaru, we are allies now. If you don't want this alliance to break apart, you better hand over the eyes," the masked man warned, reaching the brink of an eruption. However, Nagato, despite the situation, paid him no mind, as their main enemy was Ryoha. As for who ended up with the eyes, he didn't care. In Nagato's view, Orochimaru gaining the Mangekyou Sharingan was more valuable, given his current abilities, than Sasuke obtaining it.
"Hehe, I'm the one who should be saying that. Now, our primary enemy is Ryoha. Strengthening our collective power to deal with him is a good thing," Orochimaru retorted. However, he had no intentions of letting Nagato use his influence to help him obtain the eyes. If that were the case, Orochimaru might have to flee. Faced with the Outer Path Shinra Tensei and the siege of so many tailed beasts, even Orochimaru couldn't guarantee his safety. Nevertheless, what relieved him was that Nagato clearly had no interest in the eyes.
"Here we are at this point, and you're still fighting amongst yourselves. It seems today's game has come to an end," Ryoha said, joining his hands together in front of him, about twenty centimeters apart. A black-red energy sphere appeared between his palms and was rapidly shot out with extremely high speed and power. The incredible speed and force of the attack caught the people below off guard. They were struck by the black-red energy spheres that exploded in rapid succession on the ground near them, creating a massive energy shockwave that turned into a terrifying energy storm sweeping through the entire area. Meanwhile, Ryoha used his overwhelmingly superior strength to decisively defeat all of his opponents. Yakumo, who had been playing with her opponents, and Byakko, who seemed reluctant to leave so soon, both disappeared instantly.