The development was unexpected.
Sasuke was surprised, but he didn't hesitate as his Sage Mode chakra surged.
"Sage Art: Chidori Sharp Spear."
Blazing lightning pierced through Susanoo, erupting into a fierce white light against the crimson hue.
At the moment when Itachi's guard was completely down, focused on Naruto, Sasuke's attack unhesitatingly struck Uchiha Itachi's heart.
Naruto was caught off guard.
He was just an observer.
He hadn't even confronted Sasuke yet, so why was Sasuke attacking him now?
"Can you hear me?" Uchiha Itachi spoke, his voice weak and fading.
He struggled to turn his head, staring intently at the distant golden figure.
His every move was under Naruto's watchful eye, so his words naturally reached Naruto.
"You're too dangerous."
"There shouldn't be someone like you in this world."
"You're a good person, but you're also a threat."
"Let me seal you eternally in this Totsuka Blade—"
He couldn't finish his sentence.
What happened in front of him nearly caused him to lose control of his Mangekyō Sharingan.
The crimson blade was severed.
Naruto didn't move an inch.
Yang Nine-Tails leaped out—it was only then that Itachi noticed the peculiarity of this Nine-Tails.
It was dressed in black, resembling a haori.
A sword was strapped to its back.
And now, its tail coiled around and drew the sword.
"Shine, Fox Hidden in the Mirror."
The sword suddenly transformed.
Something incomprehensible to Uchiha Itachi happened.
The crimson blade collided with Nine-Tails's sword, but the gourd in Itachi's hand had no reaction.
The slashing attack dissipated like a breeze.
The chakra seemed to be completely devoured by Nine-Tails.
A flash of white light.
"Hadō #4. Byakurai (Pale Lightning)."
It was lightning that bloomed on Naruto's fingertip.
The Susanoo, which Sasuke had struggled so hard to overcome, was easily broken by this single flash of white light.
The crimson gourd was hit directly, shattering into pieces and dispersing into its original chakra form.
Uchiha Itachi raised his hand, opened his mouth as if to say something, but with his chakra and strength completely drained, he could do nothing.
The illness that had plagued him erupted at that moment.
And the Chidori Sharp Spear extending from Sasuke's hand, piercing through his chest, took away the last of his remaining life force.
He grinned.
He brought his index and middle fingers together and pointed forward.
Sasuke's pupils dilated, silent.
He knew what this gesture meant—it was something this man used to do to him often when they were children, before he personally destroyed the Uchiha clan.
The distance between the two was only a meter.
The hand Uchiha Itachi extended was less than ten centimeters away from Sasuke's forehead.
But even with this short distance...
It felt like a vast chasm.
The Sage Mode chakra within Sasuke dispersed, the Sage Mode faded—this battle had taken a tremendous toll on him as well.
He knelt to the ground, staring at the corpse.
Killing the mastermind who annihilated the Uchiha clan, avenging his parents, friends, and family should have been a joyful thing.
But why...
Why was there a different emotion lingering in his heart?
The Sharingan activated involuntarily, its tomoe spinning, chakra surging.
The tomoe began to change.
Naruto showed a slight expression of surprise, but it wasn't the transformation of the Sharingan that shocked him. Instead, it was that he sensed a chakra within Sasuke that didn't belong to him.
It was a chakra similar to the power of Ashura within him.
He grabbed Karin's hand and flash-stepped over.
"Congratulations on your revenge," Naruto said as he landed beside him.
Sasuke turned his head blankly, his gaze empty, staring at Naruto. "No, it's not over yet."
"That day, there was another Uchiha besides Itachi."
"When I was in the genjutsu, I asked him. He said that Uchiha was Uchiha Madara."
Naruto shook his head. "No."
Sasuke was stunned.
"The other Uchiha in the Akatsuki only claims to be Uchiha Madara, but he isn't really Madara," Naruto explained to him. "I'm also trying to find out who he really is."
Sasuke softly responded, "I see."
"No matter who he is."
"I will personally kill him to avenge myself."
He paused and looked at Uchiha Itachi's body: "By the way, Naruto."
"Please leave Itachi's eyes for me."
Naruto said nothing.
Karin frowned: "But you've already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan."
"Itachi told me..." Sasuke swallowed, the recent battle had left him struggling to breathe, "the reason he spared me."
"Was for the Eternal Mangekyō."
Another new term.
The Uchiha clan always seemed to come up with unimaginable new abilities.
One level after another, expanding ever further.
"If you transplant the Mangekyō of a blood-related brother into your own eyes, it will evolve the Mangekyō once more."
Naruto nodded: "I see."
"If possible, please leave them for me," Sasuke's voice was somewhat numb. "I'm willing to pay any price."
Naruto squatted down: "Of course. I will leave them for you."
"But could you cooperate with me on an experiment?"
Sasuke turned to him: "No problem, what experiment?"
"Something very interesting just happened to you," Naruto drew his golden short sword. "Did you feel anything?"
Sasuke stared at Naruto, his tone hesitant: "You're not talking about the awakening of the Mangekyō Sharingan."
"But besides that, I didn't feel any change in my body."
Naruto lowered his voice: "Let me introduce you to my sword."
"Its name is Ashura."
Sasuke was puzzled.
Naming a sword made sense to him—rare swords were indeed precious.
But giving it such a personified name...
"It's a sword formed by the chakra of Ashura," Naruto continued, "and this Ashura."
"Is one of the two sons of the Sage of Six Paths, the ancestor of the Uzumaki clan."
"He had an older brother named Indra."
Sasuke furrowed his brows even tighter.
Yang Nine-Tails continued the explanation: "And Indra is the ancestor of your Uchiha clan."
Sasuke realized something.
"Just now, there was a strange chakra fluctuation within you," Naruto placed the sword on Sasuke, and it trembled slightly as if resonating, "If I'm not mistaken, it's the power of Indra's chakra."
Sasuke tilted his head: "But I don't have such a sword."
"I only have one, the Kusanagi sword that Orochimaru gave me."
Naruto shook his head: "Of course you wouldn't."
"The experiment I'm going to conduct next is to see if we can forge the Indra's power within you into a sword."
He had witnessed the battle between the two brothers at Ryūchi Cave.
After learning about Indra, who was in no way inferior to Ashura.
He had been wondering...
Since Ashura's power could be inherited.
What about Indra's power?
What intrigued him even more was the forging of Zanpakutō.
Nine-Tails could become a Zanpakutō, Ashura could become a Zanpakutō, so what about Indra?
Although...
Ashura had awakened with the help of an Asauchi.
But Nine-Tails's birth didn't require an Asauchi.
If Indra could be successfully forged, then a chakra with consciousness and immense power would be the perfect material for forging a Zanpakutō.
"Is that so?" Sasuke readily agreed, "Of course, no problem."
Naruto extended his hand: "But for now, let's start with treating you."
Sasuke's injuries were severe.
Uchiha Itachi had truly come to kill him—his ribs were broken, and his chakra was exhausted.
To the point where he couldn't move by himself.
Naruto had to carry him back to Orochimaru's base using the adamantine chains.
"You've really caused quite a commotion," Orochimaru grinned, licking his lips, his eyes brimming with undisguised greed. "Sasuke-kun really is in a sorry state."
"But to have killed Itachi..."
"Sasuke-kun's talent is truly enviable."
Naruto placed Sasuke on the bed and handed him over to Kabuto for treatment, his tone icy: "I'll be staying at your base for a while."
"Don't trust me?" Orochimaru chuckled, "I wouldn't be foolish enough to make an enemy of you, Naruto-kun."
"That would be most unwise."
Naruto waved his hand and prepared to pick a suitable room to rest with Karin.
"Wait, Naruto-kun, there's something I'd like to discuss with you," Orochimaru stopped him.
They went outside the infirmary.
"The Rinnegan is in your possession, right?" Orochimaru's tone became even more greedy, "Let's make a deal."
"How about you give it to me?"
"You don't need that power, do you, Naruto-kun?"
"Placed in the right hands, that power will reach its full potential."
"Pain doesn't know how to use it, and it would be wasted in your hands."
Naruto's tone was cold: "No."
"I'm also learning how to conduct research."
The power of the Sage of Six Paths...
It was something he still feared to some extent.
Moreover, this legendary figure's position in the ninja world was almost equivalent to the "Soul King" in the Three Realms.
Who knew if his existence was also tied to the balance of the world?
Giving it to Orochimaru would be too dangerous.
"Alright." Orochimaru wasn't too disappointed; he shook his head, "Then let's discuss another deal."
"Naruto-kun."
"Could you return my hands to me?"
Naruto looked at him.
"I heard about your little rampage at the Uzumaki Shrine in Konoha," Orochimaru grinned, his eyes filled with greed, "It caused quite a stir."
"Besides undoing the Reaper Death Seal, I can't think of any other reason why you'd go back."
"So..."
"My soul should have been released, which means my hands should be freed as well."
Naruto shook his head.
At that time, he had indeed sealed Orochimaru's hands again.
"I won't return them to you now," he smiled, declining.
"That wasn't part of the deal, Naruto-kun," Orochimaru's attitude remained gentle.
"But Orochimaru didn't help in undoing the Reaper Death Seal," Naruto's tone was equally gentle, "It doesn't hinder your research now, does it?"
"You're a very dangerous person, and I have high hopes for your future."
"Not now."
"When the time comes and you're under my watch, I'll return your hands."