With just one glance, the scarlet eyes filled with murderous intent caused Huang Tu, who had just failed to trap Kisame due to a mistake, to instinctively take a step back.

The Thousand Bird Blade reached the sky and connected with the earth, gathering endless thunderclouds in the sky, completely enveloping the battlefield that belonged to him and Uchiha Itachi. Then, the sea of ​​lightning covered and formed a deadly place.

He casually kicked Kisame, who had already stood up with Samehada on his back, into the lightning field, and then enjoyed the thrill of being struck by lightning.

Sasuke, who wielded both Yang Release Palm Sage Technique and Thousand Birds Demon Fist, approached Itachi Uchiha with an indifferent expression.

"The Uchiha clan has a total of 2,664 members, of whom nearly 600 are elderly, weak, women and children. Of those who possess chakra, less than 1,000 are capable of becoming ninjas."

"The profession of ninja is inherently like a reptile in the darkness, and with endless killing, one will unknowingly become the most pathetic killer."

Having embarked on this path, it wouldn't be surprising if they died at any time. There's no need for others to remember them, because they don't need anyone's remembrance; no need for anyone's sorrow, because they don't deserve anyone's sorrow.

"But what about the remaining thousand-plus people? What about the elderly, women, and children, excluding the able-bodied men and women?"

“Uchiha Itachi, ever since you took the initiative to turn your sword against them, your sins have been indelible! And I, who survived because of you, am also burdened with sins that I can never wash away in my lifetime.”

The kaleidoscope in his eyes slowly rotated, connecting with Uchiha Itachi through the bond of blood.

With a single punch, both men coughed up a mouthful of blood.

At this moment, it was the warm blood flowing down his face and into his eyes that, along with the intense pain in his body, finally pulled Itachi Uchiha out of Sasuke Uchiha's thoughts.

Seeing Uchiha Sasuke coughing up blood and visibly weakening like him, he was stunned for a long time before realizing what was happening. Just as he was about to use his eye power to sever the connection between them, he was interrupted again by a punch that Uchiha Sasuke threw at him.

"Cough cough...why...why?"

The suffocating sensation of blood stuck in his throat brought Itachi Uchiha infinitely closer to death, but the body that was constantly being healed by the Palm Healing Technique, and the life force that was continuously supplied through the Sharingan between his brothers, were incredibly powerful in keeping him alive.

Looking into his younger brother's bloodshot eyes and feeling his silent, relentless punches, Itachi Uchiha experienced for the first time what it meant to live. No! To die? Absolutely not!

With another punch, Sasuke shattered Itachi's newly healed, battered body once more. After swallowing the blood spilling from his abdomen, Sasuke raised his fist high again, a demonic smile spreading across his face, and began to speak, word by word.

"I've said it before, this is our sin, a sin we can never wash away in our lifetime. The life or death of those thousand-plus ninjas is none of my business. They wouldn't have survived anyway if they had rebelled."

"Those nearly a thousand able-bodied men and women know too much. After that incident actually happened, they probably wouldn't survive! The best outcome would be for them to become studs and meat pigs, scattered throughout Konoha Village, providing Hiruzen Sarutobi with a continuous supply of cannon fodder."

"But, no matter how miserable the remaining elderly, women, and children are, they won't be harmed as long as Hiruzen Sarutobi and his men don't want the entire village to rebel, or at least they won't act openly, so..."

"What makes you think you can do that?!"

boom!

puff!

The earth caved in, and Itachi Uchiha was covered in blood. The intense heat from the lightning scorched his entire body, and the unstoppable force crushed his bones and internal organs. Yet, he was still not dead.

She could only stare blankly at her younger brother's face, which resembled that of a demon, and at his hair that was gradually turning gray...

His eyes widened suddenly as he watched his younger brother, a spirited boy of twelve or thirteen, slowly walk towards old age. Itachi Uchiha's eyes snapped open to their maximum.

Even the Mangekyou Sharingan, which was originally dim, instantly became several times brighter, evolving towards a higher level under the nurturing power of Uchiha Sasuke, which was already comparable to Otsutsuki chakra.

A surge of Sharingan power erupted, attempting to sever the connection between the two through their Sharingan, but it was forcefully suppressed by Sasuke Uchiha's even more surging Sharingan power.

Blood dripped continuously from the corner of his mouth, and occasionally he coughed up a few pieces of internal organs. Looking at the good-for-nothing who wanted to die but dared not, Sasuke Uchiha's expression turned into a wild laugh of disdain.

Punch after punch rained down, letting Itachi and himself experience the despair of being infinitely close to death. After more than six hundred punches, Sasuke's body had already entered its twilight years, his whole body was lifeless, and his gray hair had lost all its luster. Only then did the booming sound accompanied by maniacal laughter finally stop.

"Don't worry, I won't let you die. If you make a mistake, you have to accept the punishment. That's the greatest truth in this world!"

"Those who suffer in the Avici Hell will never die; their long lifespan is the greatest calamity in the Avici Hell!"

"I think this sentence suits you perfectly: May you forever, forever, sink into this endless hell!"

With eyes already somewhat blurred, I looked at that young figure, exuding an aura of death and with deep nasolabial folds. Just one glance was enough to tell that he had spent his entire life regretting, grieving, and despairing over many things.

With a swift movement, he tore off the Akatsuki robe that had been ripped to shreds. Looking at Itachi Uchiha's body, which had fully recovered and could even be described as a beginner-level Sage Mode body, Sasuke Uchiha closed his eyes for a long time before opening them again, his eyes flashing with golden light.

But that fleeting moment of pain and determination is now beyond words.

"This is the best way I can find to cleanse you of your sins, brother."

Without paying any attention to Itachi's sudden change in expression because of his address, he reached out and gouged out the eyes that had been holding Itachi's pain, then took out a scroll and sealed it away.

"At the very least, I've reached the minimum requirement for using the Rinnegan, but... hahahahahaha... hahahahahaha..."

At this moment, Uchiha Sasuke, who was sitting alone in the deep pit filled with mangled bodies and blood that he had personally punched out, and who was laughing wildly, completely shed his tough facade.

In the rain that suddenly began, seemingly endless tears of blood flowed silently.

At the edge of that giant pit, which was already seven or eight meters deep and eight or nine meters wide, Naruto Uzumaki, who had already defeated Onoki, stood quietly and murmured to himself.

"Twins? But one is constantly gaining, while the other is constantly losing. Fate? Ha..."