Urashiki chuckled softly, the sound turning amused once again.
"Yes. Please do. It'll save me the trouble of peeling him away from you."
Naruto's expression changed at once.
The usual loud irritation vanished, replaced by something far more serious.
He still didn't understand the whole situation, but he understood one thing perfectly—
That thing in the sky was after him.
Sasuke tilted his head slightly and called out sharply.
"Boruto."
"Got it."
Boruto grabbed Naruto's wrist and jumped back just as Urashiki moved.
His blue eye flashed.
For a moment, his body blurred strangely, as if the world itself had skipped.
Then he was already in front of Sasuke, his rod sweeping straight for his throat.
Clang.
Steel met chakra rod.
Sasuke blocked it cleanly, but Urashiki's grin widened as he twisted away before Sasuke's counter could land—
"What is this technique...?"
This wasn't the first time Sasuke had seen Urashiki evade him in such a strange way.
Urashiki's body suddenly snapped back through the last few seconds of motion, slipping out of Sasuke's sword path before the blade could even reach him. Then he reappeared in Sasuke's blind spot, the hook whipping low toward his ribs.
Sasuke dropped his shoulder and let it scrape past his cloak.
His expression never changed.
"You are annoyingly slippery."
"Mm. A crude way of putting it."
This time, Urashiki attacked from above, then from the side, then from behind the trunk of a cedar no one had seen him move behind.
Every exchange pulled the fight farther away from them.
Every clash drove them deeper into the forest.
Urashiki either didn't care or simply didn't notice. He was too focused on finally cornering Sasuke without anyone else around to interfere.
Sasuke ducked under the rod, kicked off a tree trunk, and in one motion flung multiple large shuriken wrapped in Lightning Release chakra from several angles.
Urashiki's red Rinnegan opened.
A dark slit in space appeared beside him and swallowed the shuriken whole.
"You see? No matter how many times you try, I already know."
Sasuke's answer was a stream of fire.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
The blaze roared through the trees, massive enough to bathe the entire forest in orange light.
Urashiki clicked his tongue and slipped through a portal just before the flames could swallow him...
Only for Sasuke to appear at the other end the instant Urashiki emerged.
Amenotejikara.
Their faces were suddenly only inches apart.
Urashiki's eyes widened.
Sasuke's sword, wrapped in crackling lightning, came up with brutal speed.
The slash tore across Urashiki's side.
A spray of blood splattered against the bark.
Urashiki hissed and leapt back, one hand pressing over the wound.
The easy smile was gone now.
"…You've always been irritating," he said quietly.
Sasuke flicked the blood from his blade.
"You've said that already. And I have no intention of changing that."
They came to a stop at the edge of the waterfall.
Urashiki landed across from him on a slick black stone, bleeding, but smiling again. This time, though, it looked far uglier.
"So that's why you kept retreating," he said. "You wanted space."
Sasuke's Eternal Mangekyō turned slowly in one eye, while the tomoe in his Rinnegan remained fixed on Urashiki with the other.
Lightning began to crawl over the blade in his hand, hissing against the damp mist.
Urashiki's blue eye flashed first, and with that, his figure disappeared.
Then he reappeared above Sasuke, his rod stabbing downward.
Sasuke sidestepped with ease.
The rod punched straight through stone.
Before Urashiki could rewind—
Sasuke slammed his free hand down.
"Chidori Nagashi!"
Lightning erupted outward.
The entire shoreline lit up in white-blue.
Urashiki jerked back with a sharp curse, his sleeves smoking, and immediately triggered the rewind.
His body snapped backward several seconds—
Back to the instant before the lightning burst.
But Sasuke had already expected that.
The moment Urashiki reset, Sasuke switched places with a kunai he had planted near the waterline during the previous exchange.
Amenotejikara.
He came in from below Urashiki's line of sight and drove a Susanoo-covered kick into his ribs.
Urashiki flew sideways, skipped once across the surface of the lake, then tore open a portal before he could sink and shot back out of another one behind Sasuke.
Sasuke turned just enough to avoid the hook, caught the rod against his blade, and took the black receiver through the sleeve instead of the shoulder.
The impact still shoved him back a step.
Urashiki appeared in front of him again, grinning now, almost feral.
"There. That's better."
Sasuke yanked the receiver free, tossed it aside, and said nothing.
That silence got under Urashiki's skin more than any insult could have.
"Still acting superior? Just because you pulled one over on me?"
"Your ability… I already have a pretty good idea what it can do," Sasuke said, twisting his neck. Then Susanoo covered his body as he fired multiple arrows filled with Amaterasu straight at him.
"Tch… this guy…"
Urashiki's expression darkened as he heard those condescending words, his blue eye flashing again as he dodged.
But one of the arrows suddenly switched places with Sasuke.
In the next instant, Sasuke slashed downward, his sword wrapped in lightning and black flames.
"Dammit!!"
Urashiki finally panicked as the blade pierced through his chest, forcing a mouthful of blood from his lips.
But then he laughed.
He glared at Sasuke, his eyes flashing—
And suddenly, Sasuke coughed and looked down.
A red rod had pierced into his stomach.
Sasuke kicked Urashiki in the face and forced some distance between them, but his chakra had still been stolen.
"Huff… huff…"
Both of them breathed heavily.
They were injured, and both were running low on chakra. Multiple uses of the Rinnegan during the fight had taken a toll on them.
In another dimension, Obito and the others watched the battle intently, especially Obito, who was clearly eager to step onto the stage next.
"As expected, Sasuke's combat experience is better than mine," Obito admitted calmly.
He was never the type to make excuses. Just from the battle IQ Sasuke had shown during the fight, it was obvious that, at least in terms of pure combat skill, Sasuke was superior.
But Obito couldn't really be blamed for that. In this world, he had gained power far too quickly and only fought occasionally, and even then, it was usually against fodder.
Sasuke, on the other hand, had been out there fighting aliens from outer space—the Ōtsutsuki Clan, monsters with multiple Six Paths-level individuals among them.
Tobi stood with his usual slouched posture, arms hanging loosely at his sides. His masked face tilted slightly as he watched Sasuke and Urashiki clash again and again.
"…He's pushing him pretty hard," he muttered, his voice light, almost absent-minded.
Beside him, White Zetsu was eating popcorn, eyes locked onto the scene.
"Yeah. That Sasuke isn't holding back anymore. But that Ōtsutsuki…" White Zetsu clicked his tongue. "He's annoying. Keeps slipping away."
Another burst of lightning flared across the battlefield as Sasuke forced Urashiki back once again.
Tobi suddenly grinned.
"Still, they're both running out of chakra. You can tell. Their movements are getting sluggish."
White Zetsu hummed and tossed another batch of popcorn into his mouth.
"…Mm."
He leaned forward slightly just in time to see Sasuke take the rod straight through the stomach.
White Zetsu winced.
"Ouch. Yeah… that one's gonna hurt."
Tobi tilted his head, then started applauding.
"Even so… he didn't panic. Sasuke-kun has really grown into a splendid shinobi. At first, I didn't believe Captain's words, but now I, Tobi, must admit that Sasuke is strong."
"So?" White Zetsu said, ignoring Tobi completely as he glanced at the silent Obito beside them, who was also munching on a slice of extra cheese pizza. "Thinking of stepping in?"
Obito kept watching the battlefield, his mask angled toward Sasuke as his eyes narrowed.
"…Not yet," he said at last. "The next move will decide everything."
And as if the battlefield itself wanted to prove his words true, Urashiki suddenly did something that even Sasuke hadn't expected.
He reached up...
...and dug out his own eyes.
For a brief second, the entire Kamui dimension fell silent.
Then, under the disbelieving stares of Sasuke, Tobi, and White Zetsu, Urashiki casually stuffed both eyeballs into his mouth and began chewing.
Crunch.
Gulp.
"…"
"NANI!?"
Obito instantly shoved his fingers into his ears and turned a deaf ear to the sheer screaming echoing through the Kamui dimension.
Outside, Sasuke wasn't faring well either.
Although he already knew the Ōtsutsuki were a clan of bastards—especially after seeing Momoshiki devour Kinshiki—watching Urashiki eat his own eyes still made his stomach turn.
"Hahahaha… you should be proud, Uchiha. To push me this far… but this is where it ends."
Urashiki laughed, blood dripping from his empty eye sockets as his body began to transform.
After devouring his eyes, Urashiki's entire appearance turned far more savage and inhuman.
His hair flared wildly, his horns grew larger and more curved, and dark markings spread across his face and body, making him look less like the smug, playful Ōtsutsuki from before and more like a true monster.
Even the look in his eyes had changed. The lazy amusement was gone, replaced by something colder and far more feral, as if he had completely dropped the act.
Then he extended his hand, and a massive purple sphere of chakra began forming above his palm.
Swoosh!
The attack came suddenly, but Sasuke remained calm. He snorted and extended his single hand forward, absorbing the attack head-on.
Fwish!
Smoke leaked from his hand, but in the end, the powerful blast did nothing except make him stronger.
A faint smile appeared on Sasuke's face.
"…Is that it?"
"If this is the level of your transformation, then you've only made things easier."
"Damn you, you lowly creature!" Urashiki roared. "Let's see if you're still this calm when I rip that expression off your face!"
Already swollen with power after the transformation, Urashiki obviously couldn't remain smug after seeing his attack do nothing. His expression twisted as he gritted his teeth.
Boom! Boom!
The two of them vanished in flashes of blue and purple lightning, colliding again and again as purple chakra spheres and black-flamed arrows tore through the terrain around them.
Suddenly, Sasuke was kicked off the mountain.
As he fell, he drove his sword into the slope to slow himself, then kicked off the cliffside and landed steadily below. The instant his feet touched the ground, he raised one hand in a claw-like motion and absorbed the purple chakra blast Urashiki had hurled toward him.
Swish...
This time, Sasuke returned the favor.
Lightning crackled around his palm as a sharp, dragon-shaped Kirin formed around his hand and shot forward.
But midway through its flight, the large Kirin split apart into multiple massive arrows that rushed toward Urashiki.
Urashiki grinned and extended his hand, ready to absorb them—
—but the arrow that reached his hand first suddenly exploded into smoke.
Sasuke appeared in its place, his mismatched eyes glowing ominously — one red, one purple.
Urashiki's smug face froze.
A cold blade slashed across his face and neck.
"Argh—! Damn it! Damn it!!"
Fortunately, he avoided a fatal hit in time and instinctively leapt away from Sasuke—
but Sasuke immediately wrapped lightning chakra around his sword and hurled it straight at him in midair.
Urashiki twisted in the air, barely dodging the lightning-wrapped blade as it sliced past his cheek. The sword tore through a lock of his hair before continuing forward, its momentum never decreasing.
"You really are desperate, aren't you, Uchiha?" Urashiki sneered, though his voice shook with irritation. "Throwing toys at me now?"
"Yomotsu Hirasaka."
A dark slit in space opened beside him as Urashiki moved toward it, intending to escape.
Although he acted tough, he had already realized something important...
he couldn't beat Sasuke.
So for now, he chose to retreat and wait for another chance to strike.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed the instant space rippled.
He extended his hand in a grasping motion.
"Universal Pull."
A sudden invisible force locked onto Urashiki's body.
The space tunnel distorted violently as Urashiki was dragged back out, his foot only halfway through the portal before the pull yanked him straight toward Sasuke.
"What—?!"
Urashiki's expression twisted in fury as his body was forcibly dragged forward, his robes snapping wildly in the air.
"You damn Uchiha—!"
He snarled and tried to resist, fingers clawing at empty space as the distance between them collapsed in an instant.
"I'll tear that eye out of your skull!!"
But just as Urashiki was pulled within reach, Sasuke's figure suddenly blurred.
Amenotejikara.
In an instant, he switched places with the lightning-charged sword he had thrown earlier.
Urashiki, still being dragged forward by the invisible force, flew straight into it.
The blade pierced cleanly through his torso.
A dull, wet impact echoed across the battlefield.
Urashiki's eyes widened as the sword burst out from his back, lightning crackling violently around the wound.
"—Ghh…!!"
His body jerked violently in midair, all momentum stopping at once as he hung there impaled, chakra flickering wildly around him.
Everything had happened too fast.
He hadn't even been able to process it.
In just a few brief moments, Sasuke's careful planning had reduced him to this miserable state.
"You insignificant insect—!!" Urashiki roared, his voice breaking with rage. "You think a cheap trick like this can bring me down?!"
"I'll crush you… I'll rip those eyes out… and make you beg before I tear your body apart!!"
Sasuke paid no attention to the dying rage of the Ōtsutsuki.
He landed lightly on the ground and began walking toward him with calm, measured steps.
But after only a few steps, his body suddenly faltered.
Thud.
Sasuke dropped to one knee and grabbed at his eye as the tomoe in his Rinnegan slowly faded.
"Huff… huff…"
'As expected… dealing with an Ōtsutsuki is always a pain.'
Sasuke breathed heavily, sensing how low his chakra had fallen, but he wasn't too worried.
Urashiki was already finished.
"…Heh…"
The sound came out hoarse, but the corners of Urashiki's mouth still slowly curled upward.
"So… you're finally feeling it," Urashiki rasped, his voice dripping with mockery. "All that power… and you're already running dry?"
Outwardly, he let out a weak laugh, forcing that same arrogant tone.
"Pathetic, Uchiha… you can't even stand anymore…"
But beneath the sneer, panic had already begun to spread.
His thoughts raced.
His chakra is low… that technique took more out of him than he expected…
Urashiki's eyes flicked toward the nearby space, already searching for a way out.
Good… good… if I can just move… if I can just open one portal…
Just then, a voice sounded beside him.
"Good evening… I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
The moment those words reached his ears, both Urashiki and Sasuke tensed.
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