Kabuto hurriedly moved to staunch the bleeding from Kanon's severed arm, but Kanon spoke to him in a soft, quiet voice.
"Save it for later. We still have things to do."
Kanon raised her right hand and tapped it against Kabuto's left. The gentle look she had given Kabuto vanished instantly, replaced by a freezing aura so intense it brought a sudden heaviness to the hearts of the Uchiha brothers.
Forming the necessary hand signs alongside Kanon, Kabuto synchronized his movements to assist her. It was the sequence for the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique. A massive sphere of flame, possessing the devastating kinetic weight of a falling meteorite, surged directly toward the brothers, only for Itachi's Susanoo to intercept it, snuffing it out with a single hand.
Watching Kanon and Kabuto work in such seamless tandem, Itachi looked at Sasuke beside him, his expression clouded with complex emotions. "Sasuke, do you remember when we used to hunt wild boars together?"
"Wild boars?" Sasuke recalled the past. There had indeed been a mission long ago where he, Itachi, and Kanon had gone out to hunt a wild boar. That mission had become one of the most cherished memories in his heart; because such moments were so rare, Sasuke treasured it deeply.
Back when he was a child, Sasuke's arrow had missed its mark. But the Sasuke of today was no longer that helpless child.
Itachi nodded with genuine relief, acknowledging his brother's growth. "The you of today should be more than capable of taking down that large boar, right?"
"Instead of the big boar, we should take down that snake first." Sasuke drew his Kusanagi Sword with a single hand, his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan spinning rapidly. "Kanon, I've already made up my mind to help Itachi. Don't try to stop me."
With a sharp friction of his hand, crackling lightning cloaked the blade of his Kusanagi Sword.
"You absolute bastard..." Kanon's expression contorted in fury as she forced her severed left arm upward. "I've known all along that your mind was made up. If that's the case, then kill me. Step over my corpse to do it!"
"You...!" Sasuke found himself at a loss for words, but Itachi placed a steady hand on his shoulder.
"Sasuke, there are times when people must abandon certain things for the sake of a greater goal," Itachi said softly.
Beside Kanon, Kabuto glared at Sasuke, his temper finally flaring. "Do you have any idea how much Kanon has done for you?! You ungrateful, treasonous animal!" Kabuto roared. He opened his mouth to say more, but Kanon held up a hand to stop him.
"It's pointless," Kanon said, stepping forward with her sword held firmly in her remaining hand.
"Hah! Itachi didn't hesitate to slaughter his own kin just to protect Konoha. Doesn't his behavior completely run counter to ours?!" Kabuto spat out, redirecting his gaze to Sasuke. "Sasuke Uchiha, rather than following this counterfeit, you would be better off joining us. Standing right here is your biological younger sister, the very sister who transplanted the Mangekyō to you and protected your path every step of the way!"
Noticing Sasuke's sudden hesitation, Itachi spoke evenly. "Sasuke, don't listen to him. He was a spy far more accomplished than I ever was. Which means, he is far better at deception than me. Furthermore, no matter what darkness and contradictions the village harbors, I am still Itachi Uchiha of Konoha."
With those words, Itachi stepped decisively in front of Sasuke, facing Kanon and Kabuto head-on.
"Sasuke... and you, Kanon... the person who made you both turn out like this is no one else but me. Perhaps I have no right to pass judgment on the decisions you've made. But since things have already come to this, there is something I want to tell you, Sasuke. We can talk after everything has settled. For now, we must stop them."
Seeing Itachi and Sasuke assume their battle stances, Kabuto merely sneered. "As long as I am the caster of the Reanimation Jutsu, no one can kill me. Even if I take damage, the regenerative power of this body renders all injuries meaningless. Besides, I have Kanon-chan here assisting me. How exactly do you intend to win?"
Itachi replied calmly. "Though his lecturing is incredibly tiresome, his explanation of the situation is actually quite accurate."
"Then what do we do?" Sasuke asked Itachi.
"Even with Kanon by his side, she likely doesn't fully comprehend the true depth of the Uchiha's strength. The Uchiha possess a visual jutsu that does not require visual contact to take effect. The cost, however, is the loss of one's sight."
Hearing Itachi's words, Kanon's brow furrowed deep in thought. From the characteristics Itachi described, it sounded exactly like Izanagi, but there was no way she wouldn't know about that technique. Therefore, the visual jutsu Itachi was referring to had to be something other than Izanagi. And considering the cost was permanent blindness, the nature of this jutsu was bound to be even more absurd.
"Is it Izanagi? I've seen that jutsu before," Sasuke murmured.
"You know of Izanagi?" Itachi looked at Sasuke, mildly surprised.
"Danzo used it against Kanon. I witnessed it firsthand."
Itachi frowned, his gaze locking onto Kanon and Kabuto who still confronted them from across the cave. "It's a miracle you two managed to survive."
"Putting that aside, how do we use Izanagi?" Sasuke questioned.
"The technique I am going to use is not Izanagi, but another forbidden jutsu that acts as its counterpart."
"Another one?" Sasuke was stunned, and even Kanon, standing some distance away, felt a jolt of shock.
Kanon's expression grew progressively grim. She had never heard of a forbidden jutsu that served as the counterpart to Izanagi. Itachi Uchiha still has a hidden card up his sleeve? Unfortunately, Konin was currently with her main body, meaning she couldn't enter her inner mental space to ask her for guidance right now. She had to rely entirely on her own judgment.
She had never anticipated that a dead man like Itachi Uchiha would still hold such a terrifying trump card. If that was the case, covering Kabuto's escape was the absolute best option. She was merely a Shadow Clone; she understood that whatever Itachi was planning could truly turn the tide of this battle.
"Kabuto-senpai, run! That guy has an ultimate card left!"
"How can I leave you here by yourself?!"
"Enough, just go! I'll cover you! You have to get out of here and find my main body, she is currently facing the Five Kage!"
"But..."
"Kabuto-senpai! Go!" Seeing the Uchiha brothers across from them preparing to strike, Kanon gritted her teeth. She formed hand signs using her feet, then slammed her single hand hard against the ground!
"Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation!"
Boom!
The surrounding stalactites instantly came alive, twisting and shifting violently.
"Kanon-chan!"
"Go, quickly...! You are family to us in Ryūchi Cave. I am nothing but a Shadow Clone! Don't look back, the main body needs your help far more than I do!"
Kabuto ground his teeth. Although he didn't know what Itachi's trump card was, seeing the sheer gravity of Kanon's expression made him realize that this was no time to be stubborn.
Seeing Kabuto attempting to flee, Itachi rushed forward to pursue him. But right at that moment, a massive Yasaka Magatama smashed down, completely collapsing the exit cave path Kabuto was heading toward and blocking it off.
With a swift flash, Kanon planted herself directly in front of Itachi and Sasuke, obstructing their line of attack.
"It doesn't matter. Kanon can release the Reanimation Jutsu as well," Itachi remarked, shifting his focus entirely to her.
Itachi lunged forward with his Kusanagi Sword, clashing violently against Kanon's own blade. Backed by the enhanced physical specs of her Sage Mode, Kanon parried the blow with immense force, sending Itachi flying back through the air.
"This jutsu is called... Izanami!" Itachi declared calmly as he recovered his footing. "As an Uchiha, you probably have no knowledge of it."
"Izanami?" Kanon executed a mid-air flip and stuck the landing on the stone floor. Her body staggered slightly; losing her left hand was undeniably taking a toll on her balance.
"Correct. If Izanagi is a jutsu that alters destiny, then Izanami is the one that decides it. Sasuke, don't stray too far from me."
Watching Itachi wield his sword to shield Sasuke, Kanon's expression stiffened for a brief moment before she erupted into mocking laughter. "How utterly pathetic, Sasuke. Do you still need your older brother to protect you like a child?"
With a sharp sweep of her hand, a colossal sphere of spinning chakra manifested. In an instant, she hurled the massive projectile straight toward Itachi.
Itachi's hands blurred into a rapid sequence of signs. The Susanoo behind him hurled a massive Magatama bead, neutralizing her Sage Art: Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan in a violent burst of energy before charging relentlessly toward her.
"Shut up!" A purple Susanoo manifested around Sasuke, though his mind was still racing over Itachi's words. A jutsu that decides destiny? There's another jutsu just like Izanagi?
"I don't care what tricks you're trying to pull, Itachi, but I'm sending you right back to hell! Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation!" In an instant, countless stalactites sharpened into deadly spikes, skewering wildly toward Itachi and Sasuke.
Itachi's physical body was instantly impaled through the torso, but the massive hand of his Susanoo successfully shielded Sasuke from harm.
"Itachi!" Sasuke cried out, panic bleeding into his voice.
"The Sage Transformation of our Ryūchi Cave isn't just for show," Kanon declared. Springing off her shinobi boots, her silhouette blurred through the air. A gleaming white Chidori Sharp Spear erupted from her hand, thrusting viciously toward Itachi.
"His Susanoo was deployed to protect that brat, meaning he couldn't dodge in time himself!" Kanon noted coldly as the Chidori Sharp Spear cleaved downward, aiming to split Itachi in two.
However, Sasuke reacted instantly, throwing himself in front of Itachi and using his own Chidori Sharp Spear to intercept and block Kanon's lethal strike.
Itachi raised his head to look at Kanon. From the trajectory of her attacks just now, it was clear she had no intention of harming Sasuke; every single strike was aimed squarely at taking his own life.
This realization only deepened the crushing guilt weighing on Itachi's heart. Kanon had always held family and the bond of blood sacred. Yet, from the moment she was six years old up until this very second, he had never once stood by her side.
He had murdered their parents, instructed the masked man to target his own sister and her lover, exterminated their entire clan, and now, even after dying and returning to the living world, his sole purpose was to stand in his sister's way.
Before his initial death, Itachi had already seen his own failures clearly. The chasm between himself and Kanon was simply too vast, so vast that it had poisoned her relationship with Sasuke.
Deep down, a dark, regretful thought crossed his mind: Why didn't I just kill Kanon when she was six years old, instead of letting her grow to become such a monstrous force?
If one is to commit to a path, they must commit fully. Once a choice is made, it must be executed with absolute, freezing ruthlessness. Because he had allowed his lingering attachments to sway him back then, he had allowed a sister who posed such a catastrophic threat to Konoha to survive.