章 32: A new light

"Who was it!?" asked Sasuke again.

"The person who helped me that day was…" Itachi began to speak.

"Madara Uchiha," he said.

Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise! "Madara Uchiha?!" he repeated to make sure he heard correctly. The crowd meanwhile was confused. Who was this Madara Uchiha and why are they looking so surprised to hear his name? Sasuke looked angrily at Itachi and shouted.

"Are you making fun of me!? Madara Uchiha!? Our ancestor is dead!" he shouted. Everyone hearing this was thinking. "So this Madara is their ancestor… He must be very strong to have such offspring.." the thought.

"Madara is still alive…" Itachi said slowly. "It's up to you whether you believe my words or not.." he said.

"Stop kidding me!" Sasuke shouted angrily at Itachi.

"Each of us lives our lives dependent and bound by our individual knowledge. We go off of what we correct as true and untrue. This is how we define Reality." Itachi said, gaining everyone's attention. "However Knowledge and Awareness are equivocal. What one might consider reality may be another's illusion. We as humans all live inside of our own fantasies believing what we want, don't you think Sasuke?" asked Itachi.

"What are you trying to say?!" Sasuke said irritable. The crowd however was dumbfounded by Itachi's deep words. Some elders closed their eyes to ponder on Itachi's words. Each time one opened their eyes they would immediately look at Itachi with deep respect. Although some did not understand what he was saying they felt it was very attractive, and screamed 'wise' to them.

"I'm saying that thinking Madara is dead is merely an assumption you've made…" Itachi smiled and said. "The exact same way that you… once considered that I was your kind and gentle older brother," he said with a smile. This smile froze Chu Yuechan and Xia Qingyue who looked horrified.

"There's no way… That's not him…. I refuse to believe it…" Xia Qingyue thought to herself in a chaotic state. Her mind was racing and she was breaking down. "Were all of the memories we shared… fake..?" she thought. Cang Yue also seemed to feel betrayed looking at him with complex emotions. "What happened that night…" she thought to herself.

Sasuke was trembling and spoke, "I was so young and I thought it was all merely and illusion. I thought that I was only trapped in a horrible genjutsu…" he said. The crowd at this moment really pitied Sasuke. He lost his whole family and a young age, and the killer of his entire clan was his very own older brother that he loved dearly!

"BUT THERE IS NO MISTAKE NOW! I WAS SIMPLY TRAPPED IN MY REALITY!" He shouted out! He turned and launched a Chidori at Itachi when… suddenly the space broke like glass releasing an illusion. The crowd was astonished once again! It was actually another illusion and they couldn't even tell!

"MY EYES ARE NOT LIKE THE PAST!" shouted Sasuke looking at Itachi. "MY SHARINGAN CAN SEE THROUGH YOUR ILLUSIONS NOW!" He spoke frantically. This caused Itachi to snort.

"You still speak so confidently… but for now I will take your word for it.." Itachi said as he disappeared. "He can see through illusions…" Jasmine thought a little worried.

"Being confident is well and good… but your eyes still aren't the same as mine." Itachi commented as his eyes slowly rotated! The crowd was confused when they saw this. Their eyes looked the exact same after all.

"So… You couldn't do it Sasuke… You couldn't kill your best friend…" he said dropping another bomb on the audience. "...And you dared to come before me with such weak determination?" he asked.

Xia Qingyue at this moment knelt down broken. She felt at this moment all of the happy memories with Itachi were just illusions… "He killed… his best friend for power?" thought Chu Yuechan horrified. For Xia Qingyue and Chu Yuechan today was a nightmare they could not escape. The more they knew about Itachi the more afraid they became. "Was it real? Were all the beautiful moments they shared real? Or were they just an assumption as Itachi said?" thought Jasmine and the others.

Jasmine however who was with him from the start realized there were problems with what he said. "It doesn't seem right… obviously something is missing… This problem can't be so simple!" she thought. Itachi however was still focused on the fight.

"Alright, then hurry and try to kill me with your Mangekyo Sharingan." Sasuke spoke out. This caused everyone to think with curiosity. Was this some kind of advanced power of their eyes? Itachi stood up and sighed. Everyone swallowed hard because it seemed the real battle was about to begin now!

"You are quite sure of yourself…" Itachi spoke. "Mangekyo Sharingan… these eyes are special." he continued. These words caught everyone's attention. They all wanted to know what the Mangekyo Sharingan was. "From the moment that they woke up from the darkness…" he said lightly.

The Mangekyo Sharingan seemed amazing as it was something very mysterious… They all wanted to know more. "The more they are used… the faster they are sealed…" he spoke. Everyone in the audience realized what this meant. Their strength must be extraordinary for them to have conditions like this.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

"In time the Mangekyo lose their light." he explained, showing his eyes that were morphing into a three pointed star. His eyes now had three curves. Everyone looked at these eyes with awe. Even the Tyrant realm cultivator from the Sacred Ground felt that these eyes were really strong. Some people didn't understand what he meant by losing their light however.

"Blindness…" Sasuke said to everyone's surprise! This was a very expensive price! Jasmine's eyes widened at this however! "How could I not think of this! Of course having three types of divine power in his eyes would come at a high price!" she thought to herself. Itachi slowly walked towards Sasuke.

"You know… The Mangekyo Sharingan is a very mysterious force… Every time someone in the Uchiha Clan wakes these up, this person will be someone important to the clan… But it has one dark secret…" Itach spoke as he walked closer. "Our Uchiha clan was once feared in ancient times for the strength of our eyes." Itachi said with mystery.

Everyone was fascinated by the story that Itachi was painting. What was this mysterious Uchiha Clan? What were these incredible eyes? Many people in the crowd were actually cursing themselves for not being born as a Uchiha! They want to have these cool eyes! The mysteries behind these eyes and clan also attracted them!

"Let me tell you about our clan's past…. Madara Uchiha, our ancestor, the person who is recognized as the most powerful Uchiha in history!" He spoke, making everyone excited. Madara Uchiha! What a domineering name. It just sounded like the name of one who was strong. Even Jasmine was curious about the one who was stronger than Itachi.

"Madara had a brother named Izuna and he and his brother often competed with each other to sharpen their skills. After a certain time of fighting in the war that was going on, Madara and Izuna had killed their most beloved friend and both awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan!" he said.

"Such a cruel power… To kill your best friend to gain more power…" Jasmine thought.

"Madara was the clan leader and Izuna the second in command. With their new powers they expanded their territory and affected everyone." he spoke with fervor. They were all now listening closely to his words. "

After a certain time however… Madara began to lose his light." he said, making everyone swallow hard. People could tell this was not a good sign. "No matter what he did he could not find a solution to his problem… Until one day…" Itachi said while he stopped walking. Everyone was now tense.

"Do you want to know what he did?" Itachi asked Sasuke in a calm but frightening voice but Sasuke nodded after hesitating.

"He took…" He started and the crowd did not even breathe. "... His brother's eyes as compensation." Itachi spoke, making everyone freeze. Take the eyes of their brother?! They all sucked in a breath of cold air. However now that they thought about this some people were able to draw some very terrible conclusions. One by one they all opened their eyes wide!

"Don't say…" thought the last few. The last few to come to this new conclusion were Chu Yuechan and Xia Qingyue. Their hearts began to beat fast and did not want what they thought to be true.

"When their is no more light within the Mangekyo Sharingan… You must find a new source of light…" Itachi said slowly smiling. Everyone's fear seemed to be coming true…. This person actually wanted to…

"Only by taking the light from another person could you gain eternal light… An Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan!" Itachi shouted as his smile grew wider. Sasuke's eyes began to widen in understanding. "Do you understand Sasuke?" Itachi said with a smile now looking like a demon.

"YOU ARE MY NEW LIGHT SASUKE! I WILL HAVE THE ETERNAL MANGEKYO SHARINGAN!" He shouted with a crazy expression. Chu Yuechan did not realize that tears were flowing out of her eyes. Xia Qingyue slumped on the ground looking lifeless as she continued to watch. Jasmine was shocked and immediately denied it. "No… This isn't Itachi!" she said to herself trying to wake herself from this nightmare. Where was the kind man who cooked for her everyday and cared for her. She refused to believe it.

Meanwhile Sasuke was now looking at Itachi, now very scared. Itachi immediately used Shunpo to appear in front of Sasuke as his eyes widened. Sasuke could not keep up with Itachi's speed. Itachi didn't give him a chance and kicked him hard into the arena wall. Sasuke used Chidori but Itachi quickly grabbed his hand, pinning it to the wall. Itachi punched his stomach again, making him cough several times. It was too soon to react when everyone saw Itachi beating Sasuke like a ragdoll.

"This was a true genius…" is what the audience thought looking at Itachi. They saw as Itachi slowly raised his hands towards his eyes… this movement made everyone worried wether he would really going to do it…

"Please stop…" Chu Yuechan whispered while still crying unconsciously. Xia Qingyue realized what Itachi was about to do. She slightly opened her mouth before closing it. She felt her heart beating very fast. Itachi's three fingers in Sasuke's eyes as he slowly opened them.

"I'm sorry Sasuke." he spoke in a cold voice.

"This is my reality!" he said as he picked the eye out of his socket!

"ARGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" Sasuke's scream rang out. This scream seemed to come from his very soul! Jasmine knelt inside of the Sky Poison Pearl while muttering "why…" as she saw the vision of Sasuke's empty eye socket. This scene froze everybody in their seats and made their blood run cold.

"I told you.." Itachi said coldly. "If you don't have the Mangekyo Sharingan… You can never win against me." he said. "I'll be taking your other one now." he said with no expression on his face or in his tone. While blood flowed through his empty left eye socket Sasuke used his Chidori to free himself from Itachi. Itachi jumped back and put the eye in a special bottle he was carrying when suddenly…

*CRACKKK*

Everyone's vision broke once again, amazing them. That was because Sasuke still had his eyes! Sasuke however still immediately knelt down panting. Itachi looked over at Sasuke with a slightly amused expression.

"Not bad… You could still break that level of illusion… " he said, making everyone scared. They could not believe that what they just witnessed was an illusion. They were now all in fear thinking about how much of a monster he was. "He could trap all of us in his illusion on so many occasions…" they all thought. "...And if it wasn't for his brother who destroyed them all…" they realized with deep fear. They now began to realize just how much of a monster Itachi Uchiha was.

Even if it was only one person they realized it was almost impossible to win. They all at this moment realized how strong this Sharingan was. Everybody began to develop an unknown attraction for the Uchiha Lineage. Sasuke however slowly stood up. Itach looked back at Sasuke as—

*SWISHH*

They both rapidly released hand seals at a speed barely visible to the trained eye!

"Katon! Grand Fireball Jutsu!" they shouted at the same time.

*FRWUSHH*

A giant ball of fire began to emerge from their mouths and clash with each other! Their fireballs where both equal in strength as well! It seemed no one could win but suddenly — Itachi closed his right eye. As it opened it started to bleed!

"Amaterasu!" he said as black fire started to emerge on the fireball. The crowd was shocked as the black fire started to actually envelope the fire. This black fire even scared Jasmine. "This black fire contains Divine Power… It's so powerful!" she thought, staring at the powerful black flames in fascination. Soon the black flames completely consumed the fire and almost burned Sasuke but Itachi stopped them. Sasuke stepped back two steps…

"Amaterasu blazes out." Itachi said with closed bloody eyes.

"Amaterasu…" the crowd all thought in fear as Sasuke ran towards Itachi! Itachi took a taijutsu stance and they began their battle. It really opened the eyes of many cultivators. The level of hand-to-hand combat was the best they had ever seen.

The two jumped back at the same time and then Itachi threw out several shuriken.

"Katon! Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Itachi spoke as small fire balls were spit out of his mouth and covered the shuriken. Sasuke dodged the weapons but Itachi anticipated this and used Shunpo to appear behind him. This made Sasuke block his round kick but it still sent him flying. Sasuke quickly got up and threw some kunai and shuriken at him while running circles around him. Itachi however dodged all of them elegantly as if he knew where they were all coming from and could see the future. Sasuke then ran towards him with Chidori which led Itachi to release several hand seals.

"Doton! Mud Wall!" he said as a wall made of stone came from the ground. Sasuke's Chidori entered the wall before Sasuke grit his teeth and shot several fire balls into the sky. Everyone was confused as to why Sasuke did this as he slowly smiled. Itachi started to pant and his eyes became very serious.

"Strange…. I know more than anyone Itachi's strength… since the beginning he has not used Divine Dividing or his Boosted Gear… Why is he holding back so much…" Jasmine thought anxiously. Itachi's condition was worrying her and Mangekyo's repercussion. was too severe… If the fight continued…. Suddenly everyone heard thunder clapping as Sasuke's hand was rising towards the sky at the highest point.The rain started to fall as the sound of thunder boomed in the distance.

"Itachi… today is the day of your death… AND I SHALL MAKE THAT REALITY!" Sasuke shouted with his hand towards the sky. At that moment he used Chidori and began to tame the lightning in the air…

"This move cannot be avoided, Itachi... just like Amaterasu… This move uses the lightning that comes from Heaven itself!" Sasuke said to everyone's surprise. "I'm merely guiding it towards you!" he spoke. "Taming the thunder of heaven itself?!" everyone thought.

"COME!" He shouted as Chidori flew towards the sky. Suddenly a massive dragon made out of pure thunder appeared in the sky! Everyone was now terrified seeing this scene!

"Vanish with the roar of thunder…" Sasuke said as he moved his hand down.

"KIRIN!" He shouted and then the Thunder Dragon dropped towards Itachi in a flash of light. Everyone had to close their eyes because the lightning was too strong!

"ITACHIIII!" Chu Yuechan, Xia Qingyue, Cang Yue, and Jasmine shouted at the same time!

"SYSTEM DO IT NOW AS PLANNED!" He spoke just before he lost consciousness.

[Ding! —]

*********************

When everyone opened their eyes they were in a unknown complex. They looked around and saw Itachi who looked 16 or 17, sitting in sandals. They were all dumbfounded and confused, but when they heard another voice they were shocked to their core. This was because a much younger version of Sasuke was running towards Itachi excitedly.

"Nii-san! Can you help me practice with kunai!" Sasuke said with a bright smile. Itachi turned towards Sasuke and smiled. At this moment they all understood… This was Itachi's past! They were all very excited. This was even more so for Chu Yuechan, Xia Qingyue, Cang Yue, and Jasmine! They had to know the whole story! They could only hope that Itachi was not as bad as they thought.

It seemed that today they would all finally understand the mystery of the massacre of the Uchiha Clan.