"Uchiha Yohara."
As Yohara silently thought to himself, Uchiha Itachi walked forward within the monochrome illusion space, holding a ninja blade. The hazy grey-white world made Itachi's expression unreadable, but Yohara felt relatively calm. Once he confirmed this was the Tsukuyomi, his worry faded, and he quietly began preparing his own jutsu to strike back.
"You're strong, I'll admit that. You hid deep, and even have the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan. But this is my domain now—time, space, and matter all bend to my will. This might be a genjutsu, but it's not an ordinary one. Even if you've awakened the Mangekyō too, clearly it's not enough. Everything you feel in here—pain, death—it all registers as real to your brain."
Itachi's tone was cold, brimming with confidence, though he didn't step closer, wary of Yohara. That, Yohara found amusing—this guy was nothing like his father. His father dragged him into an illusion space begging to die. This brat came to boast.
"You're confident."
Yohara disliked Itachi deeply, but he had no interest in playing games with him. More importantly, Shisui and Fugaku were still fighting Tobi, and they had no intel on the guy. Yohara didn't want them getting hurt. It wasn't that he didn't want to share Tobi's intel—he simply couldn't. Knowing too much without reason is suspicious.
"You know, not long ago I sparred with Fugaku. Mangekyō-level combat."
Yohara said calmly, his chakra slowly building.
"He had a jutsu like yours. And you know what? He lost—badly."
As he spoke, the illusion space began twisting violently. Yohara casually stepped down from the cross he'd been bound to. In the next instant, the entire illusion space was flooded with his chakra, and Itachi suddenly found himself locked on the cross.
"Your technique does nothing to me. Honestly, I've never hated someone the way I hate you."
"Konoha is Konoha. The Hokage is the Hokage. The Hokage belongs to Konoha—but Konoha doesn't belong to the Hokage."
"You don't even grasp that simple truth, and people still call you a genius? I guess it's no surprise—you didn't even finish ninja school."
"The clan raised you, trained you, made you a proper shinobi. And in its time of crisis, instead of helping, you sided with those who already distrusted us—joined with the very person who doomed the clan."
"You claim loyalty to Konoha, yet betrayed it. You were raised by the clan, yet betrayed it too. You are disloyal. You are unfilial."
"You... are a disgrace."
Yohara's chakra surged wildly. Under the effect of his secret technique, 'Unshakable Will,' he broke free of Tsukuyomi's control—and could even reflect the genjutsu back on Itachi using his ocular power. During this state, even Mangekyō chakra drain was practically negligible.
Without hesitation, a ninja blade appeared in Yohara's hand, and he slashed at Itachi.
"You've got no right to live in this world!"
The blade came down, and just before it hit, the illusion world shattered like glass—Tsukuyomi collapsed. In reality, Itachi staggered back, clutching his chest. Everything he experienced in the illusion was recognized as real by his brain.
Blood streamed from his eyes—he was completely backlashed by his own jutsu. His vision blurred, pain shot through his head, and his Mangekyō was barely holding on.
But Yohara was already in front of him. The blade pierced toward Itachi's chest as Yohara's left hand snatched one of his eyes.
"Thwack!"
Forced to evade the stab, Itachi leapt back, but one eye had already been gouged out. Gritting his teeth, he quickly formed seals and spewed a massive fire dragon toward Yohara.
"Still resisting?"
Yohara scoffed, sidestepping the attack. Itachi immediately followed with another fire jutsu, this time aiming where Yohara dodged. Yohara raised a brow.
"Trying to out-jutsu me? You think you've got the chakra for that?"
Dodging again, Yohara didn't press forward. He glanced over—Shisui and Fugaku were still fighting Tobi. They weren't winning, but Tobi wasn't doing great either. In fact, he was at a disadvantage. Without Kamui, he'd probably be done already. He was clearly worried about Shisui's Mangekyō.
Yohara relaxed a little.
"You think fire-style can hold me? Let me show you how it's really done!"
Tossing Itachi's eye into his ninja pouch and jamming his blade into the ground, Yohara formed seals. Oppressive heat burst out. In the next instant, under Itachi's horrified gaze, a massive black fire dragon roared toward him.
(End of Chapter)