Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 306 The Mad Uchiha Itachi

Upon hearing the name Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Itachi's expression darkened.

He still remembered the look in Uchiha Shisui's eyes when he walked out of the coffin nine years ago.

The look in his eyes, a mixture of disappointment, dissatisfaction, despair, self-blame, and hatred, still fills Itachi Uchiha with guilt and leaves him feeling lost and confused.

But upon hearing the name Uchiha Izumi, Uchiha Ryu instantly lost control.

Uchiha Izumi was a girl who grew up with Uchiha Itachi since childhood, and was once regarded by him as the only girl who could stand by his side.

However, not long after Itachi Uchiha acknowledged Izumi Uchiha, that bastard Sasuke suddenly interfered.

It's unclear why he spoke ill of Uchiha Izumi, but this caused the naive girl to distance herself from Uchiha Itachi and maintain a relationship with him as just a friend.

At that time, Itachi Uchiha was preoccupied with the conflicts between his clan and the village. He only felt uncomfortable about Izumi's estrangement and did not really take it seriously.

It wasn't until the night Itachi Uchiha carried out the massacre of his clan, when he made up his mind to kill Izumi Uchiha, that he realized how much he loved this girl.

Because of this love that was discovered at the very end, Itachi Uchiha decided to kill her as quickly as possible to prevent her from suffering any more pain.

But the result was that he was severely beaten by Xia Zuo. During the chase, Xia Zuo even used Wood Release to take away Uchiha Itachi's right hand, making him think that he had lost his ninjutsu.

Fortunately, the idiot who went by the alias Uchiha Madara used White Zetsu's hand to reconnect Itachi Uchiha's novice hands.

This derivative of flesh and blood from the real Uchiha Madara not only allowed Uchiha Itachi to regrow his arms, but also slowly healed his half-blind eyes.

Of course, Itachi Uchiha hid this very well, and even that idiot didn't know it, making it one of his biggest trump cards.

But Itachi kept the grudge of losing Xia Zuo's hand firmly in his heart, and preventing the cleansing of the family's sins was an even deeper hatred in Itachi's heart.

Uchiha Itachi thought from the perspective of a Hokage from the age of four until he decided to destroy his own clan at the age of 13. His nine years of "deliberation" were completely destroyed by Xia Zuo's Wood Release secret technique.

But what Itachi found even harder to accept was that when Xia Zuo resolutely stood in front of him, the conflict between Konoha and the Uchiha clan actually eased, and all his previous concerns turned out to be wrong.

Uchiha Ryo couldn't accept it and found various reasons to prove that he was right, or to prove that Xia Zuo's success was only temporary and full of future troubles.

But he couldn't find any evidence to prove it. Instead, he watched as Xia Zuo killed the Third Hokage (his guess) who trusted and supported him, and later became the Fifth Hokage.

Later, Natsume Sasuke, the Fifth Hokage, led Konoha to sweep across the ninja world, turning Konoha from the strongest ninja in the propaganda world into the strongest in reality.

Two years ago, Konoha proved that its strength was enough to crush the combined forces of the four great ninja villages. The Fifth Hokage then began to command the ninja world without hesitation, creating an era of peace.

In this peaceful new era, Konoha Village is naturally prosperous and thriving. All the clans in the village are content, the Uchiha clan is stable and peaceful, and even the four great ninja villages that were previously suppressed have benefited to varying degrees.

Peace benefits even the most ordinary people in the world, giving them an unprecedented sense of security and abundant hope.

Uchiha Itachi was surprised to find that everyone in the ninja world under Natsusa's control was actually benefiting.

Of course, the daimyo and nobles were even more devastated, but after the fire daimyo of Shazona set an example, the four Kage followed suit, stripping the nobles of their rights and taking away their voices.

Lacking the power to overturn the table and stripped of their influence over public opinion, the daimyo and nobles could only allow the ninjas to plunder their wealth, and eventually quietly withdrew from the ninja world.

Faced with the fact that the ninja world is at peace, Itachi Uchiha can no longer prove that Sasuke was wrong, so the only one who is wrong is himself.

Therefore, it was wrong for him to kill his father and mother with his own hands, it was wrong for him to kill those who trusted him or were wary of him, and his entire life was wrong!

The overwhelming guilt weighed heavily on Itachi Uchiha, making it hard for him to breathe. When he was alone, he would take out a kunai countless times and imagine himself committing suicide.

But Itachi Uchiha didn't commit suicide; he became a monster.

On the surface, he was still the same Uchiha Itachi: wise, calm, decisive, and shrewd, with an even more stable mind, like an unshakeable mountain.

In reality, this mountain is just an iceberg floating on the sea. It only needs a trigger to completely reverse the situation and reveal its ferocious and terrifying side beneath the surface.

Interestingly, it wasn't Uchiha Sasuke and Natsume who triggered Uchiha Furuto's madness; it was Uchiha Izumi.

It can only be said that in the world of the mentally ill, the logic of normal people doesn't work.

Upon hearing Sasuke mention Izumi Uchiha's name, another side of Itachi Uchiha's inner self instantly surfaced.

His demeanor suddenly became flamboyant and sinister, and a ferocious killing intent was revealed in his Mangekyou Sharingan. After scanning Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, he locked his target on Sakura Haruno.

Team 7 worked together seamlessly, with each member possessing formidable strength, but Uchiha Touch still managed to spot a flaw.

Of the three Konoha Chunin, Naruto Uzumaki is the strongest, Sasuke Uchiha is considerably weaker, and Sakura Haruno is the weakest.

Although it was Sakura Haruno who ultimately injured Itachi, he also saw through Sakura's true nature because of it.

Sakura's greatest strength lies in her superhuman strength; all other aspects are clearly flawed and are the easiest to overcome.

Following Itachi's gaze, Sasuke Uchiha realized that Itachi was about to attack Sakura, and immediately threw out 16 shuriken to cut off Itachi's attack route.

Uchiha Itachi smiled coldly, remaining motionless as he was struck by the shuriken. When the tenth shuriken hit his body, he suddenly transformed into a flock of black crows, fluttering and scattering away.

"Illusion? When?!"

Sasuke Uchiha was secretly alarmed. He had pushed his three-tomoe Sharingan to its limit and concentrated all his energy, being extremely cautious.

But they were still under the spell.

Itachi Uchiha's voice came from the crow: "Although only the Sharingan can counter the Sharingan, the difference between your Sharingan and mine is as vast as an chasm."

A black crow perched on Sasuke Uchiha's shoulder, its Mangekyou Sharingan eyes fixed intently on him, an endless flow of darkness attempting to pull Sasuke into it.

Just then, the crow suddenly swelled up, then burst into countless pieces of flesh and blood, replaced by a dazzling Rasengan. Uchiha Sasuke cried out anxiously, "Wrong! Itachi's target isn't me, it's Sakura!"

Naruto Uzumaki laughed and said, "That's right, I'm a shadow clone."

After saying that, he exhausted his chakra and turned into a puff of white smoke.

Beside Sakura Haruno, Itachi Uchiha had just reverted from his crow form to human form when Naruto Uzumaki arrived wielding two Rasengans, instantly tearing Itachi apart but also unleashing a shower of black feathers.

One of the tail feathers, which shimmered with iridescent colors in the sunlight, burst open into a cloud of white smoke on the other side of Sakura's body, revealing the figure of Uchiha Itachi.

But then his expression changed slightly as he dodged backward, narrowly avoiding two Rasengans.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Itachi Uchiha retreated more than ten meters, creating a safe distance before asking in surprise, "You can throw the Rasengan now?"

Naruto asked in surprise, "The Transformation Jutsu can transform twice?"

"untie!"

Uchiha Sasuke held his fingers together in front of his eyes, and the chakra within his body instantly boiled over in conjunction with the hand seal. Combined with the eye power surging from his Sharingan, he finally broke free from the Mangekyou Sharingan power that had been troubling his mind.

Itachi Uchiha's eye technique has finally been unlocked.

But before Sasuke could even catch his breath, a piercing sound of something cutting through the air reached his ears.

Without thinking, he instinctively used the Lazy Donkey Roll, rolling ten times in a row to dodge the shuriken thrown at him.

It must be said that even the handsome Uchiha Sasuke couldn't maintain his composure by making such a move, but at least he managed to dodge a potentially fatal shuriken.

After confirming that it was safe, Sasuke realized that the shuriken were actually his own, the ones he had just thrown to attack Itachi Uchiha.

But it was too late for him to regret it, because Itachi Uchiha had already completed the hand seals, put his hand to his mouth, puffed out his cheeks, and blew out a large fireball.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique

Uchiha Touch's hand seal speed is probably the fastest in the ninja world, with seven seals per second, which feels almost indistinguishable from instantaneous execution.

But no matter how fast you form a hand seal, it can't compare to a flick of your finger.

Sasuke snorted coldly, pulled open his right sleeve, revealing the sealing ring on his wrist, and lightly swept his left index finger across the seal, activating the ninjutsu sealed within.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique

The two fireballs collided violently, with the center of the fireballs moving closer to Itachi Uchiha, catching him completely off guard.

Stunned, Itachi Uchiha was engulfed by the rolling flames. The surging flames and the golden-white light stung the eyes.

In order to save time, the two brothers tacitly increased their chakra output and reduced their control over their ninjutsu. As soon as the fireballs collided, they were squeezed and deformed, and a violent explosion occurred instantly.

After the intense light and flames, thick smoke billowed across the battlefield, with wisps of fire rising into the air. The low pressure created strong winds that whipped up yellow sand.

Visibility on the battlefield decreased instantly.

Outside the battlefield area shrouded in yellow sand, Itachi Uchiha, who should have been engulfed by flames, stood quietly, his Mangekyou Sharingan rapidly scanning the entire area.

But to his surprise, not only was Sakura Haruno, the main target of his attack, gone, but Naruto Uzumaki had also disappeared.

The inability to see the enemy during a ninja battle is the most worrying situation for Uchiha clan ninjas, and Uchiha Itachi immediately tensed up.

Just then, he sensed a sharp and violent fluctuation of chakra and heard a loud, chirping sound.

Immediately, the rolling yellow sand was torn apart by streaks of lightning, clearing a path in an instant.

Sasuke Uchiha kept his eyes tightly closed, somehow managing to spot and accurately lock onto Itachi Uchiha.

He used the materialized Lightning Release chakra he had gathered in his hand as the tip of his spear, charging towards Uchiha Shū.

Lightning Release: Chidori

As a true member of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke has an excellent ability to adapt to Lightning Release chakra. His straight-line charging speed is extremely fast, and he arrived in front of Uchiha Itachi in the blink of an eye.

Only after receiving feedback from the Lightning Release did Sasuke open his eyes, use his Sharingan to make a final lock, aim his right hand at Itachi's heart, and plunge it in.

Puff!

Lightning Release chakra has a tearing nature, and Chidori maximized the advantages of Lightning Release, easily tearing through Itachi's skin, flesh, and bones. Sasuke's right hand pierced directly through the beating heart.

Sasuke Uchiha's expression of ecstasy, which had just appeared on his face after his successful attack, froze again.

Because he had already realized that the realness of the touch was different from the distance observed by his Sharingan, he was unknowingly affected by the genjutsu, which led him to have the illusion that he had successfully carried out a tactical surprise attack and instantly killed Uchiha Itachi.

Sasuke Uchiha finally understood why Kakashi Hatake was afraid of Itachi.

Fighting Itachi Uchiha, who possessed the genjutsu-type Mangekyou Sharingan, would constantly blur the lines between reality and illusion, a feeling that could drive anyone mad.

The next second, Sasuke, overwhelmed with emotion, realized that the feeling of being pierced through the heart by Chidori wasn't entirely fake; he had actually pierced something.

Then he heard a hissing sound of burning and smelled the familiar smell of gunpowder.

It's an explosive tag!!

boom-!

The massive explosion engulfed Uchiha Sasuke.

At the same time, Uchiha Itachi, who had just appeared, was struck in the back by a fair, white fist. The terrifying force poured into his body, completely shattering the spine that supported his body, but it did not allow his body to move forward even a centimeter.

Sakura Haruno said resentfully, "Damn it, I'm not as weak as you think!"

After his spine was shattered, Itachi Uchiha was paralyzed from the waist down. He barely managed to turn his head and look at the sulking Sakura Haruno.

Itachi coldly said, "I didn't underestimate you, but I underestimated Naruto Uzumaki and also misjudged my little brother's strength."

"If Sasuke hadn't shaken my chakra, allowing Naruto to ambush me from underground and deprive me of my freedom of movement, do you think you could have hit me?"

Sakura Haruno then noticed that Itachi Uchiha's feet were wrapped in layers of yellow sand, firmly fixed to the ground.

She sighed dejectedly, "Naruto, when did you master Magnet Release?"

Naruto Uzumaki stepped forward and replied with a smile, "Actually, I've had this skill for a while now, but I haven't had the right environment to use it, which is why I haven't used it."

Uchiha Sasuke emerged from the yellow sand. He did not seem to have completely avoided the explosive damage from the detonation tags, as his hair and clothes bore the marks of being burned by flames.

He looked at Sakura Haruno and said, "It's because you didn't observe carefully enough. Naruto used it many times when he was in the village. I noticed it a long time ago."

"Ah~ Ah~ Ah~, stop talking." Sakura Haruno covered her ears and squatted down: "You guys make me look stupid."

Sasuke and Naruto exchanged a glance and said in unison, "You've always been stupid!"

"Aaaaaah—!"