Knock, knock, knock.
A series of knocks shattered the stillness of the night.
"Who's there?"
Uchiha Shinji's shadow clone, yawning, shuffled to the door.
"It's me!"
Sasuke's voice came from outside.
The shadow clone opened the door, looking puzzled: "Sasuke? It's so late, and you're not sleeping. What are you doing here?"
Sasuke didn't step inside: "I have something to say to you!"
The shadow clone shrugged: "Alright, say it then!"
Sasuke replied, "Let's talk somewhere else."
The shadow clone yawned again, seemingly oblivious to Sasuke's odd demeanor: "Can't it wait until tomorrow? It's already so late!"
Sasuke remained eerily calm: "I'll wait for you downstairs!"
With that, Sasuke turned and headed down the stairs.
Watching Sasuke's retreating figure, the shadow clone pondered for a moment, closed the door, and followed.
Meeting Sasuke downstairs, the shadow clone asked, "So, what exactly do you want to talk about?"
"Come with me!"
Without elaborating, Sasuke's figure flickered, darting toward the Forest of Death.
Hidden in the shadows, Shinji's real body frowned slightly.
This wasn't quite what he'd expected, but on second thought, even if Sasuke intended to act, he wouldn't do it directly in the village.
After all, that would be messy to clean up!
Yakumo seemed to realize this too, glancing nervously at Shinji.
Shinji said, "Let's go. We'll follow them!"
Before long, Sasuke led Shinji's shadow clone into the Forest of Death.
Shinji's real body and Yakumo trailed silently, arriving at the forest unnoticed.
In the eerie Forest of Death, Sasuke, clad in a jacket bearing the Uchiha crest, faced Shinji's shadow clone from a distance.
In such an atmosphere, the shadow clone spoke: "Looks like you didn't bring me here to talk, but to fight, huh?"
Sasuke shook his head.
The shadow clone asked, "Then why did you bring me here?"
Sasuke said coldly, "Tonight, only one of us will walk away alive!"
Shinji's shadow clone frowned: "Why?"
Sasuke didn't hide his intentions, bluntly explaining that killing a loved one could awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, sharing this with Shinji's shadow clone.
The shadow clone asked, "So… you want to kill me?"
Sasuke didn't deny it: "We're a cursed clan. I've accepted this fate. As long as I can get revenge, I'll do whatever it takes!"
Hearing this, Yakumo, hidden in the shadows, looked horrified.
She was shocked by the bloody, sinful method to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan and even more stunned that Sasuke would consider killing Shinji to achieve it.
Beside her, Shinji's real body remained stoic, silent.
Sasuke's actions had once again defied his expectations.
He'd assumed Sasuke would attack his shadow clone immediately upon luring it to the Forest of Death. Instead, Sasuke had laid everything bare.
On the field.
Shinji's shadow clone mirrored Shinji's own demeanor, saying calmly, "Even if what you say about awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan is true, why tell me? You should know that without a sneak attack, it's hard for you to beat me!"
Sasuke scoffed: "Don't be so smug! These Sharingan of mine are far beyond what they used to be!"
Shinji's shadow clone studied Sasuke: "No, what are you really up to?"
Sasuke activated his Sharingan, his voice resolute: "Shinji, I've long wanted to face you in a fight to the death! If I win tonight, I'll awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, kill Uchiha Itachi, and avenge our clan! If you win, you'll surely awaken your Sharingan. Then, the Uchiha clan's blood feud will be entrusted to you!"
Shinji's shadow clone paused, murmuring, "Why go this far?"
Sasuke shook his head, his tone firm: "I also cherish our days at the ninja academy, but indulging in them will only make us mediocre. You can't defeat Uchiha Itachi without sacrificing anything, so we must make a choice! Shinji, don't hold back. If you don't kill me, I'll kill you!"
Whoosh.
The moment his words fell, Sasuke lunged at Shinji, his speed astonishingly fast!
Clang, clang, clang!
In an instant, the grim, oppressive Forest of Death echoed with a series of piercing metallic clashes, accompanied by fleeting sparks as ghostly figures flickered in and out of the darkness.
Yakumo, hidden in the shadows, covered her mouth, unable to accept the sight of clanmates turning on each other.
Shinji, meanwhile, let out a wry chuckle, thinking, This kid… so that's his plan! Sigh, I underestimated him.
Though it differed from his expectations, it didn't derail his plan.
He surveyed the surroundings, then asked Yakumo, "Your Kurama clan's Bloodline Limit focuses on extreme control over the five senses, used in genjutsu to create illusions so real they can even interfere with reality at their peak, correct?"
"Yes!"
Yakumo nodded, slightly confused.
Shinji pointed at Sasuke in the distance: "Are you confident you can ensnare him in genjutsu?"
Yakumo thought for a moment, then said, "Leader, Sasuke has activated his Sharingan. There's a chance my genjutsu could be seen through!"
Shinji pressed, "If I first use genjutsu to suppress the power of his Sharingan, would you be confident then?"
"You mean to have him fall into your genjutsu first, then have me layer a second genjutsu within yours to affect him?"
Yakumo was stunned, not expecting her leader to propose such an audacious idea.
Crafting a single layer of genjutsu was already challenging.
Nesting a second layer within an existing genjutsu was an immense challenge, even for her, the Kurama clan's greatest genjutsu prodigy in decades.
Shinji nodded: "Exactly. With my Sharingan's genjutsu, I can neutralize his Sharingan's ability to see through illusions, reducing him to an ordinary person within the genjutsu. If you can then seamlessly weave a second layer of genjutsu within mine, fully controlling his five senses, the chances of him seeing through your illusion will be minimal!"
Yakumo hesitated: "Leader, I'm not sure I can pull it off."
Shinji glanced at the clash in the distance: "If you can't, then one of them will have to die tonight!"
Yakumo suddenly understood: "You want to use genjutsu to defuse this conflict?"
Shinji glanced at her: "As long as you can make it indistinguishable from reality, convincing Sasuke within the genjutsu that he's killed Shinji and thus awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, won't this conflict be avoided?"
Yakumo looked at Sasuke and Shinji locked in their life-or-death struggle, her resolve hardening: "Please rest assured, I'll definitely make it happen!"
"Good!"
Shinji nodded with satisfaction.