"Muda muda muda muda…"
"MUDA!"
The World's fists rained down like a violent storm, mercilessly pummeling Uchiha Itachi's body.
SPLASH!
Suddenly, The World seemed unsatisfied with just the thrill of pounding flesh. He extended his massive fingers and wrapped them around Itachi's throat.
For someone standing over two meters tall, Uchiha Itachi was practically a toy in his hand.
With just a bit of force, The World slammed him straight into the surface of the sea.
Even Kaze, who had seen The World's power firsthand, couldn't help but let out a whistle of appreciation.
"Now that's what I call an A-rank Stand in both strength and speed."
In the next moment, The World lifted his right foot, aimed at Itachi's face, and began to stomp down without mercy.
"MUDAMUDAMUDA!"
The stomps came faster and faster, each one shaking the air, the fury in The World's voice like that of a roaring beast!
In this illusory world created by Kaze, Uchiha Itachi was completely at The World's mercy.
Sure, the real Itachi wouldn't suffer any lasting physical injuries from this—but the experience was still immensely satisfying for Kaze.
"I wonder if Xiaoyu could travel to the JoJo world…"
"If she could bring back a Stand Arrow…"
"Then the Uchiha clan's power would skyrocket."
As Kaze mused to himself, he continued watching The World wreck Itachi with great pleasure.
This time, the time-stop lasted a full seven seconds before he had to let it go.
Over a thousand punches and several hundred stomps had been delivered in those seven seconds. When it all hit at once, Itachi's once-refined face was left swollen and bruised.
Saying he looked like a punching bag wouldn't be an exaggeration.
And his attempted hand seals? Completely disrupted.
By the time Uchiha Itachi came to his senses, his thoughts were in complete chaos—like stormy waves crashing into a cliffside.
He had absolutely no idea what just happened.
"What the hell… is going on…"
Uchiha Itachi sharply inhaled, trying to calm his spinning thoughts.
The illusionary world Kaze had created was simply too bizarre.
Normally, once a shinobi realizes they're trapped in a genjutsu, they can cancel it with the proper technique.
But every time he tried to dispel the genjutsu, the very next instant—his body would be hit with devastating force.
The hand seals for the release technique? Interrupted every time.
"Don't tell me… this guy Kaze can actually stop time…"
"Wait a second…"
Suddenly, a spark of realization lit up in Itachi's mind.
Even if Kaze couldn't understand Itachi's complex thought process, he had to admit—Itachi's talent in battle was absolutely terrifying.
"I get it now…"
"This is Kaze's illusionary world, and the flow of time here is completely different from reality."
Being a genjutsu expert himself, Itachi quickly deduced the truth.
In the original series, during his fight with Kakashi, Itachi tortured him for 72 hours within a genjutsu—even though only a few seconds had passed in the real world.
That genjutsu didn't actually stretch time, but it simulated the slowing of time perception to mentally break the victim down.
To squeeze out intel bit by bit.
But Kaze?
This guy went even further. He straight-up stopped time inside his genjutsu.
"Even in an illusionary world, you can't just conjure any power out of nowhere."
"You need to be able to imagine the attack clearly—and truly believe, deep in your heart, that you possess that power…"
"That's the only way to manifest it in a genjutsu world."
"For example—I've never seen Uchiha Madara at his full strength, so I wouldn't be able to recreate his peak form inside a genjutsu."
Itachi's mind raced faster and faster.
And the more he thought about it, the more terrifying Kaze became.
"Za Warudo!"
Kaze remained standing in place, activating his time-stop ability once more.
The World soared low across the illusionary landscape and resumed its merciless beatdown of Uchiha Itachi.
Even though Itachi had managed to piece together part of the truth…
When faced with such an unreasonable, overpowering attack method, he still couldn't come up with any viable countermeasures.
All he could do was play the role of The World's punching bag.
Every time Itachi attempted to break free from the genjutsu, Kaze would simply stop time with Za Warudo and interrupt him again.
Even Kaze himself had lost count of how many times he'd pummeled Uchiha Itachi in this illusionary world.
Maybe it had been several hours.
Maybe several days.
Whenever Itachi was on the verge of passing out from the beating, Kaze would simply erase all his injuries—
And start all over again.
Of course…
Kaze hadn't come to the Naka Shrine clan meeting tonight just to beat up Uchiha Itachi.
Thrashing him was just a fun little bonus.
"After all, Itachi can't die just yet…"
Kaze's eyes flickered as he fell deep into thought.
At the moment, Uchiha Itachi's eyes were still just standard three-tomoe Sharingan.
No Tsukuyomi, no Amaterasu, no Susanoo—none of those trump cards yet.
If Kaze really wanted to kill him, it would be no trouble at all.
And if Itachi did die, he already had the perfect scapegoat: Danzō.
In the Naruto world, when in doubt, keep calm and blame Danzō.
(T/N: The one thing the entire ninja world agrees on.)
Works every time.
But—
"If I kill Uchiha Itachi now… that'd be way too much of a waste."
Kaze narrowed his eyes as he watched Itachi get brutalized by The World.
If Itachi died here, his eyes would remain at the three-tomoe stage.
They'd never awaken the Mangekyō.
And the medical science in this world was hilariously lenient compared to Kaze's previous one.
Eye transplants? No need to worry about nerve connections or compatibility.
Plug-and-play.
Not only that, but the person who got the transplant could use all the powers of the Sharingan with no issues.
Take Kakashi, for example—Kamui with one eye, Susanoo with two.
Because of all that, Kaze wasn't in a hurry to kill Itachi.
"Alright, let's call it a day."
No one knew how long had passed within the genjutsu world.
Only when Kaze's face showed a look of boredom—as if he'd grown tired of the game—did he finally recall The World.
Then, he allowed Uchiha Itachi the opportunity to release the genjutsu.
In an instant—
Both of their minds returned to the real world at the same time.
But there was a clear difference between them.
Kaze stood tall, arms hanging loosely at his sides, looking down at Uchiha Itachi with an air of casual superiority.
His pupils glowed crimson, and three jet-black tomoe spun quietly within.
As for the so-called genius, Uchiha Itachi—no sooner had his thoughts escaped the illusion than a crushing wave of exhaustion overtook him.
Thud!
His body faltered from the sudden drain, dropping to one knee. Beads of sweat the size of raindrops rolled down his forehead.
Drip. Drip.
The sound of sweat hitting the wooden floor echoed clearly in the silent Naka Shrine.
His back… his palms… were soaked with fresh sweat.
He felt like he couldn't breathe.
To fight off the suffocating pressure, Uchiha Itachi was forced to open his mouth and gulp down deep breaths.
Inhale. Exhale.
His heartbeat pounded like a drum in the dead silence—thump, thump—racing at over 160 beats per minute.
Never in his wildest dreams had Uchiha Itachi imagined—
That he would suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of Kaze…
In genjutsu, the very domain he prided himself on most.
"…I lost."
It took nearly a full minute of heavy breathing before Itachi could even speak again.
But he had no choice but to admit defeat.
Because in his current state, he didn't have an ounce of strength left to challenge Kaze in taijutsu or ninjutsu.
The gathered Uchiha clan members at the Naka Shrine were stunned silent at his words—
Their eyes wide, mouths agape.
(T/N: Hope you all enjoyed the chapter.)
50 Stones = One Extra Chapter
100 Stones = Two Extra Chapters
200 Stones = Three Extra Chapters.
Come one guys 1 more stone for an extra chapter. Keep the power stones coming.