"Even though you helped me wake up, and for that, I am grateful..."
Itachi's expression twisted into a deep scowl, his eyes blazing with fury.
"But what you did to Izumi in that illusion... and how you killed my children—again and again... THAT, I cannot forgive!"
His voice roared like a thunderclap. Rage was still burning from the hell Lucian had dragged him through.
Lucian shrugged. "Tch, maybe I overdid it a bit," he muttered, scratching the back of his head.
Still, this played out perfectly. He'd been looking for a reason to knock Itachi around anyway. If the guy insisted, well, who was he to say no?
A grin crept across Lucian's face.
"Heh... so, want to experience it all again? This time... for real?"
Itachi's brows furrowed. "What the hell do you mean by that?"
Lucian answered by snapping his fingers. The unconscious Izumi, who had been lying beside Itachi, vanished without a trace.
—Amenotejikara.
His Rinnegan's teleportation ability activated. A pebble now sat where she had been.
Izumi appeared beneath Lucian's feet.
Lucian raised his foot above her head, his tone laced with mockery. "Weren't you the one who wanted to kill her before? I can do it for you. Wanna watch?"
Whirr—
Itachi froze. That setup—so familiar. The trauma surged up from deep inside him.
"YOU BASTARD!! DON'T YOU DARE!!"
He launched forward, faster than a fired kunai. This was no illusion. If Izumi died here, she would really be gone.
He didn't dare take the risk—he couldn't.
But...
"Too slow."
Lucian calmly tilted his head, dodging Itachi's punch. His hand snapped up and caught Itachi's follow-up kick like it was nothing.
"Still too weak. Guess I didn't beat the lesson into you hard enough."
BOOM!
Lucian hurled Itachi like a rag doll, smashing him through an abandoned building. The entire structure collapsed in a cloud of dust and debris.
Crash!!
Itachi burst from the rubble, gasping for breath. His eyes flicked to the blood stain beside Lucian's feet.
"...Izumi? Where is she?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!"
Lucian pointed at the blood and minced meat at his feet. "Right here. You know, I've always been good at turning people into pulp."
Of course, it was a bluff.
Lucian hadn't killed Izumi. He'd used a shadow clone to teleport her to safety while Itachi was airborne. The blood was his own—no big deal. And the "meat" was a doll from his system's inventory, sacrificed for dramatic effect.
All part of the plan.
He needed Itachi furious.
Not just angry—unhinged.
He needed to draw out Susanoo. And test whether his own body could take a direct hit from one.
BOOOOM!!!
A deafening explosion of chakra surged from Itachi.
"LUCIAAAAAAAN!!! I'LL KILL YOU!!!"
The sky turned red.
Chakra blazed from his body like a wildfire. Red bones took shape around him, then sinew and flesh—
Itachi's Susanoo had awakened.
A massive red skeleton surrounded him, quickly morphing into its third form—fully armored, with a sword the size of a tower gripped in its hand.
Blood streamed from Itachi's eyes, but he didn't care. He poured everything into the Susanoo, driven by sheer rage.
"DIE!!"
The colossal blade came crashing down.
Lucian didn't move.
"Bring it on!" he grinned—and dropped his shirt. His body exploded with muscle, transforming into a hulking form of pure strength.
With a roar, he punched the oncoming blade.
KRAK-KABOOM!!!
The impact shook the earth. Stones shattered. A canyon ripped across the battlefield.
Lucian reappeared on the roof of a collapsed building, shaking out his arm.
Blood streamed from a deep gash running the length of his right arm. Nearly cut it in two.
If he hadn't swapped himself out with Amenotejikara at the last second, that blow would've killed him.
"Yup… still not tough enough to tank a Susanoo blade. Guess I need more Super Soldier Serum."
From below, another roar came.
"DIE!!"
Itachi spotted him. His red Susanoo charged, sweeping its massive blade across the rooftop.
But halfway through the swing—CLANG!
The sword stopped. Something blocked it.
Purple chakra surged upward like a storm.
Lucian stood tall as his own Susanoo began to form—first bone, then armor, then chakra-clad muscle. It towered above Itachi's red Susanoo.
Lucian's eyes gleamed from behind his sunglasses.
"You think you're the only one with a Susanoo? Please. Mine's twice as big."
His voice echoed with amusement—and confidence.
Indeed, both Susanoo were in their third forms, but Lucian's was twice the size. That was the power of the Eternal Mangekyō.
Itachi's jaw clenched. "So it really is the Eternal Eye... but I don't care! I won't back down!"
He raised his sword again.
"DIE!!"
Once again, the colossal blades collided—one red, one purple—shaking the night.