Hokage: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 188: The Ten Laughing Uchiha

"It's over."

Sasuke pressed down hard on the hilt of his sword, his eyes coldly fixed on Itachi Uchiha, who was now only a fist's length away, his body pierced through by the blade, and blood continuously spilling from his mouth.

This wasn't a shadow clone or a crow clone. The one under his blade was Itachi Uchiha himself!

This was the older brother he once revered the most; the criminal who massacred the Uchiha clan of Konoha; the nightmare that woke him up countless nights.

The person who once made him feel utterly hopeless was finally fallen at his feet.

Thinking of this, Sasuke's grip on the hilt tightened even more.

Itachi Uchiha, now speechless, struggled to lift his head to get one last look at Sasuke, but found his vision completely blurred, unable to see his brother's face clearly.

Then, his legs gave out, and his body leaned forward, collapsing onto Sasuke.

Sasuke didn't move, letting Itachi's body rest against him.

After a moment, Itachi's head drooped, and he slowly raised his right hand, arduously moving it toward Sasuke's face.

Still coveting my eyes at this point?

Sasuke watched this emotionlessly, letting Itachi's hand inch closer to his eye sockets.

Just as Sasuke was sneering, expecting Itachi to make a move, Itachi's fingers suddenly shifted upward, pressing together his index and middle fingers. With his last bit of strength, he tapped Sasuke's forehead.

In the next moment, Itachi's eyes closed, and he fell to the ground with a heavy thud, lifeless.

"What... what does this mean?"

Sasuke stood there stunned for a while, just about to look back at Itachi on the ground.

Suddenly, a gap opened in the encircling flames of Amaterasu.

Uchiha Izumi quickly sealed the flames into a scroll, then rushed into the circle with others to aid Sasuke.

"Sasuke..." Izumi began to speak.

But suddenly, she saw a familiar figure on the ground. Her voice halted, and she stood frozen, unmoving for a long time.

Not only her, but the other Uchihas who had come to assist also saw the person on the ground.

Uchiha Kei rushed over, scrutinizing Itachi's body.

Soon, a grin spread across his face, growing larger until he couldn't hold back his laughter:

"Itachi Uchiha is dead! Itachi Uchiha is really dead!! Ha! Hahahahahaha..."

His exclamation triggered a wave of emotion among the others.

The other Uchihas, confirming the situation for themselves, shed their pain and despair, bursting into ecstatic laughter:

"Father, mother! Grandpa, grandma! Did you see? The murderer who killed you is finally dead! Hahahahaha..."

"I'm so happy right now! Brother! You can rest in peace now! Hahaha!"

"Misa, your death has been avenged! Haha! Hahahahaha..."

"..."

In that moment, all the Uchihas were consumed by wild joy.

Uchiha Kei stood up, striding over to Sasuke and vigorously clapping him on the shoulder, laughing heartily: "Sasuke! Don't hold back now! Laugh! Laugh away all the suffering! Laugh away all the pain! We've won! We've avenged ourselves! We should laugh out loud!"

Influenced by the atmosphere, Sasuke momentarily set aside Itachi's final action.

Then, thinking of how his long-held vendetta was finally realized, he looked at the jubilant faces around him, and a grin spread across his own face. Finally, he began to laugh heartily:

"Hahahaha..."

The ruins of Naka Shrine echoed with their laughter.

The sound was so loud that even Hagoromo Gengetsu could hear the maniacal laughter of the Uchihas.

It seemed that the Uchiha Four Laughing Devils were about to be promoted to the Ten Laughing Demons.

"Since the objective at the Uchiha side is complete, let's wrap things up here."

Having made up his mind, Hagoromo Gengetsu's hand took on a metallic sheen, blocking Jiraiya's frog strike in Sage Mode.

Unlike the weakened form he had faced previously under the Reanimation, Jiraiya now felt the vast difference in strength against the fully revived Hagoromo Gengetsu.

That's why he had enlisted the help of other Jonin to hold the line while he formally entered Sage Mode.

"Mount Myoboku's Sage Techniques."

Hagoromo Gengetsu glanced at the toads on Jiraiya's shoulders, Fukasaku and Shima.

"Let's see how human Sage Mode compares to that of the toads."

As the sharp tongues of the two sages lashed out, Hagoromo Gengetsu retreated, clapping his hands together:

"Sage Art!"

Instantly, blue markings of Sage Mode appeared around Hagoromo Gengetsu's eyes.

An overwhelming aura burst from him, making the nearby Konoha ninjas feel as though they were being stared down by a ferocious beast, their bodies involuntarily trembling.

Among them, the head of the Aburame clan, Shibi Aburame, was shocked to find that the insects within him, normally at his command, were fleeing in a frenzy, like frightened birds.

He had never seen anything like it in his life.

"This is..."

Seeing this transformation, Tsunade felt a mix of familiarity and uncertainty.

"Sage Mode!"

It was Shima who confirmed it immediately, her eyes wide in disbelief: "Is this real? Fukasaku, am I seeing things? This human is using Sage Mode? And one I've never seen before?"

"Shima, stop disparaging the Great Toad Sage!" Fukasaku scolded out of habit, then took a deep breath, nodding, "It's unmistakable! But it's not from the Three Great Sage Regions."

"It's really Sage Mode? But... why hasn't his appearance changed?" Jiraiya, observing Hagoromo Gengetsu, noticed that aside from the eye markings, there were no other changes, not even to his pupils.

"That's because he's mastered Sage Mode to a high degree. Unlike you, Jiraiya, who is still a novice," Shima remarked.

"Uh..." Jiraiya awkwardly touched his much larger nose.

"Someone outside the Three Great Sage Regions mastered Sage Techniques." Fukasaku couldn't help but marvel.

"Not mastered, developed," Hagoromo Gengetsu corrected.

Fukasaku was even more impressed, "The younger generation is truly formidable!"

Hagoromo Gengetsu accepted the praise, smiling expectantly, "Let's see if the old wave will die on the beach."