Ninja Ice House

Chapter 530 Utilization Value

For many years, the Demon Sword Onikiri has been regarded as a weapon that brings misfortune. In addition to the fact that it has killed many people and its owners have basically met with misfortune, fighting with it or even coming into close contact with it will corrupt the user.

In the Tsukuyomi space, the deep spiritual link between Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha was brief. However, the Demon Sword Onikiri was no pushover, not to mention that it became extremely active under the blessing of Indra's reincarnation chakra. If the close combat lasted too long, being cut or enveloped in chakra could result in being contaminated with something bad.

While decisively cutting off a hand might be effective, it may not truly eliminate the threat, and it's hard to say. Of course, in a battle that's over in the blink of an eye, it can hold out for such a short time.

The pain of losing a hand is no minor injury. Uchiha Itachi was already nearing his limit, and while the intense pain would certainly make him more alert and focused, it would also greatly shorten the time he could endure it.

Losing an arm would definitely have a significant impact on combat ability, but it's hard to say for sure. Itachi Uchiha's greatest strength doesn't lie in his hand-to-hand combat skills, but that doesn't mean he was bad at them.

The severed arm tumbled a few times in the fiery red chakra mist before rapidly dissolving into a red-black energy ball, merging with Susanoo and giving the giant sword-wielding skeleton warrior an even stronger bloody aura.

As for the negative energy of the Demon Sword Onikiri, it was gradually worn away during the battle with Susanoo, and eventually disappeared completely.

Essentially, the two are energy at the same level; which is stronger or weaker depends on the quantity.

After temporarily suppressing the hidden dangers in his body, Itachi Uchiha turned his gaze to his younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha, across from him.

Realizing just how dangerous the sword in the other person's hand was, his heart sank a little.

Even slight close contact could have irreparable consequences. Uchiha Sasuke has held onto it for so long, and even after being purified by the Totsuka Blade, it doesn't mean the damage caused in the past is gone.

The Demon Sword Onikiri seems to be behaving more cautiously now, but the risks involved are simply too great.

Furthermore, this kind of evil thing that is difficult to completely eliminate is not like a Jinchūriki that can be implanted and cannot be removed. It is an external force that is integrated with life force and is actually just as dangerous.

However, the power boost it brings is quite considerable. Since Sasuke Uchiha didn't hold it for very long and didn't fully develop its power, it seems somewhat useless, with more disadvantages than advantages.

Sasuke, who was seeing Itachi Uchiha in poor condition, was in much better condition. His body adapted well to the Demon Sword Onikiri, and with the added boost of Indra's reincarnation chakra, his combat power was significantly enhanced.

As his control over his battle avatar grew stronger, his fighting style with the Demon Sword Onikiri became increasingly diverse, and Uchiha Itachi, who was slightly overwhelmed, began to retreat steadily.

Outside the arena where the two brothers were fiercely fighting, on a pile of ruins, stood a woman who looked to be around twenty years old, carrying two swords on her back, with a graceful figure. Her long black hair fluttered in the wind, and the three-tomoe Sharingan in her eyes kept rotating, enhancing her observation ability. The coldness in the center of her eyes seemed to flow with some kind of intense emotion.

Just then, a figure emerged from the shadows.

"You still can't let go?"

"It's Karin. Is the battle over there over? No, you're a clone! Now that you're here, where's Yakumo?"

"I am here!"

Another long-haired woman, with a calm tone but a slightly mischievous and amused expression, walked over. She was about the same age as Karin, but a little smaller than the woman with the twin swords.

"Usami, no, I should call you Uchiha Izumi!"

“I am Izumi, but… not the consistent Uchiha girl I always was. At most, I am a product of two sides of the same coin, an abandoned creature that grew from a seed into two branches, which were then broken off and propagated by cuttings…”

"Don't talk about yourself like that! You and our friend and teammate Usami are not quite the same, and even that one over there... isn't quite the same either, but you were once partners who could talk about anything... best friends!"

"Partners and close friends..."

Uchiha Izumi reached out and brushed her long hair, which was being blown by the wind, as she looked at the two Uchiha brothers in the distance.

"Sometimes I think, maybe Kosugi Shaodu had the ability to save the Uchiha clan back then. Since he was able to save a group of clan 'remnants,' the possibility of preventing the tragedy back then wouldn't be small. But... he saved them, but not completely!"

"Are you holding a grudge? You're definitely different; Usami wouldn't complain like that..."

"But it's hard not to think that way, isn't it? It's just that reason... or rather, calculation, prevents such thoughts from becoming the mainstream. I... won't either, but I'll ramble on. Back then, Itachi was also a quiet, reserved person, and I was the one who went up to her and befriended her. In fact, this attempt to get close wasn't entirely my own idea, but rather something my parents and elders 'encouraged' me to do. The eldest son of the clan chief needed a childhood sweetheart girlfriend..."

After a pause, Uchiha Izumi's eyes seemed to lose focus. After recalling some past events, she couldn't help but mutter to herself, "What is it?"

"If, I mean if... according to the original path the family envisioned, Itachi awakens his Sharingan too late, or when he tries to advance to the Mangekyou Sharingan, could I, his best friend, his only childhood friend, or even his girlfriend, become a pawn to provoke him?"

Just like Obito Uchiha, when his teammates were about to die, he immediately awakened his Sharingan; when his beloved Rin Nohara was killed, his Mangekyou Sharingan was ready.

Itachi Uchiha probably also possessed this talent!

In terms of "character" positioning, Uchiha Izumi is Uchiha Itachi's "Nohara Rin".

Such a ridiculous family, gone... well, gone!

If the Hyuga clan's main family, branch family, and Caged Bird Clan's methods of control are inhumane, then the Uchiha clan, starting from the Warring States period, has continuously evolved and been filtered under pressure, meaning that those who survived are not people with completely normal mental states.

"The Uchiha clan... in some ways, is an even more twisted and incomprehensible ninja clan than the Hyuga clan. A thousand years of self-elimination and artificial selection have long since turned my fellow Uchiha into self-bound, inbreeding, and even inhuman monsters. From the day they are born, each of them is cultivating a beast called 'indulgent love' in their hearts, and in the process of growing up, they are gradually 'disciplined' and trained into human weapons that can be used."

Humanity was weakened, while the tool-like attributes were strengthened. Ancestors, including the Sage of Six Paths, Indra, Madara Uchiha, Black Zetsu, and even Danzo Shimura and Orochimaru, all wanted to use the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan.

The cursed clan is not just an empty phrase; the misfortune of the Uchiha clan was planned from the very beginning.

Even now, aren't Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke Uchiha, and Izumi Uchiha, who are not far away, all being driven to act?

Karin, upon hearing this, didn't find anything wrong with it, and calmly replied:

"What's wrong with being used? The same thing can feel completely different depending on how it's described. Being used means you have value and are needed. Some people don't even deserve to be used. The key is how to use your own value to get what you want..."