Ten days passed in the blink of an eye. A strange silence fell over the ninja world.
The events in Sunagakure had not been deliberately concealed, and the great ninja villages had all learned the details of what had transpired. The mysterious Akatsuki organization had dispatched four Kage-level shinobi at once. The Kazekage had fought desperately but was still no match for them. For the hidden villages, the sudden appearance of an organization with so many Kage-level members was definitely not a good thing.
But what they feared even more was the newly emerged Seireitei.
From what was currently known, the Seireitei possessed one powerhouse whose strength far surpassed the Kage level and a mysterious white-haired woman. They had easily repelled the Akatsuki. And the Akatsuki's target, Shukaku, had been able to fight two of them at once.
Isn't the One-Tail supposed to be one of the weaker Tailed Beasts?
The great ninja villages were baffled. The Raikage questioned the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer Bee. The response was that, based on the intelligence reports, the One-Tail's current strength far exceeded its past capabilities. Even more bizarrely, the One-Tail had appeared in human form. The Eight-Tails was skeptical. "We Tailed Beasts don't have the ability to take human form. Is this a rumor?"
But the Raikage shook his head. "The probability of the intelligence being wrong is extremely low. Could it be that the One-Tail broke its seal and developed a new ability?"
"Impossible. If that tanuki broke its seal, the Kazekage would be dead. And it doesn't have the ability to break the seal on its own."
Hearing the Eight-Tails' confident reply, the Raikage fell silent once more. The mystery of the Akatsuki and the Seireitei, the unknown nature of the One-Tail—everything was spiraling out of control.
"The ninja world is about to descend into chaos," the Raikage sighed, a premonition suddenly gripping him. A new Great Ninja War was perhaps just around the corner.
Within the Akatsuki's hideout, all the members had returned for a brief respite. Nagato hadn't expected the capture of the One-Tail to be so difficult.
"I will handle the capture of the One-Tail. You will continue with the other Tailed Beasts," he said after a moment of thought. The Akatsuki currently possessed the Two-Tails, Three-Tails, and Seven-Tails. He had thought the plan would proceed smoothly, but he hadn't accounted for this complication.
"A Tailed Beast that can take human form... this One-Tail is no ordinary Tailed Beast," Nagato murmured with a frown. "Why would the Seireitei help Sunagakure? Could it be... that the One-Tail's transformation is related to them?" A sense of crisis welled up inside him.
Everything that had happened pointed to one thing: the Kage-level powerhouses of the Seireitei possessed special abilities. For the Akatsuki, which had just lost Kakuzu and Hidan, this was like rubbing salt in the wound.
Perhaps it's time for a trip to the Seireitei, Nagato thought. He was confident in his own strength. A single one of his Six Paths of Pain was already at a level surpassing that of a Kage. Coming and going from the Seireitei as he pleased should be a simple matter.
Caw, caw, caw. A few crows flew over Konoha, landing on a tree branch and letting out a harsh cry. For many, crows were a symbol of misfortune.
Sasuke, who was training in his family compound, stopped and looked up at the crow perched on a branch in his yard. His sharp eyes immediately noticed the pattern in the crow's eyes, a sign that it was being controlled by a Sharingan. And tied to its leg was a letter.
"Itachi," he said, his eyes turning cold as he took the letter. After reading it, a murderous aura began to emanate from him.
"A final battle?" he murmured. The letter was simple: "It's time for an ending between us." A time and a place.
Sasuke hadn't expected Itachi's challenge to come so soon. Once, he had idolized Itachi, following him around like a little shadow. He had adored the genius of the Uchiha clan. Now, an irreconcilable hatred stood between them. He wanted nothing more than to kill him.
But now that the challenge had actually arrived, Sasuke found himself hesitating. He didn't even know the truth. He didn't want to fight this battle so hastily. What Itachi had done to the Uchiha clan was a crime worthy of death, but at the very least, he needed to know the truth.
The wind blew, scattering fallen leaves around Sasuke as he stood silently in the desolate cold.
"So, this day has finally come," Jiraiya's sigh suddenly echoed through the compound.
"You're here, Jiraiya-sensei," Sasuke said calmly.
He knew Konoha well. Although the village was short on Kage-level shinobi, the lower and mid-level ninja were more united than ever and were growing stronger quickly. Under these circumstances, a crow controlled by a Sharingan could never have entered the village without Konoha's tacit approval.
"Are you here to tell me the truth?" Sasuke asked, his calm gaze unsettling. He wasn't a fool. From Konoha's attitude all this time, it wasn't hard to guess that the village leadership had a hand in the Uchiha massacre. It was also why the Fifth Hokage had been so hesitant to let Jiraiya become his teacher. She didn't want to cultivate another traitor.
Faced with Sasuke's question, Jiraiya sighed and sat down beside him. "Yes. I'm here to tell you the truth."
He had thought about it a lot. He had considered intercepting the letter, continuing to hide the truth, and letting Sasuke live in his hatred for Itachi, serving Konoha. But he knew that the truth couldn't be hidden forever. It was better to tell him now than to have him discover it on his own in the future and turn against the village. Jiraiya also believed that Sasuke would not leave Konoha.
"It all started a long, long time ago..."
Jiraiya told Sasuke everything: the Konoha leadership's fear of the Uchiha and the Uchiha's planned coup. He left nothing out and exaggerated nothing.
"To prevent the coup, Itachi took on the infamy of annihilating his own clan. In exchange, his little brother—you—were allowed to live."
When Jiraiya finished, Sasuke's expression was blank, tears welling in his eyes. "So, that's the truth," he sighed, his expression a complex mix of emotions. "Since it was Konoha's constant suppression that pushed the Uchiha to rebel, why are you telling me the truth now? Aren't you afraid I'll defect?" Sasuke looked into Jiraiya's eyes.
"Afraid? Of course, I'm afraid," Jiraiya said, scratching his head and laughing foolishly. "But I can't keep hiding it from you just because I'm afraid. Besides, I'm your master! Even if you try to defect, I'll drag you back!"
Seeing Jiraiya's hearty laugh, Sasuke's heart was touched. After learning the truth, it was impossible not to feel resentment toward Konoha. If not for the village's constant suppression, the Uchiha clan would never have walked the path of rebellion. Itachi knew that a coup was a dead end, so he chose to bear the infamy himself. It might have sounded noble, but in Sasuke's eyes, it was foolish.
"He made me live in hatred, made me get stronger, all for the sake of these eyes, right?" Sasuke said, pointing to his own Mangekyo. Every time he used a Mangekyo technique, his vision blurred a little. This was definitely not the final form of the Sharingan. Perhaps... Itachi knew how to evolve it.
Sasuke was curious about Itachi's ultimate goal. He wanted to know if the Itachi of today was the completely inhuman monster he pretended to be, or the gentle older brother he remembered.
"I will go to him. No matter what, there must be an ending between us," Sasuke said flatly.
Itachi was a renowned Kage-level shinobi. Sasuke had been taught by both Orochimaru and Jiraiya. Compared to Itachi, he was a rising star. In terms of strength, he might not necessarily be weaker.
"Have you decided? This could be a battle to the death," Jiraiya said, his playful expression gone, replaced by a serious one. From their respective standpoints, both brothers were on Konoha's side. No matter who lived or died, it would be a loss for the village.
"Jiraiya-sensei, on the day of the battle, I want you to stay out of it," Sasuke said, taking a deep breath, his eyes filled with fighting spirit.
"I understand," Jiraiya nodded solemnly. "But remember, Itachi loves you more than anyone."
A few days later, at the Valley of the End.
Tap. The crisp sound of footsteps echoed as Sasuke walked out from around a corner. He looked up at the towering statues before him, a sense of nostalgia washing over him. The Valley of the End was where the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara had their final battle. To commemorate it, Konoha had built massive statues of the two men on either side of the valley, a waterfall cascading between them.
And Uchiha Itachi was standing on the shore.
"Is this the grave you've chosen for yourself?" Sasuke asked with a cold smile.
Sensing his approach, Itachi opened his eyes, revealing a pair of crimson, malevolent Mangekyo Sharingan. A cold smirk played on his lips. "Grave?"
"Can your eyes even read the name on it?"
"It says Uchiha Sasuke."
Swish. The next moment, both their figures vanished, instantly clashing in the open space. Clang! The sound of kunai meeting kunai rang out, sending sparks flying.
The two brothers wasted no words, immediately engaging in combat. Although Sasuke now knew Itachi's motives, he still had a lot of pent-up frustration to release. This battle was inevitable.
Clang, clang, clang! The area was filled with the flash of lightning and the spark of steel as their figures flickered and jumped through space. The lightning around Sasuke grew more intense, and his speed soon surpassed Itachi's.
He dodged an incoming kunai, grabbed Itachi by the collar, and with an astonishing burst of strength, slammed him into the ground. "Chidori Stream!" Lightning erupted from his right arm and coursed through Itachi's body, the sparks igniting the grass beneath him.
"Impressive taijutsu. You've grown," Itachi said softly, his skin blistering as he lay on the ground. The next moment, his body dissolved into a flock of black crows.
"Child's play. Lightning Spear!" Sasuke snorted with contempt, flinging his right hand out to the side. A spear of pure lightning shot out, tracing a brilliant arc through the air. The spear let out a piercing shriek as it tore through the air, the intense heat it generated cracking the very earth.
Sizzle!! The spear pierced through empty air, and a shocked Itachi materialized. He had been struck in the chest, and the force of the impact sent him flying back at least ten meters, the lightning coursing through his body and paralyzing him.
Crack. Sasuke walked slowly toward him, his expression unreadable.
Itachi lay amidst the crackling lightning, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, but his expression was calm. "Everyone lives according to their own knowledge and perception, bound by it, and they call it reality."
Before he could finish, Sasuke unleashed another terrifying burst of power from his legs, the lightning around him cracking the ground as he shot forward like a bolt of lightning. He appeared in front of Itachi's true body in an instant and drove a fist into his stomach.
Thud. Itachi's eyes widened, and he spat out stomach acid as he was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing through several trees before finally coming to a stop.
"How? He saw through my genjutsu completely?" Itachi clutched his stomach in disbelief, his heart pounding. In this battle, Sasuke's attacks were putting immense pressure on him. Even his prized genjutsu had been easily broken. This meant Sasuke was already his equal, if not his superior.
To Sasuke's surprise, Itachi suddenly covered his face and began to laugh. "Hahaha! Hahahaha!"
"What's so funny?" Sasuke asked coldly. "Are you laughing at your own ignorance and superficiality?"
"Hahahahaha!" Itachi was still laughing. "I'm laughing at Uchiha Madara. Because the one who will stand at the pinnacle of the Uchiha will not be him. It will be me."
Itachi stopped laughing, a greedy expression on his face. "Sasuke, to me, you will be my new light! Your eyes will be the witness to my ascent to the pinnacle of the Uchiha!!"
"The Mangekyo Sharingan, the cursed eyes of sin. The mission of our Uchiha clan has always been to obtain the ultimate eyes."
"Through killing our own kin, father killing son, brother turning against brother, we obtain eternal eyes."
"The Uchiha are a vile clan that casts aside emotion for the sake of power."
"My goal has only ever been one thing: to make my dearest little brother my power."
"So, give me your eyes, Sasuke!"
"My eyes will absorb yours, and I will obtain eternity! I will become the Eternal Mangekyo!!"
"Come! Let us kill each other!!!"
Itachi's expression was extremely twisted and terrifying. But to his surprise, Sasuke's expression was completely unfazed. There was even a faint smile on his lips.
Itachi's expression froze. He had given an award-winning performance, so why was his little brother still so calm?
"So, your goal was only my eyes," Sasuke's voice was filled with contempt, his own eyes transforming into the Mangekyo Sharingan. "Like you, I was once obsessed with the power of these eyes," he said, a nostalgic smile on his lips as he recalled the past. "Back then, I also thought the Sharingan could give me all the power I wanted."
His memory flashed back to the day he was beaten by Naruto. He had just awakened his Sharingan and had arrogantly thought he could defeat Naruto with it. But Naruto had taught him a good lesson. In his subsequent challenges, his eyes had been of little use. Instead, through chakra nature transformation, he had mastered more of his own original ninjutsu, which were far more useful than the Sharingan.
And then there was that nightmare of a day for Konoha. Even the Sharingan had been completely toyed with by Kyoka Suigetsu. Sasuke knew that even a Mangekyo was nothing but a decoration in front of Naruto.
"Never trust your own eyes," Sasuke said, staring into Itachi's. "Your eyes... are worthless in front of me, Itachi."