[Senju Pillar: The final ending… could it really be Uchiha Itachi who died!?]
[A Thousand Hands: Finally! That kind of person, who killed his own parents, deserves no sympathy! The ninja world just got rid of a huge scum!]
[Whirlpool Mito: Exactly! People who can harm their own biological parents for power don't deserve pity!]
…
The live stream continued.
[The screen flickered, revealing a secret room.]
Inside, the masked man Obito was speaking to Sasuke, discussing the events surrounding Uchiha Itachi and the Uchiha clan's extermination.
"After the Nine-Tails Rebellion, the higher-ups of Konoha pushed the Uchiha clan to the margins, isolating them. Distrust bred estrangement, suspicion eventually became reality," Obito explained.
"Itachi was a spy, assigned by your father to infiltrate the shadows. Yet, he also fed Konoha information about the Uchiha—he was a double agent."
"The burden he carried… you can't even imagine it," Obito continued.
Sasuke's expression darkened. "Why!? Why did Itachi betray the Uchiha?!"
"It's hard to understand if you've never seen war," Obito said. "In the Third Ninja War, Itachi was only four, and he witnessed too many deaths… war is hell, and Itachi became a peace-loving ninja. The leaders of Konoha exploited his kindness, giving him the impossible task of wiping out his clan."
"If the Uchiha had provoked civil war, Konoha and the Fire Country would have suffered. Other nations would have taken advantage, and it might have triggered the Fourth Shinobi War. Many innocents could die. What would you do if you were him?"
"Itachi's choice was to end the Uchiha clan's history with his own hands," Obito said solemnly.
Inside Konoha, Tsunade stared at the screen, bewildered.
"What's going on? Didn't Itachi admit he killed his clan just for power? Now it's saying something else?"
The twelve young Konoha ninja were also puzzled.
"Wait… did Itachi do it for the village, or for power?" asked Ding Ci.
"From what we've seen, he seemed to sacrifice himself for Konoha," said Ningji.
"I don't know who to believe!" Ino muttered.
Shikamaru frowned. "The extermination could have served both purposes—village peace and personal strength. We can't conclude anything yet. We must wait for more information."
Sasuke's frown deepened as he watched.
"Whitewash Itachi? Impossible. He's a scum who killed his clan for power!"
He refused to believe Obito. To him, Itachi remained the villain who betrayed and slaughtered his family.
…
The live stream continued.
"That mission… Itachi accepted it for the Fire Country, for Konoha, and for many innocents. He chose to end the Uchiha's history with his own hands. As a criminal and defector, he bore the stigma alone. His only remaining concern was you, Sasuke."
**"He protected you from the upper echelons and Danzo, even threatening the Hokage not to touch you. He wanted you to grow stronger, using revenge as motivation, without ever revealing the truth. When he left the village