[Jiraiya]: Orochimaru, you really let your kid call you that?
[Tsunade]: …
[Hiruzen]: You snake! Why are you always cross-playing as a woman?!
[Orochimaru]: Hehehe… Sensei, don't fret. I have a delightful surprise prepared for you soon…
[Hiruzen]: …What?
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen feels a chill he can't place.
Behind him, "Rasa" smiles—thin, cold, almost reptilian.
"Forgive the spectacle, Lord Kazekage," Hiruzen mutters.
Izanami Tightens
Back in the cavern, Kabuto realizes something is off.
No matter how he counters, he's dragged into the same result.
A drip from the stalactites taps his shoulder—plink—his pupils shrink.
Every time he drives the scalpel through Itachi, the world fractures into crows, and a blade shears off his horn.
Reset. Again. And again.
"Calm down. This is Uchiha genjutsu…" Kabuto pants, sweat beading.
And not just any—Itachi's genjutsu.
He tries to dispel it. He tries everything.
Itachi advances, palm resting lightly on Kabuto's crown, eyes cool.
"A technique that decides fate—this is Izanami."
The sky-screen freezes on that frame. Villages fall silent—and then explode.
[Izuna]: That's our Uchiha heritage. Tell me that isn't sick!
[Boruto]: I wanna join the Uchiha!
[Naruto (younger)]: Hey!
[Sasuke]: He's just star-struck. …Understandable.
What Izanami Is (and Why It Hurts)
Sasuke, frowning, asks for the mechanism.
Itachi answers plainly:
He records a sequence—an "A point" in action—
then fixes B and C points using the environment,
etching each into the Sharingan.
If the target denies reality and makes the same choice, the sequence replays, forcing him to confront the truth he refuses.
[Sarada]: …That's… complicated.
[Metal Lee]: Complicated… but awesome.
[Inojin]: Don't get it—still awesome.
On the battlefield screens across the nations, new-gens grow quiet.
Their easy peace was bought by people who bled for it.
[Konohamaru (older)]: You're living calmly today because the Fourth War cost us dearly.
The Choice Only Itachi Can Make
With Kabuto stalled in Izanami's loop, Itachi turns.
He'll end Edo Tensei—and vanish with it.
Sasuke's chest tightens. He wants to stop him… but some farewells can't be delayed.
"Why… do you still protect the village that hurt you?" Sasuke demands, breath ragged.
"Even if you can forgive Konoha, I can't. You shaped me into this."
Itachi's gaze softens, then steadies.
"The one who can change now is you, not me.
What I can do here is stop this jutsu."
Through Tsukuyomi, he prises the hand-seals from Kabuto.
He begins to chant the release. With every syllable, Sasuke's eyes flicker—anger, confusion… and something like understanding.
Wind races through the cavern.
Itachi's body starts to turn translucent.
Across the Fourth War's fronts, white light erupts from Edo bodies—
souls shining as they rise.
Music swells. On fields littered with steel and sorrow, shinobi speak last words they never got to say.
Some fight their own loved ones, forced by death—and finally get to apologize, to thank, to say goodbye.
Beams of light lance upward from every front.
People gape: the one who freed them from Edo Tensei…
was himself an Edo Tensei.
[Iwagakure Student]: I'm crying. This… this is what their war was?
[Denki]: Unbelievable…
[Sarada]: If Uncle Itachi ended the Fourth War's summoning—credit where it's due.
[Naruto (older)]: He was an excellent shinobi.
[Ōnoki]: Hmph. Seems the Fourth Great Ninja War was halted… by Uchiha Itachi.
[Raikage A]: I acknowledge you, boy.
[Tobirama]: A true bearer of the Will of Fire.
Itachi's silhouette thins to light.
He turns once more toward Sasuke—no excuses, no orders—only trust.
And the light scatters.
The war shifts. The dead are released.
The strings snap from countless puppets' limbs.
Somewhere in the chaos, a legend stirs—a name the new generation laughs at,
a storm the veterans remember with dread.
Madara Uchiha.
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