The current Itachi Uchiha is only thirteen years old, the same age as Sasuke Uchiha, who is participating in the Chūnin Exams within the mission scroll world.
After first witnessing Danzō Shimura killed by the ANBU, then seeing the injured Shisui Uchiha and a youth who bore a striking resemblance to himself, young Itachi Uchiha finally laid eyes on the blue-clad boy.
But with just a single glance, he recognized him instantly—his younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha.
Seeing Itachi at this stage, Sasuke's breath caught in his throat.
He had once experienced lucid dreams, and his greatest fear had always been encountering his older brother in a dream—dressed in the Konoha ANBU uniform, crouching atop a utility pole.
"What happened here?" Young Itachi Uchiha approached Shisui Uchiha and asked.
Shisui Uchiha clutched his eye. "It's a long story. I failed. Danzō never intended for the Uchiha and Konoha to coexist peacefully." He gestured toward the Fourth Hokage, Sasuke, Naruto, and the others beside him, telling Itachi, "If they hadn't arrived in time, I might not have escaped from Danzō unscathed."
Looking at Shisui Uchiha, who was missing an eye, and noticing his wounds were mostly healed—though the battle scars on his clothes remained untouched by the Mystical Palm Technique—it struck thirteen-year-old Itachi: how was this "escaping unscathed"?
Without these people, Shisui Uchiha would clearly be in grave danger!
Itachi glanced at Sasuke, then at the distant youth who looked almost identical to him, and a hunch began to form about the stranger's identity.
"I imagine a lot has happened," he said to Shisui Uchiha. "What do we do now?"
After jointly killing one of Konoha's high-ranking officials, he wasn't sure if the Uchiha would face punishment for their actions.
"I don't know either." At just sixteen or seventeen, Shisui Uchiha was at a loss for the best solution.
The Uchiha clan was now facing both internal turmoil and external threats.
Internal hawks were pushing Clan Head Fugaku toward a coup, while externally, even Konoha's leadership feared the power of the Uchiha.
After all their efforts, neither he nor Itachi had found a single ally within the clan.
Itachi instinctively saw Shisui Uchiha as an older brother, trusting and relying on him. But in this dire situation, while Shisui kept putting on a brave front, his own heart—lacking anyone to lean on—was even more lost and helpless than Itachi's.
He feared that he couldn't stop the war between the Uchiha and Konoha and that he might lead Itachi—who was like a younger brother to him—down the wrong path.
Seeing his brother and Shisui Uchiha so despondent, young Sasuke Uchiha shouted, "What the hell happened to the Uchiha?! What the hell happened to Konoha?!!"
Just as Sasuke shouted in rage, none of them could have imagined...
"BOOM!!!"
A deafening explosion! Something enormous erupted from the ground in the distance!!
In less than half an hour, they had witnessed a third Susanoo!
Its location: the Uchiha Clan's shrine at Naka River.
A brilliant purple Susanoo pierced through the shrine's ceiling, shattering the earth and surrounding vegetation!! The legendary Susanoo slowly straightened his form!
His features grew sharper, more majestic! He gazed down upon all beings from above.
Clad in samurai armor! Wielding a massive chakra sword!
Its sheer scale was almost unimaginable!
Compared to the Susanoo before them, the ones wielded by Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha earlier were utterly insignificant!
"Another Susanoo?!" young Sasuke Uchiha cried out in shock. "Who is it?!"
In the distance, that unknown Susanoo had even sprouted a pair of wings! If they were spread, they would likely span hundreds of meters!!
"It's the complete form of Susanoo!"
Young Obito Uchiha exclaimed.
Only when facing the First Hokage did the old ancestor ever wield a Susanoo of this caliber!
Sasuke: "Madara's Susanoo isn't this color!"
"Regardless, let's go check it out first." Minato Namikaze delivered the final blow to Danzō Shimura's Root command and ordered, "Follow us with Danzō Shimura's body."
He added, "With all this commotion, the Third Hokage and Konoha's ninja will surely arrive soon. When they do, please tell them what you witnessed."
"Understood."
At that moment, the Uchiha Shrine at Naka River was pierced through by a colossal Susanoo!
The hawkish Uchiha who had been clamoring for this young man with the Mangekyō Sharingan to lead them in a coup against Konoha were now too stunned to speak.
"Is this... Susanoo?!"
As clan head, Fugaku Uchiha stared in shock at this massive Susanoo! The young man who had stood here moments before was now lifted by Susanoo, positioned within the pentagonal prism on its forehead.
"Launch a coup against Konoha?"
Having inherited Itachi Uchiha's memories, Sasuke Uchiha—a survivor of the Fourth Shinobi World War—clearly remembered several individuals...
"Yashiro Uchiha! Inabi Uchiha! Tekka Uchiha!!"
The three named froze, bewildered. Why would this young Uchiha, whose power surpassed their wildest imaginations, mention them? And why refuse to aid the Uchiha in their coup against Konoha?
"It was your narrow-mindedness, your pride, your ignorance that drove my brother and my father to their deaths!!!"
The colossal sword of Susanoo pointed at the trio.
Though in his own world, he had vowed to carry on his brother's legacy—unifying the ninja world, ending both peace and war—now, standing on the eve of the Uchiha clan's annihilation, he held the chance to change everything...
Sasuke Uchiha resolutely chose to bear all blame for his brother!
Fugaku Uchiha gasped, staring at the three named by the youth. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine such a powerful Uchiha had come seeking vengeance!!
"What have you done?" he demanded of the trio.
The trio shook their heads vehemently, utterly innocent! Their loyalty to the Uchiha clan was as clear as the heavens and as bright as the sun! How could they possibly drive their own kin to death?!!
Fugaku Uchiha didn't truly believe it either. Among the three, Inabi was the youngest, representing the rising generation of Uchiha. He wasn't much older than the youth himself. Logically, he shouldn't have had the strength to force the youth's brother and father to their deaths!
Yashiro Uchiha, being the eldest, possessed analytical skills and experience that rivaled his own. Unless the young man's brother harbored thoughts of betraying the clan, Yashiro would never allow such a powerful youth to stand against the Uchiha Clan, thereby weakening the clan's strength.
Tekka also possessed the resolve to sacrifice his life for the Uchiha at any moment. There was no way he would drive a fellow clan member to death.
Just as Fugaku Uchiha was about to suggest some misunderstanding...
The Fourth Hokage, Itachi Uchiha, Minato's Team, Kakashi's Team, and this parallel world's Shisui and Itachi finally recognized the figure within that towering, complete Susanoo!
"Sasuke!!!"
The Uchiha clan members were momentarily baffled by the unfamiliar blond youth suddenly shouting the name of the clan head's youngest son.
What did it mean?
What they saw was...
"Shisui?! What happened to your eyes?!!"
"Itachi! What the hell is going on?!"
"F-Fourth Hokage?!!"
"Wait! This person is..."
"It's Obito! Obito Uchiha!! He's still alive?!!"
"No! If Obito were still alive, he'd be the same age as that Sharingan thief Kakashi Hatake. This one clearly doesn't match up age-wise!"
"Wait, now that you mention it..."
Someone noticed the 13-year-old Sasuke and 18-year-old Itachi Uchiha from the mission scroll world.
With 13-year-old Sasuke as the bridge, their gazes shifted to the figure within Susanoo...
"No, it can't be?!"
"That person with the Mangekyō Sharingan... could it be..."
"The brother he mentioned... could it be..."
"And the father he spoke of... could it be..."
All eyes turned to Itachi Uchiha and Fugaku Uchiha.
Unfortunately, Fugaku was more confused than anyone. He first looked at his most familiar son, the 13-year-old Itachi, and then at Shisui, who was standing beside him, his eye bandaged and clearly missing an eyeball.
"Itachi, Shisui, what happened?!"
Itachi wasn't entirely sure either. All he knew was what Shisui had told him—that Danzō Shimura had never considered reconciling the Uchiha with Konoha.
The emotions surging through Sasuke and Itachi, both of whom were drawn from the mission scroll world, were even more complex.
One felt the bittersweet reunion with his father and mother, while the other grappled with the original sin of patricide and matricide.
Kakashi, the adult, could see that Itachi, having just used Susanoo, was barely holding on through sheer willpower despite his existing illness.
"Would you like to rest for a moment?"
"No, thank you, Captain Kakashi."
Perhaps because he truly felt unwell, Itachi of the Akatsuki inadvertently slipped into the old way of addressing Kakashi. This made Kakashi sigh as he surveyed the scene before him.
"What happened here?! What the hell is going on?!!"
The aged voice belonged to Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, who rushed over wielding his Adamantine Staff, accompanied by his ANBU and Konoha counselors.
"Minato?!!"
Seeing Minato Namikaze, the Third Hokage's eyes widened in shock!
The Konoha ninja accompanying him and the other two elders were equally stunned—especially upon seeing the processed corpse of Danzō Shimura, clearly marked by the effects of a runaway Wood Release. They were utterly speechless!
At that moment, even the ANBU directly under the Hokage—ANBU Kakashi and ANBU Tenzō (Yamato)—froze completely upon seeing these people!