Chapter 452: Couldn't Hold It Back
Sasuke's expression darkened as Indra spoke, like the sky before a storm.
The Ocular Power of the Mangekyo was inferior to the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan; he had just noticed this flaw.
However, his attention at the time had been almost entirely captured by the facade of "Black Zetsu controlling Itachi," and he had been dominated by the impulse for revenge, causing him to overlook a deeper insight into the environment and fail to immediately see through this encompassing, high-level genjutsu.
And when he belatedly realized something was wrong, and his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan began to strike against the illusion on its own... Itachi had already voluntarily dispelled the genjutsu.
The initiative seemed to have never been in his hands from the very beginning.
"Now that we have returned to reality, you should calm down."
Indra's voice echoed in Sasuke's mind.
"As a Ninshu..."
Indra seemed to feel a hint of nostalgia for this ancient title, which immediately turned into a barely audible sneer, "Heh, you call yourselves Ninja now, right?"
"Regardless of the title, the essence remains unchanged. As a Ninja who pursues power and lives for battle."
Indra's voice suddenly became stern, "When fighting, you must maintain absolute calm."
"Emotions can only be your fuel; they must never become a fog that blinds your eyes, and they must never become the reins that control your actions."
"A Ninja swayed by emotions, no matter how strong, is nothing more than a beast, and sooner or later, they will fall into the trap set by a calmer hunter."
"Just now, you almost became a mindless beast."
"If you want revenge, now is the perfect opportunity. He appears calm and unruffled, but he is actually secretly gasping for breath. His physical condition has deteriorated severely, and the Mangekyo is already a heavy burden."
Sasuke and Itachi locked eyes. The moment their Sharingan met, Itachi knew he was no longer his younger brother's match.
The energy consumption after using the complete body Susanoo earlier had been far too great. He hadn't even had half a year to recover, yet he had still used genjutsu to influence Black Zetsu's judgment and used a Crow Clone as a scapegoat to keep himself out of Black Zetsu's calculations.
However, Itachi's body continued to deteriorate; at most, he only had a year or two left to live.
Itachi did not speak; he wanted to look at his younger brother a few more times before he died.
People always make mistakes. Itachi's thoughts, like scattered feathers, flew to far-off places.
Right and wrong, in the eyes of different positions, different people, and different times, can be transformed, blurred, or even inverted.
Just like the war currently being waged by Naruto, which aims to unify the Ninja World.
In the eyes of the people of Hidden Leaf Village, Naruto is a great pioneer and powerful leader who ended the chaotic wars of the Sengoku era and brought true peace. They praise Naruto's courage and power, viewing him as the hope of the Ninja World.
In the eyes of the resistance in the other great nations, Naruto is an ambitious, warlike, and bloodthirsty aggressor. They curse Naruto's coldness and tyranny, viewing him as a demon who brings disaster.
However, Itachi had a premonition: the future Ninja World, whether it be the new order after unification or a world that has found balance again after experiencing great pain, will remember this epoch-making event.
And the name Naruto, regardless of the definition assigned to it, will be offered supreme respect by future generations. Because he will bring at least several decades of peace to the future.
Then, what about him, Uchiha Itachi?
Exterminating the Uchiha Clan; in the eyes of Hidden Leaf Village's top brass like Danzo Shimura, Utatane Koharu, and Homura Mitokado, he did a good job.
However, he was still the naturally evil Uchiha, even an evil Uchiha who annihilated his own kin.
Yet, in the eyes of the Uchiha clansmen, those who loved him, those who knew the truth, and... in the eyes of his younger brother Sasuke, he was an out-and-out executioner and traitor with his hands stained with the blood of his closest kin.
Itachi's thoughts returned to before the night that changed everything.
After the Nine-Tails Attack, because the Uchiha Clan was suspected of being the mastermind behind the scenes, their relationship with Hidden Leaf Village's top brass took a sharp turn for the worse and became precarious. Both sides were wary of each other, suspicion deepened day by day, to the point where even when sleeping at night, they had to keep one eye open to guard against a possible surprise attack or coup d'état from the other. The entire Hidden Leaf Village was shrouded in the shadow of an imminent civil war.
The Uchiha longed for the status and trust they deserved, while Hidden Leaf Village's top brass feared the Uchiha's power and potential "threat." On the scales of politics and power, both sides entered a dangerous stalemate.
Then, there was that night. Uchiha Itachi killed every member of the Uchiha Clan except for Sasuke.
Does Itachi regret it?
This thought had surfaced countless times during his lonely nights on the run, and in his moments of clarity while being tortured by illness.
He did not regret it.
At least, at the "time" of executing that decision, given the limited information he possessed, the extreme position he was in, and driven by his heart that deeply loved Hidden Leaf Village and his younger brother Sasuke, he firmly believed it was the only way to simultaneously "protect" the Village and "protect" his younger brother.
Even though there were girls in the Uchiha Clan who adored him, parents who loved him deeply and placed high hopes on him, elders who watched him grow up, and companions who grew up with him...
At the moment he swung his blade, he still did not hesitate.
He carried all his emotions, pain, and guilt, along with the blood of his clansmen, and fell alone into the abyss of darkness.
At this moment, facing his younger brother who had already surpassed him, facing this long-awaited, destined judgment... perhaps, it was time for him to pay with his life to those innocent clansmen who had died so tragically.
Just as thousands of thoughts raced through Itachi's mind, immersed in his own thoughts and gazing at his younger brother, Sasuke's cold voice pierced the silence like an ice pick:
"Why... didn't you kill me back then?"
Sasuke's face was as cold as frost, his voice devoid of any inflection, as if he were asking a purely logical question that had nothing to do with him. Regarding the specific details of how he survived that night of the massacre, Sasuke's memory had long been blurred and chaotic, covered by massive trauma and subsequent hatred. Now, the truth was right in front of him, and he could finally know the reason.
However— "Pfft~" An extremely faint sound squeezed out from Itachi's lips.
The complex emotions Itachi had been immersed in—heavy, sorrowful, and bordering on self-judgment—along with the deep tenderness and guilt he felt while gazing at his younger brother, vanished in an instant, like a balloon pricked by a needle.
The expression on his face—that of "preparing to meet judgment and death" and "bearing heavy resolve and apology"—broke in a second.
Itachi thought of the scene back then where Sasuke was running while crying and shouting "Don't kill me," combined with the current Sasuke asking this question with a cold face.
"Sorry, Sasuke, it's really hard to hold back from laughing!"
Itachi quickly pursed his lips, trying to suppress the fleeting smile and put on a serious expression again.
But that moment of breaking character had already been seen by Sasuke and Shino, who had been silently observing from the side.
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