Magical Girl Illya World.
"I knew it."
Miyu spoke, a light in her eyes. Right! How could an older brother hate and be hostile toward his younger brother for no reason?
As expected, there was a reason for it, just like with her own brother.
"It's starting! It's starting!!" magical ruby was also quite excited. "The reversal is about to begin."
"Yeah!"
Illya was also quite excited. This was exactly what she wanted to see. The reason the older brother dealt with the younger brother was that he had something he had to carry, which led to this.
The two brother-complex girls seemed exceptionally excited.
Naruto World, Konoha Village.
Sasuke's pupils shrank slightly. He had clearly never expected to hear from 'Uchiha Madara' that everything Itachi did was a mission assigned by Konoha.
How could that be?! How... could that be?
Kakashi and Jiraiya exchanged looks. They saw the word'surprise' in each other's eyes. The extermination of the Uchiha Clan all those years ago was an order from the Konoha Higher-Ups?
Although Kakashi and Jiraiya wanted to resist the idea, after a little thought, it didn't seem like an impossible thing.
Because based on their understanding of the Konoha Higher-Ups, they really might be capable of such a thing.
Especially that guy Danzo Shimura.
Naruto World, Konoha Village, Hokage Office.
"Bang!"
Danzo Shimura kicked the door open roughly and walked in.
"Swish, swish—!!"
Two Anbu appeared to block Danzo Shimura. After the previous three Anbu left, two more had arrived to protect Hiruzen Sarutobi's safety.
"You two, step outside for a moment." Hiruzen Sarutobi told the two Anbu to leave.
"..."
The two Anbu didn't speak. They nodded slightly, put away their weapons, and vanished from the Hokage Office.
"Hiruzen." Danzo Shimura looked up at Hiruzen Sarutobi and said in a very serious tone, "Even though the video is still playing, you must take control of Sasuke first."
Danzo Shimura's expression was very ugly right now because the Kage of other hidden Villages were also watching the multiverse projection.
Konoha, it's Konoha again. The matter being exposed this time involved a Konoha scandal.
Furthermore, many Jonin in the Village also had the multiverse projection. Now the matter could no longer be suppressed, but Danzo Shimura felt it was better to lock Sasuke up first.
If nothing else, the footage of the opponent's future battle with Naruto was truly too shocking. If it weren't for various reasons, Danzo Shimura would want to kill this naturally evil Uchiha kid right now.
"I made a promise to Itachi."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Danzo Shimura and said in a very calm voice, "I will protect his younger brother. Sasuke is also a Konoha Ninja who has inherited the Will of Fire."
"In the video, he has already joined Orochimaru."
Danzo Shimura said loudly, "In other words, he will also become a Rogue Ninja in the future. If you don't lock him up now, then what if Itachi..."
"Danzo!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned around, a hint of killing intent in his eyes as he looked at Danzo Shimura. "I said, I made a promise to Itachi. And I am the Hokage. Have the Root leave Sasuke's side. From today on, he will be protected by the Anbu."
"If you continue to act willfully or do anything in secret, I will kill you."
"..."
Danzo Shimura took two steps back. He knew his old friend was serious. Even when he had tried to assassinate him back then, Hiruzen hadn't been this 'angry'.
Danzo Shimura opened the door. He turned his head back to look at Hiruzen Sarutobi, his expression extremely ugly. "You'll regret this, Hiruzen. The future will show you that you'll regret your actions today."
"Bang!!!"
Having been thwarted twice, Danzo Shimura's patience seemed to have reached its limit, but he had to endure.
Because Hiruzen Sarutobi was the true Hokage, and he was not. It was as simple as that.
After Danzo Shimura left, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed. He looked at Sasuke and Uchiha Madara in the video with a complex expression and sighed silently, looking even older.
He couldn't hold on much longer. He had to choose the next Hokage.
The video continued playing.
Under Uchiha Obito's explanation, Sasuke understood the history of the Senju and Uchiha, including 'Uchiha Madara's' own past and so on.
However, none of that was what he wanted to know. What he most wanted to know was why Itachi had slaughtered their parents and the entire Uchiha Clan.
Finally, Uchiha Obito began to get to the main point.
"Because of a certain incident, the Uchiha Clan was completely ostracized."
"That's right, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox Attack Incident sixteen years ago."
"What's that about?" Sasuke was confused. He didn't understand why this was suddenly being mentioned. What did the Nine-Tailed attack have to do with the Uchiha?
"The only thing that can conquer and control the Nine-Tailed is the visual power of the Uchiha Clan."
While Uchiha Obito was speaking, three figures appeared. These were the figures of Danzo Shimura and the two Advisors.
Uchiha Obito said calmly, "The Konoha Higher-Ups suspected that the incident was the work of someone from the Uchiha Clan."
"In fact, it happened naturally; it was a natural disaster and had nothing to do with the Uchiha Clan."
When Uchiha Obito said this, he didn't show the slightest hint of guilt, as if it truly had been an accident.
"It was also from that time that the Anbu began to thoroughly monitor the Uchiha Clan. The clan's residence was also moved to a corner of the Village, leaving them in a state of isolation."
"The Third Hokage was the only one who objected to this treatment, but Danzo Shimura of the Anbu and the Advisors did not agree with him."
"Regardless, the Uchiha Clan was not trusted, and so the discrimination began."
"Because of those guys' suspicions, a rift was created, and suspicion finally turned into reality. The Uchiha Clan planned to launch a coup d'état to seize control of the Village."
"And the Konoha Higher-Ups sent a spy into the Uchiha Clan. That was your brother, Uchiha Itachi."
"From then on, Itachi's path through hell began."
At this moment, the Sasuke in the video showed a shocked expression, while the Sasuke outside the video had his Three-Tomoe Sharingan spinning wildly.
"The Uchiha planned to launch a coup, and Itachi was a spy?" Sasuke looked extremely shocked; he couldn't believe any of this.
Uchiha Obito, however, was very calm. "You were in the Uchiha but knew nothing about it. That's because you were still small then, but what I'm saying is the truth."
"Your father was the mastermind of the coup. Itachi was originally a spy planted in the Anbu by your father's order, but the reality was the opposite. Itachi instead leaked information about the Uchiha to the Village—what is commonly known as a double agent."
"You cannot imagine what a heavy burden that was."
"Why!!"
Sasuke believed Obito's words. He looked at Obito and shouted, "Why did Itachi betray the Uchiha!!"
"You, who haven't experienced war, probably cannot understand," Obito said calmly. "In the Third Great Ninja War, Itachi witnessed too many deaths at the age of four; he experienced war when he was far too young."
"War is hell, and this psychological trauma caused Itachi to grow into a man who disliked conflict and loved peace."
"He became a man who made the stability of the Village his first priority and fought for peace."
"A Ninja who loved the Village and was not bound by the shackles of his clan—the Higher-Ups of the Village took advantage of this."
Obito looked at Sasuke and said calmly, "The Higher-Ups gave Itachi a top-secret mission. An eye for an eye; to deal with the Uchiha, one needs the Sharingan. Yes..."
"That mission was... to eliminate every member of the Uchiha Clan."
When Obito said this, Sasuke had already closed his eyes, unwilling to accept it all.
But Obito still said very calmly, "What Itachi was feeling at that time is beyond anyone's imagination. Itachi faced a terrible choice. Normally, attacking one's own kin would be an impossible choice."
"But if a Ninja clan like the Uchiha were to trigger a civil war, both Konoha Village and the Land of Fire would be severely shaken, and other nations would surely take the opportunity to attack."
"It might have even become the fuse for the Fourth Great Ninja War. The Uchiha Clan's self-serving ideology would have dragged innocent people in the Ninja World into it, and many more would have died."
After hearing Obito's words, Sasuke looked up with a very sorrowful expression.
Obito looked at Sasuke and asked, "If you were Itachi, what would you do?"
Sasuke didn't speak; he didn't want to answer that question.
Obito looked up and continued, "So Itachi decided to bring down the curtain on the history of the Uchiha with his own hands. He didn't betray them because he hated the Uchiha; he had no choice."
"The consequences brought about by the discrimination and discord that had existed since the Village's founding... no one can blame Itachi for his self-sacrifice and his decision to shoulder everything alone."
"In fact, I was also waiting for an opportunity for war at that time because I had a grudge against both the Senju's Konoha and the Uchiha. But Itachi even discovered my spying; he was the only one who noticed me."
Itachi contacted me and proposed a condition: he would assist me in seeking revenge against the Uchiha Clan, but on the condition that I must not attack the Village.
"He said he was willing to help me kill his own kin. At that time, only the Third Hokage was still seeking other methods, trying to negotiate with the Uchiha and find a path to reconciliation."
"But due to the lack of time, he failed. And so, that night happened."
Under Obito's voice, images were displayed one after another, showing that everything he said seemed to be something that had actually happened.
"That was a mission. As a criminal who killed his own clan, bearing the infamy and becoming a rogue Ninja—all of this was the mission."
"And Itachi successfully completed this mission, except for one small failure. He couldn't bring himself to lay a hand on his own younger brother."
Speaking of this, outside the video, Sasuke's body trembled slightly, and the Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his eyes spun wildly.
The video continued playing, and Obito continued talking about the Konoha Higher-Ups and Itachi.
To protect Sasuke, Itachi went to see the Third Hokage and pleaded with him not to tell Sasuke the truth.
At the same time, Itachi threatened Danzo that if he dared to lay a hand on Sasuke, he would leak all the Village's intelligence to non-allied countries.
The moment he left the Village, Itachi was already prepared to die in a duel with Sasuke.
This was the truth about Itachi.
Sasuke, learning all this, could not accept it. He felt 'Madara' was lying. One must know that he was almost killed several times by Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan Ninjutsu.
However, Obito was very calm and told Sasuke that if Itachi had wanted to kill him, he would be dead.
Furthermore, the reason Itachi did that was entirely to liberate Sasuke from the Cursed Seal.
Sasuke questioned 'Madara' because Itachi had said that he was the one who released the Nine-Tailed all those years ago, bringing this undeserved disaster upon the Uchiha!!
But Obito calmly stated that Itachi was lying, with the aim of preventing Sasuke from believing him.
Sasuke still didn't believe it. In his eyes, Itachi was an evil person, a criminal who betrayed the Village, slaughtered his clan, and colluded with the Akatsuki Organization.
"Itachi shouldered a grave crime that would never be washed away alone." Obito looked at Sasuke and said calmly, "After defecting from the Village, he even infiltrated the Akatsuki to monitor the organization that posed a threat to the Village from within."
"As soon as the Third Hokage, who promised to protect you, died, Itachi immediately appeared in Konoha. That was to send a signal to the Konoha Higher-Ups, including Danzo, that he was still alive."
"Shut up!!! Everything you say is a lie!!"
Sasuke didn't want to listen anymore; in his heart, he already believed what Obito was saying.
But at this moment, Sasuke still couldn't accept that Itachi, who slaughtered the entire Uchiha Clan, had actually given everything for him.
But Obito said calmly, "The proof is... that you are still alive now."
At this moment, Sasuke was stunned, as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning.
"Your eyes didn't see through anything about Itachi. They didn't see through any layer of the illusions Itachi fabricated. Itachi killed his friends, his superiors, his lover, his father, and his mother, but he only failed to lay a hand on his own younger brother."
Obito crouched in front of Sasuke, untied his ropes, and continued, "A man like him, who shed tears of blood, suppressed all his emotions, and killed countless kin for the sake of the Village, simply could not kill you."
"Do you understand what this means?"
"Because to him, your life was more important than the Village!!!!"
At this moment, Sasuke, both inside and outside the video, was dazed.
Not just Sasuke, but the people watching this video were also moved by the brotherly bond. The elder brother silently shouldered everything and fabricated lie after lie.
Intending to die at his brother's hands, allowing him to avenge the Uchiha Clan and become a hero of Konoha from then on.
Even if he suffered from the torment of illness, he took medicine to prolong his life, all for his beloved younger brother.
For the peace of Konoha Village, and most importantly, for Uchiha Sasuke.
Itachi hoped to receive a death as a criminal and a traitor.
Giving honor and receiving infamy, giving love and receiving hatred—even so, Itachi died with a smile.
Entrusting the name of Uchiha to his younger brother, Sasuke, and keeping him in the dark the whole time.
Now, in the video, Sasuke came out. He put on his clothes and stood by a rock, feeling the waves crashing. Memories of his childhood flashed through his mind.
Those were the moments he spent with Itachi. From childhood to adulthood, Itachi had always been saying, "Forgive me, Sasuke, maybe next time."
Also... during their final battle.
Itachi, coughing blood and on the verge of death, staggered towards him, murmuring something, and placed two fingers on Sasuke's forehead.
Accompanied by warm BGM, time began to reverse.
The screen showed Uchiha Itachi's face. He wore a very gentle smile, just like the gentle older brother in Sasuke's Remembrance.
Itachi looked at the current Sasuke and smiled gently, "Forgive me, Sasuke, this is the last time."
Along with Itachi's gentle smile, tears flowed uncontrollably from Sasuke's eyes in the video.
Outside the video, Sasuke was also crying incessantly. He understood; he understood everything. All the points that had confused him before were now completely clear.
In the video, Sasuke spoke.
"We have broken away from Snake. From now on, our team will operate under the name 'Eagle'!"
"'Eagle' has only one goal. We..."
Sasuke opened his eyes, the Mangekyo Sharingan appearing. He said with murderous intent, "We will destroy Konoha!!!"
Click. Video No. 8, the battle between brothers, ended there, and the screen briefly fell into darkness.
In the Naruto World, inside Konoha Village.
Sasuke was still crying. Seeing him like this, Naruto hesitated for a moment before stepping forward to comfort him: "Sasuke... are you okay?"
No matter how naive Naruto was, he knew that Sasuke was under considerable shock at this moment.
"Sasuke..."
Kakashi also looked at Sasuke with a complex expression. For a moment, he didn't know what to say. If the things shown in the video were true...
That meant that the reason Sasuke would retaliate against Konoha in the future was because of the Konoha Higher-Ups.
And... Itachi's slaughter of the entire clan was also because of the orders from Danzo and the others. Although the Third Hokage-sama was aware, there was no other way at that time, and the orders had to be carried out.
"...That fellow Danzo still hasn't changed his ways." Jiraiya frowned slightly, clearly feeling that Danzo and the others had gone too far.
At the same time, Jiraiya sighed slightly. Before the Nine-Tails' Rampage, he remembered Minato once saying that after he became Hokage, he would change the current state of the Uchiha and the Village.
Unfortunately, after the Nine-Tails' Rampage, he died because of sealing the Nine-Tailed, which led to various tragedies.
"Huh? Kurama, what did you say?"
At this moment, Naruto seemed to have received some news. He said in surprise, "You're saying that back then, you were controlled by that masked man in the video?!"
?!
Naruto's words immediately shocked Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Sasuke.
"What did you say?! Naruto?!" Sasuke turned his head, his eyes wide as he looked at Naruto.
"Sasuke! Your eyes!!" x2!
Kakashi and Naruto said in great surprise.
Because at this moment, Sasuke's eyes had changed. They were no longer the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, but like his future self in the video, they were the Mangekyo Sharingan.
A Mangekyo Sharingan in the shape of a six-pointed star.
"Just now! What did the Nine-Tailed say?!" But Sasuke didn't care how his eyes had changed; he was overwhelmed by Itachi's death and the truth in the video.
He had thought everything Obito said in the video was true.
But because of what Naruto said—no... it should be the words conveyed by the Nine-Tailed inside Naruto.
It made Sasuke doubt 'Madara's' words again.
Looking at the Mangekyo Sharingan in Sasuke's eyes, Naruto swallowed and said, "Um... the Nine-Tailed said that back then he was doing fine in my mom's belly, but that masked man released him and controlled him with the Sharingan to attack Konoha."
"That guy!"
The Mangekyo Sharingan in Sasuke's eyes spun, and a terrifying aura erupted from him. He knew 'Madara' had lied to his future self in the video.
A guy like Naruto wouldn't lie, but that didn't mean 'Madara' was lying about everything. He had to find someone who knew the whole truth.
Whoosh—!!
At this moment, an Anbu wearing an animal mask appeared. He looked at Sasuke and said calmly, "The Third Hokage-sama requests your presence."