The curse mark surged again under Sasuke's will, Orochimaru's power roaring through his veins. It tore straight through the Dojutsu in Itachi's remaining eye.
Tsukuyomi shattered.
His vision cleared.
His eyes were still there. Everything had been an illusion.
If anything, something seemed wrong with Itachi's eyes instead.
Mito frowned. Back then, this child's body had already...
"Itachi—"
He dropped to his knees without warning.
"Ugh...!"
Blood spilled from his mouth, dark against the ground.
Hidden in the shadows of the Academy, Shisui froze.
Pain ripped through his chest.
He knew.
The one he had treated as both closest friend and little brother...
...was about to die.
Sasuke didn't notice.
Consumed by vengeance, there was only one thought left in him.
Kill Itachi. Avenge the clan.
"This... is my final power..."
Lightning gathered.
"Kirin!!!"
Thunder split the sky.
Clouds swallowed the heavens, and rain crashed down in sheets.
Sounding like the chirping of a thousand birds gathering in the young Sasuke's left hand, the power of his Lightning Release merged with the natural lightning.
It wasn't just jutsu anymore.
It was a force of nature, bent to his will.
"Disappear with the lightning... Uchiha Itachi!!!"
The roar of thunder, the cry of a thousand birds, the fury of something ancient...
All of it crashed down on the man in the black cloak patterned with red clouds.
"NOOOOOOO!!!"
...
A crimson skeleton began to take shape around Itachi.
"If that's how it is... then I'll show you my final power as well."
"It's... it's Susanoo!!!"
"Shisui's was green... Itachi's is red?!"
"Wait... look! It's growing...!"
Unlike before, where they had only seen Shisui's completed Susanoo after the smoke cleared. Now, for the first time, they watched it form.
Bone.
Then muscle.
Then flesh wrapping over it like something reborn from a forgotten age.
Armor sealed over its body. A shield appeared in one hand, a massive sword in the other.
An ancient giant, awakened.
Even Sasuke staggered back, fear creeping in despite himself.
Then a voice slithered into his mind.
"Let me lend you my power..."
Orochimaru.
From the curse mark, the Yamata no Orochi burst forth.
Itachi's lips curved slightly.
Finally... you've shown yourself, Orochimaru.
"Totsuka Blade!"
"The sealing sword!"
Mito's voice cut through the tension.
Against something that could not die, there was only one answer.
Seal it.
That was the terror of the Uzumaki clan. A power that could erase even immortality itself—Fuinjutsu!
The blazing Susanoo swung its sword.
In a single, overwhelming strike, the massive serpent was severed. Heads fell, writhing, only to be consumed by the blade's sealing power.
Orochimaru was gone.
Sealed forever.
Sasuke had nothing left.
And Itachi...
...had nothing left either.
Blood covered them both.
Sasuke leaned against the wall just to stay upright. His legs trembled, fear threading through his exhaustion as he watched his brother approach.
"M... Sasuke... Itachi..."
Mikoto's voice broke.
Step by step, Itachi walked forward, one hand raised.
Every heart watching tightened.
Was he really going to take his brother's eyes?
"Is this really it?!"
"Damn it, I misjudged him!"
Voices rose everywhere, from civilians to shinobi alike. They had seen what Itachi endured. The sacrifices. The isolation.
But this?
To take his own brother's eyes for power?
"Monster! That's your little brother!"
"Stop! He's all you have left!"
Some cursed him.
Some pitied him.
In Land of Lightning, Kumogakure, the Fourth Raikage watched in silence, jaw set.
He didn't believe it.
That man... that Uchiha Itachi... wouldn't do something like that without reason.
He was certain of it.
...
The image shifted.
Now, from Itachi's eyes.
Everything blurred.
Sasuke stood less than three meters away... yet his face was indistinct, slipping in and out of focus.
Sasuke... you've grown...
A tremor ran through everyone watching.
This voice...
It was his thoughts.
Sasuke... I'm sorry... this is as far as I can take you...
All those painful memories I forced on you... I'm sorry.
If I had trusted you more... trusted Father... instead of carrying everything alone...
If I had your strength... and his... then maybe we could have... we could have...
He moved closer.
Less than a meter now.
Sasuke couldn't speak.
Fear locked his throat as he watched that hand come closer... closer...
Finally... I can see your face clearly... Sasuke...
Scaring you like this... that's my fault...
The perspective shifted again.
From Sasuke's future self.
All he could see was a dying man.
Blood-soaked.
Exhausted.
And that hand...
...less than ten centimeters from his eyes.
A crisp tap echoed.
That hand... didn't gouge his eyes out.
It gently poked his forehead.
"...?!"
Confusion rippled across every face.
But Sasuke knew.
Only he knew what that gesture meant.
Itachi smiled.
A gentle smile, one Sasuke hadn't seen in nearly ten years.
"I'm sorry, Sasuke. Forgive me... this is the last time."
His body swayed.
As if seeing his brother's face one last time had fulfilled everything he had left.
Uchiha Itachi...
...collapsed at Sasuke's feet.
...
A scream tore through the air.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
"Sasuke!"
"Sasuke-kun!"
"Hey! Sasuke!!!"
His eyes—
"They've... evolved... the Sharingan...!"
Silence followed.
And then—
Shock.