Chapter 73 (Chapter Seventy-One)
Finally, Itachi staggered and gradually approached Sasuke, who had nowhere to retreat and could only lean against the only remaining wall in the ruins, which was engraved with the Uchiha clan's fan emblem.
Just like the countless times Itachi had done to him when he was young, Itachi brought his blood-stained index and middle fingers together and gently touched Sasuke's forehead.
His voice carried a hint of weariness and tenderness.
"Forgive me, Sasuke."
"This is the last time."
"Live well with Xue."
In the countless internal torments following the night of the massacre, his body and spirit had long since reached their breaking point. Reason told him to play this charade to the very end. However, his crumbling will could no longer suppress his instinct to be close to Sasuke—his beloved younger brother. With his last ounce of strength, he raised his fingertips and gently touched Sasuke's forehead.
Then, Itachi's forehead slammed heavily against the Uchiha stone monument, and he slid to the ground, collapsing. The tragic figure, whose life had been consumed by pain, shed his final drop of blood in remorse for his clan. Itachi died; the battle was over.
Why did he kill the enemy and murderer he had been chasing and hating?
But there was no joy in his eyes; his pupils constricted, and his heart seemed to be filled with endless emptiness.
Itachi's gentle touch shattered Sasuke's last shred of defense.
Is it the weariness and emptiness after a battle of life and death, or the man she hated most in her heart, in his last moments before his death?
It was as if he had turned back into the older brother who loved him the most? Sasuke no longer cared about distinguishing them; he no longer had a brother.
Suddenly, a heavy rain began to fall from the sky, and for a moment, Sasuke felt somewhat lost.
He leaned against the wall, his face showing the helplessness of a child; he didn't understand.
Whether it was from blood or rain, it seemed as if a tear of blood had fallen from his eye.
It was impossible to tell whether what was falling was tears or rain.
Finally, due to exhaustion, Sasuke collapsed beside Itachi.
On the other side, Kisame and the Snake Squad.
Xue sensed that Itachi's chakra aura in the air was gradually dissipating.
There was no time left, Xue frowned.
Kisame noticed the crimson three-tomoe Sharingan in Uchiha Yuki's eyes, who hadn't made any moves, and didn't even have time to block it.
Uchiha Yuki stepped on his shoulder and easily jumped over him.
Just like Mr. Itachi said, before he died.
Just like Uchiha Yuki forcibly broke into the base, there was no need to stop her.
Kisame chuckled softly but didn't give chase.
As they entered the Uchiha clan's stronghold, black flames of Amaterasu burned around the perimeter.
Thunder rumbled, and dark clouds filled the sky.
It started to rain. Xue looked up, and raindrops fell on her face. The rain that slid down her cheeks was hard to tell—it was either tears or rain.
The Uchiha clan's stronghold had been reduced to ashes. Beside the only remaining crumbling wall bearing the Uchiha clan's fan emblem, Yuki found Sasuke still alive, and Itachi, lifeless with dilated pupils. Yuki reached out and closed Itachi's eyes.
So, as you wished, Itachi Uchiha ultimately died at Sasuke's hands.
She looked up; rain had soaked her entire body, her slightly curly hair clung to her face, and her eyes looked somewhat lost.
Itachi died.
This was what she wanted. She lowered her eyes and looked at the calm face on Itachi's face.
Finally...can I get a good night's sleep, Itachi?
Tears mingled with the rain as Xue closed her eyes.
Her thoughts drifted back to that sweltering afternoon many years ago, before the extermination of her clan, when the handsome young man with dark hair smiled at her.
The subtle tear troughs have a unique charm, and Xue felt a sudden, unexpected breeze.
Her heart skipped a beat.
A deep voice broke her thoughts.
"As expected, he's by Sasuke's side."
"Itachi really trusts you so much that he's willing to betray me just to get you out of my control?"
It was Ah Fei's figure; he appeared.
Snow can't beat him, but he needs Sasuke.
Therefore, it's impossible for him to take her away from Sasuke or kill her.
"Aren't you afraid I'll kill you, Yuki?" Obito said.
Yuki stared coldly at Obito. The rain blurred their outlines but made the undisguised hostility in their eyes clear.
Ironically, even if Uchiha Yuki was incredibly stupid...
She also knew why the other party didn't kill her.
Obito Uchiha deeply loved Yuki Uchiha.
She gave a cold laugh and said, "Are you willing to kill me, Obito Uchiha? Just like you didn't retrieve Kakashi's eye. Didn't you often spy on me and Kakashi through that eye?"
The rain was heavy, and the sound of the rain was masking something.
The other party did not answer, and Xue guessed that she had accurately hit the other party's sore spot.
As siblings who have relied on each other since childhood, as well as as lovers who briefly lost their memories, they both know how to stab each other in the most painful places.
They use the most hateful and hurtful words to say, never thinking about whether they can take them back.
Obito, not to be outdone, responded in Tobi's lighthearted tone: "Ara ara~ It's better than doing something unethical with your nominal brother or nephew, right? Becoming a morally corrupt older sister or aunt. Right, you wanton, wicked woman. You can sleep with anyone, huh~ Don't you like my size more than this naive boy?"
Bai Jue, hiding in the shadows, dared not make a sound, fearing that if he showed himself, the two would turn him into a sieve.
Xue didn't want to argue about these useless words anymore, and the atmosphere became heavy.
Itachi's body was retrieved by Obito, while Yuki watched quietly from the side.
-
Inside the Akatsuki's eastern stronghold, candlelight flickered in the dimly lit stone chamber.
Hidden in the shadows, Xue watched silently as Sasuke, illuminated by the candlelight, slowly sat up. At that moment, Obito Uchiha emerged from another shadow and began his long-winded speech. Sasuke remained unresponsive, only slightly raising his weary eyes when the name "Itachi Uchiha" was mentioned.
Immediately after Obito partially removed his mask, revealing only his Sharingan, black flames burst into flames on his body. Unable to avoid the flames, Obito was forced to disappear into the darkness. Upon emerging, he picked up his fallen mask and put it back on. It seemed that Amaterasu's flames hadn't caused him much harm; his body was unharmed. This outcome caused Xue to frown slightly.
It was a dojutsu technique that Itachi had set up in Sasuke's eyes beforehand, and it was only meant for Obito.
"So that's how it was. In the end, for your sake, he infused his own eye power into your body," Obito said slowly.
Sasuke, feeling uneasy, shouted, "What are you talking about? Why did Itachi do that?"
"Don't you understand? Itachi did it to protect you." Obito lowered his voice.
These words were clearly unacceptable to Sasuke. He looked incredulous and instinctively retorted, "Protect me? Are you kidding me!"
“I’ll say it again, you seem to know a lot about your brother, but you actually know nothing.” Obito said calmly, “It seems it won’t be easy to let you know the truth. Oh well, after all, you just heard this from a suspicious guy. But what I’m saying is true. You also heard from your brother about the person who helped him that night, right? I was Uchiha Madara who helped him.”
Yuki wasn't surprised that Obito called himself Uchiha Madara; she had heard that title from Pain when she lost her memory. However, the truth about the massacre of the Uchiha clan that Obito told differed slightly from what Itachi had said.
Sasuke's breathing became rapid. Obito squatted down and pinched his chin: "Calm down, Sasuke."
Sasuke forcefully pushed Obito's hand away and shouted, "Get away from me!"
He was panting, trying to calm his breathing.
Seeing that Sasuke didn't seem to be listening to him tell the truth, Obito tied him up slightly.
Slightly calmer, Sasuke murmured, "That guy... Itachi is the enemy. He killed my father and mother, and even tried to kill my aunt! He slaughtered his entire clan. Not only was he a rogue ninja, but he was also a member of Akatsuki. That guy should be someone hated. My goal..."
"It's a fact that he killed all the members of the Uchiha clan and then defected from Konoha," Obito added.
"So..." Sasuke hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.
“He did that because he received a mission from Konoha, which was the gateway to the truth about Itachi. That night, Itachi sacrificed himself to complete the mission,” Obito continued. “It seems you’ve calmed down a bit.”
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Sasuke's cheek: "What's going on?"
"In order to delve deeper into Itachi's story, I must tell you about the founding era of Konoha. Itachi became a sacrifice, a consequence of ancient karma. From the very day Konoha was founded, a huge problem existed. This determined Itachi's fate. Although this story will be a little long, everything I'm telling you from now on is the truth."
"Why should I believe you? I can't believe you," Sasuke questioned.
“Although I don’t have any concrete evidence, it’s up to you whether you believe me or not.” Obito sat on the wooden box beside him. “However, if your aunt were the second person who knew the whole truth from the beginning, perhaps you would believe her more? Right, Uchiha Yuki?”
Snow slowly walked from the shadows to Sasuke's side, and Sasuke's eyes widened in disbelief.
“Sasuke, he’s right.”
Sasuke moved his lips slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but when he saw the person who called himself Uchiha Madara, he closed his mouth again.
After a moment, Sasuke opened his eyes again: "Alright, go ahead and say it."
As Obito recounted a lengthy historical issue, Xue began to grasp the reality of the situation. The Obito who had always failed his academic subjects could now recount the entire origins of Konoha. From the Uchiha clan's attempt to stage a coup and seize control of the village, Itachi existed as a double agent for both the Uchiha clan and Konoha.
Sasuke looked at Uchiha Yuki. Yuki nodded, indicating that what he said was true, and that she had also participated in the attempted rebellion.
Yuki made outstanding contributions to the Uchiha clan during the Third World War and is the pride of the Uchiha clan. Although she was forced to leave the front lines due to Obito's "death" at the end of the war, and later lost control of her eye techniques due to the Nine-Tails' attack and the death of the Fourth Hokage, she was no longer part of the Konoha ninja system.
Itachi experienced war at a young age, and he became a man who prioritized the stability of the village and fought for peace, a ninja who was not bound by the shackles of his clan and loved the village.
Upon learning of the Uchiha clan's planned rebellion, the Konoha leadership gave Itachi a mission: to exterminate the entire Uchiha clan. Thus, before the Uchiha clan could wreak havoc on Konoha, Itachi decided to be the one to pull down the Uchiha's curtain.
"He could even harm the person he loved most, but he couldn't bring himself to harm his own brother."
Sasuke looked at Yuki, who merely frowned slightly, her expression calm.
Later, in order to protect Sasuke from Danzo and the higher-ups, Itachi sought help from the Third Hokage and left the village after threatening Danzo. He told Danzo that if he attacked Sasuke, he would reveal all the village's information to non-allied nations.
Obito looked at Sasuke: "You're the one he cares about most, Sasuke. But he can't tell you the truth. He hopes that by giving you the goal of avenging himself on him, you can become stronger, and he also hopes that you will always regard the Uchiha as a noble clan of Konoha. He begged the Third Hokage not to tell you the truth. When he left the village, he had already decided to die in his duel with you, so that he could give you new power at that time. That's the truth about Itachi."
"Regarding all this, before Uchiha Yuki came to your side," Obito said, referring to Yuki. "She knew all along, didn't she, Yuki?"
Sasuke was silent for a moment, then muttered repeatedly, "It's all a lie, a complete lie. You two are definitely lying to me, talking nonsense. I was almost killed by him several times."
“If Itachi really wanted to take your life, you would have been dead long ago,” Obito said. “You wouldn’t even have lived to see Uchiha Yuki.”
“He even used the Mangekyou Sharingan’s eye techniques to kill me,” Sasuke argued.
Obito explained to him, "Even your response was within Itachi's expectations. He had a reason to force you in that battle, and you should have realized why by now." In order to force Orochimaru out of Sasuke's body, he would use the Totsuka Blade to kill him completely.
"To free you from the curse, and the death of your closest loved ones."
"It is also a battle that will open your kaleidoscope."
"That battle was entirely Itachi's design—"
"You, you're all lying!"
Sasuke kept refuting, and he looked at the snow.
His eyes were full of pleading, hoping she would say something, but Xue remained silent.
"The proof is that you are still alive."
“Your eyes failed to see through a single thing Itachi did, failed to see through any illusion Itachi fabricated.” Obito stood up and approached step by step. “Itachi killed his friends, killed his superiors, killed his loved ones, killed his father, killed his mother.”
Snow blocked Sasuke's path, preventing him from getting any closer.
She raised her eyes, her expression icy.
"But he couldn't bring himself to do it, except for his own brother."
"This man, who sheds blood and tears, erases all his own emotions, and killed countless compatriots for the sake of the village, just couldn't kill you. Do you understand what that really means?"
"Because to him, your life is more important than the village."
"Until his death, he was planning for you, to die at your hands and to make you a hero of Konoha."
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