"Clan heads… how did you enjoy the show?"
Facing away from the towering mushroom cloud rising into the sky, the Naruto shadow clone disguised as Hattori addressed the gathered clan leaders before him.
Destroying Konoha—something like this, it really was most satisfying to do it with his own hands.
If not for the risk of accidentally harming his own allies, he would have much preferred to obliterate the village with a Planet-Burst Cannon or even a Kamehameha.
The dozens of clan heads present had all been shaken to the core by what they had just witnessed.
That terrifying power… it made their very souls tremble. Even from such a distance, they could feel it.
It was absolutely not something human strength could ever hope to resist.
And in that moment, their resolve to stand on Hattori's side only deepened.
Naruto walked up to Itachi, leaned down slightly, and spoke:
"Itachi… the clans you once spoke of? They're gone now. They no longer exist."
"Konoha now consists only of those present here."
"So, from this moment forward—we are Konoha."
Itachi remained silent. When he had seen Konoha's annihilation with his own eyes, the light in them had faded, his gaze turning dull and lifeless.
Everything he had once sworn to protect was gone.
Nothing is more tragic than when the heart itself dies.
Don't you still have Sasuke?
In the depths of Itachi's heart, Naruto's voice echoed.
Whatever your purpose may be, just don't hurt Sasuke anymore.
Itachi's mindset shifted almost instantly. Konoha was no more, and his thoughts returned to Sasuke. Like some pathetic, self-justifying scoundrel, he clung to that final bond.
And where have you ever seen me hurt Sasuke?
I've never once harmed him. The one who's hurt Sasuke… has always been you.
Itachi fell silent again. Then, he said:
You want my eyes, don't you? Take them.
No… not for me. They're for Sasuke.
Some had suggested keeping Itachi alive, forcing him to serve as nothing more than a breeding tool for the Uchiha's revival—producing as many children as the lives he had taken.
But why should he be given such a privilege?
Most men here didn't even have wives—why should he, Itachi, get dozens?
The Uchiha had enough survivors to restore the clan on their own. Itachi had already been cast out years ago; he had no right to even call himself "Uchiha" anymore.
Even if endless breeding was torment, it didn't matter—he didn't deserve even that fate.
Debts must be repaid. Blood must be answered with blood. That was only just.
The best ending for him… was death.
And so it came.
A blade through his heart.
His eyes gouged out.
Itachi Uchiha died.
His corpse was blasted apart with a ki attack until nothing remained—not even enough for an Edo Tensei summoning.
At the same time, the crow bearing Shisui's other eye was destroyed as well.
"The Mangekyō Sharingan is not the end of the Sharingan's path."
Collecting both Itachi's Mangekyō and Shisui's lone eye, Naruto began to speak again, this time revealing the hidden truths of the Sharingan.
"The Mangekyō's power is immense. With it, even an ordinary Uchiha can stand on equal footing with the leaders of the Five Great Villages."
"But it carries a fatal flaw—the more you use it, the closer you come to blindness."
"However, the Mangekyō can evolve even further. Beyond it lies an even greater power."
"This was the power once possessed by Uchiha Madara, one of the two founders of Konoha."
Everyone in Konoha remembered Senju Hashirama as the founder, but few recalled that it had been Hashirama and Madara together who created the village.
Even the name Konoha—it had been Madara who chose it.
Just as everyone credited the Fourth Hokage with saving Konoha from the Nine-Tails, yet no one remembered that it was Naruto who bore the burden of sealing it inside himself. To the villagers, he was not a hero—he was the demon fox itself.
Was it truly that they didn't know?
Or was it that because they knew he wasn't the Nine-Tails, they thought they could treat him however they liked?
"The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan."
The power that lies above the Mangekyō—the Eternal Mangekyō.
The revelation hit the Uchiha present like a thunderclap.
They had thought the Mangekyō was the final stage. But now, to learn there was something beyond—did that mean there was something even higher still beyond the Eternal?
"And how… how does one obtain it?"
Fugaku himself couldn't help but ask, his voice trembling with excitement. For once, he forgot to disguise it, causing Sasuke to glance at him in confusion—he sounded so familiar.
But Naruto's next words pulled Sasuke's focus away.
Not just Fugaku, but every clan head and even Mui held their breath. This was a secret not meant for common ears.
"He transplanted his younger brother's Mangekyō Sharingan. By fusing two pairs of Mangekyō, a new power is born."
"To evolve into the Eternal Mangekyō, one must merge another Mangekyō Sharingan into their own. The closer the blood relation, the higher the chance of success."
"When a regular Mangekyō evolves into an Eternal Mangekyō, the user's power doesn't just increase drastically—they can also use its abilities without ever worrying about blindness again."
Naruto's gaze shifted toward Sasuke.
"And here… we just so happen to have two pairs of Mangekyō."
Sasuke and Itachi.
Madara and Izuna.
The resemblance was undeniable.
Madara's power—the power of the Eternal Mangekyō.
For the Uchiha, Madara had always represented invincibility.
To gain that power was to become invincible themselves.
Excitement flickered in Fugaku's eyes as well.
But not everyone shared the same desire.
"You want me to accept that man's eyes? You want me to put his eyes into my sockets?"
Sasuke's voice trembled with fury. His small face flushed red, and his Mangekyō burst open as his emotions surged out of control.
"I won't. I refuse!"
"I don't want his eyes!"
To Sasuke, who was Itachi?
Once, his elder brother. The one he had admired and trusted above all.
Now?
A false brother. His most hated enemy. The murderer of his clan. The killer of his parents. The thief who had stolen everything from him.
Even knowing Naruto meant well—wanting to give him greater strength—Sasuke could never accept Itachi's eyes.
This was Uchiha Sasuke's last bit of stubborn pride.
And Uchiha pride was immovable—even if the whole world pushed against it.
"I already have my brother's strength. That's enough."
Golden chakra flared around Sasuke—the chakra of Naruto, his true brother.
"My body already holds my brother's power. With it, I can use the Mangekyō without fear of blindness."
He turned to look at Naruto, eyes burning with determination.
"This is my brother."
He had already accepted Naruto as his true elder brother—Itachi's place long since cast aside.
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