A new arrival and it's about Itachi God. So, do give it a go.
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Pitter-patter!
Continuous dark clouds obscured the sky, and the rain intensified.
Raging!
Yet, this downpour proved powerless to extinguish the raging black flames now burning within the mountains and forests.
The black flames continuously spread outward, seemingly capable of incinerating everything within sight.
The only area unaffected by the flames was the battlefield at its source.
This had once been the Uchiha clan's secret base, but the fierce battle had left it in ruins, utterly annihilated by the overwhelming force.
Where the secret base once stood, a rubble of rocks lay scattered.
A roaring sound!
A colossal figure, shrouded in crimson light, emerged, resembling a war god, a shield in its left hand and a gourd in its right.
In the very center of the war god, a scarred, shaky figure inched forward with labored steps.
"It seems Itachi has won this battle. Sasuke has no chance of resistance."
Amidst the rubble, a black and white figure wrapped in giant reeds chuckled as he watched the battle, the outcome already decided.
He was a master.
Within the Susanoo, Itachi struggled, his eyes dim, yet he stared intently ahead.
Though his vision blurred, he could still vaguely make out the terrified young man before him.
"I can't fall here yet. I'm almost there."
Itachi, sensing his own mortality, slowly advanced, sustained by some unsettling conviction.
"Don't come near me, damn it!"
Sasuke, leaning against the shattered wall emblazoned with the Uchiha family crest, shouted with horror, using only his remaining strength.
But Itachi didn't falter.
Sasuke was consumed by despair. He had exhausted all his means, even unleashing his most powerful techniques, but he still couldn't defeat the clan traitor before him.
Visions raced through his mind.
In the darkness of the night, in a dimly lit room, Sasuke, then only seven years old, pushed open the door and beheld a scene that filled him with despair.
His father and mother lay in a pool of blood, and the culprit responsible for this entire situation was his brother, the one he had always revered.
Everything in his life changed after that night.
Sasuke, driven to slay Itachi, grew stronger and stronger, even betraying Konoha and abandoning hard-won bonds, nearly becoming Orochimaru's vessel.
But all his efforts were rendered meaningless by the overwhelming power of the man before him.
The clattering, demonic footsteps echoed in Sasuke's ears.
The face that had filled him with hatred drew closer.
Suddenly, Itachi, engulfed in Susanoo, raised his arm and extended his right index and middle fingers, slowly approaching Sasuke.
At that moment, Sasuke's body froze, unable to move.
The hand that he imagined was about to gouge out his eyes was now within striking distance of his very eyes.
At that moment, Itachi's outstretched hand paused, resting just before Sasuke's eyes.
A smile of relief suddenly crossed his handsome, yet weathered, face.
His mouth moved, as if to say something, but he was too weak to utter a single word.
Those long-lost words, the symbol of their brotherly bond, echoed through Itachi's mind for the last time.
"Forgive me, Sasuke. This is the last time."
Then, Itachi's finger reached up and touched Sasuke's forehead, a stunned expression on his face.
Gathering his last strength, he unnoticed Sasuke and injected his eye technique into his Sharingan.
"Roar!"
Then, the Susanoo that enveloped Itachi's body seemed to let out a mournful wail, its crimson glow rapidly fading.
"Sasuke, this is the only last thing I can do for you. After your battle with me, you will become a hero who has wiped out the rebellious ninja. Return to your village."
Itachi's consciousness rapidly faded, and his already hazy vision darkened even further.
In his final moments, he recalled the night of his genocide, his final words to his parents, who had stood up to him without resistance.
"I'm sorry, Mom and Dad, I didn't take good care of Sasuke."
"When we get to that world, you can blame me."
Itachi, unconscious, stumbled past Sasuke, banged his head against the wall, and landed heavily on the ground.
Does death truly mean the end?
Even in the ninja world, few can answer this question.
People generally define death as the cessation of bodily functions and the cessation of consciousness.
Itachi's spirit sank for who knows how long.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes.
"Where is this?"
He paused, stunned by the white world before him.
He immediately glanced around, realizing that even with his eyesight, he couldn't see the end.
"Is this what the afterlife is like?"
Itachi then remembered that he had died in the battle with Sasuke.
However, he had never imagined that after death, he would end up in a place like this.
Despite his shock, Itachi felt a sense of relief.
Even now, he lacked the courage to face his dead parents and his many fellow Uchiha.
In this unknown region, without any reference points, time lost its meaning.
Gradually, Itachi began to recall everything that had happened, his own short life.
"I, who murdered my own people, deserve this fate."
Finally, with a sardonic smile, reflecting on his actions, he said this.
While the extermination of his clan was a choice he had been forced to make, there was no good end for those who murdered their own parents and fellow citizens.
But Itachi felt no regrets. If he hadn't done so, not only would the village's power be weakened, but the fragile balance of the five great ninja nations would also be jeopardized, plunging the world into war once again.
The Uchiha clan would be accused of treason, and Sasuke would be annihilated.
Itachi never considered himself great; on the contrary, he reflected on his life as a story of failure.
He watched Sasuke spiral into demonic obscurity, unable to stop him.
Even before his death, he left behind a plan to change Sasuke, but on reflection, things might not play out as he envisioned.
If he failed, he could only hope in Naruto, who was determined to recover Sasuke.
As Itachi pondered this, a sudden thought struck him.
"Do I really have no regrets for everything I've done so far?"
In the white world, Itachi's pupils suddenly widened, his dark eyes turning blood red.
Within them, three black magatama spun rapidly, forming the shape of a triangular sickle.
"Wow!"
Itachi's kaleidoscope patterns appeared, and a crimson light suddenly emanated from his right eye.
The light solidified into the shape of a gourd before him.
"Totsuka Blade"—Itachi's eyes flashed.
Within the gourd, not only did the Totsuka Blade reside, but also a special dimension separate from the real world.
As to what lay within that dimension, no one knew.
"Even after my death, will the Totsuka Blade still reside in my right eye?"
Just as Itachi was bewildered by the Totsuka Blade's sudden appearance, a powerful burst of light suddenly erupted from the mouth of the gourd before him.
"Buzz!"
The light possessed a powerful suction force, and when it landed on Itachi, he offered no resistance.
Now a mere spirit, he was sucked into the Totsuka Blade.
The space he was in suddenly trembled violently, and then, surprisingly, he was also rapidly sucked into the gourd.
Itachi's consciousness faded again, and an unknown amount of time passed.
"Waaaa!!"
In the hazy state, Itachi heard the cry of a baby, and then he tried to open his eyes.
...
Wa..."
"Sasuke!?" he blurted out hoarsely.
The baby boy before him looked just like Sasuke had just been born.
Even though sixteen years had passed, Itachi still remembered it clearly.
"What's going on?" Itachi exclaimed in shock.
Suddenly, he realized his line of sight was almost level with the cradle, which was just over a meter tall.
He raised his hand, and a child's hand, pale and rosy, came into view.
Then, Itachi lowered his head and surveyed his body, realizing he had shrunk.
Now, his body was the same size as when he was five years old, shortly after Sasuke was born.
Even Itachi found it hard to comprehend the situation.
"Is it an illusion?"
Itachi remembered that before regaining consciousness, in that unknown space, the Totsuka Blade had erupted with brilliance, forcibly sucking his soul within.
"Could this be the interior of the Totsuka Blade?" He pondered.
Legend has it that those sealed within the Totsuka Blade are forever trapped in a world of illusion.
Could this be an illusion constructed from his thoughts and memories?
Thinking this, Itachi decided to try and verify it.
"I can't activate it!" Itachi frowned.
He had just tried to activate the power of his Mangekyō Sharingan, but found that he didn't have any of it at all.
Even his chakra was still very weak.
This all matched his situation when he was five years old.
Of course, Itachi had died before, so it was natural that he couldn't activate the Mangekyō or even his eyes without a physical body.
As for chakra, perhaps it was because he was only a soul.
The current situation left Itachi feeling bewildered.
He pressed his forehead, his mind swirling with questions.
"Is this a world of illusion, or reality?!"
"Ah, ah!"
Just as Itachi was beginning to feel a headache, Sasuke babbled at him from his cradle, as if speaking to him.
He had stopped crying, and instead, his eyes showed his worry for Itachi.
Itachi stared into his eyes, a mixture of emotions.
"Uchiha Itachi, you traitor to our clan, I will kill you!"
The image of his dying battle with Sasuke flashed through his mind.
Those hateful eyes contrasted sharply with the worried gaze of the infant before him.
After a moment of stunned silence, Itachi suddenly turned and, following his remembered route, ran into the main hall.
A calendar hung on the wall, and his gaze quickly locked onto a specially marked date.
Itachi's pupils narrowed, and he muttered to himself, "Yesterday was Sasuke's birthday?!"
After confirming the date, he gradually recalled that something important had occurred within the clan the morning after Sasuke's birth.
His father, the clan leader, and his mother, the clan leader's wife, had been required to attend the meeting, even though they had just given birth.
Therefore, Sasuke's care had been temporarily left in his care.
Logically, memories of his five-year-old years should have been completely blurred.
But Itachi's memory was instantly recollected.
But he was not in the mood to dwell on such matters right now.
He immediately ran back to Sasuke's room and walked quickly to the side of the cradle.
The baby boy in the cradle suddenly stretched out his hands towards him, making a gesture to ask for a hug.
Itachi still couldn't calm himself down at this time, but he was much calmer than before.
He stretched out his hands tremblingly, and at the same time stood on tiptoe, carefully picking up Sasuke from the cradle.
As soon as he fell into Itachi's arms, little Sasuke suddenly looked extremely happy.
He stretched out his hands towards Itachi again.
Itachi lifted Sasuke up in his arms.
Sasuke raised his arms with all his might and wrapped them around Itachi's neck.
He pressed his face against Itachi's, nuzzling it affectionately.
Itachi, now staring straight ahead, felt the warmth against his cheek, and his body trembled once more.
But fearing he would lose his grip on Sasuke, he channeled all his strength into his arms, holding him tightly.
He remained in this position, allowing the baby boy to rub against his face.
He gritted his teeth, unable to suppress the sting in his nose, and a soft sob escaped his throat.
Uncontrollably, tears streamed from his reddened eyes, trickling down his delicate face.
He no longer considered, or perhaps dared not, whether the world he was in was a genjutsu or reality.
Even if it was an illusion, Itachi wanted to immerse himself in it, never waking up.
Tears streamed down his cheeks, dripping onto Sasuke's face.
Curiously, little Sasuke removed his hand from Itachi's neck and wiped the tears dripping down his face with his fingers, then placed his fingers in his mouth.
"Ah..." Itachi still couldn't tell whether he was in reality or a genjutsu, but looking at Sasuke before him, he immediately made a decision.
A smile graced that tear-stained, tender face, and he looked at Sasuke with a determined gaze, saying, "Sasuke, I'll never say such things again!"
.....
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