"Let's leave it at that!"
Uehara Naraku nodded and then turned to Uchiha Sasuke: "Hey, Sasuke, are you coming back with us, or staying here..."
"I'll stay here."
Uchiha Sasuke shook his head.
Hoshigaki Kisame glanced at the ruins and sighed: "It would take quite some time to create a big grave for Mr. Itachi!"
"Understood."
Uehara Naraku nodded lightly: "Alright then, I'll have the Ancient Giant Dragon send everyone back first, then summon it back to fetch us."
"Alright."
Deva Path of Pain nodded.
Konan stepped forward, extending her paper umbrella and handed it to Uehara Naraku, softly saying: "Come back soon."
"..."
Uehara Naraku shook his head but smiled at her, then suddenly took off his hat and placed it on Konan's head.
The Ancient Giant Dragon roared down from the sky.
A group from Akatsuki set foot on the Ancient Giant Dragon and left.
After the fierce battle, only Uchiha Sasuke, Hoshigaki Kisame, Yakushi Kabuto, and Uehara Naraku remained in the ruins, each with slightly different emotions.
"Hey, Kisame-senpai."
Uchiha Sasuke stared dumbfounded at Uchiha Itachi's body on the ground, his voice low as he asked: "Did Itachi deliberately lose to me? Do you know about this? What was his intention?"
"No, your power is just too strong."
Hoshigaki Kisame gave a particularly unpleasant smile and then slowly nodded: "Alright, since you already know, would you like me to tell you the two paths Uchiha Itachi arranged for you?"
"What does this... mean?"
"Because Mr. Itachi has been seriously ill for a long time, I kept urging him to seek treatment from Uehara, but Mr. Itachi had already given up on treatment long ago."
Hoshigaki Kisame leaned down, slowly adjusting Uchiha Itachi's corpse, and softly said: "Since the first time I met him, I knew he didn't want to live in this world anymore."
"He..."
Uchiha Sasuke collapsed on the ground.
Hoshigaki Kisame shook his head, interrupting Sasuke's words, gently explaining: "Mr. Itachi couldn't bear the pain of killing his clan members and couldn't endure the torture and threats from Konoha, eventually choosing to end it all."
"Konoha?"
"Yes."
Hoshigaki Kisame covered Uchiha Itachi's eye sockets with his hand, speaking softly: "Do you want to know the truth about the massacre back then? The Uchiha Clan was the most prestigious clan in the Ninja World, thus becoming targets of fear from Konoha's upper echelon led by the Third Hokage."
"That's where Kisame-san is mistaken!"
Yakushi Kabuto adjusted his glasses, smiling as he added: "Actually, starting from the Second Hokage, the Uchiha Clan had already become targets of fear from Konoha's upper echelon. At that time, the Uchiha still had value for them."
After Yakushi Kabuto finished, he continued to smile: "After the Third Ninja World War ended, the Ninja World entered a peaceful era, naturally rendering the Uchiha Clan unnecessary. No wonder Orochimaru-sama had me seek Shimura Danzo to obtain the Sharingan back then."
Uchiha Sasuke sharply raised his head: "Which Danzo?"
"Shimura Danzo."
Yakushi Kabuto looked at Uchiha Sasuke, softly continuing: "But Shimura Danzo has long since died, otherwise, you'd still have the chance to witness how many Uchiha Sharingans he coveted..."
"I didn't know that part."
Hoshigaki Kisame shook his head, also glancing at Uchiha Sasuke: "In short, at the peak of tensions between Konoha and the Uchiha Clan, the Konoha upper echelon devised a condition to turn Mr. Itachi against them..."
"..."
Uchiha Sasuke felt a sudden shock in his heart.
Hoshigaki Kisame grinned, speaking softly: "Looks like you've guessed, haven't you? That condition was to spare your life and eliminate all the other Uchihas! Otherwise, do you think he would have deliberately kept you alive?"
"That's impossible!"
"Nothing is impossible."
Hoshigaki Kisame spread his palm, speaking coldly: "Mr. Itachi always threatened them with Konoha's intelligence to protect you. Remember when you defected from Konoha years ago? You know why Mr. Itachi invited you to join Akatsuki?"
Hoshigaki Kisame watched Uchiha Sasuke, speaking seriously: "Because you were under Orochimaru's command, he was very concerned about your safety! But only I knew that when you appeared in Akatsuki, it meant Mr. Itachi's life was near its end. I genuinely wanted to kill you, brat!"
Hoshigaki Kisame grabbed Uchiha Sasuke's shoulder, pressing him before Uchiha Itachi's body, his face becoming somewhat fierce: "Look at your brother, everything he did was for you! Now listen carefully to the two paths he arranged for you before his death!"
Uchiha Sasuke: "..."
"The first path!"
Hoshigaki Kisame glanced at Uehara Naraku beside him, seeing his superior casually observing the distance before continuing: "Continue to follow us and seek revenge against Konoha. Our strength in the Ninja World is unmatched, so you can join us!"
"..."
Uchiha Sasuke glared at Hoshigaki Kisame, coldly asking: "Hmph, who does he think he is, thinking he can plan for me?"
"Shut up!"
Hoshigaki Kisame grabbed Uchiha Sasuke by the neck, speaking coldly: "The second path is to return to Konoha and become a ninja there!
Don't worry, the Third Hokage is dead, and the Konoha upper echelon surely won't make things difficult for you, little guy. They need you to continue the Sharingan lineage for Konoha.
Akatsuki has many ninjas and won't mind losing someone like you. Uehara Naraku is Mr. Itachi's friend. As long as you don't leak Akatsuki's secrets, he won't let the leader pursue your betrayal."
"Heh..."
Uchiha Sasuke sneered, disdainfully looking at Hoshigaki Kisame: "Seems like you've laid out two paths for me, but you've also told me that Konoha's upper echelon forced Itachi to kill my parents, isn't it still pushing me to choose to follow you?"
"That's indeed our selfish desire."
Uehara Naraku shook his head, looking at Uchiha Sasuke as he spoke: "Mr. Itachi believed you could choose freely, best to return to Konoha and continue living peacefully, at which point we'd keep the truth about the Uchiha massacre hidden.
But we think you shouldn't return to the village that forced the Uchiha Clan into extinction and brotherly conflict, so we're telling you the truth about the Uchiha massacre.
Nonetheless, it doesn't matter because Mr. Itachi had already prepared accordingly.
Mr. Itachi believed your friend Uzumaki Naruto would persuade you to let go of hatred."
"Naruto?"
Uchiha Sasuke's eyes slightly solidified.
"Yes."
Uehara Naraku approached, patting Uchiha Sasuke's shoulder gently: "Your brother Uchiha Itachi was a great man. I must say, he had an exceptional eye for people."
Uehara Naraku gazed deeply at Uchiha Itachi's body on the ground, curling his lips: "Uchiha Itachi wasn't wrong about Uzumaki Naruto; he truly is a person with great charisma."
"What you're saying has no evidence..."
"Evidence?"
Uehara Naraku looked down at Uchiha Itachi's corpse, patting Sasuke's shoulder, his voice gradually becoming somber: "We don't need any evidence because we don't need you, just a little brat whose pathetic power caused Mr. Itachi half a life of torment!
If Mr. Itachi didn't want us to wait until you awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan to help you transplant his Mangekyo Sharingan, allowing you to gain eternal power, do you think we'd stay here?"
"You know about this too?"
Uchiha Sasuke's gaze instantly softened.
Because Uehara Naraku uttered those words with frustration, implying they didn't need him, it actually added several points of credibility for Sasuke.
Moreover, Uehara Naraku mentioned the secret of the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Evidently, this secret isn't something ordinary people would know.
"What do you think?"
Uehara Naraku looked at Uchiha Sasuke, speaking testily: "Konoha surely won't let you have such power, and you have no other friends in the Ninja World. Mr. Itachi would naturally arrange everything for you before his death."
After saying that, Uehara Naraku as if addressing a disappointing junior, continued coldly: "When you return to Konoha Village, don't reveal the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan, understand what I mean?"
"Understood, doing so might trigger Konoha's fear..."
Uchiha Sasuke nodded, suddenly reacting sharply, loudly refuting: "Who said I want to return to Konoha?! I want to destroy Konoha and avenge Itachi!"