[Boruto]: This vibe is way too suffocating…
[Sasuke]: I never imagined all of this… Itachi, why did you hide the truth from me? And why didn't you kill me that night?
[Itachi]: …
[Obito]:cough, cough
[Kakashi]: Obito, you okay?
[Minato]: That Pure Land draft can be chilly—remember a blanket, okay?
The story rejoined the path we feared.
Itachi made his choice.
From a high eave, he watched his little brother laughing with his classmates.
He leaned against the wall, eyes soft as the evening wind tugged at his hair.
If Sasuke was to grow up in peace, then Itachi would become the butcher history despised.
That night, he met the masked man.
A nod. An agreement.
"Then let's turn the village upside down."
[Sarada]: The masked man… he's an Uchiha too?
[Boruto]: Everyone's so strong it's scary…
[Denki]: I can't believe a shiny village like Konoha hid this much darkness.
[Pain]: Hmph. Great nations are always hypocrites.
[Deidara]: Boss is right, un!
[Ōnoki]: Deidara, get back to the village, you little traitor!
The mask slipped over the man's face. Space twisted.
Obito flickered through the streets with a killer's calm.
Blade, step, vanish—like a nightmare.
Itachi stepped into the alleys, and blood followed.
He looked mad—but only to those who couldn't see his breaking heart.
He found Uchiha Izumi, the girl who smiled for him.
Gently, he cast a seventy-year Tsukuyomi: in that warm, false lifetime, she married him, grew old with him, and fell asleep with a smile.
Itachi walked away with a new sickness in his blood—and a crack in his soul.
A turn.
A corridor.
His father stood at the far end—Uchiha Fugaku.
"Itachi, tell me—what lies at the end of this slaughter?
I showed you the future once. Are you trying to show me a different one?"
Fugaku's voice was frost.
He watched his son, then sighed—a long, tired sound.
His body blurred into smoke. A shadow clone—dismissed.
At home, Itachi slid the door aside.
Warmth once lived here. Now, only caution did.
His parents knelt on the tatami, hands at their sides, backs straight… unguarded.
"I won't fight my own child," Fugaku said quietly.
Across the shinobi world, question marks exploded.
[Ōnoki]: ???
[Raikage A]: ???
[Mei Terumī]: ?????
[Zabuza]: So Fugaku is just… giving himself up?
[Izuna]: Incredible. Fugaku, your patience is legendary!
Fugaku met his son's eyes. "Promise me, Itachi… take care of Sasuke. From now on, he's yours."
Tears lined Itachi's lashes.
There was no turning back from the path he'd chosen.
Fugaku died beneath his son's blade.
[System]:Segment complete.
[Sarada]: I… didn't think Grandpa would die like that…
[Iwabe]: He was a good father.
[Mitsuki]: If Fugaku had actually fought, Itachi wouldn't have stood a chance… would he?
[Kisame]: To think Itachi-san carried all of that…
Kisame lifted an umbrella over Itachi's head.
Itachi stepped out from under it, letting the rain hit his face.
"You'll catch a cold, Itachi-san," Kisame murmured.
Itachi said nothing. Even now, he didn't know if his choice had been right—or unforgivable.
Pain watched, eyes like winter steel.
"Power. There wasn't enough of it. Only when the world feels pain will it learn peace."
Rain ran down his cheeks like tears he'd never admit to.
Hashirama and Tobirama watched in aching silence.
They had never imagined the Uchiha would be treated this unjustly in the village they'd built.
[Tobirama]: Monkey—show yourself!
[Hiruzen]: I'm here, Sensei…
[Tobirama]: Konoha had the strongest roster in the world. How did it rot into this? Answer me!
[Hiruzen]: I… I truly did my best.
[Hashirama]: I'm furious.
[Orochimaru]: Heheh… Lord First, you don't know the half of it. Hiruzen indulged Danzo for years—even looked away at human experiments to recreate Wood Release.
[Hiruzen]: Orochimaru—silence!
[Jiraiya]: Enough, Orochimaru. I'm coming to arrest you.
[Orochimaru]: Perhaps I'm already in Konoha…
[Tsunade]: ???
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen took a long drag.
He had looked the other way, believing Danzo's sins were the price of safety.
He never imagined the bill would be this monstrous.
Beside him, "Rasa" licked his lips invisibly and smiled.
"My apologies for the mess, Lord Third."
"No, no… I don't mind," Orochimaru purred through the mask.
[System]: Selecting next subject…
[System]:Uchiha Itachi.
[Sarada]: Uncle Itachi's turn? So… when do we get Dad's?
[Boruto]: Yeah, I want to see Master Sasuke go all out!
Around Konoha, a few villagers snorted.
"'Equal to the Seventh'? Yeah, right."
"He's missing an arm! How could he possibly match Lord Seventh?"
Most people weren't cruel; they were just skeptical.
Even so—the words stung where pride lived.
The sky-screen shifted—
Itachi, pale and trembling.
Across from him—Sasuke.
The world held its breath.
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