Tiny specks of dust floated up from the glowing Itachi.
He turned with difficulty, staggering step by step toward Sasuke, murmuring, “There’s still time…” Sasuke blinked in surprise at the masked man’s movement, but Itachi’s words caught his attention.
Sasuke stood frozen, blinking, unsure what Itachi was planning to do now.
Itachi shakily raised his right hand, pointing toward Sasuke.
White dust continued to drift from his body: “I can feel my consciousness fading.” Itachi sounded tired, his voice becoming choppy: “Before we say goodbye forever, I’ll tell you the answers you want to know.” Itachi weakly lowered his head, his consciousness blurring.
His mind struggled to process, knowing his time was running out: “There’s no need for me to lie anymore.” Step.
Itachi came to a halt, raising his head to look at Sasuke: “Let me show you the truth of everything!” He suddenly widened his eyes.
Itachi used genjutsu to envelop a memory, transmitting it directly into Sasuke’s mind through sight as they met each other’s gaze.
Caught completely off guard, Sasuke froze in place, his mind overwhelmed by the powerful rush of information.
The masked man clasped his hands together, leaning against a damp stalagmite column nearby, his head tilted as he watched the two brothers.
The specially made kunai with its yellow hilt was stuck in the ground.
The cave, perpetually dark and damp, had pools of stagnant water reflecting the dim light on the ground.
In the gloom, the staggering Itachi was the only source of light.
Sasuke stood opposite Itachi, his face blank, currently receiving the memories of everything Itachi had done.
The masked man observed the brothers for a while, noticing that Itachi wasn’t quite ready to return to the Pure Land yet and that Sasuke was still absorbing Itachi’s memories.
He then turned his gaze to the kunai on the ground.
“You’re too slow, and they call that lightning speed.” The masked man leaned against the stone pillar, arms crossed over his chest, eyeing the kunai stuck in the ground with impatience.
At this moment, Sasuke snapped back to attention.
He stared blankly at Itachi, who was still holding one arm up, glowing and turning into motes of dust that scattered.
Itachi’s voice grew weaker.
He took another step forward: “I’ve told you all the truth, there’s nothing left to hide…” Step.
Itachi swayed from side to side, struggling to move toward Sasuke.
With every step, more dust scattered from his body: “I always lied to you, making you forgive me, always pushing you away with these hands.” Itachi steadied himself and slowly raised his usual right hand, his fingers extending gradually toward Sasuke: “I didn’t want to drag you into this, but thinking about it now…” Itachi took another step forward.
The dust began to scatter more rapidly, and the light representing his soul intensified: “Perhaps you… have the power to change Mom and Dad, to change the Uchiha…” As he spoke, he seemed to notice Sasuke’s shocked and stunned expression.
He stopped dwelling on his guilt and regret, instead raising two fingers: “At this point, no matter how much I, a failure, tell you, you won’t listen… So, this time, at least let me show you more of the truth…” Step.
Itachi took his final step.
His fingers slowly pointed toward Sasuke’s forehead.
No, Itachi’s hand slowly bypassed Sasuke’s forehead.
Then, his fingers formed a palm and gently rested on the back of Sasuke’s head.
A faint light enveloped Sasuke as well: “It’s okay if you never forgive me, no matter what you become in the future.” Tap.
Sasuke and Itachi’s foreheads touched.
Countless dust particles began to rise and float.
The light from Itachi’s body reached its peak.
“I will always love you.” Whoosh— A burst of light erupted from Itachi’s body, engulfing him.
His crimson robes gradually turned gray and then began to disintegrate piece by piece.
Itachi’s soul separated from his Edo Tensei body.
The translucent soul smiled as he watched Sasuke looking up blankly, then transformed into light that pierced through the cave ceiling and ascended into the sky.
The masked man also looked up, watching the light at that moment.
The dust seemed to float in the air as if weightless, and the light turned into a gentle breeze that stirred Sasuke’s hair.
At this moment, as if the masked man’s earlier grumble had taken effect, the kunai stuck in the ground began to tremble slightly.
This drew the masked man’s attention as he leaned against the stone pillar.
He glanced sideways, showing no surprise.
Shing—!
With a spatial distortion, the air around them suddenly warped.
A figure with yellow hair, wearing Konoha’s green Jonin vest, instantly appeared and crouched down where the kunai was.
He grasped the kunai stuck in the ground and gently pulled it out, placing it in his ninja pouch.
Then, he slowly stood up from the damp stone surface, looking at Sasuke, whose pupils had contracted, and asked softly with a smile: “Am I too late?” Sasuke, referred to as “Teme-ko” or “little Sasuke,” stared intently at the yellow-haired man slowly rising to his feet, his expression one of disbelief.
His hand unconsciously went to the Kusanagi Sword: “Aren’t you supposed to be dead?!
The Fourth…” As he spoke, Sasuke paused, his mind recalling some details from Itachi’s memories.
At that moment, the masked man, who had been standing by the stone pillar and had taken a few steps toward the yellow-haired figure, spoke.
He seemed familiar with the newcomer, his tone casual and teasing: “Not only late, you’ve come at the perfect time.” The masked man walked around from behind the yellow figure, placing an arm over his shoulder.
He pointed to the pile of gray dust and paper scraps on the ground: “Itachi has… released the Edo Tensei jutsu.
He’s ready for the next phase of the plan.” The yellow-haired figure turned his head to look at the pile of dust.
He nodded thoughtfully and said in a low voice: “…Is that so?
Itachi…” He gazed deeply at the small gray pile formed by the dust, a complex mix of emotions churning within him.
Indeed, this yellow-haired man, who had teleported using space-time ninjutsu with the kunai, was the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, who was believed to be dead.
But at this moment, he appeared here, not in his reanimated body.
Minato looked up at Sasuke, a hint of apology on his face, but said nothing more.
At this point, Sasuke raised his head and coldly asked the masked man and Namikaze Minato: “According to Itachi’s memories, your next plan is to revive Orochimaru… isn’t it?” However, Sasuke frowned.
He carefully considered the overall plan within Itachi’s memories and found that reviving Orochimaru seemed superfluous to the next stage.
It felt as if it had suddenly appeared, out of place.
So, he looked curiously at the masked man and asked: “But… why?” —