"Why?"
Itachi's voice was hoarse.
He desperately wanted an answer.
"In your timeline, what exactly happened?"
"Why would I... attack him?"
Future Sasuke looked at the pained and confused Itachi before him.
His emotions were indescribably complicated.
The Itachi he remembered—
Even until his death—
Had been that cold, ruthless man who buried everything deep inside himself.
A man who carried the sins of genocide and hatred on his shoulders to force Sasuke to grow stronger.
Yet the Itachi standing before him now...
Was showing such vulnerability because of Kai from another timeline.
Was it because Kai was still alive in this world?
Because he no longer had to bear that heavy disguise?
The hatred that had accumulated for twenty years seemed to loosen ever so slightly.
"Because... of your stupidity."
Future Sasuke's voice remained cold.
But there was less hatred in it now.
And more sorrow.
"For Konoha."
"For your so-called peace."
"You chose the most extreme path possible."
"You believed the Uchiha Clan was a threat."
"So you slaughtered them."
"You left only me alive."
"You forced me to live with hatred."
"You wanted me to become Konoha's hero."
"And during that process..."
"The Second Brother who tried to stop you became the greatest obstacle to your plan."
"So you killed him."
"You trapped him in Tsukuyomi."
"You made him experience countless deaths."
"And in the end..."
"You personally cut off his head with your own blade."
With every sentence Sasuke spoke—
Itachi's face became a little paler.
By the end, his body had begun trembling.
His eyes were filled with unbearable pain and disbelief.
He could not imagine another version of himself committing such cruelty.
"That version of me..."
"Really was an irredeemable bastard."
Itachi slowly closed his eyes.
His voice was filled with endless guilt.
At that moment, as the two brothers sank into a painful confrontation—
A lazy voice suddenly interrupted them.
"What are you arguing about?"
"It's just one version of me dying."
"What's the big deal?"
Uchiha Kai had finished handling Kirigakure at some point and wandered over.
A grin hung on his face as if he were enjoying a show.
He glanced at Future Sasuke.
Then at his older brother.
Clicking his tongue, he said,
"Seriously."
"You're making such a fuss over something so small."
"Not very Uchiha-like."
"That is not a small matter!"
Future Sasuke suddenly turned around.
Both his Rinnegan and Mangekyō Sharingan erupted with emotion.
"The Second Brother's death destroyed everything I had!"
"Oh?"
Kai dug at his ear.
"Did it?"
"Then just revive him."
"Use Edo Tensei or something."
"How simple."
"Edo Tensei is a desecration of the dead!"
Future Sasuke immediately retorted.
But halfway through the sentence—
He froze.
Right.
If he could see his Second Brother again...
Even if it were only through Edo Tensei...
Seeing the hesitation appear on his face, Kai's smile became even more mischievous.
"Or..."
He deliberately dragged out the word.
Like a devil tempting someone into damnation.
"I could send you back."
"To your timeline."
"To the point before he died."
"And let you save him."
BOOM!
The sentence struck Future Sasuke and Itachi like heavenly thunder.
"What did you say?!"
Future Sasuke instantly rushed forward.
His lone arm seized Kai's shoulders tightly.
His entire body trembled from excitement.
"You can... send me back?"
"Back to the past?"
"To change it?"
This was something not even the Sage of Six Paths could accomplish.
Just how powerful had the Second Brother of this timeline become?!
"Of course I can."
Kai shrugged casually.
As though he were talking about something trivial.
He spread his hand.
In his palm appeared a miniature plow.
Ancient.
Mysterious.
Seemingly forged from countless fragments of space and time.
"I just happen to have a little toy called... the Plow."
"It can till the soil of time."
"And take you to any field you want."
Future Sasuke stared at the object.
A dazzling light exploded within his eyes.
A light that had not appeared for twenty years.
Hope.
The emotion he had long forgotten.
The emotion he no longer dared to seek.
His dead heart—
A heart buried beneath hatred and despair—
Began beating wildly once again.
"It tills the soil of time and takes you to any field you wish."
Kai's casual words stirred monstrous waves inside both Future Sasuke and Itachi.
Future Sasuke's single arm trembled uncontrollably.
His mismatched eyes—
Eyes that had witnessed countless tragedies and endless despair—
Locked firmly onto the ancient miniature plow.
A light burst forth within them.
Hope.
Something he had forgotten.
Something he no longer even dared dream of.
"What do I need to do?"
His voice was hoarse.
He struggled to suppress the storm raging inside him.
"Relax."
Kai closed his hand.
The artifact known as the Plow disappeared.
"Traveling through time isn't like visiting a neighbor."
"It requires precise coordinates."
"And enormous amounts of energy."
"The preparations are annoying."
"Once I finish dealing with the mess in front of me, I'll help arrange it."
His relaxed attitude almost made Future Sasuke choke.
Yet he understood.
Someone capable of producing a treasure like that would never joke about such things.
He had waited twenty years already.
Waiting a few more days meant nothing.
"I understand."
Future Sasuke took a deep breath and nodded solemnly.
The way he looked at Kai had changed once again.
Alongside the familiar affection and complicated emotions—
There was now something close to reverence.
Itachi silently watched from the side.
The shock in his heart was no less than Sasuke's.
His younger brother possessed secrets and powers completely beyond his comprehension.
Changing the past.
That was authority belonging only to gods.
"Alright."
"The touching family reunion ends here."
Kai stretched lazily and yawned.
His gaze drifted toward the battlefield that had just undergone a bloody purge.
Toward Mei Terumi, who remained kneeling on one knee, awaiting orders.
"Tsk."
"Every time, I end up cleaning up everyone else's mess."
He complained while wandering over.
Mei Terumi sensed his approach.
Her head lowered even further.
Respectfully awaiting judgment from her new master.
She understood.
From this moment onward—
Her fate.
And the fate of all Kirigakure—
Would be decided by a single sentence from the boy before her.
"Get up."
Kai's lazy voice sounded.
"Yes, Master."
Mei Terumi rose immediately and stood quietly at his side.
Kai circled the ruined battlefield once.
He kicked aside a bloodstained stone.
Then stopped and turned back toward Mei Terumi.
"Can you handle the village by yourself?"
Mei Terumi's heart tightened.
She immediately replied,
"Please rest assured, Master."
"I will stabilize the village as quickly as possible."
"And eliminate every unstable element."
"Too slow."
"And inefficient."
Kai shook his head.
Rejecting her answer entirely.
With both hands tucked into his pockets—
Using the same tone one might use when discussing dinner—
He casually spoke words capable of overturning the entire traditional structure of the ninja world.
"Starting today..."
"Kirigakure will abolish both the Mizukage system and the Council of Elders."
"Instead, we will establish a 'Kirigakure Joint Committee.'"
"It will become the village's highest governing authority."
"A Joint Committee?"
Mei Terumi froze.
The term was completely unfamiliar to her.
"Mm."
Kai nodded.
"The Committee will oversee every resource within Kirigakure."
"Ninja."
"Missions."
"Finances."
"Intelligence."
"Everything."
"All resources will be centralized under a single system."
"And its purpose will be simple."
"To serve me."
"And to support my future plans."
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