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"Ahhh!!!"
Itachi let out a shrill, heart-rending scream. His face twisted into something demonic.
"I'll kill you!!!"
His Mangekyō Sharingan snapped open. Like a maddened beast, Itachi threw himself at Akira without a shred of restraint.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Five black rods suddenly shot out from behind Akira.
Thud thud thud thud thud!
All five pierced Itachi mid-charge. His limbs were nailed clean through, pinning him to the wall.One extra rod stabbed straight into his chest.
Itachi thrashed wildly, roaring in fury, but it was useless. The strange energy in the black rods sealed his chakra completely.
"Why? Why are you doing this, Akira?!"Unable to break free, he could only shout the question at him.
"Heh heh. I'll tell you once I finish killing this little thing."
Clatter.
Akira flicked his blade, shaking the girl skewered on it to the floor.
The girl weakly opened her eyes and saw Itachi.
Then, with all her strength, she reached toward him with a tiny hand soaked in blood. Her small face was contorted in pain as a hoarse whisper forced its way out of her throat.
"Da… Dad… save… save me…"
Behind her, Akira lifted his foot and aimed it at her head.
"Stop! Stop it! Stop right now!!"
Itachi's eyes filled with bloodshot veins. His face warped as he screamed in absolute desperation.
Akira ignored him. His expression was icy, devoid of emotion, as he brought his foot down.
Boom!
A perfectly good head burst like a watermelon. Red and white splattered across the floor.
"Ahhh!!! I'll kill you! I swear I'll kill you!!!"
Itachi completely lost control, wrenching his body so hard that even more blood poured from his wounds.
But he felt none of the pain anymore.
The agony in his heart was ten thousand times worse than anything his body could feel.
At that moment, Akira's eyes began to change. His pupils twisted into a complex six-pointed star pattern.
The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
He looked at Itachi and spoke slowly. His voice carried no emotion at all.
"Foolish older brother."
"If you want to kill me, then hate me. Curse me."
"Live on in disgrace."
"Run. Keep running. Run just to survive."
"And one day, when you obtain eyes like mine, come before me."
"Then you will finally be worthy to serve as a proper vessel for me."
But Itachi could no longer hear any of it.
There was only one thought left in his mind.
Kill Akira.
The instant his suffering reached its limit, the world in front of him shattered.
Huff. Huff. Huff!
Itachi stood at the entrance of his home, arms loaded with bags, gasping for breath.
"What was that just now? An illusion?"
His face was drenched in sweat, his mind still trapped in the pain of what he had just experienced.
"I hope… I hope that was all just an illusion."
With that silent prayer, he pushed the door open.
Clatter!
The bags slipped from his hands.
The living room was once again filled with a scene of carnage.
His wife and daughter were nailed to the wall, blood soaking the once white surface until it was painted red.
"Yo, you're back. Look at the gift I prepared for you. So? Like it?"
Akira, dressed in white, sat on the sofa with his hands folded over the hilt of a ninja blade, its tip resting on the floor. His chin rested on the back of his hands.
One foot was planted on the chest of a barely breathing Uchiha Taki.
He smiled at Itachi.
"Ahhh!!!"
Itachi snapped again, just like before, charging forward without a second thought.
And just as expected, he was pinned to the wall once more by black rods.
This time, Akira killed his son right in front of him.
Then came the familiar speech.
Pain reached its peak. The scene shattered. A new one began.
Over and over again.
His wife was killed. His son was killed. His daughter was killed.
Different loved ones, dying again and again, looping endlessly in his mind.
Wave after wave of torment slammed into his brain.
"Ahhh!!! Stop it! Stop! Make it stop!!"
Itachi clutched his head and screamed until his voice broke.
He didn't know how many cycles passed.
Countless scenes of suffering finally fused into one unbearable image.
Crash!
Like glass shattering, the illusion exploded. Itachi was finally dragged out of the endless torment.
Pfft!
He spat out a mouthful of blood. His face went deathly pale, his eyes bloodshot as tears of blood began to leak from them.
"Cough… cough…"
He dropped to one knee, hacking violently.
His mind was still hazy. The pain inflicted by the illusion was too overwhelming.
For a moment, he couldn't even tell whether what he was seeing now was reality or another illusion. His spirit had clearly been damaged.
"Thank goodness… thank goodness Izumi is still alive."
When he saw Izumi lying quietly beside him, safe and unharmed, a wave of relief washed over him.
"So? That pain you planned to inflict on Akira. I let you experience it yourself first. How did it feel?"
Akira's mocking voice drifted over.
"Tsukuyomi backlash… terrifying. For a moment, I almost believed that illusion was the real world."
Itachi covered his throbbing eyes and muttered softly, then answered Akira's question.
"Yeah. I see it now. My earlier thinking was selfish. That kind of pain should never have been forced onto Akira."
A bitter, self-mocking smile crossed his face as he began to reflect.
"Looking back, I was unbelievably stupid. I let myself be manipulated into becoming an executioner.
Someone who couldn't even protect his own family. What right did I have to talk about protecting the village? Protecting Konoha?"
Then he looked at Akira. Gratitude filled his eyes as his expression turned serious.
"I don't know why you chose to impersonate my brother, but thank you. Truly. Thank you for waking me up."
He had once known happiness. And now, he refused to abandon it.
After experiencing a reality-like illusion, Itachi was fully awakened.
Before, he had always placed the village's interests first and his clan second.
Now he finally understood.
That so-called village interest was nothing more than the interests of Konoha's upper brass.
He would protect the beauty in his heart himself.
As for village interests? The Will of Fire?
Heh.
To hell with all of it.
Watching Itachi's transformation, Akira felt a headache coming on.
He honestly hadn't expected it. One deluxe dose of Tsukuyomi and the guy just snapped out of it.
Sure, it was a good thing. Itachi had finally broken free from Hiruzen Sarutobi's brainwashing.
But there was a problem.
What about his mission?
He was still supposed to slap Itachi.
Now that Itachi had basically switched sides, forcing a slap on him didn't feel justified anymore. Akira was a reasonable guy, after all.
Just as he was figuring out how to deliver that slap in a way that felt fair and logical, Itachi's voice rang out…
"..."
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