"Goodbye, Brother," Sasuke said reluctantly.
Itachi slowly walked forward and pressed his forehead against his younger brother's.
"I was always lying to you, letting you live without knowing the truth. I was always using these hands to push you farther and farther away.
"It doesn't matter if you never forgive me."
Through genjutsu, Itachi showed Sasuke the entire truth.
"No matter what you become in the future, I will always love you."
These were Itachi Uchiha's final words of farewell to Sasuke after being released from the Impure World Reincarnation.
Freed from the Impure World Reincarnation, Itachi's soul gazed at Sasuke with a faint smile.
Sasuke, I'm truly sorry. Because of me, you grew up in hatred.
Let me alone bear the darkness of Konoha.
As his soul drifted farther away, Itachi's consciousness grew fainter and fainter. It was as if he could see his father sitting by a campfire, waiting for him.
......
No one knew how much time had passed before Itachi slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing that came into view was a familiar back. Darkness surrounded him on all sides, and only the campfire in front of that figure cast a dim glow.
"Itachi, you're awake," the figure said in a low voice.
"That voice... it feels so familiar..."
For a moment, Itachi could not react. Confused, he asked, "Father?"
The one sitting by the campfire was indeed Itachi's father, Uchiha Fugaku.
Itachi slowly walked over and sat down beside him.
"Can you tell me what happened afterward?" Fugaku asked.
Itachi fell silent for a moment. "Mm... it's a long story. I want to tell it slowly."
"Ah, that's fine."
...
"I see. So that much happened afterward. You really did live a hard life." Fugaku let out a sigh.
"Um, Father..." Itachi hesitated.
"What is it? If it's something like 'I'm sorry' or 'forgive me,' there's no need to say it. I already told you that night, no matter if our views differed, I was still proud of you." Fugaku folded his arms and looked at Itachi with a faint smile.
Itachi lowered his head. His body trembled, and his eyes were so blurred with tears that he could no longer even see his own feet clearly.
Fugaku placed a hand on Itachi's shoulder and gave it a gentle pat. "No matter what, you did everything you could. You protected Sasuke. I'm proud of you."
Itachi nodded, but the tears still would not stop. That night had burdened him with far too much darkness.
The destruction of the clan, he had never truly had the right to choose.
By concealing the entire truth, he had caused his beloved younger brother to live in hatred from childhood onward.
And for Itachi, who had lived his entire life in darkness, facing his father at this moment finally meant he no longer had to seal away his emotions.
Fugaku simply sat there quietly, watching him.
After waiting for Itachi's emotions to calm a little, Fugaku said, "Itachi, there's not much time left. You should go now."
"Go? Go where? Isn't this the Pure Land?" Itachi could not help but ask.
"To another world. I don't know who that person was... it was probably the Sage of Six Paths."
"He's going to send you to that world. But he didn't tell me what kind of world it is. You'll have to experience that for yourself."
"It's all right, Itachi. This life of yours has already been too painful. Once you reach that new world, everything will begin again."
Seeing that Itachi said nothing, Fugaku smiled and tried to reassure him.
"You may meet new companions there and experience friendship all over again."
"If possible, don't keep carrying pain on your shoulders anymore." As Fugaku looked at Itachi and said those words, a door glowing with white light had appeared behind Itachi at some unknown moment.
"A new world..."
"Your eyes are no longer enough to support your use of the Mangekyo Sharingan. As your father, there isn't much I can give you."
"As a gift for your journey, take my Mangekyo Sharingan. Let it be my way of seeing the new world through you." As he spoke, Fugaku reached out and touched Itachi's eyes.
"Then what about you, Father?"
"Don't worry. The eyes I have now were created by the Sage of Six Paths' power. I have no use for power here in the Pure Land. The Sage of Six Paths also gave you something, but he didn't say what it was. You'll have to discover that on your own."
"I understand. Thank you, Father." Itachi closed his eyes, feeling the burning heat in them, and after a moment, opened them again.
Three tomoe slowly revolved, spreading outward around the center point and forming the pattern of Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan.
It seemed that after evolving into the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, its original pattern had not changed.
"Then... Father, I'm leaving."
"Mm."
Fugaku said nothing more. He simply sat there quietly, watching Itachi walk toward the door.
Just as Itachi was about to open it, he turned back, looked at Uchiha Fugaku with a smile, and said, "Father, I'm proud to have been your son."
"Heh, what a foolish son you are." Fugaku's eyes reddened, but out of a father's pride, he forced back the tears that were about to fall.
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