Well, for some reason I'm in a good mood. Here I leave you a chapter as a gift, but yes, if you want more, the next chapter will be published when you reach 320 stones of power. Let the game begin.
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"Hey, you" Young Itachi's voice echoed through the leaves of the trees as two mysterious people watched silently.
In front of young Itachi, a man with long black hair and strange yellow mask with black markings returned his gaze back and looked at him.
"Hm..." He only let out a small grunt.
The young Itachi clenched his fists as he looked at the man with an expressionless face. "I need you to help me with something" He said, and the man nodded his head.
At the same time, only two meters away, Toru and Itachi watched this.
"It's... it's Tobi..."
This is the truth, the truth of what happened this very night in which the sky and the walls of the houses of two clans turned crimson red. This is Itachi's decision, the one that sealed the fate of both clans. This is, after all, the truth.
"No... he is not 'Tobi'. Actually... he is..."
Before Itachi could speak, the man in the mask and the young Itachi began a conversation, causing Toru to just stare at the scene without understanding anything that was going on.
"What do you want me to help you with, Uchiha Itachi?"
The young Itachi paused slightly before answering. He looked up at the full moon sky and sighed. "I have made a decision, but before that, I need you to tell me who you are and why you do what you do."
The man let out a small chuckle. "A long time ago there was a shinobi who turned the shinobi world upside down for a long time" A crimson light showed in the single orifice of his mask. That light... showed the Mangekyo Sharingan. "His name was... Uchiha Madara."
The young Itachi stopped dead in his tracks upon hearing this. Then he thought for a few seconds and in the end continued walking.
"If you thought of that, you are correct. I am Uchiha Madara. As for what I want... you'll find out shortly. In fact, there is an organization I want you to join. You will join Akatsuki in exchange for getting my help in whatever it is you're going to do."
Itachi thought about it again and then looked him in the eyes. "Agreed."
"Madara" seemed to smile under his mask. After that, Itachi continued with his plan.
"Today, on this night, two clans will fall. I need your help for that."
"I assumed you were going to say that. In any case, I'll take care of the Konoha police and scientists. You will do the rest."
"Yes..."
Toru watched this closely, standing only two meters away from where the young Itachi stood. There were no words to describe this situation. However, that Tobi was suspicious from the moment Toru saw his eyes, so he was already expecting something, but not of this magnitude.
"Uchiha Madara... there is a legend in my clan, I read it in an old file of my father. It said that it was Madara who killed the founder of the Asahi clan. I don't understand how-"
"How can he be alive?" Itachi interrupted. "I don't know, but he has no reason to lie" Itachi walked in another direction and Toru tried to follow him. Instantly, the place changed again as a strong cold breeze pushed black feathers into the sky.
Itachi and Toru looked at the young Itachi at the entrance to the Asahi clan's house complex and stared at the door for a few seconds.
Toru said nothing, for he knew what was going to happen next. However, Itachi continued to watch silently, not saying a word as he walked.
"Come up..." Itachi said as he jumped onto one of the roofs of a nearby house. After that, he looked at Toru, who wasn't sure what to do, but still climbed up next to Itachi.
At this moment, Itachi saw many things in Toru. He didn't seem as cold and emotionless as he looked. Now this boy is quite confused, he is trying to understand what is going on, and even though he does, he is still unsure.
Itachi knows this, as Toru lived being in that house. He didn't have the best life, but at least he had a mother who loved him unconditionally. However...
"It's already starting..." Toru saw young Itachi enter the house complex by leaping over the door.
The young Itachi, not wearing his mask, in his ANBU organization uniform, holding the katana in one of his hands while looking forward with a cold expression, activated his Sharingan, which showed that crimson light in the middle of the night.
The full moon illuminated all of this, while the sky seemed to be tinged with crimson red.
He only took a few relaxed steps, as if he was hesitating, but then, he tightened his grip on the hilt of the katana and his steps began to increase speed.
In front of him were two old men talking quietly. They looked at Itachi and thought that he was about to visit the clan leader's wife, but that was not so...
Splash! Blood stained the walls outside that house as two lifeless bodies fell to the ground. Young Itachi's face was stained with blood, showing the light of suffering in his eyes.
Meanwhile, Toru watched this in silence. He didn't even dare to move a muscle, because he already knew what would happen and couldn't change it. This is just an extremely realistic illusion of the Mangekyo Sharingan, but still he can't help but feel strangely bad.
He touched his head in pain and just watched the massacre.
The young Itachi, after taking the lives of those two old men, looked down at his hands where he wielded the katana and then returned his gaze forward. Almost instantly, he disappeared from the eyes of the others and blood began to splatter from one side to the other while the doors and windows of the houses opened without any difficulty.
Men, women, boys, girls and old people screamed before being brutally murdered without mercy.
Toru could see it, he could see it....
Itachi ran through the streets, entering the houses, where as soon as the doors opened, the edge of the katana touched the flesh of the victims and the blood stained the walls turning them into a tragic work of art.
There were some who tried to defend themselves, but in vain.
Clang! One of the Asahi clan ninja tried to defend himself, but Itachi used his Sharingan and quickly cut his throat with his katana.
Screams and small agonized moans were heard one after another. At that moment, Toru heard them all, as if calling for help. He just crouched down and covered his ears.
Those screams bothered him and brought back bad memories. But even though his hands covered his ears, other screams rang inside his mind.
Itachi closed his eyes after that.
"This is the story I want to tell you, Toru."
"¡¿?!" A drop of blood fell down Toru's cheek and then he felt a sharp pain in his head. "...ah? Ahhhhhhh!" He clutched his head as a wave of hundreds of thousands of memories began to fill his mind.
This was the story, this was the truth... this is... Itachi's life up to this moment.
Each memory flashed before Toru's eyes, as each member of the Asahi clan fell to the ground bathed in their own blood. One after another, the memories mingled with the screams of each person being killed. Tears of pain streamed down Toru's face.
In fact, Itachi didn't expect this to happen to Toru, so he could only remain silent as the whole environment began to change again.
When Toru's intense pain ended, Toru and Itachi were now in that place with dark sky and the ocean of blood.
"Hah... hah... hah... hah..." Cold sweat fell from Toru's forehead. He removed his hands from his head and then clutched his heart area in pain. 'I... I already knew... I knew that Konoha used Itachi to exterminate the Uchiha and Asahi, but... but... but... I didn't know what was behind all this...'
"There's still something missing..." Itachi raised his hand and the wooden walls began to rise as a new stage was formed.
Now they were both standing in front of the mansion of the main family of the Asahi clan. There, the walls were also stained with blood, where lifeless bodies were strewn all over the place. Most of them were the shinobi in charge of the night watch.
In front of them, young Itachi held the katana, breathing softly after facing the sentries. His Sharingan swung once and then he threw three shurikens to the right.
After that, three people who were hidden in the darkness fell to the ground while bleeding out.
"This place..." Toru recalled that day as if it was a nightmare. Then, together with Itachi, they walked deeper into the mansion as they followed the young Itachi, who was still swinging his katana from side to side, killing everyone who crossed his path.
There was no mercy, no words from young Itachi. Only silence after the screams of agony subsided.
Clang, clang, clang! The sparks of clashing weapons flashed momentarily. Then, a man's voice was heard.
"You've killed them all, Itachi-san..."
Toru's eyes widened as he saw him in front of him. "Otou...-sama..." He didn't have good memories together with his father, however, now he understood better what was going on. Having regained the memories of his past life, understanding that he had now had a better childhood....
"I'm not going to waste my time" Young Itachi's Sharingan transformed, becoming the Mangekyo Sharingan.
At that moment, Toru's father, Kenji, stood still staring straight ahead. The only thing that happened after that... was that in just a second Kenji's head separated from his body. There was a certain rancor in the young Itachi's gaze as he did this.
"It only remains..."
The young Itachi began to run through the corridors of the mansion and, though he hesitated for a second, Toru followed him as did Itachi.
***
In one of the rooms, a woman was waiting with her back to the door. She was sitting on the floor, in a typical Japanese position. There was a cup of tea being served, as well as a half-bitten bread with fruit filling.
The woman smiled and her eyes showed a light as blue as the sky.
"So... this is what we've come to."
The wooden and paper door opened and then the young Itachi showed himself behind the woman's back holding the blood-stained katana.
The woman sighed and showed a beaming smile.
"I never thought this day would come so fast" She said as she finished eating. After all, she knew this was the last thing she would eat. Right after that, still keeping her back turned, she looked at Itachi as she tried to keep her smile, but this was no longer to be.
"Kyoko-.... nee-san..."
"How long has it been since you last called me that? Ha~ you've become a great person, Itachi-kun." She finished drinking her cup of tea and then turned around. "Your parents, just like me, are proud of you. Fufufu... I still remember when you were a kid. Mikoto and I used to take you everywhere, do you remember, Itachi-kun?"
"Yes... I remember..."
The footsteps of two people were heard as a short silence took over the scene. Itachi, as well as his younger version, looked down at the ground. Toru on the other hand just stood in the doorway, watching silently.
Something inside him told him to activate the Kodō Shigan and run far away, but in the back of his mind, of his heart, he wished he could hear his mother's last words.
Then, Kyoko's voice, a bit brittle, was heard again. Toru looked at her carefully and listened quietly.
"Itachi-kun... raise your head."
Kyoko waited patiently for the young Itachi to look her in the eyes. And so he did, he looked up, his eyes a little wet, about to...
"Your eyes... your Sharingan..." She looked out the window, where the moonlight illuminated the world.
...
"It's beautiful... it's tragic... and that's why... I forgive you."
'Okaa-sama...?' Toru reached out his hand, trying to reach for his mother, but his body wouldn't move.
"I forgive you, for all that you have done and all that you will do, Itachi-kun. Because even though for many this is wrong, you have done all this to help others, to keep the peace." She returned her gaze to the young Itachi. "I... from the beginning I knew about everything that was going on with both clans, but I didn't dare to speak up. That is why I am guilty. I am responsible for my own life."
"Nee-san... I..."
"There's no need for you to apologize, because I've already forgiven you. From the beginning, Itachi-kun..."
"But..."
The young Itachi held the katana in both hands, trying to keep his tears deep in his heart, but it was almost impossible. The constant memories he had together with Kyoko and his mother hit him hard in his heart. And there was nothing he could do about it.
"No matter what decision you've made, you'll still be like my little brother, Itachi-kun."
"Nee-san... please... forgive me..."
"I've already forgiven you fool, but... in return... promise me that you won't hurt my son. Promise me, okay?"
This scene, this moment... all of this was making Toru slowly approach her. When he realized, he was next to young Itachi, looking at the woman who was smiling even though she was about to die.
"I... I wish I could see him grow up... I want to see how my son becomes a man... that he is happy, that he doesn't get involved in shinobi affairs... that someday he finds a nice girl to love and protect him... I would love to be able to see my grandchildren... I would love... I would love to be able to be next to my little Toru in those happy moments..."
These words were like needles to Toru and young Itachi.
Itachi looked at Toru. The boy was looking down at the ground, his face expressionless, but with eyes somewhat moistened by the tears that were beginning to peek out of the corners of his eyes.
'Forgive me... Okaa-sama...'
"It would be beautiful to be able to live in those peaceful dreams, wouldn't it, Itachi-kun?"
Click... the young Itachi tightened his grip on the hilt of the katana. Kyoko looked at him and closed her eyes with a smile.
"Farewell, Itachi-kun... the pain you will feel over the years will be heartbreaking, but at the end of it all... I hope you can see the sunrise with a smile..."
Splash! The young Itachi appeared behind Kyoko, at the same time a large wound opened up on the woman's back.
She fell to the ground and her blood began to spill onto the wood and, although no one could see it, a sky-blue light illuminated Kyoko's eyes for a few moments, before they closed, thus sealing... the fate of Toru's mother.
The young Itachi wept silently as he listened to the blood begin to move on the floor until it became a puddle, but then he wiped away his tears and quickly left.
Toru stood frozen in the same spot, as he watched his mother silently. The nightmare had come true again in front of his eyes, but now... many of his questions had an answer.
Could this be a very obvious lie, as it could also be a bitter truth. Toru took this into account and approached his mother's corpse.
Silently, he took her in his arms and looked at her attentively. Some tears were on his mother's cheeks, surely because she could not contain her feelings as life slowly left her body.
He wiped away her tears and watched as his clothes became stained with his mother's blood again. He remembered the past, as he also saw Itachi's past in front of his eyes.
He hugged her gently, remembering how his mother used to hug him. He closed his eyes and remembered again. Then, she looked out of the window in silence....
'Forgive me... Okaa-sama... I did the opposite of what you wanted for me...' He laid Kyoko gently back on the ground and then stood up.
Itachi, who had watched all this, didn't know what to say about it. He was showing this to Toru, because he thought it was time.
Still...
...
Toru looked Itachi in the eyes, as if he was saying "That's it?", but in reality this wasn't over yet.
He stopped folding his arms and simply let out everything that was in his mind.
"Toru..."
The boy didn't respond.
"I... with everything you saw today... I'm not trying to convince you. I'm not asking you to believe everything you saw and I'm not asking you to forgive me... I..." Itachi took a step forward and felt confident in what he was about to say.
...
"I just need you to understand, I'm just asking you... to see past the lies and the past, and you can find the truth."
Though his face was completely expressionless, a small sense of guilt could be noted in Itachi's gaze.
It was true that he was not seeking forgiveness from anyone, for what he did that night, he did of his own free will. This was his own decision, to exterminate two clans in the same night with the help of Tobi.
...
...
After Toru looked at Itachi, he looked at Kyoko again. The words she said before she died repeated in his mind and then the Kodō Shigan activated.
Along with its blue and blood-red light, accompanied by the X spinning inside each pupil, everything around them began to shatter like glass and the rain fell again. Reality slowly formed around Toru and Itachi again, leaving the sky cloudy and rainy again, along with the loud sound of raindrops falling.
"Itachi..."
...
...
On that rooftop and in the middle of the rain, a warm feeling enveloped his heart. At the same time, in his mind was projected the day he met Itachi and how Kyoko treated him, as if he was her little brother.
"It's okay... I understand."
He looked up at the sky. Raindrops slid down his face, down his strange face with an almost dead expression. His eyes looked at the death in the sky, as well as the tears that mingled with the water.
"I..."
Itachi was speechless. He hadn't expected Toru to accept everything without thinking, but....
...
"I forgive you... Itachi."
He looked at Itachi, with that usual expressionless face one last time... and simply started walking on the rooftops after that. His body began to disappear amidst a small cloud of smoke, until there was nothing left.
...
Itachi stood alone in the middle of the rain and suddenly felt something in his right hand. It was a white bottle, the contents of which seemed to be small pills.
"..." He squeezed the pill bottle gently and some tears started to fall down his cheeks, thus mixing with the rain water.
He almost fell to his knees trying to keep his feelings bottled up, because at last... a great mental burden slowly disappeared.
"Thank you... Toru..." He put his hat back on. 'Nee-san was always proud of you... and so am I...' After that, he started jumping between the rooftops in the direction of Amegakure's exit. At that moment, he saw for the last time the big building where Pain, Konan and Toru are.
"This... is my parting gift to you..."
***
The large metal walls of the building rose up around him and the light of the Kodō Shigan slowly extinguished.
He was sitting on the ground, while his clothes were wringing out the rainwater.
He leaned on his own knees and rested his head against the metal wall.
'Itachi... How am I supposed to use this?' A small smile formed on his mouth, for in his hand, in a glass vial that suddenly fell from the sleeve of his robe, was Itachi's latest gift. It was spherical, glowing crimson... it was... a sharingan.
-A long time ago...
More than 20 years ago, in a world that no longer exists today. On the roof of a large mansion, as the wind gently caressed his body, the ticking of the watch on his wrist echoed and his glasses fogged with his own tears.
That boy smiled. His smile was as radiant and beautiful as the sun, but his tears, the tears that ran down his face made him look like a child who could not find a way out.
"If I die, will mother be happy?"
The boy put his hand to his heart area and sighed.
"I see... I understand..."
His arms fell over his shoulders.
"This is what I should do... I... I'm used to it and that's why it's okay... I'm fine..."
The boy took one last look at the surroundings, while in the background the desperate cries of the mansion's servants could be heard.
That boy... stretched out his hand to the sky and then....
He threw himself into the void awaiting his death.
But it was strange... why did he see the silhouette of someone in the sky as he fell? That white silhouette and he seemed to reach out his hand to catch the boy. It was so strange, but he just ignored it, because this was possibly the boy's imagination before his death.
...
...
***
He once wanted to die for his mother... and in the future, no, in the present, when he was only 6 years old... his mother died for him. Even in the depths of his twisted heart, he found a way to find forgiveness.
"Mother... Okaa-sama..."
He closed his eyes, holding that small smile, as slowly, one last tear crumbled down his cheek.
Blood on my hands - The End