I just returned to Konoha and found that my entire clan was gone.

Chapter 131 Never Control Someone Else's Life

When Sasuke's gaze met the windmill-shaped kaleidoscope of the crow-shaped gem, an unprecedented pain suddenly tore his consciousness apart.

Sasuke's head throbbed with pain as fragments of memories that weren't originally his surged forth like a tidal wave, relentlessly washing over his once clear thoughts, as if trying to drown him completely in this ocean of memories.

Those memories are Itachi's entire life, all the price he paid in pursuit of that elusive Eternal Eye.

Now that he has avenged himself and obtained the eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, it is time to return to Konoha. He will return to protect Konoha from any invasion, together with his friends and respected teachers.

Such memories, like a brand, will be imprinted on his mind, changing his own thoughts and making him the person Itachi imagines himself to be.

Just as Sasuke was being swallowed up by this sudden flood of memories, a figure quietly appeared beside him.

Even though Itachi, who had already lost his sight, could not see who it was, he still thought it was Ye Lan and struggled to speak.

"Cough cough... It's no use. The power of Kotoamatsukami is enough to change a person's will... Sasuke will return to Konoha."

"I know, Itachi..."

The response he received was a familiar and gentle voice, a voice that Itachi could hardly believe his ears, and for a moment he thought it was an illusion.

"This...voice is..."

Itachi asked tentatively, feeling a little apprehensive for the first time. The last time he felt this way was when his father went to the battlefield.

"Kotoamatsukami, release..."

It was that voice again. Itachi was certain. He opened his mouth slightly, never expecting to see this person again before he died.

Shisui, in his impure world form, stayed by Sasuke's side, at Ye Lan's command; his goal was to retrieve his own eye.

He stretched out his arm, and the raven with the kaleidoscope landed on him.

He took off the eye that originally belonged to him, and now he had both of Uchiha Shisui's eyes.

Sasuke had fallen into a deep sleep due to Kotoamatsukami, and now only the two old friends were left to talk to him.

"Impure World Reincarnation... I didn't expect Ye Lan to have learned this technique."

Itachi witnessed Shisui's suicide firsthand, and after analysis, this is the only possibility.

"Phew, I was also surprised to see Ye Lan again. I didn't expect so many years to have passed..."

Shisui took a deep breath, a familiar smile on his face, the two acting like old friends.

The two then fell into a long silence.

When Shisui first learned about the Uchiha clan, he was indeed angry and resentful. But when he saw Itachi, the child who had followed him, he couldn't say a word.

Shisui did not blame or question Itachi's actions, nor did he discuss the Uchiha clan with Itachi. In the end, he simply let out a long sigh.

"Cough cough... Shisui, am I disappointing you?"

Itachi broke the silence. A dying man has nothing to care about anymore, and he was happy to see Shisui again.

There was fear, resentment at being unable to use the power of the other gods, but also joy in facing his "brother".

"I shouldn't have placed all the blame on you. You and Ye Lan both supported me back then, but I..."

Looking at the disheveled Itachi, Shisui felt a deep sense of self-reproach welling up in his heart.

His suicide back then seemed more like an act of irresponsibility. Ye Lan was on a mission at the time, and his fate was unknown. Among his clansmen, only Itachi trusted him.

However, he placed this responsibility on Itachi, who was less than thirteen years old at the time. While Itachi's actions disappointed him, he also understood that he bore some responsibility for them.

"Family, village... I really don't know what to do, this is the best way I can think of..."

When facing Shisui, Itachi opened his heart, as he was deeply troubled by this question and didn't know how to choose.

The conflict with the Uchiha clan became the final trigger, leading him to make his decision.

"Itachi, you disgust me!"

Sasuke, now fully conscious, stood up, his eyes no longer filled with hatred but with intense disgust.

He no longer had the idea of ​​killing Itachi. This kind of sick person was no longer worth killing. Judging from his appearance, he would probably die on his own without any intervention.

Just as Ye Lan said, it's just a knife; if you're going to kill someone, kill the person who started this whole thing.

"Stop the water! Cough cough..."

Itachi sensed that Sasuke was really panicking as he left, and tried to shout, but was choked by blood.

He even used his last resort, Kotoamatsukami, so he had absolutely no more trump cards left.

In his view, Sasuke should never follow Ye Lan; returning to Konoha was his best choice.

"Itachi, do you know what disappoints me the most? It's not that you harmed your clansmen... but that you changed Sasuke's will."

Shisui looked melancholy, wondering why he hadn't realized Itachi was this kind of person.

Having acquired the power of Kotoamatsukami, he had always wanted to use persuasion to resolve the conflict between his people and the village, but he never intended to use it until the very end.

However, Itachi wanted to change Sasuke's mind and erase his original existence.

"But...hasn't that what you've always done?"

Itachi's voice was as thin as silk, as if he were about to breathe his last.

“That was my choice back then. I remember when I first told you about it, you longed for it, while Ye Lan was disdainful.”

When Zhishui recalled Ye Lan's appearance, she couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"But even Ye Lan initially supported me, respected my ideas, and even sacrificed a lot for me..."

Shisui's expression changed, and his face became serious.

"Your choices are your own path. Regardless of what others think, just keep going. I don't think your parents blamed you before they died..."

Itachi's lifeless eyes instantly welled up with tears.

"Really... So you chose their side..."

"Don't be afraid... This is your own decision. Compared to you, our pain is only a fleeting moment. Even if we have different opinions, we will still be proud of you!"

"You are a gentle child..."

The words my parents said before they died still seemed to echo in my ears. In the end, they didn't blame me; instead, they chose to believe in me.

"If you truly care about Sasuke, then don't plan his life; let him choose for himself."

Shisui's words were addressed to Itachi, but also to himself.

He couldn't comment on Ye Lan's plan; the vision and scope of it made him, as her elder brother, feel ashamed of his own inferiority.

Now, I can just stand silently behind him, just like Ye Lan stood behind me back then.

"I see..."

A silent sigh escaped its lips. How could the clever Itachi not understand this? In the face of death, all obsessions vanished.

As the sun gradually set, its rays shone on Itachi's face, and even without the light, Itachi felt a touch of warmth.

Itachi closed his eyes forever at this moment, his face showing no resentment or past obsessions, facing death peacefully.

Throughout his life, he was seen as the hope for the revival of the Uchiha clan from birth, perhaps because he followed his father to the battlefield when he was very young. Fortunately, he was later taught by Shisui.

However, with the death of Zhishui, the conflict between the clan and the village deepened, and the clan was at risk of a coup. Between the two, he chose the village and turned the knife on his clansmen.

In the end, he returned to an abandoned Uchiha site after his death.

Chapter 132 Under the Mask

Rumble~

The distant thunder ruthlessly shattered the fragile tranquility inside the room.

Sweat trickled silently down Obito Uchiha's face beneath his mask. This was the first time his identity had been so directly revealed, and the one who revealed it was none other than Ye Lan, whom he feared so much.

"Sasuke has finished what he started, hasn't he..."

Ye Lan's expression was complicated. Entrusting Itachi to Sasuke to handle the situation was a well-thought-out decision. With Shisui around, there shouldn't be any unexpected incidents.

"Ok?"

Before Obito could grasp the meaning of Ye Lan's words, he was pondering...

A sharp whistling sound cut through the room, and the books throughout the room rustled as they turned.

He was well aware of Obito's abilities, so he chose the most unexpected moment to launch his attack.

"So fast!" Obito exclaimed inwardly. Before he could fully recover his thoughts, Ye Lan's blade was already within reach.

At the critical moment of life and death, Obito, relying on his instincts and years of combat experience, finally activated Hollowfication.

His body twisted in an instant as Ye Lan's ninja sword pierced through him, leaving no mark as if it had passed through air.

This does not mean Obito is safe. He is well aware of Ye Lan's close-range strength.

Therefore, he did not choose to retaliate, but instead used the power of etherealization to create distance between himself and Ye Lan.

Obito was panting heavily, his eyes fixed on Ye Lan, his heart filled with astonishment and doubt.

Ye Lan's strength has increased again. Why is it that he doesn't have the Eternal Eye either, so he's still unharmed when using the Kaleidoscope?

I was so close! I would have died if I hadn't reacted quickly.

Crack—

Just then, a crisp cracking sound disrupted Obito's recently calmed emotions once again.

The mask he was wearing unexpectedly split in two.

Obito, who hadn't appeared in public for a long time, felt a sudden jolt in his heart and frantically grabbed his mask, which was about to fall off.

But Ye Lan's next words made him stop in his tracks.

"So this is all you've got, Obito Uchiha, a coward who can only hide behind a mask..."

Ye Lan turned her body and glanced at Obito with disdain, her tone full of contempt.

His voice was as cold as ice, each word piercing Obito's heart like a sharp blade.

Obito's body trembled slightly, but he did not back down. He slowly lowered his hand that was tightly gripping the mask.

His ordinary yet weathered face was left exposed to the air. The wrinkles on his right cheek were like the marks of time, and his Sharingan eye shone with the same shuriken shape as the kaleidoscope in Kakashi's eyes.