"Itachi!!!"
A shout rang out from afar.
Itachi wiped the tears from his face. That voice was all too familiar to him—it was Sasuke's.
He turned toward the sound and instantly caught sight of Sasuke.
Itachi froze for a moment, wondering to himself—when did Sasuke return to Konoha? Wasn't he still training under Orochimaru?
Kaito, standing nearby, spoke,
"Sasuke was already brought back by me. Just now, he even wanted to take me as his teacher."
"Take you as his teacher?"
"Yeah. Sasuke already knows the truth about that night. The reason he wanted to apprentice under me is pretty interesting too. He said he wants to become stronger—to bring you back to Konoha!"
"I see… so Sasuke really has changed after learning the truth."
A faint smile appeared on Itachi's face, a smile he hadn't worn in a long time. He said softly,
"But now, he no longer needs to bring me back."
Sasuke's speed was fast, and before long he had rushed right up to Itachi. His eyes—three-tomoe Sharingan—locked tightly on his brother. Itachi, however, looked utterly calm.
"It's been a while, Sasuke. You've grown quite a bit taller."
As he spoke, Itachi reached out his finger, intending to poke Sasuke's forehead like he used to when they were little—but Sasuke turned away and dodged.
A flash of loss passed through Itachi's eyes. He quietly lowered his hand and let out a sigh.
Sasuke's heart was also in turmoil. He didn't know how to face Itachi right now. All he could do was ask stiffly,
"That night… how many of the clan did you kill? And… was it really you who killed Father and Mother?"
The words pierced Itachi's heart once again. He said nothing. Instead, using his Mangekyō Sharingan, he cast a genjutsu—projecting the full truth of that night directly into Sasuke's mind.
In the vision, Itachi only killed a few extremists. Fugaku and Mikoto were indeed slain by his hand—but neither resisted at all. Their final words to him were:
"Take care of Sasuke, Itachi!"
"We're proud of you!"
At the end of the vision, Sasuke saw Itachi on his knees, sobbing uncontrollably.
Sasuke's face was already covered in tears. In a daze, he muttered,
"Why… why was it like this?"
Stumbling past Itachi, he made his way to Fugaku and Mikoto's gravestones. With a dull thud, he fell to his knees before them, unable to say another word.
Naruto also arrived at the scene. Feeling Sasuke's grief, he silently walked over and knelt on one knee beside him.
Without turning his head, Sasuke said coldly,
"What are you doing here?"
Naruto didn't mind his tone.
"Of course I'm here to be with you!"
"I don't want your company. You've finally reunited with your father—spend more time with him. Don't end up like me, wanting to but never having the chance anymore."
Sasuke's words carried no sarcasm. He genuinely thought Naruto should cherish the time with his father, unlike him, who no longer had the opportunity.
Minato and Kakashi arrived late. Earlier, Kaito had suddenly vanished, and the three of them didn't know where he had gone, so they had split up to search.
Sasuke had come here by coincidence. Naruto, though… perhaps it was simply their bond, or maybe he had just followed his instincts straight to Sasuke.
When Itachi first saw Minato, he immediately felt he looked familiar. After a few moments, his expression twisted into shock, as if he were seeing a ghost.
"You… you're the Fourth Hokage!?"
Minato, too, was startled when he noticed Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan. Inwardly, he wondered—who is this young man?
When Minato had died, Itachi had been only five years old. So many years had passed, and Itachi's appearance had changed a lot. Minato truly didn't recognize him as Fugaku's son.
He asked cautiously,
"And you are…?"
Suppressing his shock, Itachi answered respectfully,
"Lord Fourth Hokage, I am Uchiha Itachi!"
"Itachi? You're Fugaku's son?"
"Yes!"
"I see. No wonder you looked familiar to me."
Minato began to look him over. When he noticed the scratched Leaf forehead protector on Itachi's head, he frowned.
"That forehead protector of yours… what does it mean? Are you a rogue ninja now?"
Itachi froze, unsure how to answer, and turned his gaze toward Kaito for help.
Kaito understood and gave a brief explanation on his behalf. The more Minato listened, the more shocked he became. At last he sighed,
"To think that after my death, the Uchiha clan's situation became so dire!"
During Minato's time as Hokage, relations with the Uchiha had been improving. Things hadn't been nearly so bad—certainly not to the point of driving them to the brink of rebellion.
Itachi knew this too, which was why he held such deep respect for Minato.
Minato patted Itachi's shoulder and said,
"Itachi, for you to shoulder all of this alone… you've truly suffered."
Tonight, it was the second time Itachi had received recognition—both times from people he deeply respected. And both were Hokage.
The bittersweet relief of that was something only he could truly feel.
Sasuke rose to his feet. Turning toward Itachi, he asked,
"So this time… will you still leave?"
Itachi shook his head gently.
"My mission is complete. From now on… I am a shinobi of Konoha!"
A flush of color returned to his face, and his entire spirit seemed renewed.
Sasuke stared into Itachi's eyes for a while before saying suddenly,
"Turn off the Mangekyō. Or do you want to end up blind?"
With that, Sasuke brushed past him and walked out of the cemetery.
Itachi stood frozen for a moment, until Minato gave him a playful shove.
"What are you standing around for? Go after him!"
Itachi snapped back to his senses, nodded quickly, and ran off in pursuit of Sasuke.
After they left, Minato leaned closer to Kaito and sighed,
"Those two Uchiha brothers are really…"
He didn't finish his sentence—just kept shaking his head.
Kaito glanced at him and asked,
"Really what?"
"They're both just like you… "
With that, Minato grabbed Naruto and instantly teleported away using Flying Thunder God.
Kakashi blinked, then said weakly,
"Kaito-senpai, looks like I'm not needed here anymore… I'll take my leave!"
Kaito waved him off like swatting away a fly. Kakashi seized the chance like a pardon from death, and vanished with a Body Flicker.
After everyone left, the cemetery was silent except for Kaito. He turned to glance once at Fugaku and Mikoto's graves, then his figure flickered and disappeared.
Back at home, Minato was smugly telling Naruto,
"Naruto, don't you think your dad's right? The Uchiha really are a bunch of hopeless tsundere! Especially Kaito!"
Naruto stayed quiet, giving him only a strange look from behind.
A sudden chill ran down Minato's spine. He turned sharply—only to be greeted by the sight of a fist rapidly filling his vision.
Wham!
"Ow!!"
Minato rolled on the ground clutching his face.
Towering over him, Kaito looked down coldly and said,
"Who exactly are you calling a hopeless tsundere?"