Itachi was deep in thought. Minato Namikaze had already taken the lead.
He pointed at Kisame Hoshigaki. "This man's forehead protector marks him as a Missing-nin of Kirigakure."
Kisame said, "How interesting. I didn't expect to meet all of you. I am Kisame Hoshigaki, a Missing-nin from Kirigakure."
Madara: "Kirigakure?"
Minato said, "Besides the Sarutobi, Shimura, and the Ino–Shika–Chō groups Tobirama-sama mentioned earlier, clans like the Hyūga with their great dōjutsu, and families such as the Inuzuka, Aburame, Hatake, Yūhi, and Kurama… all eventually joined Konoha."
"And from that, the idea of 'one nation, one village' naturally formed."
Hashirama, Madara, and Tobirama stared at Minato in shock. "One nation, one village!" they repeated under their breath. Even Madara and Tobirama were shaken by the concept Minato described.
"Really?!" Madara's face lit up. "You mean even the Hyūga clan will join us?!"
A clan famed across the ninja world for their dōjutsu, on par with the Uchiha… and they would willingly join Konogakure! The Hidden Leaf Village.
Their excitement was written all over their faces.
Tobirama brought the topic back. "Then what about Kirigakure…?"
Minato said, "After the Land of Fire founded Konoha, elected a Hokage, and received recognition from the Fire Daimyō, the internal clan conflict and struggles—ended. Soon the Land of Water, Land of Wind, Land of Earth, and Land of Lightning followed suit, forming Kirigakure, Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure, and choosing their own Mizukage, Kazekage, Tsuchikage, and Raikage…"
Thus, all Five Great Shinobi Nations adopted the one-country–one-village system.
Madara muttered, "Shameless imitators…"
"It's simply human nature," Tobirama replied. "And the constant fighting among clans only weakened them. By forming Konoha, the Land of Fire removed these internal losses, which in turn strengthened the nation overall. Any Daimyō with half a brain wouldn't allow the Land of Fire to grow unchecked."
"But…"
Tobirama shifted his tone and looked at Kisame Hoshigaki. "At any rate, you are not a ninja of the Land of Fire. You won't need to hear what comes next."
"Brother, seal his chakra with Wood Release and restrict his movements."
"Alright."
When it came to matters like this, Hashirama always listened to his younger brother. Without hesitation, he used Wood Release.
Though displeased, Kisame knew he couldn't act recklessly in front of these three powerhouses. Vines of Wood Release curled around his spine, restraining him.
Hashirama said, "As long as you don't use chakra or attack anyone, you won't be harmed."
"Tōka, take him somewhere else."
Tobirama issued the order instantly, and Tōka Senju, who had been waiting outside, escorted Kisame out.
Kisame knew he stood no chance against the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, or the real Madara Uchiha. He didn't argue and followed Tōka Senju. Ever since arriving here and seeing the man claiming to be Madara Uchiha, he had begun doubting his own boss. Naturally, he would observe and report as much as he could.
…
Once Kisame was gone, the room fell silent again.
Sasuke finally lost his patience. He glared past Madara and shouted at Itachi:
"Stop sitting there saying nothing! Explain it to me! What happened between Uchiha and Konoha?! Why… why did you…?!"
His fury twisted suddenly into pain.
Itachi cut him off and turned toward the Fourth Hokage. "Did you tell him?"
Minato said, "I believe Sasuke has the right to know everything—including what I didn't know and never told him."
Even with respect for the Hokage, Itachi's displeasure was clear. "You shouldn't have told him. All the sins are mine alone. Sasuke only needs—"
"Only needs to walk the path you laid out for him, and become your puppet?" Minato interrupted calmly.
The others had no idea what they were talking about, but the tension between Minato Namikaze and Itachi Uchiha was unmistakable.
Hashirama quickly stepped in. "Hahaha! This boy Sasuke reminds me of Madara when he was young. It's like Madara was reborn as Izuna's little brother. How amusing."
"What did you say, Hashirama?!" Madara exploded, lunging as if to hit him.
Truthfully, Madara had felt the same resemblance. But for that idiot Hashirama to say it out loud—did he want to embarrass him?!
Tobirama thought his brother had a death wish. Could he stop bringing up Izuna and provoking that unstable Uchiha?!!
Sasuke heard Hashirama's words and sneered.
"I wouldn't dare attack Konoha with the Nine-Tails!"
"Neither would I!" Madara roared back at the boy more than a decade his junior, as if he were naturally at odds with this Sasuke Uchiha descendant.
"Wasn't it you, Madara-san, who first attacked Konoha with the Nine-Tails…?" Minato mused. "This is a matter of historical record. Though we've heard the elders say so, hearsay is unreliable. We cannot verify its truth. However…"
He shifted his tone. "I suspect the masked man calling himself 'Madara' in the era we've reached is likely not the true Madara Uchiha."
Itachi: "!!"
At Minato Namikaze's mention of the masked man, Madara's eyes sharpened.
Madara: "Is this why you constantly question my identity? Because in the future, someone impersonated me to lead the Nine-Tails in attacking Konoha?!!"
Hearing this, not only Madara but Hashirama Senju—his only real rival—also grew furious.
Naruto nodded hard. "Exactly! That bastard seized the Nine-Tails during my birth and used the Sharingan to control him and destroy Konoha! The villagers ended up terrified of the Uchiha! And the higher-ups completely stopped trusting them too, dattebayo!!"
Itachi gave a slight nod, burying his hatred for the masked man deep inside. Controlling the Nine-Tails to harm Konoha had accelerated the conflict between the Uchiha and the village. To awaken his own Sharingan, he had killed Tenma and the others.
From Naruto's words, Tobirama realized that what he had predicted decades ago had indeed come to pass.
"Unable to truly abandon the clan's interests and integrate into the village, is it?" the future Second Hokage said coldly. "In that case, extremists would indeed rise and attack the village, worsening the rift between the Uchiha and Konoha. If I'm not mistaken, the Uchiha intend to stage a coup, correct?"
"Tobirama!!"
Hashirama glared fiercely at his brother. "Stop saying such things!"
His expression darkened. "If something like that happens, it will absolutely be tied to how Madara and I governed Konoha."
Madara locked eyes with Tobirama, who refused to look away.
Everyone from the future was stunned speechless by the word "coup" spoken by the Second Hokage.
Sasuke's eyes sank into despair.
Only Itachi… kept his head bowed, silent.
The young Kakashi could never have imagined that his former subordinate had been hiding such a secret all this time.
"Itachi, is what the Second and Tobirama-sama said true?!!"
Even Madara could no longer sit quietly. He glared with his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, no longer standing protectively over the youth who resembled Izuna so much.
Madara pressed down on Itachi with the authority of the current Uchiha Clan Head.
"Tell me. What happened in the future?" His crimson Sharingan fixed on Itachi, who had already closed his own eyes. "And what did you do?!"
Itachi: "..."
Itachi remained silent. The twelve-year-old Sasuke finally snapped out of his shock at the word "coup."
The Uchiha boy twisted into a look of self-destructive resolve, as if ready to drag someone down with him. He awakened his Sharingan, glaring at Itachi like a judge sentencing a criminal.
"If you can't say it, I'll say it for you."
"Sasuke!" Naruto looked at him in alarm.
Before their eyes, the single tomoe in Sasuke's left eye evolved into two.
Pain, obsession, madness—his gaze radiated all three.
Naruto and the others watched in worry mixed with shock. Even Sakura now looked afraid.
Madara saw it too—the moment Sasuke's Sharingan evolved again. He silently raised a hand, signaling everyone not to interrupt. Let Sasuke speak.
The future…
What exactly had happened?!!
"Itachi, he—"
Tears were close to spilling, yet Sasuke smiled—a crazed smile of mutual destruction aimed at Itachi.
"He killed my father. He killed my mother. He killed every single member of the Uchiha clan. He slaughtered the entire Uchiha Police Force!!"
"My brother, Itachi Uchiha..."
"An entire clan… annihilated…"
"He wiped out the Uchiha clan! He destroyed his own family!!!!"
Madara: "!!!!"
Hashirama: "!!!!"
Tobirama: "..."
As the last words tore from his throat, tears streamed down the boy's face. The suffocating rage had forced his Sharingan to awaken far too early.
His body was still weak, his resolve unsteady. He couldn't even find Itachi to take revenge. That helplessness, that crushing sense of inadequacy, had haunted Sasuke Uchiha ever since.
Naruto saw in Sasuke's expression the same darkness he once glimpsed during their training—the moment Sasuke had nearly tried to kill him.
Sakura shifted from her kneeling position to sitting flat on the ground. This version of Sasuke was a stranger to her, one who filled her with pain.
Obito had heard Sasuke say these words once before. Back then, he never would have believed it. Even now, he couldn't accept that Itachi would do something like this. But Sasuke would never invent something like this out of thin air.
"Itachi! Someone impersonated you to do this, right?!" Obito demanded, staring at the young man who felt like a stranger to him.
In Obito's memory, Itachi was the obedient little prodigy—not a demon who would kill Fugaku and Mikoto and annihilate the entire Uchiha clan.
"Someone must have been impersonating you! Was it the masked man?! He pretended to be Madara Uchiha before, so he must've pretended to be you too—killing the Uchiha and framing you! Forcing you to become a Missing-nin and join the Akatsuki, right?!"
Itachi: "..."
His most vivid impression of Obito's was the man who made Kakashi-senpai visit his grave for years, bringing red bean cakes every time.
Now he was standing before the Fourth Hokage, a young Kakashi-senpai, and Obito-senpai. For a moment, Itachi felt as if he were still inside a Genjutsu.
But no one could trap someone who wielded Tsukuyomi in an illusion.
"No…"
Itachi rejected Madara's final glimmer of hope. "Sasuke was right. I did everything. That masked man you mentioned—the one calling himself Madara—at most acted on my instructions, helping me purge the Uchiha Police Force."