The battlefield trembled as the clash between titanic forces raged on. A fully-formed Susanoo, its ethereal armor shimmering in the moonlight, stood against a monstrous Nine-Tails draped in a spectral blue exoskeleton. Each of its nine tails bore a blade, an extension of Uchiha Sasuke's will. The storm of chakra surging between them illuminated the night, crackling like lightning before the inevitable storm.
Uchiha Itachi stood within his incomplete Susanoo, his crimson Mangekyō Sharingan spinning violently as he tried to predict his younger brother's next move. He had expected resistance, had planned for a battle, but he had not foreseen this—Sasuke fighting alongside Uzumaki Naruto, their wills synchronized as if guided by fate itself. Their power had already exceeded his expectations, their unity forming a force he could barely counter.
A sharp pang of regret flickered through his mind. This was never how it was supposed to go.
Sasuke should have fought with fury, yet with restraint. He should have been drawn into the dance of death, pushed to his limit, and then—only then—should Itachi have fallen by his hand. But Naruto's presence had tilted the scales. The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki fought with raw, unwavering conviction, his rage amplifying Sasuke's own.
The bond between them... it was something even stronger than hatred.
Naruto, standing atop the armored beast, clenched his fists. His cerulean eyes burned with intensity as he looked down at Itachi. "I won't let you mess with Sasuke anymore, you bastard!"
"Naruto!" Sasuke called out. His voice carried a sharp edge, yet an undeniable fire.
Naruto grinned. "I know! Let's end this!"
A pulse of chakra erupted around them as the Nine-Tails roared, the sheer force sending tremors through the battlefield. Susanoo's armor solidified, becoming one with the monstrous beast below. Blue chakra coated its fur like an unbreakable shell, and the blades within its tails shimmered with lethal intent.
Uchiha Itachi, despite himself, felt his breath hitch.
He knew this technique.
It was a forbidden combination once utilized by Uchiha Madara himself—the fusion of Susanoo and a tailed beast.
But unlike Madara, who had forced the Nine-Tails into submission, Sasuke and Naruto had achieved this through trust, through shared purpose. This was not a subjugation of power. It was a manifestation of their will.
The monstrous form lunged.
Itachi barely had time to react before a massive claw, coated in Susanoo's ethereal armor, smashed against his own incomplete Susanoo. The impact was devastating. Cracks splintered through the spectral construct as Itachi gritted his teeth, struggling to maintain its form.
But the assault was relentless.
Nine tails, each wielding a blade, descended upon him in rapid succession, each strike precise and deadly. He barely managed to deflect the first three, but the fourth, fifth, and sixth found their mark, slicing through Susanoo's defenses like a hot blade through wax.
Itachi staggered. Blood trickled from his lips. His vision blurred.
He could feel it—his body was reaching its limit.
He had already pushed his Mangekyō Sharingan beyond its threshold. The price of wielding its power was one he had long accepted. But now, as he stood against this combined force of will and fury, he realized...
He was going to lose.
Not because he was weak. Not because he had miscalculated.
But because Sasuke and Naruto had surpassed him.
Uchiha Itachi's face remained expressionless, but inside, his mind was in turmoil. The situation before him had spiraled beyond control. His younger brother, Sasuke, stood across from him, eyes ablaze with fury, his Mangekyō Sharingan spinning wildly. The Nine-Tails loomed behind him, cloaked in a translucent Susanoo, an abomination of power that should not exist.
Sasuke's voice was venomous. "I don't want to hear your excuses, Itachi! You betrayed our clan! You slaughtered them! Do you think any explanation can change that?!"
Itachi's heart clenched. This was not the reunion he had envisioned. He had always known that hatred would fuel Sasuke, that the boy would one day seek him out for vengeance. But he had never expected this level of rage, this sheer, overwhelming desire to kill.
"Sasuke! Listen to me!" Itachi pleaded, but his brother would not be swayed.
"I don't want to hear your voice, Itachi!!! If you really want me to listen to your explanation, then die first! After that, I'll consider it!!!"
A wave of chakra erupted from Sasuke's body. The Susanoo-cloaked Nine-Tails roared, shaking the very fabric of space. Before Itachi could react, a colossal chakra claw lashed toward him, its force threatening to tear him apart.
On the sidelines, Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto watched with heavy hearts. Their two sons—once children who played under the same roof, who laughed and fought as brothers—were now mortal enemies. Mikoto clutched at Fugaku's sleeve, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Husband… what should we do? Itachi and Sasuke… they're our children!"
Fugaku sighed, his Sharingan reflecting the chaos before him. "I know, Mikoto… but this is a path that Itachi must walk. He has sins that must be atoned for. Even the ancestors have remained silent, watching from the shadows. There is no escaping this reckoning."
Mikoto's grip on his sleeve tightened.
Fugaku continued, his gaze fixed on his eldest son. "Itachi always thought he was acting in the best interest of Konoha. He was wrong. But redemption does not come from running away—it must be earned. And Sasuke… he has suffered too much. If this is what it takes for the two of them to finally face the truth, then so be it."
Itachi gritted his teeth. He had no choice—he had to fight. His own Mangekyō Sharingan spun to life, and the spectral form of his Susanoo emerged, a towering warrior clad in ethereal armor. The battlefield trembled as two titanic forces clashed.
But before the fight could escalate further, a voice broke through the chaos.
"Enough of this foolishness."
The words were calm, but they carried the weight of authority.
All eyes turned toward the speaker—Sarutobi Hiruzen.
The former Third Hokage stepped forward, his expression weary but resolute. He had seen enough.
"Sasuke, put an end to this. Itachi did not destroy the Uchiha out of hatred. The truth is far more complex."
Sasuke scoffed. "And you expect me to believe that?"
Hiruzen sighed, rubbing his temples. He had hoped to avoid this conversation, but there was no other way.
"Danzo," he said simply.
At that name, a hush fell over the battlefield.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "What about Danzo?"
Hiruzen exhaled slowly. "Danzo manipulated everything from the shadows. He saw the Uchiha as a threat to Konoha and made sure that Itachi had no other choice. Itachi was forced to make the cruelest decision of his life—to wipe out the clan to protect Konoha, to protect you."
Sasuke's breath caught in his throat.
Hiruzen continued. "I was Hokage, but I was weak. I allowed Danzo too much power. I turned a blind eye when I should have acted. I carry that guilt even now. But understand this, Sasuke—your brother never stopped protecting you. Even after everything, he chose your life over his own happiness."
Sasuke's world began to crack. The rage that had burned so fiercely inside him now wavered. Could this be true? Had Itachi truly done everything for him?
Itachi lowered his head, his voice barely above a whisper. "It's true, Sasuke. I never wanted you to know. I wanted you to be strong enough to kill me one day. But more than that… I wanted you to be free."
Sasuke staggered back. His mind screamed at him to reject it, to cling to the hatred that had driven him for so long. But deep inside, another part of him—one he had buried—ached to believe.
The Nine-Tails, sensing Sasuke's turmoil, let out a low growl. The chakra cloak flickered. The hatred was still there, but doubt had crept in.
Then, another voice rang out.
"Itachi."
It was calm. Familiar.
Itachi turned sharply, his breath catching.
"…Shisui?"
Uchiha Shisui walked toward them, his expression unreadable. "Itachi… why?"
Itachi's hands clenched into fists. "I did what I had to do."
Shisui shook his head. "No, you didn't. You believed in Konoha, in the Will of Fire. But the Uchiha were never the enemy. We were always part of Konoha, just like everyone else. You should have fought to change things, not destroy them."
Itachi trembled. "I… I thought I was doing the right thing…"
Shisui stepped closer. "It's not too late, Itachi. The past cannot be undone, but you can still choose your future."
Itachi closed his eyes. "I can't go back… I don't deserve to."