"Itachi!!!"
A shout came from afar. Itachi wiped the tears from his face. The voice was all too familiar to him; it was Sasuke's voice.
Itachi turned around and looked in the direction the sound came from, and immediately saw Sasuke.
Itachi was taken aback, wondering when Sasuke had returned to Konoha. Wasn't he still training with Orochimaru?
Senga said from the side,
"Sasuke has been brought back by me. He even wanted to become my apprentice just now."
"To become Senga's disciple?"
"Yes, Sasuke already knows the truth about what happened back then. His reason for wanting to become my apprentice is quite interesting. He said he wants to become stronger and bring you back to Konoha!"
"I see. It seems Sasuke has changed quite a bit since learning the truth."
A long-lost smile appeared on Itachi's face, and he said softly,
"But now I don't need him to bring me back."
Sasuke was incredibly fast, and in no time he was in front of Itachi. He stared intently at Itachi with his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, while Itachi remained completely calm.
"It's been a long time, Sasuke. You've grown quite a bit taller."
As he spoke, Itachi reached out his finger, intending to tap Sasuke's forehead like he did when they were children, but Sasuke dodged to the side.
A fleeting look of disappointment crossed Itachi's eyes. He silently lowered his hand and sighed softly.
Sasuke was also feeling bad; he didn't know how to face Itachi, and simply asked awkwardly,
"How many of your people did you kill that night? And... did you kill Dad and Mom?"
These words pierced Itachi's heart once again. He said nothing, but used his Mangekyo to cast a Genjutsu on Sasuke, projecting the scene from that night directly into Sasuke's mind.
In the scene, Itachi only killed a few extremists, and he did indeed kill Fugaku Uchiha and Mikoto, but the two did not put up any resistance. Their last words were...
"Take good care of Sasuke, Itachi!"
I'm so proud of you!
At the end of the scene, Sasuke sees Itachi kneeling on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
Sasuke's face was covered in tears, and he murmured listlessly,
"Why, why is this happening?"
He staggered past the weasel, walked to Fugaku and Mikoto's gravestones, and knelt down with a thud, unable to utter another word.
Naruto also arrived. Sensing Sasuke's sorrow, he silently walked to Sasuke's side and knelt on one knee.
Sasuke didn't even turn his head, and said coldly,
What are you doing here?
Naruto, unconcerned by Sasuke's tone, said...
"Of course I came to keep you company!"
"I don't need you to come with me. You and your father have finally reunited, you should spend more time with him."
Sasuke's words weren't sarcastic; he genuinely felt that Naruto should spend more time with his father, unlike him, who wanted to but no longer had the chance.
Minato and Kakashi arrived late. Senga had suddenly disappeared, and the three of them didn't know where he had gone, so they had to split up to search for him.
Sasuke arrived here by chance, while Naruto simply had a telepathic connection with Sasuke, or rather, he found Sasuke by following his scent.
When Itachi saw Minato, his first thought was that he looked very familiar. After looking at him for a while, his expression turned to one of utter shock, as if he had seen a ghost.
He exclaimed in surprise,
"You, you're the Fourth Hokage!?"
Minato was also surprised to see Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan, and wondered who this young man was.
When Minato died, Itachi was only five years old. Now, so many years have passed, and Itachi's appearance has changed quite a bit. He really didn't recognize that this was Fugaku's son.
He asked tentatively,
"Who are you?"
Itachi suppressed his shock and spoke respectfully.
"Fourth Hokage, I am Uchiha Itachi!"
"Itachi? You're Fugaku's son?"
"Yes!"
"I see, no wonder you looked so familiar!"
As he spoke, Minato began to scrutinize Itachi. When he saw the Konoha Forehead Protector with a slash on Itachi's forehead, he frowned and asked,
"What's with that Forehead Protector? Did you become Rogue Ninja?"
Itachi's expression froze for a moment, unsure how to answer, and he could only look to Senga for help.
Senga understood and gave Itachi a brief explanation. Minato listened with growing alarm and exclaimed in disbelief.
"I never imagined that the Uchiha Clan's situation would become so dire after my death!"
During Minato's tenure, Konoha's attitude towards the Uchiha clan gradually improved, far from the later situation where it even pushed the Uchiha clan to the point of rebellion.
Itachi knew this, which is why he had great respect for Minato.
Minato patted Itachi on the shoulder and said,
"Itachi, it's really tough on you to carry all this on your shoulders!"
Itachi has received recognition for the second time tonight, and both times it came from people he respects—both times it was the Hokage.
Only he himself could truly understand the feeling of overcoming hardship to achieve happiness.
Sasuke got up from the ground, turned to look at Itachi, and said...
So, will you leave again this time?
Itachi shook his head and said softly,
"My mission is complete. From this day forward, I am Konoha ninja!"
A flush appeared on Itachi's face, and he looked refreshed.
Sasuke stared into Itachi's eyes for a while, then suddenly said something.
"Turn off the Mangekyo. Do you want to be blind?"
After saying that, Sasuke bypassed Itachi and walked out of the cemetery.
Itachi stood there in a daze for a while, then Minato and said with a smile.
"What are you daydreaming about? Hurry up and chase after them!"
Itachi then came to his senses, nodded quickly, and ran after Sasuke.
After the two left, Minato leaned close to Senga and sighed.
"Those Uchiha brothers, really..."
Minato didn't finish his sentence; he just kept shaking his head.
Senga glanced at him and said,
"Really what?"
"Just like you, so arrogant!"
After saying that, Minato grabbed Naruto and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape.
Kakashi blinked and said weakly,
"Senior Senga, there's probably nothing more for me here, so I'll be taking my leave now!"
Senga waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away a fly. Kakashi was immediately relieved and vanished with a Body Flicker Technique.
After the others left, Senga was the only one left in the cemetery. He turned around and glanced at Fugaku and Mikoto's tombstones, then vanished in a flash.
Minato, looking smug, said to Naruto from his home.
"Naruto, do you think Dad is right? The Uchiha are a bunch of arrogant tsundere! Especially Senga!"
Naruto remained silent, staring at Minato's back with a strange look.
Minato felt a chill run down his spine. He turned around abruptly and saw a fist that was growing larger and larger.
"Aww!"
Minato covered his face and rolled on the ground. Senga looked down at him and said coldly,
"Who are you calling a tsundere?"