Obsession Within the Blood

"My hands are stained with too much innocent blood; those are sins I cannot escape... I made mistakes; I hurt too many people, and I hurt you too."

Itachi Uchiha lay on the ground, his voice escaping intermittently.

"Perhaps those people don't have to die, perhaps... I should find another path."

"... but I didn't find it."

He closed his eyes, his lips twitching slightly, it was hard to tell whether he was giving a bitter smile or mocking himself.

"At that time, I only saw two paths: kill them all, or watch them be killed, watch more people die... I chose the former."

Itachi Uchiha spoke slowly, his tone devoid of any pleading for forgiveness or expectation of being pardoned.

He was just saying that he was bringing out things he'd kept bottled up for so many years, little by little. Was he trying to atone for his sins?

"... Itachi Uchiha, I cannot accept you."

Satsuki's voice rang out, as always indifferent, as always devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

"The main reason is not because you killed too many innocent people."

Her words made Itachi Uchiha frown slightly. Not because he had killed too many innocent people? Then why?

"... I am Uchiha Clan, and I have come to understand the true nature of the Uchiha Clan."

Satsuki started talking about something else.

"If we invest our feelings in someone we've chosen, we'll never look back, and we'll transform those feelings into a power within our blood. Itachi Uchiha, is the person you've chosen me?"

Itachi Uchiha nodded slightly. He wasn't the arrogant type of Uchiha who would casually mention things like "we are a special clan," but he was very clear about the characteristics of the Uchiha Clan.

That kind of unwavering obsession once you've set your mind on someone, that kind of instinctive power to transform emotions into strength—these things flow through his veins.

Satsuki was right; the person he chose from beginning to end was Sasuke.

It wasn't the Uchiha Clan, it wasn't the village, it wasn't peace, it was Sasuke. He staked everything on that child, poured all his heart and soul into that child, and placed all his hopes on that child.

He turned his life into a play performed only for one person, and that person was Sasuke.

"... I am not a good candidate for the restoration of the clan."

Satsuki's voice continued, "Because for me, I care more about the person I've chosen than about my clan."

Itachi Uchiha suddenly raised his head.

"You just said you would do it, so let me explain."

Satsuki's voice was even lower than before, and a sharp killing intent unconsciously emanated from her, clearly directed at Itachi Uchiha.

"I hate you, and I hate Itachi Uchiha from my world, because of what you did that night to make me Sharingan."

A knowing expression appeared on Itachi Uchiha's face, a mixture of bitterness, guilt, and a sense of relief that said, "I knew it."

"... So that's how it is... I... made my move on the person you set your sights on."

Itachi Uchiha understood. That night, he used Tsukuyomi on Sasuke. He used Genjutsu for a full seventy-two hours, playing those images—him killing his clansmen, him standing in front of his parents' corpses, the blood dripping from his blade—over and over again, making Sasuke experience seventy-two hours of hell in that Genjutsu world.

He used every means to break his brother, to drive him to despair, and to leave his heart filled only with hatred.

He even tortured Sasuke to the point of near death, until he himself felt disheartened and thought Sasuke would never awaken the Sharingan, at which point those eyes finally appeared.

If Sasuke hadn't awakened his Sharingan yet, and if Sasuke's friends or someone else happened to be present, what would he have done?

The answer surfaced in his mind—he would kill that person for the greater good he believed in.

Regardless of who that person is or what their relationship is with Sasuke, if he believes that killing that person will awaken Sasuke's Sharingan, he will act without hesitation.

Anyway, he had already killed enough people that night. His parents, his clansmen, his neighbors, men and women, young and old, living in the clan's territory. What difference would it make if one more or one less?

"Hmm... Itachi Uchiha, do you know him?"

"If he really died back then, died under the kind of protection you believed in—whatever your goal was, whether it was for the village, for peace, or even for me... if he died, I wouldn't be left alone in this world."

"Of course, that's after I kill you and all the causes and consequences that led to all of this."

Itachi Uchiha listened to Satsuki's words, he wanted to stand up, to walk up to Satsuki, and to apologize.

He knew that an apology wouldn't change anything; the dead wouldn't come back to life, and the pain Sasuke had endured wouldn't disappear—but it was the only thing he could do.

But his physical weakness prevented him from even standing up.

He dug into the soil with his fingers, trying to prop himself up, but his arms trembled slightly, and he couldn't even lift himself off the ground.

"... sorry."

Satsuki did not respond.

She stood there, her expression unreadable, but her fingers were clenched tightly. She felt a tightness in her chest because she couldn't really kill this guy.

No matter what she does, she can only beat him up, not kill him.

The fate of Itachi Uchiha in this world should be decided by Sasuke in this world, not by her. As for the Itachi in her own world, because of his mother, all she can do is sever all ties and completely break with him.

Years ago, the heartache I felt when I saw Naruto almost die in front of me was so overwhelming—I knew I couldn't rely on him to fix things.

Satsuki coldly shifted her gaze from Itachi and prepared to leave.

Although the rift in my heart hasn't been completely healed, at least the surging emotions have been suppressed.

As expected, she had let Naruto relax too much... Thinking about how that guy even went to see Gaara during their honeymoon, Satsuki made up her mind that she absolutely could not give Naruto any more time to relax before she got pregnant.

"Wait a moment..."

Itachi Uchiha's voice came from behind again.

"What else do you want to say?" Satsuki stopped and turned to look at him, her tone already showing little patience.

"Thank you..."

"Don't take yourself too seriously," Satsuki interrupted him coldly. "Your body is still the same; I haven't cured you."

She was telling the truth. The disease she suppressed with [Amaterasu Ling] was only temporary, like covering a pile of garbage with a cloth. When the cloth is lifted, the disease will return.

No... that's not what I meant.

Itachi Uchiha shook his head.

"I know that from the moment I slaughtered my entire clan, death was my only fate. I will not accept any proof of a future, not because of you, but because I deserve it all."

He was serious, not just in words—even if he had the chance to live, he would refuse without hesitation.

Because he never intended to live, from the night he picked up the knife, death was the end he had planned for himself.

"Sasuke... you've chosen the path of light, but not because of me."

His eyes were a little red.

But his eyes remained fixed on Satsuki, on that face that combined features of Sasuke and Mikoto, and on those eyes he had never seen before.

He didn't see Sasuke's future, but he saw another possibility.

"But I'm really happy... Thank you for showing me what kind of person Sasuke can become in the future."