Should She Die?

Nagato had plenty of Ninjutsu: the Five Nature Transformations, along with all kinds of techniques unique to the Rinnegan. But Uchiha Itachi knew what his other self was threatening him with.

Chibaku Tensei, Shinra Tensei, or even bringing Deidara back through Impure World Reincarnation and letting that explosion-obsessed kid do to Konoha what he had done to Amegakure.

Itachi knew exactly what had become of Amegakure. Calling it devastated would have been an understatement.

Devastation implied there was something left. Amegakure did not have a single building standing.

It was much smaller than Konoha, but after silently gauging Nagato's power, Uchiha Itachi reached a simple conclusion.

If today's battle had taken place in Konoha, the village would have met the same fate. Neither the Hokage Building nor the clans' compounds would have been spared.

No one might have been able to stop Nagato, Uchiha Obito in his complete Susanoo, or even Deidara's self-destruction.

His other self's threat was real. If he obtained the Rinnegan, Konoha truly could be destroyed.

Uchiha Itachi gripped the short blade so tightly that the veins on the back of his hand bulged.

But he could not bring himself to swing it again. Sometimes, only after losing something did a person understand how deeply it could hurt.

"He has to suspect you. You really would use Shinra Tensei and Chibaku Tensei to flatten the village."

But now, within the Genjutsu, he could see every detail of her again: her face, her smile.

Uchiha Itachi, dressed in ordinary clothes, spoke softly. The Itachi in the Akatsuki cloak took a step back.

"It doesn't matter. You're just tired. You fell asleep and had a nightmare..." she murmured. It seemed she could no longer see Uchiha Itachi, Obito, or Lin.

Even when he closed his eyes, darkness did not