"Was it you who wanted the Uchiha Clan to disappear like this?! From the very beginning—"
Hearing Itachi Uchiha say that, Sasuke Uchiha's mind became a tangled mess. Confusion and sorrow intertwined, tormenting him, while a faint feeling told him he might have guessed what Itachi Uchiha meant. He did not want to keep asking, yet the question slipped out anyway. "Why?"
Itachi Uchiha murmured to himself, "Why? I don't know either—it was just—I really wanted to do it—"
Perhaps it was precisely because of that subconscious impulse that, when the opportunity came, he seized it. He could vent the dark, evil desire buried deep within him—the desire to see the Uchiha Clan vanish without a trace—while also protecting the pure, innocent younger brother he could not bear to hurt. Why not?
Besides, the Uchiha Clan had been beyond saving from the start. "Madara Uchiha" was watching from outside, while Danzo's Root had set its sights on them within the village. They had already reached the end of the road; their destruction had been inevitable.
As Sasuke Uchiha watched the silent Itachi Uchiha, words echoed in his ears:
"The Uchiha Clan was a bloody clan that killed friends for the Mangekyō Sharingan! That murdered loved ones to gain eternal ocular power! And then boasted proudly about that power!"
Those were the words Itachi Uchiha had roared in a feigned frenzy within the Genjutsu Proficiency during their initial probing exchange earlier that day.
Looking back on it now, it seemed Itachi Uchiha had used that performance within the Genjutsu Proficiency to speak his true feelings.
"Heh heh—"
Sasuke Uchiha gave a bitter laugh.
Let it end like this.
He no longer wanted to investigate the Uchiha Clan's affairs. The clan had long since disappeared anyway. Its bloodline might continue, but the