"Brother..." Seeing the gentle smile on Itachi's face, Sasuke choked up, unable to say anything more for a moment.
"Sasuke, I've said everything I needed to say. Next, I'll cast a genjutsu on Kabuto and make him undo the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu," Itachi said softly. He turned toward the motionless Kabuto, the Three Tomoe in his left eye slowly spinning.
"Sharingan, genjutsu!"
This time, Itachi did not choose to use Tsukuyomi. Kabuto had already fallen into Izanami's cycle of reincarnation and had completely lost the ability to resist. Any genjutsu would have the same effect now.
"Wait, Brother!" Sasuke suddenly stopped him. "If you stop the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, doesn't that mean you'll disappear too...?"
"Heh!" A faint smile curled at Itachi's lips as he said quietly, "I have long been a dead man. In this world, the only one I couldn't let go of was you. But seeing how much you've grown, I know you can face everything that comes next.
"Besides, I've entrusted your future to Naruto Uzumaki. The path ahead is still one that you must choose for yourselves. But there's one thing you got wrong—I have no intention of disappearing just like this. Kabuto may have been defeated, and he will undo the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, but the Ninja World's true threat has yet to disappear... I'll ask him how to remain in this world after undoing the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu. At the very least, I must eliminate that final threat. With this body of mine, there may still be a sliver of a chance!"
"There's actually a shinobi in this Ninja World whom even you, Brother, evaluate so highly?" Sasuke asked in shock. During their recent battle, he had come to understand just how powerful Impure World Reincarnation Itachi was. Freed