Itachi: Why did you defect from Konoha!

"Totsuka Blade."

Looking at the resolute Itachi before him, a subtle glint flashed in his eyes.

"As expected, Itachi definitely knows something..."

He silently confirmed this guess in his heart, but on the surface, he pretended to be puzzled and slightly raised his eyebrows:

"The Totsuka Blade, one of the three legendary Kusanagi Sword in the Ninja World?"

"That's right."

Itachi nodded firmly, his gaze returning to the wooden coffin beside him.

According to the records in the history of the Uchiha Clan, the legendary Kusanagi Sword was the accompanying divine weapon of "Sengoku Susanoo" - Uchiha Itachi Susanoo.

Unlike the Uchiha recorded in the Uchiha Clan history who subsequently awakened Susanoo,

"Uchiha Itachi's Susanoo's companion artifact is a special entity that can separate from his own Susanoo, exist independently in the outside world, and even be used by others."

He paused here:

"It is precisely because of this characteristic that this unique divine weapon, which was not forged, was classified as Kusanagi Sword."

Kou nodded thoughtfully, adopting a posture of attentive listening.

He frowned slightly, and his tone became more serious:

"So, you think Orochimaru went to great lengths to find this tomb in order to find the Totsuka Blade."

"Because they couldn't find any useful clues here, they deliberately lured us, the Uchiha, here, hoping to find a breakthrough by exploiting us?"

"... very likely."

Itachi nodded, then shifted his gaze from Koko to the silent tomb chamber:

"Even before his defection from Konoha, Orochimaru already possessed a Kusanagi Sword."

If he had been searching for clues about the remaining Kusanagi Sword throughout the Ninja World all these years, finding the exact location of this tomb wouldn't have been difficult for him, given his abilities.

"But it's clear that Orochimaru's plan backfired, isn't it?"

He feigned disdain, turned to look at the wooden coffin beside him, and said in a calm tone:

According to the Uchiha Clan's historical records, the Totsuka Blade last appeared before the world in the Battle of Azure Wall, a battle that determined the Uchiha Clan's foundation in the Land of Fire.

As he spoke, he subtly used the corner of his eye to observe every subtle change in Itachi's expression:

"In that battle, which is hailed as the largest in the Warring States Period, the strongest Ninja World, wielding the Totsuka Blade Susanoo, the ' Uchiha Itachi, perished along with the heads of the Senju Clan and Hyuga Clan."

When the Uchiha Clan members brought back his body, the Totsuka Blade was nowhere to be found.

As he spoke, a hint of deliberate sentimentality crept into his voice:

"That sword, along with its master's death in that battle, probably Susanoo and disappeared completely."

He paused deliberately for a moment, glancing intentionally or unintentionally in Itachi's direction, as if mentioning it casually, or perhaps testing something:

"Although there have always been rumors in the Ninja World that the Totsuka Blade was not actually lost, and that the 'Sengoku Susanoo ' used his last bit of ocular power to separate the Totsuka Blade before he died... But rumors are just rumors after all."

The knocking sound gradually subsided, and the gaze directed at Itachi became meaningful:

"After all, if the Totsuka Blade had truly been passed down and remained in the hands of the Uchiha Clan, how could you possibly be alive now?"

Hearing Koko's words, Itachi fell into a brief silence.

He neither refuted nor defended himself, but simply stood quietly in place, seemingly hesitating about something.

Kouchi pretended to be indifferent, but his gaze never left Itachi for a moment.

He could sense that Itachi definitely knew something he didn't!

After a brief silence, Itachi, as if having finally made a decision, looked solemnly at Koko:

"The accounts of that war are actually incorrect."

Knocking's heart suddenly tightened.

"Really..."

He murmured to himself, but his face immediately switched to one of utter surprise, his eyebrows slightly raised, his voice filled with genuine astonishment and confusion:

"No, what are you referring to...?"

Itachi clearly had no intention of keeping them in suspense, and continued confidently:

"Uchiha Itachi did not actually die immediately when he was discovered by his clansmen."

He died after being brought back to his clan due to the severity of his injuries and the strain caused by overuse of his Mangekyō Sharingan.

As he listened to Itachi's words, the expression on his face darkened visibly.

"You mean, before he passed away, Uchiha Itachi left the Totsuka Blade to the Uchiha Clan?"

Unfortunately, no.

Itachi shook his head, rejecting Koko's speculation without hesitation.

knock:...

Itachi, sensing Koko's impatient gaze, remained calm.

He simply lowered his voice further and said in a calm tone:

"Uchiha Itachi indeed did not leave the Totsuka Blade to the Uchiha Clan."

He believed that after his death, no one in the Uchiha Clan was worthy of the sword, nor could they possibly protect it amidst the numerous enemies he had made.

Itachi shifted his gaze from Kokoro to the silent, opulent wooden coffin beside him, his voice growing increasingly heavy:

"Therefore, he decided to take the sword to his grave, waiting for the Uchiha descendant who could withstand the test he set for himself before his death to come and take it away."

Hearing Itachi's words, Kouchi seemed to understand something, and suddenly turned his head, his gaze turning solemnly to the wooden coffin beside him:

"A test? You mean...?"

"That's right."

Itachi nodded, gazing at the ancient coffin flickering in the Kakkō, and said in a deep voice:

Before his death, Uchiha Itachi used his last bit of eye power to separate the Totsuka Blade from Susanoo and then used the Mangekyō Sharingan's Dōjutsu to seal it inside his wooden coffin.

Only Uchiha who have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan are qualified to undergo the test he left behind, and have the chance... to obtain that divine weapon.

His voice paused slightly here, then he continued stiffly:

"He hopes that the Uchiha descendant who obtains this divine weapon will be able to lead the Uchiha Clan members back to the Land of Land of Fire and complete the unfinished business they left behind."

Itachi looked at the wooden coffin with a complicated expression and said in a low voice:

"What he didn't expect was that the Uchiha Clan didn't ultimately complete their migration through war. Instead, at the invitation of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, they took advantage of the Senju Clan's period of weakness and moved the entire clan into the Land of Fire."

Over the long course of time, apart from the successive heads of the Uchiha Clan and the powerful individuals who awakened the Mangekyo, no one else knew anything about this tomb and the Totsuka Blade.

Today, the location of this tomb, and the story itself, have become uncertain rumors.

Itachi looked around the tomb with a complicated expression, and murmured softly:

"I never imagined that this story, now only used to inspire the next generation of Uchiha, was actually true."

"The successive heads of the Uchiha Clan..."

He silently repeated those words in his heart, then, as if he understood something, his gaze turned to Itachi with a deep, lingering intensity:

"You must have been told all this by Brother Fugaku, right?"

The weasel lowered its head and remained silent.

Seeing Itachi's silent expression, his voice suddenly turned cold, piercing precisely into Itachi's most painful wound:

"Brother Fugaku is a very disciplined guy."

He told you this without a doubt because he wanted to groom you to be the next head of the Uchiha Clan.

Kou seemed to be speaking with a sigh, but his words were full of deep sarcasm and anger:

"But what you've done, haha..."

"... I have indeed disappointed my father."

Itachi remained silent for a long time before murmuring softly.

His voice was very soft, almost drowned out by the faint crackling of the flickering flames:

"Father is wrong. I am not suited to be the head of the Uchiha Clan."

Itachi murmured bitterly, staring at the ground before him with a complex expression, and said in a complicated tone:

"But I'm not the only one my father has misjudged."

He remained silent.

He simply met Itachi's deep gaze coldly and motionlessly.

"You're also the one Father misjudged."

Itachi looked at the cold-faced Koko before him, and the question that had puzzled him for so long finally broke through all the restraints called "reason" at this moment:

"Bearing the hopes of the Uchiha Clan to truly integrate into the village, you, who should have become Hokage... why did you betray Konoha!"

He looked into Kou's eyes, which remained completely calm, and the excitement in his voice was gradually replaced by deep confusion.

Itachi looked at Kokoro with a complicated expression, and whispered the true feelings he had never told anyone before:

"You should have become an excellent Hokage."

He felt the surprised look in Kou's eyes, and silently added the words he ultimately didn't have the courage to say aloud:

"I've thought about that too... as the head of the Uchiha Clan, assisting you, the Hokage."

Itachi took a deep breath, suppressing all the surging emotions back into his eyes, locking them, along with all the bitterness and regret, forever into the deepest part of his heart.

He simply stared intently at Kou in front of him, forcing himself to calm down and observing Kou's next reaction...