Itachi: You Can Still Turn Back

Listening to Itachi's complex words, the initial surprise in his eyes slowly faded.

He looked at the weasel staring at him with eyes filled with confusion and resentment, but a chill ran through him.

If anyone else from Konoha were standing here asking him this question, he might give selective answers depending on the situation.

But you Uchiha Itachi? Ha...

Looking into Itachi's eyes, the memory of that night when they "reunited" couldn't help but surface.

The knife he wore on that wooden boat that passed through the Mist Village Waterway, still stained with dark red blood...

The blood stained on it was the blood of innocent members of the Uchiha Clan, the blood of ordinary people who had never participated in any coup plots and only wanted to live peaceful lives.

It's the blood of people I've known and spent over a decade with...

Kou suppressed the murderous intent surging through his chest, which almost burst forth from his body, and coldly stared at Itachi in front of him.

His voice slowly echoed in the silent tomb chamber:

"... Now that things have come to this, what's the point of asking these questions?"

Kō coldly stared at Itachi in front of him with his Three Tomoe Sharingan:

"I have nothing left to say to you."

Hearing Koko's words, which left no room for negotiation, Itachi's eyes, which had previously held a faint glimmer of hope, dimmed at a visible speed.

Yes, there's nothing left for them to say to each other...

Itachi thought bitterly to himself, then fell silent and did not speak again.

Looking at Itachi, who had fallen silent again, he forcefully suppressed the surging anger and killing intent within him.

He took a deep breath without making a sound, turned his gaze toward the cave's exit, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"Now that we've uncovered the clues about the Totsuka Blade, it's time to move on to the next step of the plan."

He whispered the command in his heart, subtly channeling the power of his eyes to send a message to the figure who had been waiting for him for a long time outside the cave.

At this moment, outside the cave, on a towering cliff...

A pale-faced, long-haired, sinister figure stood on the edge of the cliff.

A breeze blew from the valley, ruffling Orochimaru's long black hair that fell over his shoulders.

A glimmer of light flashed in his empty, golden snake eyes—he had already received the command from the depths of the tomb.

Orochimaru's hands began to rapidly Hand Seals, then he slammed his palms heavily onto the rock beneath his feet:

"Summoning Technique!!"

As Orochimaru's hoarse, deep voice fell, the earth began to tremble violently.

Cracks burst open from the rock surface, spreading wildly in all directions, and rubble tumbled down from the edge of the cliff.

After the massive smoke from the Summoning Technique dissipated, the towering figure of a colossal being, reaching into the clouds, stood majestically on the earth...

"Boom--!!"

At the same time, the tomb deep inside the cave also began to tremble slightly amidst the violent shaking.

The rubble on the stone wall teetered precariously, falling one after another. The few remaining flames on the broken wall also shook violently with the tremors, casting the tomb chamber in flickering light.

Itachi, who was still immersed in the lingering sadness, felt the ground tremble, and his previously dim eyes instantly regained their usual calm.

He abruptly raised his head, his brows furrowed as he looked towards the cave entrance, his voice filled with intense wariness:

"That is..."

"It seems Orochimaru has finally lost his patience and is preparing to make his move."

Kou followed Itachi's words, adopting a similarly solemn expression, his gaze fixed intently on the direction of the cave entrance.

He aimed the Firebirth at the cave entrance, the crimson flames burning on the sword, casting a play of light and shadow on his feignedly serious face.

After a moment, as if making some kind of judgment, Koko turned his gaze away from the direction of the cave entrance and casually turned to Itachi:

"Leave this place to me for now. You go outside and check the situation."

Hearing Koko's calm words, Itachi's brows furrowed slightly.

He did not respond to Kou's words immediately, but stood still, staring at Kou standing beside the wooden coffin with his scarlet Three Tomoe Sharingan.

Kō felt Itachi's scrutinizing gaze and instantly understood the concerns in his heart.

"Splitting up is the optimal solution at present."

He spoke calmly, turning his gaze to the wooden coffin beside him:

"Orochimaru probably overheard our conversation through some means."

His target is most likely this wooden coffin that seals the Totsuka Blade.

If the two of us go out to check the situation together, he is very likely to take advantage of the situation.

As he spoke, he shifted his gaze back to Itachi and said meaningfully:

"This is an outcome none of us wanted to see... Am I right?"

Itachi remained silent.

He simply shifted his gaze slowly from Kou's face to the wooden coffin beside him.

After a long silence, Itachi finally spoke slowly:

"How can I be sure that you weren't deliberately trying to distract me so you could take this wooden coffin with you?"

"Tsk, this guy is definitely not so easy to deal with..."

He silently cursed in his heart, but his face instantly switched to a disdainful expression.

Feeling Itachi's wary gaze, Koko said coldly in an almost self-deprecating tone:

"Didn't you just say that only Uchiha who have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan are qualified to obtain the Totsuka Blade?"

Even if I wanted to obtain the Totsuka Blade, I currently lack the ability.

"Not to mention..."

He paused, his Three Tomoe Sharingan, gleaming with a cold, sharp light in the Kakkō.

"Even without Orochimaru interfering, if it were just the two of us here, I would never let you get the Totsuka Blade."

Hearing Koko's resolute words, Itachi's gaze darkened.

Kouchi completely ignored Itachi's reaction and said calmly:

"I, who haven't awakened the Mangekyo, will stay here. You, who have awakened the Mangekyo and can deal with Orochimaru at the fastest speed, will go after him."

This is the most suitable arrangement for us, who both have reservations about each other.

Itachi listened silently to Koko's words, his eyes filled with deep thoughts.

He remained silent for a long time, and the three Tomo in his eyes began to slowly rotate, eventually transforming into a pitch-black Shuriken.

Mangekyō Sharingan, awaken!

An invisible pressure silently emanated from Itachi.

Under that oppressive force, even the flames that were still flickering in the tomb seemed to be suppressed.

Kō felt the oppressive aura emanating from Itachi, the aura of the Mangekyō Sharingan, and his eyes instantly turned cold.

He instantly unleashed his Chakra and charged forward without flinching.

Kou coldly stared at Itachi with his Three Tomoe Sharingan, his face expressionless. He simply gripped the Firebirth in his hand and moved the tip of the blade slightly toward Itachi.

"... I see."

After a moment, the Mangekyo in Itachi's eyes slowly faded, and his deep black eyes returned to normal.

He spoke in a low voice, then turned away from the audience, his voice regaining its previous calmness:

"I'll leave this to you for now."

Seeing Itachi's quick surrender, Koko involuntarily frowned slightly.

"Why did this guy agree so readily? Could it be that he's already figured something out?"

"But how could that be? My acting skills should be absolutely perfect..."

While pondering to himself, Kou kept a close eye on Itachi's retreating figure without making a sound.

Has things progressed a little too smoothly?

Just as he was pondering this in his heart, Itachi, who had just taken half a step, suddenly stopped.

Kō instantly sensed Itachi's movement, and his heart sank. He silently activated the Chakra within his body, preparing to strike at any moment.

Itachi remained with his back to Kō, without turning around.

After a long silence, he finally spoke slowly, as if talking to himself:

"Actually, it doesn't matter if you take this wooden coffin with you."

"... ha?"

Kou stared in surprise at the figure in front of him with his back to him, unable to process the meaning behind his words for a moment.

Itachi remained with his back to Kotobuki, so his expression was not visible.

He simply lowered his head slightly and continued speaking:

"You are far more deserving of this inheritance than I am."

Kou seemed to understand the deeper meaning in Itachi's words. In his scarlet Three Tomoe Sharingan, besides deep fear and coldness, there suddenly appeared a trace of indescribable complexity.

"You..."

"But before that, I hope you can hear me out one more time."

Itachi interrupted Koko's words.

It seemed that from the very beginning, he had no expectation that Kou would give him any response.

Itachi slowly turned his head, looking at Kokoro behind him with a complicated expression, and said softly in a tone that should never have been there again, a tone of pleading:

"Although I don't know why you joined Akatsuki or why you stood by Madara's side."

But please trust me one last time, Xiao, this is not the place for you.

He paused, his voice now carrying a rare sincerity:

"Unlike me, you can still turn back."

After saying that, Itachi turned his gaze away and never looked back at Kokoro again.

He turned his gaze to the still slightly trembling, pitch-black cave entrance, then with a flash, he ran towards the entrance at an extremely fast speed.

His steps were clean and decisive, without any hesitation, as if the person who had stopped and said those words just now... was not him.

Only Kou remained in the tomb.

He stood beside the wooden coffin, quietly reflecting on the words Itachi had left behind before he departed.

He looked in the direction Itachi had left, his eyes filled with extremely complex and indescribable emotions.

Kou stood there silently for a long time.

"Cut."

After a moment, Kou let out a low scoff, then coldly stared at the wooden coffin beside him, muttering to himself:

"Using the existence of the Totsuka Blade as leverage, are you keeping a Obito card that can make Obito suspicious of me...?"

"Uchiha Itachi, you're as troublesome as ever."

He held these thoughts in his heart with a sense of vigilance, as if trying to suppress the things he didn't want to think about with such judgment.

He sighed deeply, expelling all the distracting thoughts from his chest, and his eyes immediately regained their usual calmness.

Kow gazed longingly at the dark cave entrance, then put away the Firebirth in his hand and quickly Hand Seals:

"Shadow Clone Technique."

As he finished speaking, two Shadow Clone, identical in appearance to him, silently appeared in the white smoke.

Two Shadow Clone stood guard at the entrances to the passageways on either side of the tomb, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings.

The body of the knocker slowly turned around and solemnly looked at the silent and magnificent wooden coffin beside it.

The three Tomo in his eyes began to slowly rotate, leaving long, twisted trails, eventually transforming into an eerie Mangekyo pattern.

The eerie light of the Mangekyō Sharingan silently illuminated the dimly lit tomb.

The eerie light was fixed on the ancient wooden coffin that sealed the Totsuka Blade...