"Yata Mirror!"
The person before Itachi Uchiha seemed to be Shisui. Then, somehow, Minato Namikaze appeared as well.
If both of them were still alive, would the Uchiha Clan still have been destroyed?
Had he chosen the wrong path?
In the end, had he been used as a pawn, or was the Uchiha Clan doomed from the very beginning?
He couldn't see clearly anymore.
Why was this path so painful and confusing?
What was the point of the Uchiha, born for pain and hatred?
Itachi was wavering, but his strength was not!
The Yata Mirror subdued the Tomoe, though several still flew off into the distance and smashed apart a few mountains.
"No wonder you could take the eyes Danzo treasured so much. You possess such incredible power."
"You don't have Uchiha blood, yet you can awaken Susanoo with one eye, just like Shisui."
"Even in the Uchiha Clan, that would be an absolute miracle."
Itachi wished he still had a senior to rely on.
But ever since the day Shisui died beneath the waterfall, Konoha's skies had been eternal night in Itachi's eyes, with a blood-red moon hanging above.
"No Uchiha blood?"
Naruto attacked with Susanoo, while the Nine-Tails' nine hands seized the opportunity to strike Itachi's Susanoo as well.
They overwhelmed him like a mob!
"What does the Uchiha Clan mean to you? Just a Kekkei Genkai?"
Ever since Naruto had used Sage Mode Double to open the chakra pathways to his third eye, he had been able to convert the Uchiha bloodline within the Mangekyo.
In a world where even Hashirama Cells could be transplanted, how could the Uchiha bloodline be impossible to replicate?
That was why Naruto had already gathered all the precious bloodlines of the Senju Clan, the Uchiha Clan, and the Uzumaki Clan.
His strength had grown by leaps and bounds. Even without tempering his body with Senjutsu Chakra, he could feel himself getting stronger.
Itachi was trapped in a cage: the belief that the Uchiha Clan was doomed to perish, and that hatred was the source of Uchiha power.
Just as Neji Hyuga was trapped by the Caged Bird, convinced it was an unbreakable shackle!
Only Naruto understood.
They should have had another path. Even now, they could still start over.
"Mr. Itachi's Susanoo is being suppressed!"
Kisame Hoshigaki couldn't allow that to happen.
His cheeks puffed out as he prepared to help with Water Release: Great Shark Bullet.
"Damn it! They're so huge! How are we supposed to fight them?"
Hidan kept attacking with his weapon, but he couldn't even free himself from a single Nine-Tails.
"Susanoo is Madara Uchiha's power!"
Kakuzu had already sensed something was wrong.
What frightened him most was something else.
Plants were sprouting from the ruins!
"Let me give you the answer once and for all, Itachi!"
Naruto knew that in the Ninja World, you had to prove your point with reason at every turn.
Only by defeating Itachi Uchiha could he earn the right to talk with him!
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Bloom!"
A forest surged forth, covering the ground in an instant.
Kakuzu's scalp prickled.
"That's Hashirama Senju's power! Damn it!"
The fear of being dominated once more spread through his heart.
Kakuzu, who claimed to be immortal, would have given anything to flee into a crack in the ground.
"To possess the power of both Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju? A Nine-Tails Jinchuriki like this is terrifying!"
Kisame Hoshigaki marveled.
In his eyes, Itachi Uchiha was already an absolute powerhouse, capable of wielding the Uchiha Kekkei Genkai to its fullest.
Madara Uchiha was a legend of his era!
Naruto had just displayed power beyond their understanding. How could they not be amazed?
"Konoha has kept remarkably quiet. All these years, they haven't publicized a single detail about their strongest Jinchuriki!"
Nagato coughed several times.
His chakra was nearly restored, and he was already prepared to die.
"If someone like him is still only the Acting Hokage, is there anyone in Konoha who'd dare refuse to accept him?"
Deidara stroked his chin.
He couldn't imagine anyone in Konoha who could stand against Naruto.
"That village doesn't choose its Hokage based on strength alone. They have plenty of other pointless considerations."
"After the Fourth Hokage died, the Uchiha Clan should have been the ones with true Kage Level strength, apart from us Sannin. But you've seen what happened to them."
Orochimaru found the whole thing laughable.
The Hokage was whoever everyone recognized as the Hokage.
But when they first established the village, what had they relied on?
Without the power of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, the world would probably still be in the Sengoku era.
"Every village has its darkness."
Sasori sneered.
As someone from the Sand Village, he thought it was only natural.
After all, the Sand Village was willing to sell out its Elite Jonin for money.
The renegade ninjas in the Akatsuki had all been through their share of hardship. Every one of them knew the darkest side of the Ninja World.
"Sasori, I've always hated you, but I agree with you on this."
Orochimaru grinned, his tongue flicking out.
"Hmph. I don't care."
Sasori of the Red Sands watched the battlefield coldly.
This battle had become a show for Naruto and Itachi alone.
As Naruto's nine extra tails beat Itachi's Susanoo senseless, crushing him with overwhelming strength, Itachi understood that Naruto was stronger than he was.
And the giant trees had completely pinned his Susanoo down, slamming it into the ground while Naruto pounded it relentlessly!
"The power of the Uchiha and Hashirama Senju once captivated countless people."
Itachi coughed uncontrollably.
The Akatsuki had plenty of ways to stay alive, yet still had two sickly men in Itachi and Nagato. They really needed to stop overworking themselves.
"You've gathered their power and even subdued this uncontrollable Demon Fox. No wonder you became Hokage at such a young age."
Itachi's Susanoo was cracking.
His condition was poor, and Naruto had overpowered him.
But more than that, he was consumed by doubt, shaken by Naruto's absolute resolve.
"The Uchiha or the Senju Clan—it makes no difference."
"If possessing power is itself a sin, then I will deny that absolutely."
"Because I am the strongest person in this world!"
With a single sword strike, Naruto shattered Susanoo's faceplate.
He dropped through the air and landed before Itachi, who was coughing up blood.
"You've been trapped in a nightmare for a long time. Why not wake up and accept reality?"
"You've been weighing the fate of the Uchiha Clan and suffering beneath the curse of the Sharingan."
"But you never once stopped to ask why you couldn't become stronger."
"If it were me, after Minato Namikaze died, Shisui Uchiha—who had also made great contributions in the Ninja World War—should have succeeded him as Hokage."
"These past few years, you've nearly burned yourself out, and you've burned that whole grove of Uchiha down with you."
"Endless wars in the Sengoku era couldn't wipe out the Uchiha. But in your generation, one man nearly exterminated them."
"What's the worst that could happen? We return to the Sengoku era? For the village, for Konoha, for the Will of Fire?"
Naruto's Nine-Tails raised him up like a throne.
He grabbed the bewildered Itachi Uchiha.
"Wake up! What are you still suffering for? What are you upset about?"
"The so-called Will of Fire never existed. Ninjas are products of war. Either end it all, or live in endless chaos!"
"Wake up! Even if it hurts, you have to keep living. Join me in ending the Ninja Village era for good. Stop struggling for some so-called Will of Fire!"
"Whether it's the Uzumaki Clan, the Senju Clan, the Uchiha Clan, Ino-Shika-Cho, or the Hyuga Clan—or civilians, Feudal Lords, ninjas, or samurai—they're all in!"
"No one can stop me from ending the Ninja Village era!"
Naruto punched Itachi Uchiha to the ground and took the Shisui Mangekyo he had been hiding.
Splurt!
Blood sprayed, then instantly turned to steam.
Naruto removed the Mangekyo Sharingan from his forehead. The wound healed rapidly, leaving behind a Yin Seal.
It was as if the Mangekyo had never been there.
Then he gouged two hollows beneath his original eyes.
New pathways grew through the tissue, joining with Shisui's two Mangekyo Sharingan.
Before long, a pair of closed Mangekyo had appeared beneath Naruto's eyes!
"What a monster, with such incredible resolve!"
Kisame Hoshigaki felt his blood stir with excitement and longing at the world Naruto had described.
"Ending the Ninja Village era for good. No more struggling for the Will of Fire."
Itachi Uchiha crouched halfway over.
With a loud retch, he spat out a mouthful of dark blood.
"Could such a world really exist?"
He looked at Naruto, as if he could see Shisui, who had never wavered, and Minato Namikaze, who had always shone with light.
"How would you know if you didn't try, idiot?"
Naruto grabbed the exhausted, unconscious Itachi with a giant chakra hand and tossed him to Sasori.
"Don't let Deidara or Orochimaru touch him."
As soon as he finished speaking, Kisame Hoshigaki swung Samehada with a rush of air.
"If you want to take Mr. Itachi away, you'll have to step over my dead body!"
"I've been wanting to beat you up for a long time!"
Naruto clenched his fist, ready to smash both Kisame and his sword!