Within the Tsukuyomi Space, Itachi, the caster of the Jutsu, could precisely control the flow of time.
Although it was a genjutsu, this was a realm of time and space under Itachi's absolute control. There was no safer place in the world for a conversation.
"...I see. You're actually Sasuke from another timeline, and the Ōtsutsuki Clan Lord Fourth Hokage mentioned can even travel through time and space?"
As the first person in this timeline to learn everything from Minato, Itachi listened carefully to Sasuke's account, then nodded.
Perhaps, in this timeline, Itachi had been the first to prepare for the Ōtsutsuki Clan apart from the Nine-Tails and Minato.
Then Itachi's expression dimmed. "I just never imagined that, without Lord Fourth Hokage's intervention, the decisions I made back then would bring you so much suffering..."
"No, Brother... Itachi."
Sasuke had wanted to object, but remembering that this wasn't the Uchiha Itachi from his own timeline, he calmed himself a little and shook his head. "Those things are in the past. For me now, what remains is a profound weight of emotion, and I've gradually come to understand what that love meant. I no longer see it simply as suffering. It's also one of the most important parts of my life."
"You've grown up."
Itachi spoke with feeling.
"...Well, I am a little older than you now."
Sasuke smiled too.
"You've grown up..." Itachi repeated, but this time, his tone was entirely different. "It must have been a hard road."
Sasuke reached up to touch his empty sleeve, then raised his head to look at the monochrome sky. He didn't answer the question. "Itachi, the Tsukuyomi World needs your Eye Power to sustain it, so let's not waste time. We can leave catching up here. Business comes first."
"...All right."
Itachi