This conclusion didn't come solely from speculation about the truth behind Itachi Uchiha's massacre of the clan—it was also directly tied to what had already been shown in the earlier footage.
Even in the future, Sasuke Uchiha still charged ahead recklessly. Itachi had only needed to provoke him slightly, and he had come running exactly as expected.
He had even brought three companions with him. On the surface, that looked cautious, but if Itachi had truly intended to set a trap and had the Akatsuki lying in wait, what difference would those three make?
Given the Akatsuki's strength, any one of them could deal with Sasuke's teammates without difficulty.
Not to mention, Itachi's vision in the footage was already visibly failing. Under those circumstances, he had little chance of victory.
Putting all of that together, Kakashi Hatake reached his own conclusion.
Itachi intended to offer up his own Mangekyō Sharingan… to exchange his eyes for Sasuke's future.
The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
A brother going that far for his younger sibling—it should have been touching.
And yet, the one who had condemned Sasuke to a miserable childhood, wiped out his entire family, and annihilated the clan… was that same brother.
Hearing all of this, calling Itachi a monster wouldn't be wrong. But everything he had done was also for Konoha. As a jonin of the village, Kakashi couldn't simply dismiss that.
If Itachi hadn't acted back then, Konoha would have been drenched in blood.
The Uchiha Clan's chances of successfully overthrowing the village had been slim. More likely, it would have ended in mutual destruction—not just the Uchiha, but Konoha's shinobi and civilians as well.
And if Konoha had been severely weakened by internal conflict, it would have invited an invasion from the other villages. The Fourth Great Ninja War might have broken out long before its time.
The casualties would have been hundreds of times greater than the number of Uchiha who died.
From the perspective of a shinobi who truly belonged to Konoha, who saw the village as home, Itachi's sacrifice was something to be grateful for.
That was why Kakashi's feelings were so complicated.
He didn't know what to say.
Still, he shared the same love for the village as Itachi.
No matter what choice Sasuke made after learning the truth, if he chose to take revenge against Konoha, Kakashi would stand in his way.
Because their positions were different.
People weren't so simple that they could be divided into good and evil.
And even then, Kakashi didn't believe Sasuke would be wrong to seek revenge. After all, he had lost everything.
But he would never allow it.
"…Sigh."
Minato Namikaze let out a quiet breath as he watched the discussion about the Eternal Mangekyō unfold in the diary.
From his perspective, Itachi was delivering his final words—passing on what mattered most.
The speech had been long, but its core could be reduced to two points.
First, beyond the Mangekyō Sharingan, there existed something called the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, and Sasuke needed to remember that.
Second, there was still someone lurking in the shadows—someone calling himself Uchiha Madara—and he was extremely dangerous.
Hearing all of this, Sasuke should have been on guard.
Itachi's words had been filled with distrust and hostility toward Madara.
But it hadn't mattered.
Clearly, Sasuke hadn't listened. Later on, he had still gotten involved with that man—whether it was Madara or Uchiha Kenji.
Itachi had done everything he could.
And in the end, it had been Naruto Uzumaki who brought Sasuke back.
He had ultimately become one of the saviors of the shinobi world.
Life really was unpredictable.
"So after all that, Sasuke still didn't listen. He still ended up associating with that so-called Madara… or rather, Uchiha Kenji."
Within the Akatsuki, Itachi let out a quiet sigh.
Based on everything shown in the footage, Sasuke hadn't taken his warnings to heart at all. He had still aligned himself with the man Itachi feared, perhaps even becoming his subordinate.
Fortunately, the final outcome had been a good one.
At least Naruto hadn't given up on him.
With a teammate like that, Sasuke's luck was undeniably good.
"So that's how it is…"
Sasuke himself felt like he finally understood everything.
Why Itachi hadn't killed him.
Why he had told him about the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Why he had provoked him into awakening his eyes.
Even pushing him toward the Mangekyō.
It was all for his eyes.
He had been treated like spare parts.
Fine. So that's how it was going to be.
No wonder Kaede Kitahara had mentioned in the diary that Itachi suffered from a Kekkei Genkai Disease. So it really was true.
His eyes were failing now, weren't they?
Serves him right.
"So that's it… there's something beyond the Mangekyō—the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. I won't let you get what you want. For that damned power, you slaughtered the entire clan."
Sasuke clenched his fists, his face flushed with anger.
In the video, Sasuke tore off the bandages from his forehead and cast aside his cloak.
For the first time, Itachi's expression turned serious.
"So you've finally understood what kind of person I am."
"All of this… was for that?"
To Sasuke, it sounded utterly absurd. To kill his entire family for something like this—was there any humanity left at all?
"It's finally come to this. The moment I achieve my goal," Sasuke said coldly, staring at Itachi.
Itachi only scoffed. "You may think you've seen my death, but you cannot defeat me with the Mangekyō Sharingan. Unfortunately, your goal can only be achieved in an illusion. Do you know why? Because you don't have the Mangekyō."
Sasuke slowly removed the wrappings around his hands, preparing for a true battle.
"No matter how you use those eyes, I'll turn your illusions into reality with my hatred."
He fixed his gaze on the enemy he had longed to kill for so many years.
"And your reality… ends in death."
After exchanging those final words, the two brothers moved at the same time.
Shuriken flew.
Their projectiles collided midair, sparks erupting with every impact.
The sheer level of their skill left everyone watching stunned.
There were countless shinobi in the world who excelled in using throwing weapons, and those observing—Minato, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kakashi—were all masters in their own right.
Back in the academy, they had all scored perfectly in this area.
But compared to the Uchiha brothers, they could only accept one truth.
Some people scored a hundred because their ability capped at a hundred.
Others scored a hundred because that was the maximum score.
They belonged to the former.
The Uchiha brothers… to the latter.
This was a difference rooted in innate talent.
With the Sharingan, their perception far surpassed that of ordinary people. The elegant Uchiha-style throwing techniques were built on that overwhelming visual prowess.
For anyone else, matching that kind of exchange would be impossible. Their eyes wouldn't be able to keep up—their perception, their tracking, all of it would fall short.
Faced with something like this, their only options would be to dodge… or raise a defensive wall like Earth-Style Wall.
For the Uchiha, though, this dazzling exchange was just another display of skill.
Only those with such visual prowess—only the Uchiha—could fight like this.
Even the Hyuga Clan, famed for their Byakugan, couldn't replicate it. Their strength lay more in long-range perception and battlefield awareness.
In direct combat, they still fell short of the Sharingan.
"Tch… typical Uchiha fighting style," Tsunade muttered.
Watching this, Itachi gave a slight nod of approval.
The fact that Sasuke could match him in such a refined exchange of thrown weapons proved one thing—over the past three years, Sasuke's fundamentals had improved tremendously.
He had made real progress.
And that was what mattered most to Itachi.
It also proved something Kaede Kitahara had said before.
Sasuke had always had talent. It simply hadn't been brought out properly.
He hadn't been inferior to Itachi as their father had once implied. He had just been raised with too much indulgence and not enough training.
In contrast, Itachi had been pushed harder from a young age, burdened with greater expectations.
"Sasuke… I'm sorry."
Watching himself locked in a fierce stalemate with his brother, Itachi murmured softly.
Just when it seemed the battle had reached a deadlock, another Itachi suddenly leapt out from behind him, three shuriken in hand, launching an attack at Sasuke.
A shadow clone.
Everyone recognized it instantly, shock flashing across their faces.
When had he formed the hand seals?