Three days later.
Sasuke and Naruto slowly awoke in their respective rooms.
One could only conclude that the tranquilizer dosage Orochimaru administered was indeed massive.
For the past three days, the two boys had been completely unresponsive, relying solely on iv drips to keep them nourished.
However, the place where they finally woke up was no longer the secure medical facility outside the Hidden Rain Village.
...
A day earlier, the Sound Four had finally mastered the basic principles of the Four Violet Flame Flying Thunder Formation.
Its range was still incredibly limited, but it was now functional.
Thus, they were tasked with attempting to transport the unconscious duo.
Naruto was sent back to Konoha while Sasuke was sent to the Land of Waves, directly to Uchiha Itachi's location.
Now that Sasuke had successfully awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan, Itachi no longer needed to manipulate his little brother's life from the shadows.
There was no longer any need to worry about him causing further unnecessary trauma.
Sasuke's awakening proved a point that the Itachi of the original timeline only understood after his own death: One must believe in Sasuke's strength.
This philosophical paradox was the very reason Makoto had been able to successfully use Talk-no-Jutsu on Itachi in the first place.
It perfectly reinforced the words Itachi himself once acknowledged.
"It's not that becoming Hokage makes you acknowledged, it's that being acknowledged by everyone allows you to become Hokage."
This profound statement was the very essence of countering the lone-wolf, destructive heroism of historical figures like Indra and Uchiha Madara.
Yet, after analyzing his own life, Itachi realized he was the absolute least qualified person on earth to utter those words.
After all, his own actions—bearing the burden of mass murder alone, keeping his brother in the dark, and unilaterally planning out Sasuke's entire life—were the exact manifestation of the arrogant philosophy he despised.
Attacking Itachi's psychological defenses using Sasuke's well-being and Konoha's stability was the easiest route.
Combined with Makoto's flawless logical arguments, the genius rogue ninja was easily persuaded.
It also helped that Itachi had personally witnessed the time-traveling adult Sasuke, confirming that his brother could indeed handle the truth.
But in the end, this was merely a philosophical "tool" Makoto used to control him, not the absolute "truth."
If one thought about it for even a second, it became glaringly obvious that "believing in Sasuke's strength" and "trusting Sasuke's own choices" were never actually viable options back then.
That regretful sentiment was something Itachi only expressed in the original story after meeting a fully grown, powerful Sasuke.
It was a lament born purely from hindsight.
Even if Itachi possessed a magical pill to turn back time, it would have been useless.
On the night of the massacre, Sasuke was just a terrified child, running through the blood-soaked streets, crying and screaming, 'Don't kill me...'.
What constructive, Hokage-level advice could a weeping eight-year-old possibly have offered during a complex political coup?
Could Itachi really have expected little Sasuke to draft a flawless diplomatic treaty?
As for relying on his "strength" to stop the Uchiha rebellion? That was completely out of the question.
In reality, Itachi's impossible dilemma was far too complex to be solved simply by "believing in his brother."
But no matter how infinitely complex the Uchiha tragedy was, it was none of Makoto's concern.
All he needed to do was keep Itachi fooled and compliant.
Besides, even if Itachi sensed the flaws in Makoto's argument, the traumatized man would just eagerly deceive himself anyway.
Sending Sasuke over now was simply a matter of convenience.
Makoto couldn't be bothered—nor did he see the need—to explain the convoluted, depressing truth of the Uchiha Clan Massacre to a teenager.
That was a tedious task specifically reserved for Uchiha Itachi.
...
Sasuke finally opened his eyes.
"Nii-san...? No... ITACHI!"
Upon waking and seeing his brother's face, Sasuke was momentarily dazed before his trauma snapped him back to reality.
He immediately struggled to launch an attack.
"Tsukuyomi."
Itachi had fully anticipated this reaction.
He had no choice but to instantly activate his Mangekyō Sharingan, trapping Sasuke in the genjutsu space to force a proper conversation.
This time, he couldn't afford to play the ruthless villain, like tormenting Sasuke by breaking his arm and pinning him against a hotel hallway wall.
Moreover, according to the intel provided by the Hidden Rain, Sasuke had already awakened his own Mangekyo and mastered the Susanoo.
If it came to a direct physical confrontation, a pair of fresh, healthy Mangekyo eyes would be far more effective than Itachi's deteriorating nearly blind ones—even if Sasuke's specific visual jutsu were slightly less combat-oriented.
Outside the genjutsu, Kisame stood guard, his shark-like eyes glancing at the two unmoving brothers.
When he saw Itachi activate Tsukuyomi instead of drawing a kunai, he finally relaxed his grip on Samehada.
Ever since learning from the Advisor that Itachi was actually a deep-cover Konoha spy, Kisame had been plagued by intense paranoia.
Were there really just the two of them on these Akatsuki missions?
Did Itachi even know any Water Release jutsu?
Fortunately, Makoto had assured the shark-man that Itachi's severe terminal illness was real, not a genjutsu or an elaborate act.
This meant Itachi wouldn't casually use Tsukuyomi on Kisame just to slack off on guard duty.
Only then did Kisame truly feel at ease around his partner.
"Itachi-san, is it over already?" Kisame asked as he saw the two brothers blink and begin to move again.
To anyone outside the Tsukuyomi, no matter how many subjective days or years the conversation lasted within the genjutsu space, it was all over in a fraction of a second in the real world.
Sasuke stared at Itachi with an incredibly complex expression, his chest heaving as he stood momentarily lost in confusion.
As expected, within the Tsukuyomi space, after Itachi revealed the grim truth of the massacre, Sasuke had vowed revenge against Konoha!
Itachi had remained completely silent in the face of his brother's rage.
Instead, he used the Tsukuyomi to show Sasuke a series of bizarre images.
..
Not long ago, at the Hidden Rain Village's New Year's Gala, there had been many cultural performances.
The one that left the deepest, most confusing impression on Itachi was a dramatic stage play performed by Hyuga Hanabi, titled 'The Self-Destruction of the Hyūga Clan's Entire Lineage.'
Besides that, there was also a musical number titled 'Great Konoha is My Hometown.'
Only the very first line, "The wind rustles the wheat fields, the cherry blossoms smell sweet," sounded remotely like a normal song.
The rest of the lyrics were like a demonic, psychological assault on the ears.
"Awesome ninjas have no parents,"
"Chatting casually over a warm Fire Release,"
"The cute Nine-Tails is softly roaring,"
"The Impure World Reincarnation starts, and everyone is overjoyed."
Yet, in Uchiha Itachi's deeply indoctrinated eyes, the cursed song beautifully expressed the author's deep nostalgia for their hometown, brimming with the pure Will of Fire!
As everyone knows, what exactly is a "hometown"?
It is a place you have been forced to leave behind.
Those born and raised in Konoha who never left the village boundaries wouldn't need to refer to it as their hometown.
Only rogue ninjas and missing-nin need to speak of a hometown.
Well... foreign exchange ninja like Hanabi could also use the term.
In any case, while Sasuke raged endlessly about destroying the village, Itachi simply looped this cheerful, utterly unhinged festival song within the Tsukuyomi space for seventy-two hours, hoping to purify his little brother's murderhobo heart.
The psychological effect was immediately apparent.
After the third consecutive day of the song looping in his mind, Sasuke couldn't take the mental torture anymore and surrendered, demanding to know what Itachi truly wanted from him.
Itachi then began his meticulous "sacred separation" lecture, explaining that Konoha itself was their beloved hometown.
Even if Sasuke sought bloody revenge, it should be precisely directed at the corrupt Konoha elders who had actually given the extermination order, not the innocent civilians.
He even borrowed a profound quote from Makoto: "Loving your homeland and loving its shameless rulers are not the same thing."
Sasuke was stunned that Itachi wasn't trying to stop his path of revenge.
He then learned the anticlimactic truth: the main culprit, the ultimate mastermind Danzo, was already dead.
The secondarily responsible party, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had also kicked the bucket.
Both had been casually brought back by Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnation to serve as undead laborers.
This led to the current, incredibly awkward atmosphere in the real world.
Sasuke was completely lost.
He had finally awakened the legendary power of the Mangekyo Sharingan and the invincible Susanoo, only to discover that his lifelong enemy wasn't actually his enemy, and his true enemies had just died of assassinations recently!
What was he supposed to do now?
Kill himself and hunt the elders down in the afterlife just to kill them again?
"Sasuke, I personally hope you can let go of your hatred and look to the future. But if you must have blood to break the shackles on your heart, then accept this mission."
Itachi pulled a sealed scroll from his Akatsuki robe and tossed it to his brother.
"What is this?"
Sasuke caught the heavy scroll, his brow furrowing.
What kind of mission could possibly allow him to get revenge on dead men?
As he unrolled the parchment, Sasuke's pupils instantly contracted.
'So, there were other culprits still alive!'
'The advisors!'
Overwhelmed with the sudden, intoxicating prospect of vengeance, Sasuke immediately activated his Mangekyo Sharingan without a second thought.
"AAAAAHHHH!!!"
Sasuke suddenly dropped the scroll, clutched his bleeding eyes and let out a bloodcurdling scream of pure agony!
"WHAT IS WRONG, SASUKE?!" Itachi rushed forward, his usually stoic voice filled with genuine panic.
'Could it be the Mangekyo's side effects already?! No, it cannot be... it shouldn't manifest this early, right?!'
Itachi glanced down at the dropped scroll and noticed a new photograph had mysteriously materialized on the parchment.
It was a crystal-clear imprinted picture of Koharu Utatane bathing!