To use, or not to use,
That is the question.
In the silence,
Complex thoughts intertwined in Itachi's heart.
As far as he knew,
Shisui's left behind his Mangekyo, which contained Dojutsu, Kotoamatsukami, known as the strongest Genjutsu.
It was an absolute power capable of forcibly modifying another's thoughts and will.
Once hit by Kotoamatsukami,
The target's will would be engraved with a special directive by the user.
And afterwards,
They would unswervingly maintain it.
For example,
If he applied the directive "protect Konoha" to Sasuke, then once Kotoamatsukami was successfully released,
Sasuke's current will would be completely modified.
For the rest of his life,
He would exist solely to protect Konoha.
And this,
Was the greatest asset Itachi currently held.
So much so that over the years, he had never once considered using it.
Even back then,
When facing the extremely powerful Kyo, he hadn't thought of using Kotoamatsukami to modify their minds.
Because once this technique was used, it had a cooldown period of over ten years.
Therefore,
Itachi had always been carefully considering when to use it.
But now,
There was no choice.
If he didn't use it soon, he would probably... die completely before long.
Either... die from his exhausting terminal illness, or die under Sasuke's blade before him.
To be honest,
He wasn't afraid of death.
But,
He was afraid of dying without changing anything.
Neither changing the wars of the Shinobi World, nor changing Sasuke's fate, nor changing Konoha's situation...
Therefore,
Now was also the time...
Before dying, to use this final Dojutsu.
But,
Whether to use it on Sasuke,
Was also a question.
In the past, he would probably have unswervingly used Kotoamatsukami to change Sasuke's will, to protect the village...
But now, the situation had changed.
Behind Sasuke, a mysterious mastermind had appeared.
Moreover, it seemed to be that man who had bestowed upon Sasuke the powers of Wood Release and the Rinnegan...
And judging from Orochimaru's words, that man's own strength was also at the pinnacle of the Shinobi World.
If Itachi used Kotoamatsukami to modify Sasuke's will,
Then, if Sasuke ended up hostile towards that man,
With his current power,
Could he defeat that man...?
Itachi couldn't be sure.
And besides the mastermind, the Akatsuki was also a major concern.
Back then,
It was precisely because Itachi sensed Akatsuki's terror that he was willing to join as a spy to gather intelligence.
And facts proved his speculation was correct.
Akatsuki,
Was indeed the most terrifying organization in the Shinobi World.
Their goal,
Was to collect all Nine Tailed Beasts of the Shinobi World, forge them into a Tailed Beast Weapon, to deter the entire Shinobi World...
It was easy to imagine,
As this plan progressed,
Conflicts of deterrence would inevitably lead to a fierce great war across the entire Shinobi World.
Moreover,
Within Akatsuki,
There were also extremely powerful evil forces.
Not to mention members like Kisame, Deidara, Kakuzu, Hidan; they were certainly no match for a future Sasuke.
Therefore, Itachi wasn't too worried about them.
As for the remaining Pain and Konan, facing Sasuke who simultaneously possessed Wood Release and the Rinnegan, they might not necessarily be opponents either.
The problem,
Lay with the final person.
That was the true core existence within the Akatsuki now —
The Golden-Eyed Kyo.
The man possessing the supreme Dojutsu known as the "True Eye of the King".
He was the true reason Akatsuki was so terrifying.
Similarly, he was highly likely to be the greatest enemy in the future Shinobi World...
Attacking Konoha was also inevitable.
And if Sasuke was imbued with the will to 'protect Konoha',
He would certainly at some future point, become an enemy of Akatsuki, and... become an enemy of Kyo.
Thus,
A great battle would still be unavoidable.
Complex thoughts lingered in Itachi's mind, hard to sort out.
But just then,
Sasuke above him suddenly spoke, interrupting his thoughts.
Sasuke slowly moved the broken blade in his hand to the position of Itachi's heart, then said expressionlessly and coldly:
"What are you thinking about, Itachi."
"Or,"
"Have you already given up struggling?"
"Even you, when faced with power you cannot overcome, actually choose to give up."
"Heh, seems we are not alike."
"I will not give up on killing you."
"...!"
As Sasuke's words fell, the blade in his hand lifted slightly, his expression gradually cooling, ready to strike.
And at this moment,
Hearing this, Itachi's heart suddenly shook, his pupils slightly contracting.
He had been agonizing just now,
But at this moment, it was like a sudden enlightenment, his heart becoming clear.
...
If it were Sasuke protecting Konoha... he would probably never give up...
Perhaps,
In the future... he would even have a chance to turn defeat into victory...
Thinking this,
A wry smile appeared in Itachi's heart.
Then,
Perhaps now was the time,
To use the Kotoamatsukami on him.
Thinking this,
Itachi instantly began rapidly gathering Chakra imperceptibly, looking at Sasuke!
At this moment,
His gaze no longer wandered.
There was no more hesitation or doubt.
All he thought about,
Was to implant the will to "protect Konoha" onto Sasuke!
Because only this way,
His beloved little brother and his beloved village could have hope of being saved.
At the same time,
The pattern in his pupils instantly began to change rapidly!
Meanwhile,
Up in the sky,
Kyo had been calmly observing the situation below.
But,
His expression suddenly changed slightly.
Because at this moment, within his Spiritual Pressure Perception range, he suddenly detected an anomaly!
Itachi, who had been on the verge of death,
At this moment,
Suddenly began... gathering a large amount of Chakra!
Although done very covertly, hard to detect,
Kyo's perception could perfectly penetrate the body, so he naturally noticed these subtle changes in energy!
They were all... converging towards Itachi's eyes!
Clearly,
He was gathering Chakra to release a Dojutsu!
Realizing this,
Kyo's pupils focused.
Clearly...
The Dojutsu Itachi was about to release was not Amaterasu or Tsukuyomi, as these techniques posed no threat to Sasuke, who possessed the Rinnegan.
Then,
His most likely option,
Was one of the remaining three techniques—
Susano'o, Izanami, and... Kotoamatsukami.
Susano'o aside, given Itachi's physical condition, even if he released it, he probably couldn't sustain it for long.
And Izanami, given his love for his younger brother, seemed unlikely to use such a tormenting technique on Sasuke; moreover, Sasuke's self-realization might not achieve a good effect.
Therefore,
The most likely,
Was the third option —
Kotoamatsukami!
The supreme Genjutsu capable of forcibly modifying another's will!
Kyo narrowed his eyes.
To be honest,
He had thought before that Itachi might try to use Kotoamatsukami on Sasuke before dying.
But he didn't expect,
He would use it so quickly.
Not even using Susano'o to fight it out...
It seemed,
His physical condition,
Was indeed worse than imagined...
That being said,
Kyo naturally couldn't just ignore it.
Sasuke was the most crucial pawn in this deterrence plan.
From the beginning,
He was set as the ultimate antagonist.
Therefore, now...
He had to intervene and interrupt Itachi's Kotoamatsukami.
Once Sasuke was imbued with the will to "protect Konoha", all previous preparation work would be completely ruined.
And besides,
Konoha wasn't exactly good; there was really no need to protect it.