“Oh my, it’s been a while, hm, Itachi?” the rainbow-colored vision uttered in a creepy voice that sent a chill up his spine.
“You … ” Itachi murmured.
Madara raised his voice. “One of the legendary Sannin … Orochimaru.”
“Strange for you to be so sarcastic about it.” The corners of the rainbow phantom’s mouth curled up slightly.
“Perhaps I’m a little overexcited at the situation.”
“Heh, heh, heh. That’s not like you.”
“I suppose.”
As he listened to this conversation between the two, carried on in the familiar tones of old friends, Itachi’s thoughts drifted elsewhere.
Orochimaru was a serious criminal who performed forbidden experiments on people before he was chased out of the village by the third Hokage. And together with Jiraiya and Tsunade, he had been named a “legendary Sannin” in the Second Shinobi World War, where he had been feared by many ninjas. Uchiha Madara was a ninja of legend from the founding of Konohagakure. Both were so powerful that there wasn’t a ninja in the world who didn’t know their names. And these two had joined and maneuvered in secret with the organization Akatsuki. What on earth were they planning?
He couldn’t simply let this go.
“We met any number of times while I was in the village. I suppose it’s been nine years then, Itachi.”
He hadn’t been particularly close with the man. Back when Orochimaru was still in the village, Itachi knew him well enough to say hello. They were not friendly enough for the intimate way Orochimaru spoke to him.
“You left the village six years ago.”
“Oh my, is that so? I’ve been reborn once since then. Using forbidden jutsu, of course.”
Orochimaru had been doing experiments on people from the time he was in the village, so Itachi wasn’t especially surprised that he had managed to be reborn.
“This jutsu, in exchange for offering the user eternal time, slightly dulls your perception of time. You’ve had the experience of not being sure if you ate a certain meal yesterday or the day before that, haven’t you? For me, ten years is no different from ten days ago.”
Itachi stayed silent.
“Heh, heh. None of that matters, though, does it? This man brought you and I together for an altogether different reason, yes?” The phantom’s lips stretched out to the sides, like a snake’s mouth. “If you were to join Akatsuki, I too would find it heartening.”
“Are there any other ninjas who were in Konohagakure?”
“Me and this man, and if you join, that will be just three.”
“I see.” From Orochimaru’s words, he assumed there were also ninjas from other villages in Akatsuki.
A darkness was beginning to squirm in a place beyond the villages.
“That village could only maintain its peace by eliminating our clan. And the ninja is a creature that can only make its presence known by forcing others to yield. I wouldn’t mind seeing what kind of measures they come up with against your organization.”
“That answer is very you.” Orochimaru laughed mysteriously.
Madara ignored him, and stood up. “Welcome to Akatsuki.”
Itachi took the proffered right hand. It was frightfully cold, a hand in which no trace of blood could be felt, so cold he almost wondered if the leather glove that covered it was frozen.
“All right, then. I’ll take my leave. We’ll meet again, Itachi.” The phantom of Orochimaru disappeared into thin air.
“Shall we go, then?”
“Where?”
“First, the village of Amegakure, where our base is.” Madara’s eyes, peering out from behind his mask, shone red.
Suddenly, Danzo’s words came back to life in Itachi’s mind: “Chaos will follow you throughout your life.”
At that moment, Itachi was about to step into the vortex of the people trying to create chaos. That night, he had lost the light of hope, along with his clan.
Be the best ninja, ascend to Hokage, use that position freely to lead the world to peace, and then …
Rid this world of all fighting.
That was the path of hope he had envisioned. He had lost everything.
But.
Even if hope was lost, the dream remained. Even if he didn’t walk down the path of hope, he could still chase after his dream of ridding the world of fighting. If he was the possessor of bad luck, then so be it. If it was Itachi’s destiny to constantly call chaos, he would use that to his full advantage.
He would draw all the fighting and disaster and hatred of people in this world into his heart. He trusted that he would be able to realize his dream by positioning himself in the center of the vortex. Fight, fight, fight through, and beyond that …
His little brother awaited him. In the world of peace that would come, once he had swallowed the chaos. In the center of it stood Sasuke, the hero who struck down his older brother—the personification of great sin.
The darkness is my dream’s partner … Itachi ran after Madara. Above his head, a single bird flew, as though accompanying him. Spreading out before him was an eternal darkness. Even so, on Itachi’s mouth, a divine, sublime smile rose up.
His little brother was at the end of this path.
“I’ll be waiting for you, Sasuke.”
Itachi’s last journey was beginning.
Was the world truly saved by sealing away Otsutsuki Kaguya?
No, it wasn’t. If the Infinite Tsukuyomi was released, and people returned to their old way of living again, they would no doubt make the same mistakes.
What’s truly terrifying is not enormous evil. It’s the little evil nesting in the hearts of people …
My older brother knew that. He bore these evils in himself, and died a criminal who wanted peace more than anyone else.
So then, what should I do?
Only the truly strong can see the weakness in the hearts of people, take in their evil feelings, and continue to live despite that.
Only I can do it …
So then, I will. I’ll walk down the path that my brother gave his life to show me.
“Revolution.”