A fist-sized black hole appeared out of nowhere, then rapidly expanded.
Uchiha Sasuke flew out from it.
Looking at Uchiha Sasuke's expressionless face, Izayoi sensed the outcome of the battle just from his emotional state. She asked, already knowing the answer, "Is he dead?"
"Yes,"
Uchiha Sasuke nodded, but there was no joy in having defeated his enemy.
Glancing at Uchiha Itachi, whose expression was complicated, Sasuke said to Izayoi, "I'm tired. Let's go back."
Izayoi patted his shoulder without saying anything more.
"Sasuke..."
Just as Izayoi was about to activate the Flying Thunder God Jutsu to take Sasuke away, Uchiha Itachi's voice called out.
Izayoi paused and looked toward Sasuke, curious to see how he would respond.
Sasuke took a deep breath, turned his back to Uchiha Itachi, and said coldly, "You traded our entire clan for my life. But I alone have no right to kill you. Still... I don't value your eyes, and I'd never want them. I... will never forgive you."
"Izayoi, let's go."
"Alright."
Izayoi gave a regretful glance toward the stunned Itachi, then teleported Sasuke back to the Hokage's office.
Standing alone, Uchiha Itachi remained still, Sasuke's final words echoing in his mind: "I'll never forgive you."
The spiritual pillar he had leaned on for years seemed to collapse.
Pfft—
Blood surged up from within. Unable to contain it, Uchiha Itachi vomited blood.
His already weak body declined further.
From then on, pain worse than death would torment this true shinobi every moment.
"Izayoi-kun, Sasuke-kun, you're back."
Hinata and Karin, who were helping handle official business, immediately stood to greet them.
Izayoi nodded and glanced at the despondent Uchiha Sasuke. "Do you want revenge? I can help."
The others didn't understand what he meant, but Sasuke did.
Izayoi was asking if he wanted to retaliate and destroy the families of those who participated in the Uchiha genocide.
Sasuke felt a wave of warmth inside. Deeply moved.
Izayoi, the Sixth Hokage of Konoha, was willing to help him avenge his clan without hesitation.
Still, Sasuke shook his head. "No need. I'm not Uchiha Itachi."
Itachi could kill innocents without knowing the full truth—but Sasuke couldn't.
Even in the original timeline, when Sasuke had already turned dark, he refrained from killing a Konoha ninja who insulted Itachi, even stopping Suigetsu from killing indiscriminately.
That's why Sasuke would never forgive Itachi.
Had Itachi allowed Root to massacre the Uchiha instead of doing it himself, Sasuke might have forgiven him—and retaliated without hesitation.
But Itachi did it himself.
That was unforgivable.
Sasuke had neither the right to kill him, nor the right to forgive him.
"If you don't kill him, you can punish him," Izayoi said with a smile. "From now on, you'll be head of the ANBU—second only to me. Do whatever you want."
Sasuke was stirred.
He thought of how the Uchiha were forced from their land in Konoha's central district by the village elders.
That land had once belonged to the Uchiha, and now others occupied it.
Though those people were technically innocent, the fact remained—they had prospered by feeding on Uchiha blood.
Sasuke decided to make them cough up double what they took.
Let them feel what the Uchiha felt when Danzo targeted them.
Having found a new purpose, Sasuke's eyes lit up. He nodded to Izayoi. "Alright."
"Go home and rest for a few days. Come back when you're ready." Izayoi smiled and patted his shoulder. "If something bothers you, come talk to me. If you need help, just ask. Don't keep things bottled up."
"Yes,"
Sasuke nodded. Then, as if remembering something, he took out a Wood Release box and handed it to Izayoi. "This is that guy's eye. His eye technique is powerful. I'm giving it to you."
"Alright, I'll take it."
Izayoi smiled and accepted it.
He no longer had much interest in Kamui—Hinata had awakened her own unique eye, and Sasuke had the Great Sun Spirit.
But the fact that Sasuke willingly gave him something so valuable spoke volumes. His love and care for Sasuke had paid off.
Now that the Uchiha massacre was avenged, Sasuke would become his most reliable right-hand man.
The Mangekyō already housed the powerful Great Sun Spirit. Once he awakened the Rinnegan, Sasuke would be Izayoi's first Six Paths-level subordinate.
All future hard work could be left to him.
—
After leaving the Hokage Building, Sasuke didn't go to Orochimaru right away. He headed to the Konoha cemetery.
"Sasuke?"
Just as he stepped in, before reaching the Uchiha clan section, he heard a familiar voice.
Looking over, he saw Hatake Kakashi.
"Kakashi, what are you doing here?" Sasuke asked bluntly.
"I came to visit a friend."
Kakashi wasn't bothered by Sasuke's tone. After all, this was who he was.
But when he saw the wooden box on Sasuke's shoulder, his expression shifted. "What's in the box?"
"A head."
Sasuke didn't mince words. "A traitor of the Uchiha clan. I'm offering it to the clan as a memorial."
Kakashi was stunned. "Besides Itachi and you... there are other survivors?"
It made sense—Kakashi had once been tasked with cleaning up after the Uchiha massacre as part of the ANBU.
He had confirmed the deaths, checked the clan records, and marked all the dead with red crosses—except Itachi and Sasuke.
So this news shocked him.
Sasuke didn't understand Kakashi's reaction. He sneered, "This one faked his death and escaped. He was one of the butchers that night."
Itachi hadn't acted alone!
Kakashi's eyes narrowed. Doubts that had haunted him for years were now resolved.
He had awakened his Mangekyō and knew its power—but that power wasn't enough to slaughter the entire Uchiha clan overnight.
Itachi couldn't have done it alone.
Now Sasuke had confirmed his suspicions.
The higher-ups were involved in the genocide.
So why was Sasuke so calm?
With his personality, he should've gone down a darker path.
Was it because of the Hokage?
Kakashi had a thought.
He hesitated, then asked, "What's this traitor's name?"
"Uchiha Obito."
The name stunned Kakashi.
"Obito… Obito… That can't be…"
He hoped it was a coincidence—but he knew it wasn't.
Only one Uchiha Obito had existed in recent generations. He had died in the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, honored as a hero of Konoha.
No other Uchiha was named Obito after that.
So this… was him.
If he wasn't dead, why didn't he return?
Why did he help in the massacre?
What had he gone through?
Kakashi was overwhelmed.
He instinctively followed Sasuke to the Uchiha graves.
Sasuke ignored him, knelt at Fugaku's tombstone, and placed the box on the ground.
Using his Wood Release chakra, the box unfolded.
Inside was a head—split in half, then reassembled. A gruesome face.
Kakashi's breath caught in his throat.
He looked nothing like the boy he remembered.
But the scar on his left cheek—that the strongest regenerative cells couldn't erase—confirmed it.
This was Uchiha Obito.
He hadn't died.
So what happened to him?
Was he still Obito? Or just a puppet?
Kakashi's thoughts spiraled.
After a long time, his voice trembled. "Sasuke, where… where did you find him?"
Sasuke, still offering mental words to his father and clan, frowned at Kakashi's tone. But then he saw Kakashi's trembling eyes and sweat, and was stunned.
Following his gaze to Obito's head, he suddenly asked, "You knew this guy?"
"Everyone from our generation knew him," Kakashi replied. "He and I were both students of the Fourth Hokage. He died a hero during the Third Ninja War. His name is on the monument."
"A hero of Konoha, huh…"
Sasuke sneered. "If people knew he caused the Nine-Tails' attack and killed the Fourth Hokage, would they dig up his grave out of rage?"
Kakashi's mind reeled. "The Nine-Tails attack? Obito? How could that be? He was just a kid… Why would he…?"
"If you don't believe it," Sasuke said, "go ask him yourself."
"What do you mean?"
Sasuke didn't answer. He activated his Mangekyō and raised his hand—summoning a black hole.
It expanded, pulling Sasuke, Kakashi, and Obito's head into it.
—
In an underground base, Orochimaru and Kabuto were packing under Izayoi's orders.
A black hole suddenly appeared before them.
"A space-time jutsu!" Orochimaru said.
"Is it Izayoi-sama?"
"No, he doesn't use this kind of jutsu," Orochimaru replied calmly. "But as long as we're useful to him, we're safe."
Two figures flew out of the hole.
"Sasuke-kun? And… Kakashi?" Orochimaru blinked.
"Orochimaru?!"
Kakashi tensed.
Sasuke pointed to the head. "Orochimaru, resurrect him with Impure World Reincarnation."
Orochimaru looked at the head, then back at Sasuke's eyes. He smirked. "What amazing eyes, Sasuke-kun. They remind me of Uchiha Obito's."
"You know Obito too?"
Sasuke and Kakashi were both stunned.
"Of course. Kabuto and I nearly died to him and the Akatsuki leader. His eye could phase through anything and teleport. If Izayoi hadn't saved me, I'd be long dead."
"I see…" Sasuke murmured.
Orochimaru examined the head. "So you want me to reincarnate this guy? Who is he?"
"Uchiha Obito."
Orochimaru was stunned, then intrigued. "So this is the face beneath the mask. To die at Sasuke-kun's hand… fitting."
Kakashi stood there, dazed.
Why did everyone know Obito—except him?
Was he really from Konoha?