Far away at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain, a crow had been trapped inside a domain barrier for twenty-three hours and fifty-seven minutes…
There were many reasons for this—Part of the reason was that he was thinking.
Who was the one pulling the strings behind all this?
Why was he resurrected with Edo Tensei after his death?
What did this have to do with the "Madara" he had seen in the earlier vision declaring the Fourth Great Ninja War?
According to the plan, he was supposed to die at Sasuke's hands. If he met Sasuke again, in what position—and with what identity—should he face him?
Of course, none of these were the main reason he had stayed here for nearly twenty-four hours.
The real reason the great Uchiha Itachi was stuck here was—
The crow couldn't talk.
Yes. If it couldn't speak, how was it supposed to answer the questions?
That mechanical voice had no physical form either. Itachi didn't even have a medium to cast genjutsu on, let alone drag the one behind it into Tsukuyomi and have a proper discussion about the meaning of life—one second equaling seventy-two hours.
After trying every method he could think of, Itachi finally settled down on the treetop to rest. He'd assumed he would have to wait until Madara's people discovered that his real body was trapped inside his own genjutsu before they could find a way to get him out.
Instead, the voice he hadn't heard in a long time sounded again:
[Answer time nearly exceeded. Countdown begins.]
[30], [29], [28], [27]…
Itachi: "..."
It seemed like a dead end.
He still remembered the rules—three chances. Answer wrong, and you die.
He just hadn't expected this ridiculous quiz to have a time limit as well.
So this was it.
Sorry, Sasuke. Forgive me. This should be the last time… even though I couldn't say it to your face…
It wasn't that Uchiha Itachi gave up too easily. Over the past twenty-four hours, he had exhausted every possible method he could think of, yet none of them allowed his consciousness to leave this place.
If the other party could trap his awareness inside a barrier without using chakra, then they clearly had the means to do exactly what they claimed. So aside from death—or something similar—Itachi saw no other outcome.
And besides…
Looking at the milky-white cat-ear hair clip he had once worn for a mission, Itachi couldn't help but recall his days just after graduating from the academy—running genin missions with Minazuki-sensei, Tenma, and Shinko.
If they hadn't been on the same team as him, they probably would've had far better lives and futures.
It was a pity. Even after all these years, he still hadn't obtained any more information about that "Madara." It seemed he'd have to apologize once he reached the other world…
[5], [4], [3]…
I'll see you soon, Father. Mother. Shisui.
[2], [1].
Sorry. Forgive me, Sasuke.
[First reward deducted. Question unchanged. Multiple-choice mode activated.]
Through the genjutsu that projected his consciousness into the crow, Itachi saw a line of words appear on the tree branch in front of him.
[Question:]
[After the Konoha ninja Uchiha Itachi dies and is resurrected via Edo Tensei, when he parts with his younger brother once again, what is the last sentence Uchiha Itachi says to Uchiha Sasuke?]
Then the mechanical voice announced the first option:
[Option One: Forgive me, Sasuke. This is the last time.]
Immediately, the same words appeared beneath the question.
[Option One]["Forgive me, Sasuke. This is the last time."]
Then—
[Option Two]["Even if you don't forgive me, that's fine. I will always love you."]
[Option Three]["Please, Sasuke. Protect the peace of the ninja world."]
Itachi: "..."
Honestly, all three sounded like something he would say.
But—
Option three was eliminated instantly.
Because if there was anything he wanted to entrust at the moment of death, "peace" wasn't his unconscious greatest wish.
After staring at that milky-white cat-ear hair clip for twenty-four hours, recalling the joy of D-rank missions and laughing with his teammates back when he was a genin, he could no longer bring himself to pass his will onto someone else.
Only someone who had lived through Shisui's death could understand what it meant to inherit the dreams of the dying.
It was a promise that took an entire lifetime to fulfill…
No matter what, he would never force Sasuke to bear that kind of pain.
So that left option one or option two.
Which one should he choose?!
Itachi: "..."
Analyzing the question, he should have had two chances to leave "last words" for Sasuke.
The first, without a doubt, was according to his plan—his final words before dying at Sasuke's hands.
They would have fought a desperate battle. Black Zetsu, sent by Madara, would likely have been watching nearby. There would've been little room for explanation—his last words could only be a brief sentence.
As for the second meeting and parting, Itachi knew it would be through the forbidden technique developed by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama: Edo Tensei.
Though his understanding of the jutsu was limited, he could still infer its basic principles.
Both the Flying Thunder God Technique and Edo Tensei were developed on the foundation of summoning jutsu.
Simply put, Flying Thunder God was a modified form of reverse summoning, calling a person to a designated location.
Edo Tensei, meanwhile, delved deeply into the concept of the soul—forcefully summoning a soul that resided in the Pure Land into an impure-world vessel, compelling it to act according to the caster's will.
Rather than resurrection, it was more accurate to say it turned the dead into tools.
So then—
Who was the one who turned him into a tool and forcibly summoned him back from the world of the dead?
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