Hokage: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 197: The Heir of the Will of Fire. Heh

Among the myriad emotions between people, the most significant are undoubtedly the bonds between mother and child, father and child, and romantic relationships. The bond between brothers typically doesn't compare to these. However, in the Uchiha clan, it's an exception. And with Uchiha Itachi, it's an exception among exceptions.

For the survival of his younger brother Sasuke, he killed his father, mother, friends, and the entire clan. Such brotherly love is unprecedented and unparalleled.

Hagoromo Gengetsu revealed the truth he knew to Sasuke. This included his memories from a previous life and information he had extracted through ocular techniques from Danzo's brain during the numerous times he killed him.

He did not embellish the truth, nor did he insert his subjective opinions.

After hearing it all, Sasuke was stunned, his mind reeling.

After a long while, his eyes finally moved. He looked at Hagoromo Gengetsu and, with difficulty, asked in a strained voice:

"So, Uchiha Itachi killed the entire clan for my sake."

This truth was so shocking that it completely overturned everything he had known.

But Sasuke did not doubt whether Hagoromo Gengetsu was lying. In his eyes, Hagoromo Gengetsu was the one elder he could trust completely in this world. The other party could command him to do anything without needing to deceive or conceal anything.

Thus, he did not ask whether the truth Gengetsu had just revealed was real, but rather grasped the most critical point of this revelation: "Itachi killed the entire clan for his sake."

If this were true, how would he face the surviving members like Uchiha Kei and Uchiha Izumi, who had lost their relatives?

To this, Hagoromo Gengetsu continued in a calm tone: "To be precise, it was for Konoha and you."

Sasuke clenched his fist. "Konoha?"

"Yes. Uchiha Itachi was an anomaly within the Uchiha clan; he loved Konoha more than his own clan. To be honest, Konoha's ideological education is impressive, even I have to admire it," Hagoromo Gengetsu remarked with some sentiment.

He then continued: "At that time, the Uchiha clan was on the brink of a coup, and the Konoha higher-ups had decided to annihilate the Uchiha clan. Uchiha Itachi, for your sake and his ideals, chose to side with Konoha. In fact, he had another option."

"Since he could raise his blade against the Uchiha clan, he could also have done so against the Konoha higher-ups. With his strength, if he had allied with the Uchiha clan and taken them by surprise, there was a good chance he could have wiped out the Konoha higher-ups. He could then take swift action, become the Fifth Hokage, and both protect the Uchiha clan and you while fulfilling his ideals, continuing to contribute to Konoha."

"Compared to the temporary pain and bloodshed from a coup, the total destruction of the Uchiha clan, which would weaken Konoha and damage its prestige, is insignificant."

"But he didn't choose this possible path," Sasuke said, taking a deep breath.

At this moment, images of Itachi touching his forehead before his death and their interactions from childhood kept replaying in his mind. Combining these memories with Gengetsu's revelation, he began to accept the truth, bit by bit.

Gengetsu nodded. "If it were you, Sasuke, you probably would have. But Uchiha Itachi was a steadfast heir of the Will of Fire. Just like your friend, Uzumaki Naruto."

"Naruto... Itachi..."

Had Gengetsu not mentioned it, Sasuke would never have connected these two. Their personalities, behavior, and actions were vastly different. The only similarity, as Gengetsu pointed out, was:

"Heirs of the Will of Fire. Heh," Sasuke chuckled coldly.

"Lord Gengetsu," he asked his nagging question, "Why? Why did Itachi come here this time?"

"Because he had no choice," Gengetsu replied plainly.

After Sasuke sought refuge under Gengetsu and after Gengetsu seized Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan from Itachi, Itachi's initial plan for Sasuke to remain unaware of the truth and return to Konoha was no longer viable.

"After realizing this, in his final moments, between the village and you, he chose you. He wanted to use his life to activate your Mangekyō Sharingan and then offer his own eyes. With the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, you would be nearly invincible in the ninja world," Gengetsu said, glancing at the sealing scroll on Sasuke's waist.

"This was Itachi's final wish. Prepare for the surgery when you return. Evolve your eyes to the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. Uchiha Madara reached this level as well."

Sasuke grasped the scroll containing Itachi's body, paused for several moments, and then nodded heavily:

"I understand Itachi now."

Then, with a sudden shift to a cold tone, he asked: "So, the root cause of everything was the Konoha higher-ups' decision to wipe out the Uchiha clan! Isn't that right, Lord Gengetsu?"

"Strictly speaking, the Uchiha clan initiated the coup first," Gengetsu clarified. "However, the Konoha higher-ups decided to eliminate the entire Uchiha clan, including those unaware of or against the coup, which was indeed ruthless. Ultimately, it was their fear of the Uchiha's power."

"The fear of the Uchiha's power? Hahaha! Weren't the Uchiha's power part of Konoha's strength back then?" Sasuke laughed out loud, incredulous and almost losing his composure.

Gengetsu waited for him to finish before continuing: "Sasuke, you must understand that for mediocre leaders, the last thing they want to see is subordinates who are too competent. But for extraordinary leaders, the more competent subordinates, the better."

Sasuke fell silent.

At this moment, he felt fortunate that the remaining Uchiha had found refuge under Gengetsu. In other places, knowing the Uchiha now had three Mangekyō Sharingan users, they would likely be seen as threats, with efforts made to weaken or even annihilate them, just as Konoha had.

Sasuke gazed deeply at Gengetsu.

He was not someone like Naruto who expressed emotions openly. However, in his heart, he had immense respect for Gengetsu, who had given him light and hope during his darkest times. Though he was reluctant to voice it, he viewed Gengetsu as a family member, a guardian.

His Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan would forever be dedicated to this person before him.

Yet, there was one thing he had to know.

"Lord Gengetsu, who were the Konoha higher-ups involved back then?" Sasuke asked, his eyes filled with cold determination.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado," Gengetsu explained.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi is dead, and I killed Danzo. The only ones left are Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, who have remarkable survival skills," Gengetsu concluded.