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‘Uchiha Itachi… who are you?’
Nobody could ever understand him, everyone that encountered him asked himself this question.
Not even his little brother, Sasuke, could do it. Now, a full-grown man in his mid-thirties didn’t find an answer to his questions about his dear brother.
Uchiha Itachi was always an enigma.
Out there are so little people with the same mentality as him. One of them was Uchiha Shisui, a man that his brother trusted everything he had into, a friend that shared the same aspirations and died trying to change the world.
Was his idealistic world true?
Itachi tried from an early age to convince other shinobi to drop their current life and continue as a civil. His idea was that there is no war if nobody fights or knows how to fight. That was in fact not true, hatred would always exist as long as the thirst for power will too.
War started long time ago before Kaguya’s appearance, before Otsutsuki Hagoromo invented ninshu, way more before Intra teaching the world the power of ninjutsu.
Itachi’s plan would fail eventually. Somehow, there always be war as long as human will exist, not forgetting the existence of Otsutsuki. Could we call them the fallen angels that taught the humanity how to fight, could we call them the aliens that we are all scared of. Their powers were way above ours. Were the humans created in the same time as them?
The real answer to the true peace was death. There is no war if everybody is in heaven where the terms hatred, war and pain doesn’t exist.
Uchiha Sasuke, was in his redemption journey for more than twenty years, in search for his brother in every corner of the world. He knew that he had so many things yet to discover and learn about him. It’s not enough a life time to search for the full answer. Sasuke will never know exactly who Itachi was, they think too differently that he won’t be able to understand. But the hope was in his teen daughter that seems to have the same aspirations and thinking as his brother. He found himself often thinking if she was his brother reincarnation…Did that world need another sacrifice to find the true peace?
Itachi’s story doesn’t end at his death.
He didn’t imagine death being this good. The pain enveloped his entire body but he was numb. Small and soft rain drops fall on his face as the darkness took over him.
“I closed my eyes in the darkness and opened them again in hell”. He did regret that he left the world when Madara was still alive, he knew that Sasuke is still too easy to be influenced by him and turned him against Konoha.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in the world he feared the most, where Madara win field in battle, but find his peace in relaying on others and closed his eyes again.
This time he opened them and found himself in front of his best friend, Shisui. It has been nearly eight years since he last saw his face, his so unique smile he only had to see. He always smiled for him like that.
“I’m glad you didn’t came so fast looking for me but I started to feel lonely here waiting for you.”
“Did you wait all this time for me?” Itachi looked up at Shisui with sad eyes.
“How can I find peace when I know my dear friend is still out there fighting for our dream.”
“I hope everything will be alright. I found someone like you, I trust him.” Said Itachi still sad.
“If you trust him so much, why are you thoughtful? Is there something else?”
“No, not really. I lived all these years in this constant feeling that it feels weird to relax. I still could have done much more but the next generation will figure it out.”
“Good… now it’s our time to find peace. I’m sure everybody is waiting for us somewhere.” Shisui didn’t specified who but knew that Itachi is anxious to meet them.
“I- yeah…” With his head low, a small smile appeared on his dull face.
Itachi missed him, he couldn’t take his eyes off of him. All those years in pure darkness where he constantly asked himself what would Shisui would have said or done in his place. He missed the warmth in his smile, his protectiveness as an older brother, helping and supporting each other.
“Don’t look at me like that. What, do you want me to hold your hand? Are you that scared?” Shisui laughed. A soft blush appeared on his face.
“Hm… not when you are here with me”
Felt like this is where he belonged all this time but never been there before, a place where spring and summer met for eternity. The wind blew his long hair, the sun kissed with warmth his cold hands, green everywhere you could lay your eyes on and his family waiting ahead.
“Father… Mother…” Itachi started.
“We know, Itachi!” said Mikoto. The same words he heard in his nightmare over and over again.
“Itachi… son. We are glad you came. I hope Sasuke is fine.” His father’s last and first concern was his younger offspring. Itachi wasn’t mad at all.
“I left him in good hands. You don’t have to worry about him anymore.”
“Now, now… how about me? Don’t keep him all to yourself.” A tall man with dark locks stood behind Fugaku. Itachi couldn’t recognize him, they never met before or so Itachi thought.
“Ah, big brother!” his father’s face lightened up. He heard stories about him from his father, about his heroic battles but died so early.
“Im happy that he finally found peace, I created so much pain…”
“It’s not your fault, you know that. It’s that shadow doing. Don’t be that harsh on yourself. Now, let’s go and greet them!” She smiled at him.
“I wonder where Izumi is. She was supposed to be here too.”
“Who knows?” Responded Rin as they stand and look from afar.