Sasuke knew things weren't simple, but he hadn't expected so many layers. For a moment his mind was a whirlwind.
He already had zero goodwill toward the so-called Konoha F4, and right now he felt nothing but instinctive disgust.
Thankfully, he still had the patience to sit and listen. He sipped his tea to steady himself while Natsuki continued.
"The clan's Police Force was notorious for heavy-handed enforcement and an arrogant, discourteous attitude, so relations with villagers and other ninja were always bad. After the Nine-Tails Incident, things worsened—the clan was even forced to move its district to the village's outskirts. The rift with the village became irreconcilable.
"It was around then that someone like Shisui appeared.
"Shisui was gentle, devoted to the village, and exceptional. He was valued not only by the clan but by Sandaime (Third Hokage) as well, becoming a bridge between the clan and the village. But as the '6-4-3' tensions kept escalating, Shisui suffered. One day he sensed the war-hawk faction in the clan was considering a coup, so he told Sandaime about the dōjutsu tied to his Mangekyō Sharingan (Kaleidoscope Sharingan): Kotoamatsukami (Distinguished Heavenly Gods). He said he could use Kotoamatsukami to change the minds of those people and stop the coup."
Sasuke was shocked. "Shisui-nii… he awakened the Mangekyō too?!"
Natsuki nodded. "Yes. I said before—the deeper the love, the more likely one is to awaken the Mangekyō when faced with loss. Shisui was too kind, torn between clan and village. That pain birthed the legendary eyes, and the technique matched his will—Kotoamatsukami (Distinguished Heavenly Gods) could alter another's thoughts and change everything.
"But he was too naive. He trusted the Konoha leadership—especially a power-hungry man like Danzo, who coveted Kotoamatsukami and feared it. Danzo struck when Shisui let his guard down and gouged out one of Shisui's eyes!"
"Damn it! Damn you, Danzo!"
Sasuke's fury surged. He felt he was closing in on the truth. "So that eye Danzo had… it was Shisui's?!"
Natsuki pressed a hand to Sasuke's shoulder, forcing him to calm. "Shisui didn't expect any of this. He fled for his life, managed to reach Itachi, entrusted his other eye to him… then, in utter despair, leapt from the waterfall cliff. He never reappeared—he should be dead."
Sasuke's whole body trembled. He couldn't stop the tears.
He hadn't imagined Shisui-nii died like that. That the situation back then was so complex. That even the clan had misunderstood Itachi. That the Konoha leadership could be that hateful.
Shisui had a chance to change everything, and Danzo snuffed out that hope.
How desperate must Shisui have felt in that moment?
But why did he entrust his eye to Itachi?
"Shisui's death shook the clan. Many suspected the Konoha top brass. Many suspected Itachi. Some wanted to use the chaos to launch the coup. But without Shisui's power, the clan had no chance. Your father wavered, unable to decide, so the coup was shelved—for the moment. The rift, however, remained."
Natsuki went on. "As for your brother Itachi—he was a prodigy, already formidable at a young age. But your father took him to the battlefield when he was only four, made him kill at that age, made him taste the pain of losing comrades—all to force his eyes open, for the pride of the clan heir.
"Think about it: at that age—how could his mind stay normal?
"He later met Shisui and, guided by him, basically inherited Shisui's ideals.
"After that he entered the Anbu and gained the trust of the Konoha leadership. Perhaps, like Shisui, he was too naive—he bought into their narrative that the clan was arrogant and warped, that the rift was the clan's fault.
"So he became Sandaime's informant planted inside the clan, passing their intel to the top."
Sasuke was stunned.
He never imagined the brother he thought so sharp and brilliant was that easy to mislead—that he'd been played like Shisui. And part of this was his father's fault?
Did Father value glory and pride so much that he pushed Itachi too far, warping him?
It was all a mess. How had it come to this?!
Natsuki sighed. "Shisui's death wounded Itachi the most. Shisui was his friend and mentor. Shisui died in despair, and the pain made Itachi awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan (Kaleidoscope Sharingan)… In that moment he probably saw the village's darkness and felt despair. He knew the clan was beyond saving, that a coup would fail. Like Shisui, he loved the village and ultimately chose the village's side.
"When he discovered another attempt at a coup brewing, he took orders from the leadership and personally raised the blade against his clan.
"He set one condition: he would do it, then flee as a missing-nin and infiltrate the mysterious Akatsuki as a spy—but his beloved little brother Sasuke had to live."
Nani?!
So—it was like that?!
Sasuke finally grasped the truth. He went rigid. Bloody tears welled up; the three tomoe in his eyes spun, reshaping into a sickle-like pattern.
He had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan (Kaleidoscope Sharingan).
For Sasuke, nothing mattered more than love—his towering love hurt the most upon loss.
Back then, he was young. He didn't truly understand 'clan honor.' What he cared about most was his brother Itachi.
He thought Itachi didn't love him and wanted him dead.
Now he understood: Itachi had never stopped loving his little brother. That had never changed. Yet Sasuke had personally killed Itachi—that was the pain that cut the deepest.
The deeper the love, the deeper the pain on losing it—and the more likely the awakening.
He also had hate. He hated the Konoha leadership—hated the village itself. Because all of that had driven Itachi to this end!
Natsuki watched Sasuke in silence, saw the Mangekyō awaken, and felt Sasuke's emotions spiraling. His whole body shook, eyes drowning in endless sorrow and hatred.
Truth wounds the most—especially for Sasuke.
Through clenched teeth, voice trembling, he growled, "Hiruzen! Danzo! Konoha leadership! Konoha village! The pain you forced onto Itachi—I will make you—pay!"
See? As expected.
Sasuke's love for his brother ran far deeper than others imagined.
Natsuki wasn't worried about a rampage. He counseled, "Sasuke, you've lost your cool."
Sasuke met Natsuki's eyes. "Natsuki, how do you expect me to be calm? Itachi… nii-san suffered so much…"
(End of Chapter)
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