Uchiha Itachi never imagined that the answer he'd get from Uchiha Akainu would be anything like this. He looked up, meeting Uchiha Akainu's gaze. Could those sharp, black eyes truly see through the "evil" he was destined to commit in the future? He would personally destroy the entire Uchiha clan in the future?
Itachi couldn't describe his current feelings. Shock? Astonishment? Horror? Or perhaps all of the above? So much so that when Uchiha Akainu's hand clamped around his neck, Itachi didn't even try to evade. He stood still, feeling the faint sensation of suffocation as the other's fingers gradually tightened.
Itachi's lips trembled, and he asked with difficulty, "Is the future your eyes see absolutely certain to happen?"
For some reason, he noticed that among all the people Uchiha Akainu mentioned, only his younger brother, Sasuke, was missing... a subtle sigh of relief escaped him. This proved that even without asking, he already believed Uchiha Akainu truly possessed the ability to foresee future evil.
"Itachi-kun, Senior has never been wrong! Even the Hokage's eldest son, Senior saw through his evil! This is an ability that even the Hokage himself couldn't refute!"
It wasn't Uchiha Akainu who answered him, but Izumi, whose voice from behind was already choked and trembling. The young girl had long since given her unconditional trust to every word Uchiha Akainu uttered. She believed Senior Akainu wouldn't lie.
That meant... that she, and her mother, would one day die at Uchiha Itachi's hands. She couldn't accept it. Izumi, whose vision had blurred without her realizing, quickly wiped her eyes. She bit down on her silver teeth, asking the question that both she and the silent Fugaku most wanted to ask: "Itachi-kun... why would you do such a thing? I'm your friend! My mother has no quarrel with you! And everyone else in the Uchiha clan, they haven't wronged you either, have they?"
"So many people are kind! Even Senior Akainu hasn't apprehended them, which proves they are truly good! Why would you kill even these kind clan members?"
"You clearly told me you loved Konoha so much!"
Izumi truly didn't understand. The Uchiha Itachi she knew, though a bit introverted, was at least a kind person, wasn't he? At least a ninja who deeply loved the village, right? But why would he turn his blade on his fellow Konoha villagers?
Itachi didn't answer. He was still thinking.
"Itachi..." At that moment, Uchiha Fugaku, who had been silent for over a minute, suddenly asked with a complex expression, "If an irreversible conflict erupts between the village and the Uchiha clan... you would stand with the Hokage and them, right?"
Itachi froze. He suddenly realized why his "future evil" would show the catastrophe of the Uchiha clan's destruction. If the situation truly reached such an irreversible point, Itachi knew he wouldn't choose the Uchiha clan. He would choose the majority of Konoha. To prevent Konoha from falling into a devastating civil war, and to prevent the Uchiha's name from being sullied by rebels, he would choose to be the one to stop it all.
He would willingly bear all the sin and infamy. Even if it meant being abandoned by everyone he loved, even if it meant being branded a rogue ninja, he would unhesitatingly choose to protect Konoha.
"...I understand."
Uchiha Itachi felt all his doubts connect. He understood why Uchiha Akainu held such intense malice towards him, even though he hadn't wronged him. So... this was what his "future" would be like? Did that mean the conflict between the village and the Uchiha was truly irreconcilable? Was a violent confrontation inevitable in the future? And was this "future" just one year away?
When he felt the suffocating grip on his neck suddenly release, Uchiha Itachi took half a step back. He coughed softly a few times to ease the discomfort in his throat.
"No wonder you want to kill me..."
Uchiha Itachi took a deep breath, an unexplainable mix of emotions swirling within him. He looked up, meeting Uchiha Akainu's gaze again, and said, "You believe everything in my 'future' is wrong. You think that if you just nip me in the bud, the 'Uchiha clan massacre' won't happen."
"But, Uchiha Akainu, you don't seem to realize that you've unconsciously taken the Uchiha's side. You haven't considered the immense catastrophe that would befall Konoha if I didn't do what I'm destined to do."
"Once the Uchiha clan and the village engage in fierce armed conflict, all of Konoha will be plunged into terrifying warfare. At that time, thousands, even tens of thousands, will die! Konoha will be crippled by that civil war!"
"Uchiha Akainu, I understand my future actions. This is something I must do, something I have no choice but to do."
As he spoke, Uchiha Itachi curved his lips into a slight smile. Having realized what he would do in the future, he felt as if he could empathize with his future self, feeling his future emotions. The smile held a faint bitterness, and two clear, hot tears, born of a sudden surge of self-pity, slid down his face. He felt the endless accusations and misunderstandings rush towards him, and he would choose to die silently, carrying his original resolve to protect Konoha and his unspoken secrets.
That's right... perhaps his future self didn't kill Sasuke. Perhaps he would leave some contingencies, to train Sasuke, to make Sasuke Konoha's new protector. To let Sasuke properly guard Konoha's future.
"Where the will of fire dances, flames shall forever burn. Whether in the past, present, or future... I am willing to become a withered leaf burned to ash by the flames, to illuminate the village's future."
"Father, I apologize if I've disappointed you. If you truly do that in the future, I will turn against you."
"This is my unshakeable conviction and capacity."
Uchiha Itachi spoke seriously to Fugaku.
Fugaku was speechless. The look in his eyes towards his eldest son, whom he had always been so proud of, had become extraordinarily unfamiliar, even somewhat chilling. Fugaku wanted to refute Itachi. He wanted to slap Uchiha Itachi hard across the face. He wanted to shout and demand why he was so cold-blooded, why he wouldn't spare even his closest blood relatives?
But... imagining the consequences of a fierce armed conflict between the Uchiha clan and Konoha, a hint of despair also rose within Fugaku's heart. Since Itachi in the future chose to protect Konoha, that must be the only choice he could make, right?
—Slap!!!
A sudden, loud slap echoed, and Fugaku saw Itachi's face snap to the side, a bright red handprint appearing visibly on his naturally pale cheek. This wasn't Fugaku's doing. Nor was it Akainu's.
"Uchiha Itachi!!!"
Tears in her eyes, Izumi glared furiously at her friend, who felt increasingly like a stranger. Her chest heaved, and she choked out in a loud, scolding tone, "Is your conviction and capacity to commit such disgusting, nauseating acts?! What self-pity are you indulging in before 'Absolute Justice'?! Do you, of all people, even have the right to speak of the Will of Fire?! You're a twelve-year-old brat, can your brain be normal for once?! What right do you have to decide the lives and deaths of innocent people?!"