Chapter 42: In the Silent Night
The night was quiet. A rare peace stretched across the small inn where the three travelers had settled after their long day. Jiraiya's snores rumbled from the other room, steady and careless, but for Naruto and Sasuke sleep refused to come.
Their chakra linked naturally now, and without a word exchanged, both slipped into Sasuke's personal dimension.
The air inside was endless, dark yet strangely calm, like a void that only Sasuke's will defined. Black stone platforms floated in the emptiness, broken bridges of a world detached from reality.
Sasuke stood still for a moment, his Sharingan glowing faintly. He felt it—another presence.
From the mist of nothingness, a familiar figure emerged.
Eyes dark as midnight, cloak tattered from battle, and a calm, piercing expression that could only belong to one man.
Itachi Uchiha.
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Itachi's eyes narrowed.
"So… this is where I ended up." His tone was steady, but his gaze lingered on the endless void. Then he turned to Sasuke.
"This world… is this your Mangekyō Sharingan's ability?"
Sasuke's breath caught for a moment. He had prepared himself to see his brother again, but not like this—trapped between life and death.
"…Something like that," Sasuke said quietly.
Itachi tilted his head slightly. "Then answer me, Sasuke. Why do you look at me as though you've seen me die already?"
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Sasuke's chest tightened. For a long time, he said nothing. His fists clenched at his sides, nails biting into his palms. Finally, he met Itachi's eyes.
"Because I have."
Itachi blinked, the faintest trace of surprise breaking his stoic mask. "…What?"
Sasuke took a step closer, shadows pulling around him as if the void itself leaned in to listen.
"Brother… everything you think you've hidden, everything you carried alone… I know it all. The massacre. The orders from Konoha. The sickness in your body. Even the truth that you loved me, even as you made me hate you."
Itachi's face stayed calm, but his eyes sharpened dangerously. "…Explain."
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Sasuke's voice grew heavier.
"This life I'm living now… it isn't my first. I was reborn, Itachi. Dragged back to the past with all the memories of a future drenched in blood."
Itachi's breath stilled, though he said nothing.
Sasuke continued, voice trembling between rage and sorrow.
"In that life… I killed you. With my own hands. I thought it was justice. I thought I was avenging the clan. And when you died… only then did I learn the truth. That you were never the villain. That you were my brother until the very end."
His Sharingan burned, spinning violently, his voice cracking with suppressed emotion.
"You smiled at me, even as you fell. You tapped my forehead… one last time. And then you were gone. Leaving me with nothing but hatred for myself."
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Itachi's eyes widened—not in fear, but in disbelief. His breath grew shallow, his composure slipping for the first time.
"…Rebirth…?" he murmured. "You claim you've lived through such a future?"
"Yes." Sasuke's voice was sharp, but his gaze wavered. "The Fourth Great Ninja War. Madara's return. Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. Even the Sage of Six Paths himself. Naruto and I… we fought through all of it. We won, but… at a cost. You were long gone by then. And me…"
He clenched his chest, the memory of his own death flashing through him.
"I died too. In the war. Only to awaken here, years in the past, beside Naruto again."
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Itachi stood in silence, the words echoing in the void. His calm demeanor cracked slightly, disbelief and… sorrow creeping into his expression.
"…If what you say is true," Itachi said slowly, "then every step you take now is to rewrite the destiny you once lived."
Sasuke's lips pressed into a tight line. "…Yes."
"And yet… you've dragged me here. Into this place. Why?"
Finally, Sasuke's voice broke, raw and unguarded.
"Because, brother… I couldn't bear to lose you again. Not without you knowing the truth—that I understood. That I regret everything."
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For a moment, silence consumed the void. Itachi stared at his brother, seeing not the boy he left behind but a man burdened by two lifetimes of sorrow.
Disbelief lingered in his eyes, but beneath it was something else—a fragile, breaking warmth.
"…Sasuke." His voice softened, almost inaudible.
"If what you say is real… then your burden is far heavier than mine ever was."
Sasuke's fists trembled. "Then… believe me. Please."
Itachi's expression flickered—between disbelief, pain, and something dangerously close to acceptance.
"…I want to," Itachi whispered.
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And the void trembled, the weight of truth settling between them.
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