Facing such a strike, Itachi Uchiha's defeat was predestined.
No matter how foolish a person might be, they wouldn't trip in the same pit three times.
First, Hayama Shirakumo had used a single move—the Golden Sword Harp—to kill Obito Uchiha [in a previous timeline/encounter]. Later, to buy time for Sasuke and the others to retreat, Itachi had been forced to use auditory genjutsu to stall him.
Having suffered twice in quick succession, it would be a gross understatement to say one was underestimating Obito Uchiha if they expected him to fall for the same trick again.
The Totsuka Blade, cloaked in the crimson flames of sealing power, struck true—plunging directly into the space-time vortex at the center of Obito Uchiha's chest.
Even though he had just crushed the Yata Mirror, the current Obito, now possessing both eyes, could immediately trigger another Kamui. He utilized that nearly peerless, absolute offensive power as an absolute defense, functionally equivalent to intangibility.
The vortex connecting the physical world to the Kamui dimension acted as a shield, allowing the Totsuka Blade to pierce into the void. As the Kamui swirl closed, the sealing flames of the Totsuka Blade were forcibly severed under the absolute suppression of spatial power.
Itachi Uchiha's momentum was spent, and he had no strength left to mount a new defense. His center was wide open; both the Totsuka Blade and the Yata Mirror were destroyed. His Sage Seal was on the verge of fading. After consecutive battles against the Two-Tails, the three Snake Princesses, Kagura, and now Obito Uchiha, the chakra in his body was nearly exhausted. He was at a total dead end.
"I told you, you would pay the price."
Obito's cold words reached Itachi's ears, causing his vision to flicker. For a moment, his mind drifted back to the night of the Uchiha coup all those years ago.
After he had played Obito, the man had left him with a single sentence: "You will regret this."
Regret?
Itachi thought of his brother, who had escaped to safety; his clansmen, who had withdrawn from the danger zone; his father and mother, who had committed suicide back then; and Shisui Uchiha, who had tried so hard to persuade him with earnest words.
And then there was the man who had been guiding him all this time... His Majesty.
Regret?
"In all my choices, I have never felt a single regret."
A crimson light erupted from within Itachi's body as the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing broke out. The light reflected off Obito's hideous, cold face, making it appear even more terrifying.
Itachi Uchiha truly never regretted anything. Not his choices then, and certainly not his choices now.
He had a clear conscience.
He suffered over the deaths of his parents, his clan, and Shisui. All of it had turned the once-cheerful Sasuke into a silent, lifeless shadow of himself. But if he were given the chance to do it all over again, he would still resolutely choose the same path.
The current, flourishing Shinobi World was exactly what he had hoped for from the beginning.
If there were any regrets, they were small: he wouldn't see his yet-unborn child. He wouldn't see Sasuke grow into a man. He wouldn't be able to follow behind His Majesty to witness the future of the Glorious Empire.
The ink-red seal tore through Itachi's body. Even the immense pain couldn't draw a single flinch from his face. The blood in his body, mixed with the power of the seal, splattered across a hundred-meter radius.
The two Uchiha clansmen stared at each other, unmoved.
At such close range, even an S-rank sealing technique like the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing couldn't harm Obito Uchiha in the slightest. However, Obito also couldn't do anything to Itachi in his current state. If he wanted to gouge out the Mangekyō Sharingan, he would have to solidify his body, and solidifying meant being caught in the seal.
The pitch-black curtain of light, radiating a crimson hue, suddenly surged and transformed into a sphere of pure annihilation. Everything in the vicinity was sucked into the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing.
When the light finally dissipated, the traces of the previous battle and the entire valley had vanished, leaving behind nothing but a perfectly sealed, hollowed-out surface.
Only Obito Uchiha remained, standing at the bottom of the crater.
Under these circumstances, not even Itachi's corpse would remain, let alone his pair of Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Obito, how are you feeling?"
A White Zetsu emerged from the ground, looking at the man who felt both familiar and strange.
Obito gave Zetsu a cold look but said nothing. Currently, he inhabited a Reanimated body. He had no sense of touch, pain, or taste.
He was in a foul mood. Even eliminating Itachi Uchiha—the man who had dared to defect right in front of him—hadn't improved his temperament in the least.
"Sasuke and the others have already moved far away. Furthermore, Hayama Shirakumo and Might Guy are rushing toward this location at extreme speeds."
"We need to leave."
Hearing Zetsu's words, Obito's eyes narrowed.
Hayama... Shirakumo. An old enemy.
"Might Guy is not easy to deal with. If you want to take him down, you'll need to coordinate with Nagato."
Seeing Obito's hesitation, White Zetsu quickly spoke up. Even though Obito now possessed a complete Mangekyō Sharingan and the inexhaustible chakra and ocular power of a Reanimated body, in the eyes of White and Black Zetsu, he was still likely no match for Might Guy. Only by joining forces with Nagato would there be a chance of victory.
"Let's go."
Having suffered a major defeat at the hands of Hayama Shirakumo previously, Obito didn't hesitate upon hearing Zetsu's advice. He turned and left. With the appearance of a Kamui vortex, Obito's figure warped and vanished into the void.
For now, he needed to understand the current situation and the state of the world.
Shortly after Obito's departure, the light in the sky distorted as the flying fortress Ancor Vantian appeared above the hollowed valley. Two figures dropped from the sky, kicking up light dust as they landed. It was Might Guy and Hayama Shirakumo, who had come to support but arrived a step too late.
Gazing at the empty battlefield, Might Guy's brow furrowed. "The last signal Itachi sent was from right here."
Looking at the obvious marks left by the ninjutsu, Hayama Shirakumo sighed softly. "It's the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing. It seems... Itachi is dead."
Every holder of the Sage Seal in the Empire was trained in this sealing technique. It wasn't meant for mutual destruction, but rather to erase oneself at the final moment to prevent intelligence leaks. Simultaneously, they all left tissue samples within the Empire; after using the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing, they could provide information via Reanimation.
As for a complete resurrection...
With the Empire's current technology, it was extremely difficult. Although the Ryūpu Zenra [Life Restoration] technique from the former Hidden Grass Village could revive a person, the weight of a life was both equal and different. Even if one learned the technique, a Chunin couldn't exchange their life to revive a powerhouse of Itachi Uchiha's caliber. Only a powerhouse roughly equal to Itachi could bring him back.
Regardless of whether such a powerhouse was willing, Itachi himself would never approve of such a method. And it wasn't just him; almost none of the experts in the Empire would accept such a trade.
"Let's go back. We need to report to His Majesty." Hayama Shirakumo sighed.
Might Guy stared at the ground marked by the seal for a long time. His face was calm, but his white-knuckled grip showed that his heart was anything but. Itachi's actions reminded him of his father, Might Duy. During the Third Shinobi World War, his father had similarly sacrificed himself to ensure the survival of the new generation.
And now, Itachi Uchiha had made the same choice.
"Let's head back," Guy said, his voice slightly raspy.
Konohagakure: The Glorious Building
Kakashi stared at the silent trio before him—Guy, Hayama, and Sasuke—before dropping his gaze to the mission report.
Ryūchi Cave, Orochimaru, Obito Uchiha...
He hadn't expected that a mere Two-Tails would lure out all these players. Kakashi pursed his lips as he noted the report of a Reanimated Obito Uchiha. It seemed Obito's head had indeed been taken by Black Zetsu years ago, leading to Itachi's sacrifice today.
He thought of the boy who had been by his side since the age of thirteen. Kakashi was not a heartless man; his heart was made of flesh and blood. Even if he had started out using Itachi for his own ends, so many years had passed. Now, Itachi had effectively died for him.
"Pass down the order: the Imperial Intelligence Department is to drop all other matters and focus entirely on locating Ryūchi Cave, Orochimaru, Nagato, and Obito Uchiha."
"The Imperial Pursuit Force is to be on standby at all times. Move out the moment intel arrives."
"The thirty-six Ancor Vantian units are to enter combat readiness. Once information is obtained, ensure arrival on-site within thirty minutes to engage and stall the enemy, with reinforcements arriving within ten minutes."
"Additionally, tell Tenzo in the Earth Province to halt the reforestation project and return to Konoha immediately."
"And put the newly equipped Armored Squad into this operation as well. Guy will be in full command, with Hayama as his deputy."
Kakashi set down the mission report and spoke calmly. Whether for personal or professional reasons, Itachi Uchiha deserved this level of attention. Personally, Itachi had been Kakashi's right hand for nearly a decade, one of his original core members. Professionally, he was one of only two members of the former Hokage's Guard, one of the "Twin Pillars of the Empire," the Director of the Imperial Police Force, and a bearer of the Sage Seal.
"Yes, sir," Might Guy and Hayama Shirakumo responded somberly.
Kakashi looked at the silent Sasuke and sighed internally. He had originally planned for Itachi to track down Orochimaru, but now...
"The rest of you, go prepare. Sasuke, stay behind."
As Guy and Hayama withdrew, only the sixteen-year-old youth remained in the office. Kakashi rose and walked over to Sasuke, a trace of pity in his eyes. This child seemed to be trapped in a cycle of constant loss—parents, clan, and now his older brother.
"Sasuke. Come with me. Let's go see... Itachi."
Sasuke looked up, his eyes somewhat hollow. To be honest, Kakashi wasn't a "traditional" master. Even though Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were his personal disciples, he had mostly left their training to Hayama Shirakumo, rarely finding the time to teach them himself.
"Yes," Sasuke answered morosely.
He knew he could see his brother again, but he felt unable to face it. The brother who had taught him step-by-step, who had guided him with calm restraint, was now a Reanimated corpse—a body without sensation. When their parents died, his brother was only thirteen. For the past ten years, Itachi had always cared for him, trying to lead him out of the suffocating shadows.
To Sasuke, Itachi was a harbor where he could truly feel at peace, never having to worry about anything. If his brother had protected him so fiercely, who had been there to protect the pain in his brother's heart?
That year, his brother was only thirteen years old...
At this thought, Sasuke's heart ached beyond measure. Silent tears traced paths down his cheeks, dripping onto the floor. The black-haired youth followed Kakashi out in a daze, not knowing where they were going.
Noticing Sasuke's state, Kakashi sighed. He had no words to comfort the boy. If he could, Kakashi would have personally gone to hunt down Obito's group. But with the Moryo Project looming, he had already dispatched all available combat forces. Moryo would have to be handled by him personally. Once that was resolved, the Empire would gain a new source of power to fill the gap left by Itachi. By then, if Obito hadn't been dealt with, Kakashi would move to eliminate that unstable factor himself.
"We're here."
The familiar, steady voice snapped Sasuke out of his trance. He realized he had followed Kakashi to a wooden hut. Sasuke recognized this place; it was the lakeside in the back mountains where Kakashi often spent time.
And there, right in front of them...
"Sasuke."
The familiar, calm voice caused Sasuke to lose all control. He broke into a frantic sob.
The man before him was indeed the recently fallen Itachi Uchiha. Reanimated from the tissue samples he had left behind, Itachi's skin was covered in cracks and his sclera were pitch black. Seeing this "ghastly" form caused the pain in Sasuke's heart to burst like a dam.
Kakashi had vanished at some point, leaving the final moments to the brothers. Sasuke had already relayed the information regarding Obito and the woman accompanying Orochimaru. Now, Itachi's time belonged to Sasuke. Kakashi didn't want to intrude.
Watching the brothers' reunion—which was also their final meeting—from a distance, Kakashi remained silent for a long time. Then, his hand was enveloped in a familiar warmth.
Hikari had appeared by his side.
Now thirty years old, Hikari showed no signs of aging, still looking as she did in her youth. she looked at the white-haired man beside her with deep sympathy. As time passed, she understood Kakashi more and more.
Because he was the first person to consolidate the Shinobi World into a single nation, Kakashi was revered by countless people as a near-godlike figure. This faith wasn't just held by the common people; even many Imperial officials felt the same. Being watched, idolized, and deified by everyone meant Kakashi could never show a hint of weakness or despondency in public. He had to remain at the forefront of everyone, forever.
Even if he lost an arm, he could not show the slightest pain.
Hikari empathized with him, but the more she understood, the more her heart ached. Whether as the Sovereign of the Empire, the pillar of their home, or the father of their children, Kakashi had fulfilled every duty. But who was there to empathize with Kakashi? Even the hardest stone can be worn away by water, let alone a human being.
Only Hikari, as the Empress of the Empire, could truly understand him.
Kakashi had once joked that once the Shinobi World was unified, he would drop everything and take her to travel the world. But the responsibility of everyone's expectations weighed heavy on his shoulders. Kakashi couldn't do it. The people trusted him, not someone else. If he walked away, everything they had built would vanish like a dream.