Hokage: Ryo's Path

Under pressure from both of them, although she Mikoto still refused her son’s departure, she still couldn’t say anything in the end.

After getting the “consent” of both parents, Itachi bowed to both of them and left.

Mikoto looked at her son’s back and tears swirled in her eyes. Fugaku grabbed her into his arms and she wept as he said softly: “Do not worry honey; Itachi is strong!”

“But he’s only 12... He’s just a child!” She choked as she said those words.

“Yes, and I am most inadequate as a father, letting my son bear such a burden... But Itachi is different; he’s the kindest child. His heart is filled with love to both Konoha and the Uchiha, and he’s a true genius that we must trust!”

After Itachi left, he met Sasuke on his way out.

His young brother, now only seven, was in shock as he saw the corpses of many friendly figures from his clan killed viciously on the ground. He was shaking in fear, rushing to his parents’ place to make sure they were okay.

However, when he saw his brother intact, he breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t realize the difference with his brother yet, so he ran to him yelling: “Oni san! Something happened! Everyone is dead!”

When Itachi looked at his brother, he was filled with sorrow. But then, he remembered the masked man, and he became determined. The last trace of tenderness left his eyes, and he grabbed his brother by the neck, lifting him up!

Sasuke wasn’t heavy, and only felt some difficulty breathing. However, when he heard Itachi’s words, he choked completely: “Sasuke, I am the one who killed them all!”

“No! It can’t... be... my brother?! Why.... why would you do this?” Perhaps it was because he was grabbed by the neck, or maybe it was out of shock, but Sasuke wasn’t speaking right...

“Then let me show you the truth!” Activating his Mangekyo, Itachi showed Sasuke how he had killed everyone.

Even after seeing this, Sasuke wasn’t willing to believe. He closed his eyes and tried to escape it all. Unfortunately however, when in the world of Tsukuyomi, one could not escape by merely doing that.

In the end, Sasuke collapsed. Before his consciousness faded completely, he could hear Itachi’s voice: “If you want to kill me, despise me, hate me, and live in an unsightly way... Run, and cling to life, and then some day, when you have the same eyes as I do, come before me. Then, you will be worth killing...”

Not too far from the two, Ryo heard all of this. When hearing this sentence for the first time in his previous life, he felt great sympathy to Sasuke.

After knowing the truth, he knew how much courage and pain Itachi had to go through in order to say such wicked words. These words were to become a demon, on to haunt Sasuke, eventually making him incredibly strong. Still, whenever Ryo would hear those words, his heart would still waver.

After putting down the stunned Sasuke, he looked at his unconscious face, all in pain, and held his own pain s a tear fell on his cheeks.

“Do you have to leave?”

“Ryo sama!” Itachi was shocked by Ryo’s emergence.

“You don’t have to leave at all, Itachi. I’ve already arranged everything with Sakumo, and I suspect your father did the same. If you want, no one will know what you did.”

“Ryo sama, thank you for your kindness, but I have decided. I am a Ninja of Konoha, and I must protect the village.”

“Well, you do what you see fit. While you’re away, don’t worry about Sasuke. I know how much you love this little guy, and I will take care of him.” Ryo sighed.

Hearing Ryo, Itachi bowed with sincere gratefulness: “Thank you, Ryo sama!”

“Oh yeah, one last thing.... Shisui is alive!”

Hearing this, Itachi finally collapsed to the ground trembling. Ryo continued: “One of his eyes was taken by Danzo, so I took that chance to help you open your own.”

Shisui was Itachi’s closest friend, his mentor, and the one to build his convictions. Without him, Itachi wouldn’t be who he is today.

Seeing him fall off the cliff, Itachi felt his entire world collapsing. Now that he knew he was okay, he became excited and could help but shed tears of joy...

Thinking about this, Itachi quickly took out Shisui’s “eye” and gave it to Ryo: “Ryo sama, Shisui’s eye...”

Ryo smiled: “That’s a fake; you keep it. It has some of my own Mangekyo’s strength, so maybe it could come in handy one day.”

Itachi blinked, and then nodded, putting away the eye: “Thank you, Ryo sama! About Itachi’s other eye...”

“Danzo won’t be in the world for much longer, Itachi. I will get Shisui’s eye back.”

“And my parent...”

“Don’t worry. I’m here, and no one will be able to hurt them.” Ryo smiled a bitter smile, as if telling Itachi that he had everything figured out.

Itachi understood and nodded, gave a final look at the district and his brother, and then left.

Ryo sighed and took the comatose Itachi to Fugaku’s place.

At the same time, Danzo, Homura and their men gathered more than enough Sharingans, and they just left quietly.

Obito was also busy all night, gathering many eyes as well. After After perceiving that Itachi had left, he also left the district and went for him.

In the woods outside Konoha, Itachi was resting on a large tree with his eyes closed, waiting for Obito.

When the latter appeared, Itachi acted surprised.

“Uchiha Itachi, you’ve kept your promise to me, annihilating the Uchiha, and I’m keeping my promise to leave Konoha alone. Now, I believe that this village is no longer a suiting place for you. Want to join me?” Obito spoke a in his majestic tone, sounding very persuasive.

“Join you were?”

Obito saw how cold Itachi was speaking, and said: “You have a Mangekyo, and could be of value to me so I will tell you; the Rain Country, the Akatsuki!”

“Rain Country?”