I became Hokage in Tokyo

Chapters 464 and 465: Payne's true identity does not exist.

"This is a kaleidoscope!"

Sasuke looked astonished as he saw the cherry blossom Sharingan in Uchiha Senmon's right eye socket, and then cautiously activated his Sharingan.

Just as his three-tomoe Sharingan was about to transform into the Mangekyou Sharingan, Sasuke suddenly pressed his left hand against one of his eyes, gritting his teeth and letting out a painful groan.

"Waaah..."

"Sasuke, your eye power hasn't recovered yet. The battle with Itachi earlier severely damaged your eyes, so it's best not to push yourself too hard," said Senmon Uchiha.

What's wrong with your eyes?

Uchiha Senmon's right eye is a Mangekyou Sharingan, while his left eye is a regular three-tomoe Sharingan, making them appear asymmetrical at first glance.

"I mean you no harm. My Mangekyou Sharingan 'Eight Thunder Gods' is not an offensive eye technique like Amaterasu, and it poses no threat to living people whatsoever."

Uchiha Senmon remained noncommittal in the face of Sasuke's doubts, but blood tears spurted from the corners of his Mangekyou Sharingan eyes as his ocular power surged forth.

"But this eye technique will allow us to see Itachi one last time."

As soon as he finished speaking, the void seemed to shatter, and a dark and deathly aura gripped Sasuke's heart. In the chilling atmosphere, a stream of dark blue light flashed and disappeared, and then a blurry, illusory figure appeared in front of Uchiha Senmon and Sasuke, gradually deepening in color.

"Itachi!"

Sasuke was taken aback, his resentment and anger mixed with a subtle hint of joy.

However, the Sharingan's power immediately revealed that it was not Itachi Uchiha himself, but his soul.

Why am I here?

A moment later, Itachi Uchiha opened his black eyes blankly, and upon seeing Sasuke, he frowned and pondered:

"Could it be the Taishan Fujun Festival...?"

"No, I used my eye technique to bring you back to the mortal realm. I hope you won't blame me for taking matters into my own hands."

Uchiha Senmon squinted his bloodshot right eye and suddenly spoke.

"Your right eye is a kaleidoscope of the Kido style, that's really rare."

Upon hearing this, Itachi Uchiha glanced at the Uchiha and said expressionlessly:

"It was all for naught. My ambition to steal Sasuke's eyes and become the Child of Prophecy has failed, and as a loser, I have nothing to say."

"Sasuke, you've won. Do you want to grind my corpse to dust, or my soul...?"

"Itachi, stop talking!"

Sasuke abruptly interrupted Itachi's words, glaring at his brother through gritted teeth and loudly questioning him:

"Are you hiding something from me?! What exactly happened on the night of the massacre?!"

Itachi Uchiha was taken aback, his expression changed, but he quickly regained his composure and remained silent.

"I'm sorry, Itachi, I've already examined your body."

Uchiha Senmon broke the deadlock and said in a deep voice:

"Your old injuries and chronic illnesses are appalling. Even without Sasuke, you wouldn't last more than a few days. You were holding back throughout the fight with Sasuke; you were simply seeking death, weren't you?"

Itachi Uchiha glared at Senmon Uchiha, seemingly blaming him for meddling.

"Is what he said true? You were already dying?" Uchiha Sasuke asked repeatedly, his anxious tone tinged with a hint of hope.

"My foolish brother, he still harbors illusions even now."

After a long silence, Itachi Uchiha said coldly and ruthlessly:

"It's precisely because my body is failing that I had to seize this last chance to take your eyes. It was only because a lingering injury from a previous battle flared up that I fell short..."

"What stole your life force was the cursed seal that erupted from your heart, left behind by a Shadow-level powerhouse."

Uchiha Senmon's eyes flashed, and he went straight to the heart of the matter:

"Is this the price you have to pay for leaving Akatsuki?"

Seeing that Itachi Uchiha remained unmoved, Sasuke became anxious and rolled over in bed, but because he was still bound with wooden strips, he lost his balance and fell to the ground.

"Itachi!"

With a flick of his wrist, the wooden strips binding Sasuke loosened automatically, and the enraged Sasuke scrambled towards Itachi Uchiha.

Uchiha Itachi silently turned his head away, not daring to meet his brother's gaze.

"You want Sasuke to obtain the power of the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan and become the Child of Prophecy. But if the shackles binding this child cannot be broken, the power of the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan will not only fail to save the world, but may even become a more terrifying disaster than the Tailed Beasts."

Blood was still flowing from Uchiha Senmon's right eye. He spoke softly and meaningfully:

"Itachi, you have already died once, and all your sins have been atoned for. In the end, do not leave the living with regrets."

The taciturn Itachi Uchiha finally softened; his cold mask melted away, revealing helplessness and tenderness deep within his eyes. He sighed.

"Seriously, I'm defeated by you guys."

"So there's more to this than meets the eye!" Sasuke Uchiha's eyes lit up instantly, and he eagerly asked, "What exactly happened?"

Although his right eye was already throbbing, Uchiha Senmon remained calm and listened attentively.

"Everyone who joins Akatsuki is given the same cursed seal to prevent traitors from leaking information. Just as the Immortal Sect deduced, my heart was damaged by the cursed seal after I left Akatsuki."

Itachi Uchiha touched his chest with his left hand and said heavily:

"Shortly after Jiraiya-sama's death, my identity as a spy was exposed, and the cursed seal within me began to activate when I fled."

"Even with the life-extending method taught by the Toad Sage, I could only prolong my life for a short time. Fortunately, I managed to hold on until Sasuke came to seek revenge before I died."

A flicker of grief crossed Sasuke's face, which he quickly suppressed, and he demanded:

"Did you really kill our parents and our people?"

"It was me, I really killed him with my own hands..."

Uchiha Itachi, who always appeared calm, closed his eyes in anguish and spoke with a pained expression.

"you!"

Sasuke Uchiha's eyes turned red, and he activated his Sharingan, ready to rush forward and kill Itachi Uchiha once again.

"Wood Release: Silent Binding Technique!"

As expected, the Uchiha Senmon raised his hand and bound Sasuke's body with tree branches, rendering him unable to move.

"Finish what you're saying, Itachi. Why did you do this?"

"Besides me, there was another murderer on the night of the massacre. There was a second Uchiha present," Itachi Uchiha said in a hoarse voice.

Uchiha Senmon's gaze sharpened, and his left hand instinctively pressed against his three-tomoe Sharingan:

"Is that Obito Uchiha?"

"Obito? The biggest traitor of the Uchiha clan!?" Sasuke Uchiha blurted out.

"That's right. That night, I was controlled by Obito's Mangekyou Sharingan, and together with him, we wiped out the entire Uchiha clan..."

Uchiha Itachi's eye twitched, and he muttered:

"After slaughtering my clan and killing my parents, when only you, Sasuke, were left, my eyes were stained with blood and tears, and I awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, which allowed me to break free from Obito Uchiha's control."

"It's a lie, none of this is real..." Uchiha Sasuke shook his head in disbelief, his face pale.

"Why did Obito kill the Uchiha clan?" asked Senmon Uchiha.

"The Uchiha clan, descendants of Madara Uchiha, and the Akatsuki organization, which attempted to revive Izanami, were irreconcilable enemies. Obito, however, joined the Akatsuki for unknown reasons, becoming the biggest stain on the history of the Uchiha clan."

"Why am I alive? Why weren't they killed me that night?!"

Having finally snapped out of the shocking news, Uchiha Sasuke roared with a contorted face.

"In the end, I awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, but I was no match for Obito. After being defeated, I gave up and thought that dying like this wouldn't be so bad."

Uchiha Itachi's face contorted into a bittersweet expression, a mixture of tears and laughter.

"But Obito, like a cat playing with a mouse, offered me a condition I couldn't refuse."

A thoughtful look flashed across Uchiha Senmon's eyes, and sure enough, Uchiha Itachi continued:

"Obito will let you go as long as I join Akatsuki, Sasuke."

"What, it's for me?"

Sasuke, bound hand and foot with Wood Release techniques, looked on in disbelief and kept backing away.

"Why didn't you tell me all this? Instead, you admitted that you did it yourself! You deceived me until you died by my hand!" Sasuke questioned hysterically.

"Even though he was controlled by Obito's genjutsu, these hands still killed his parents and clansmen."

Itachi Uchiha's voice was so heavy it was suffocating:

"I've always hoped that one day I could be punished by you, my brother, so that I could atone for my sins."

Upon hearing this, Sasuke was stunned, his body limp, and he leaned against the wooden bed, speechless for a long time.

Oh, I see.

The Uchiha clan did not find this seemingly logical yet unexpected truth difficult to accept.

Like him, Itachi Uchiha was also a man who chose to bear the darkness and all the sins alone.

The victims caught in the Yokota Explosion were seen by the Uchiha Sage Clan as sins they should bear, and similarly, Itachi Uchiha could not forgive himself for having his hands stained with the blood of his clansmen.

Even though the Uchiha clan members may appear calm and normal, they are fundamentally twisted and extreme.

"After being forced to join Akatsuki, I secretly investigated, ready to turn against them at any time, and even made contact with the Toad Sage."

"Obito was merely the acting leader of Akatsuki, a figurehead. After Obito's demise in the Asakusa Incident, the mastermind finally surfaced: it was Pain!"

Payne!

Uchiha Senmon was startled; he had heard of this name countless times.

"What do you know about Pain, Itachi?"

Despite the inappropriate timing, Uchiha Senmon still spoke up to inquire.

The Uchiha Sage Clan didn't just intend to be a dream-fulfilling master; Pain's intelligence was also a key reason why he used the Eight Thunder Gods to summon Uchiha Itachi from the underworld.

"Pain is so mysterious and watertight that even when I was marked with the curse, I never met him and knew almost nothing about him except his name."

Uchiha Itachi pondered:

"But before Jiraiya-sama died in battle, he passed on a top-secret message!"

"The genuine product does not exist!"

Uchiha Senmon's pupils dilated violently, his face ashen.

The genuine product doesn't exist?

What does this mean...?

Before he could think, a sharp pain shot through Uchiha Senmon's Mangekyou Sharingan, causing him to let out a muffled groan.

At the same time, Itachi Uchiha's illusory soul began to emit white light.

"Can your eye technique last a little longer?" He glanced at Sasuke with reluctance.

"Rest assured, as a return gift from Kamui, we will give you time to say goodbye."

"Thank you. By revealing the truth and clearing up the misunderstanding after death, I can peacefully descend into hell."

Itachi Uchiha thanked him a few times and then floated to Sasuke's side.

"I kept deceiving you with 'forgive me,' and personally pushed you away from me because I didn't want to involve you."

"I originally intended to keep the secret hidden in the dark, but if I had faced you honestly from the beginning, stood on the same side as you, and told you the truth... perhaps things would have been different."

"This time, I've decided to speak my true feelings a little..."

With a gentle smile, Itachi Uchiha pressed his forehead against Sasuke's, a slight smile playing on his lips, as he uttered his final words:

"You may never forgive me. But no matter how you change in the future, I will always love you deeply!"

After saying this, a look of relief and liberation appeared on Itachi's face. He transformed into a beam of white light and shot into the sky before disappearing.

"Huff, huff!"

Uchiha Senmon was panting heavily, covering his right eye with one hand. His eyelids were so heavy that he could barely open them, and his vision was blurry.

The Eight Thunder Gods eye technique, which requires summoning the soul of a Kage-level powerhouse, is still too much of a stretch and must be used with caution.

However, as long as it can ignite the will for revenge in the prophesied child, Uchiha Sasuke, the loss of his eye power will be worthwhile.

"Why...why is it like this...?"

Sasuke was still in a daze, as if in a dream, talking to himself.

"Because Itachi did it to protect you."

Uchiha Senmon walked to Sasuke's side, squatted down, and untied the wooden strips binding Sasuke, speaking softly.

"He gave you the goal of revenge and hoped that you would become stronger."

"From the night of the massacre, Itachi has decided to fight you and die at your hands. All of this is so that you can gain new power and become the prophesied child who will save the world."

Uchiha Senmon gazed at Sasuke's eyes, which were gradually welling up with tears, and sighed softly. He hardened his heart and said:

"Sasuke, have you made up your mind? Will you carry on Itachi's legacy and become the savior, or will you choose another path? No matter what you choose, Itachi will never blame you."

"Ugh... Ah, ahhh!"

Sasuke trembled as he stretched out his hands, buried his face in his palms, and first let out a small animal-like whimper, then burst into loud sobs.

Uchiha Senmon could only close his eyes, purse his lips, and remain silent in contemplation.

"Give me the itachi's eyes."

After a long while, Sasuke Uchiha finally raised his head.

On his tear-streaked face, a pair of six-pointed Mangekyou Sharingan eyes shone with a captivating, bloodthirsty light.

Uchiha Senmon's expression turned solemn, and his heart skipped a beat. The child of prophecy was finally about to be born!

but……

The unfathomable darkness of his gaze sent a chill down his spine.

"But don't get me wrong, I won't save the world. My only goal is to destroy Akatsuki and kill Pain!"

(End of this chapter)