This was what Itachi said to Kisame the first time they met.
Back then, Kisame said that shinobi were like sharks—fighting and devouring each other from the moment they were in their mother's womb, struggling to absorb the most nutrients before birth. In the end, every shinobi was just a killer who had taken the lives of their own kin.
But Itachi didn't agree. He simply told Kisame what it meant to be comrades and then spoke the words above.
In the original story, their fates fit that statement perfectly. Itachi died at the hands of his own brother, bearing the name of a traitor, hated by the one he loved most. He did not meet a peaceful end.
As for Kisame, he was strong and had his own ambitions. He had once killed enemies for the sake of his village's stability, and he had even killed his own comrades to protect classified information before attempting to take his own life—though he survived.
Later, perhaps lost in the meaning of his actions, he began to doubt the very belief he had followed all his life: protecting the village. Seeking the truth, he attacked his superior—the previous wielder of Samehada from the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Fuguki Suikazan. But after failing, he encountered "Uchiha Madara."
Swayed by Madara's vision of peace, he took Samehada, became a rogue ninja, and joined the Akatsuki, dedicating his life to the peace he believed in. In the end, surrounded by Konoha and Kumo's Jonin, he summoned his sharks, sent out his final intel, and was devoured by his own summoning.
As a comrade, he died at the hands of his own summon.
As a shinobi who had killed his comrades, he was killed by his own comrade in turn. If that isn't irony, what is?
Yes, those who betray their comrades are doomed to a bad end… Itachi had long been prepared for this. Death had never been what he feared.
The kunai pierced Itachi's heart. Two pairs of Three-Tomoe Sharingan met. Itachi's gaze was as gentle as ever, while Sasuke's eyes were filled with grief and pain.
"Yes, I've been ready to accept my death for a long time." Itachi acted as if he didn't even see the kunai piercing his chest. He only smiled faintly at the young man before him.
Once, they had walked under the sunlight together, greeting their neighbors on the way home, laughing as they stepped through the door. Their mother had already prepared dinner, waiting for them. Their father, as usual, wore a cold expression—acting as if he didn't care. But the moment they returned, he would secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
A family—
A gentle mother, a proud father, a cheerful younger brother,
…And a happy me.
That scene was something he would never grow tired of.
Sasuke gripped the kunai tightly, holding back his tears as he felt the warmth of blood flowing onto his hands. "That's enough…"
Itachi's eyes curved in a smile. "Yeah… it's enough."
As chakra flared, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan in their eyes spun rapidly. In the alternating flashes of light and darkness, two identical Mangekyou Sharingan appeared.
"Kaah—"
A crow tilted its head, its bright red pupils reflecting the two figures, as if puzzled by what it saw.
In the room, Itachi was still sitting in his chair, smiling gently. Sasuke stood at the doorway, a still-warm bento box slipping from his hands. Five rice balls tumbled out, rolling onto the floor.
Sasuke clenched his fists, his Mangekyou Sharingan locked onto Itachi. "After gaining the power of the Sage of Six Paths, unless your ocular power surpasses mine to the level of the Rinne Sharingan, even Kotoamatsukami can't affect me."
Itachi smiled gently, the deep wrinkles on his face like a mark of wisdom, making him look like a kind old man. His dim Mangekyou spun slightly, making even Sasuke's figure appear blurry. "My eyesight is too poor to see you clearly anymore. So even if this is just a Genjutsu, being able to see you a little better is good enough."
"You…" Sasuke's expression was complicated.
From the moment he took out the lunchbox and met Itachi's gaze, Itachi's Tsukuyomi had already taken effect. Everything they had said and experienced since then existed within the illusion.
Sasuke had known this for a while, but he hadn't broken the Genjutsu.
Itachi smiled casually. "There's someone in the Akatsuki with strong stealth abilities who handles intelligence gathering. Our battle will be reported back, so some things shouldn't be said carelessly."
Like the power of the Six Paths, or the Otsutsuki…
But right now, none of that mattered. He had already decided on his future. Even if that 'Uchiha Madara' found out, so what? He couldn't change the outcome.
After speaking, Itachi stood up from his chair and walked down the stairs casually, stopping on the other side of the room. "When it comes to Genjutsu, your skills are still weak, but the fact that you resisted Tsukuyomi means you can break most illusions. That's good enough."
As soon as he finished speaking, before Sasuke could respond, Itachi stretched out both hands and flicked several shuriken at him from tricky angles.
Sasuke reacted instantly. At the exact moment Itachi threw his shuriken, Sasuke's right hand moved, launching the same number of shuriken. They didn't have the unpredictable movements of Itachi's, but the steady force behind them intercepted every single one perfectly.
Seeing this, Itachi smiled even more warmly. He flipped his hand, revealing more shuriken. "Sasuke, do you remember our training?"
Even with his eyes closed or blocked, Itachi could use the Uchiha shuriken technique—bouncing shuriken off each other mid-air to curve their trajectory and set up a deadly trap.
Sasuke would never forget that moment. "I remember."
Itachi held his shuriken with a smile. "The targets are the heart, the head, and the back. Can you do it?"
"Piece of cake." Sasuke pulled out new shuriken.
Their eyes met, and in the next second, they both threw their weapons at the same time. Three shuriken spun in the air, flying in strange directions. But then—*clang!*—they collided with each other mid-flight, changing course.
At an almost impossible angle, the shuriken shot toward their targets—the heart, the head, and the back.
Not just Itachi's—Sasuke's shuriken had performed the same complex maneuver, flying toward their marks with perfect precision.
The next second, both of them pulled out another set of three shuriken. Without even looking, they threw them again, colliding with the incoming ones, knocking them all to the ground.
Itachi looked at the fallen shuriken with satisfaction. In that moment, a deep sense of pride filled his heart.
Sasuke clenched his fists tightly. His Mangekyou had started spinning unconsciously. Without waiting for Itachi to speak, his body crackled with lightning as he suddenly appeared in front of him, thrusting a kunai forward. "Enough!"
Itachi blocked the attack. Even with Sasuke's furious face so close, his gaze remained gentle. "Sasuke, no matter what, you must always stay calm. That's the most basic rule for a ninja—"
"You're still lecturing me? Even now?" Sasuke roared.