"So you did those things because Konoha gave you a mission?" Sasuke looked at his brother in disbelief.
"Forgive me, Sasuke." After spilling everything, Itachi finally reverted to the kind and gentle big brother image in Sasuke's memory, smiling at him. He tried to place his hand on Sasuke's head, wanting to stroke it the way Lexon did. But just as he was about to touch him, Sasuke slapped his hand away.
"No! No! I can't forgive you!" For the first time that day, tears welled up in Sasuke's eyes. He took a few steps back and shouted emotionally, "Those were our clansmen! Those were our parents!"
Even if the Uchiha clan intended to stage a coup, even if his brother acted under the orders of Konoha's higher-ups... Sasuke still felt it was impossible to let it go.
Watching the weeping Sasuke, Itachi's smile faded. He remained silent, his expression unreadable.
"I have some good news, though," Lexon suddenly stepped forward and said.
But neither the silent Itachi nor the crying Sasuke paid him any attention.
"I'm technically part of the Uchiha clan too. It's not very nice to ignore me like this."
Only then did Sasuke react.
"You too... You're the same... You killed the clansmen too... I won't forgive you either..." Sasuke couldn't stop crying.
This felt quite novel to Lexon. After all, he had never seen the rebellious Second Pillar cry like this. Clearly, Sasuke had lumped Lexon into the same category as Itachi.
"I'm not like him. I didn't kill any clansmen," Lexon shook a finger.
"Really?" Sasuke asked, his eyes blurry with tears.
"Hmm?" Hearing this, Itachi also looked at Lexon in surprise. He remembered that Lexon was responsible for dealing with the younger clansmen that day... Why was he lying through his teeth now?
"Of course it's true," Lexon replied. Then, he looked at Itachi. "On that day, I saved all the younger clansmen I was responsible for... and then I tossed them to your best friend Shisui to look after."
"Saved them? Shisui??" Itachi was first stunned by the first sentence, and then even more shocked by the name of the person he cared about so much. He didn't even register the incomprehensible term 'best friend' and instead pressed, "Shisui is still alive?"
"Yeah, he's alive," Lexon nodded simply.
"How is that possible?" Itachi didn't understand.
"I was there the day Shisui jumped off the cliff. I saved him on a whim," Lexon said.
"So you're saying you didn't kill the clansmen, and you even saved many of them?" Sasuke stopped his tears slightly and asked Lexon.
"Yes." Lexon nodded again.
"Thank you, Brother Lexon," Sasuke expressed his gratitude, using the honorific from his childhood. Then, he wiped his tears and looked at Itachi. "I won't forgive you... You're the reason the Uchiha clan declined. You must atone! You must take responsibility for making the Uchiha clan flourish again!"
"Flourish?" Itachi couldn't quite grasp his brother's thoughts.
"You have to have a lot of children! You have to birth as many as the number of clansmen you killed!" Sasuke made his demand.
This statement didn't just shock Itachi; it even surprised Lexon. While Lexon had saved the younger Uchiha, the older ones were the majority. Following Sasuke's logic—blaming Itachi rather than the other accomplice, the masked man—Itachi would have to father them all.
How long would Itachi have to spend breeding? Even as a stallion, his body might not hold out... This was the most surprised Lexon had been since arriving in the Naruto world.
"The Uchiha clan hasn't declined. Lexon has already saved so many clansmen..." Itachi tried to make Sasuke give up on the idea.
"No! Those were the clansmen saved by Brother Lexon; they have nothing to do with you!" Sasuke was very stubborn.
"My body is ill. I won't live long..." Itachi directly revealed his physical condition.
This was one of the reasons why he had been so blunt about everything. He was almost ready to go to hell, and Konoha was already destroyed. By confessing everything, Sasuke should be able to accept his Mangekyo Sharingan more readily after his death... Or so Itachi thought.
"Don't worry. With me here, you won't die. My power can cure any illness," Lexon chimed in just as Itachi finished speaking.
Lexon found the idea of turning Itachi into a stallion quite amusing, so naturally, he added fuel to the fire. However, what he said was the truth. The Six Paths Yang Power could even bring Guy back from the brink of death after opening the Gate of Death, let alone Itachi's minor illness.
"..." Itachi was now completely speechless. If he hadn't confessed, he might have been able to play the villain to the end. But after confessing, it was hard to act like a villain again. Since his younger brother used 'atonement' as an excuse, he really couldn't say much...
'I'll talk to Sasuke later...'
'It's always hard to communicate when Lexon is around...'
Itachi finally saw through Lexon's 'fun-seeker' nature and didn't say anything more.
"So, the Uchiha problem is settled now, right?" Lexon looked at Sasuke and asked.
"Yes." Sasuke nodded. To be honest, he had already gotten the result he wanted. All that was left was to make his brother speed up the process of passing on the family line and meet the surviving clansmen to apologize to them one by one... He just didn't know what the outcome of the apology would be... Hopefully, they wouldn't demand his brother's death...
"Brother Lexon... What about Naruto and Sakura..." Having settled his own affairs, Sasuke naturally didn't forget his two partners.
"Don't worry, I'll handle it." Lexon rubbed Sasuke's head. "Go catch up with your brother first."
"Okay," Sasuke nodded in response. His current attitude toward Lexon was just like in his childhood. Although he wasn't that old now... He usually acted differently because hatred had clouded his mind.
Then, Lexon turned and walked toward the two children not far behind who were still in a state of daze. As he walked, the scenery around Lexon suddenly shifted.
Dim light, flowing water, a prison cell covered in talismans... and a fox playing video games inside the cell...
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]