This question was soft.
Yet it wedged itself firmly into the frozen air between them like a spike.
What do you want me to do?
Sora looked at Itachi's face—close enough to touch—filled with shock and confusion.
What a good question.
A smart person, when faced with something beyond comprehension, always thinks first not of "why," but of "what's your goal?"
Excellent.
It meant he'd slightly calmed down from the initial worldview-shattering impact.
He was starting to think.
That was enough.
"Hah." Sora suddenly chuckled and released Itachi's wrist.
He turned, walked back to the stream, hands in his pockets, head tilted up to gaze at the sky fragmented by leaves.
"Itachi, why do you think I became a ninja?"
He threw out a seemingly unrelated question.
Itachi didn't answer.
His mind was still a mess.
"Because I want to become Hokage."
Sora continued without waiting for a response.
His back, reflected in the stream's light, seemed somewhat unreal.
"A very clichéd, boring, common dream, right? In Konoha, ask any kid—eight out of ten would say the same."
"But I'm different."
Sora turned around, his face devoid of smile—only a calm certainty mismatched with his age.
"I'm serious."
He looked at Itachi, enunciating each word.
"And you, Itachi? What do you want?"
"You want the Uchiha clan to regain the village's trust. You want your family to truly integrate into Konoha. You want your little brother to live proudly in a peaceful, stable world."
"Am I right?"
Each sentence was like a precise scalpel, dissecting Itachi's deepest desires and struggles.
Itachi's body stiffened again.
These were his heaviest wishes—things he'd never spoken to anyone.
"So, you see."
Sora shrugged, a relaxed, matter-of-fact smile returning to his face.
"Our goals aren't in conflict at all."
"In fact, they're completely aligned."
Itachi's brain couldn't keep up.
Become Hokage.
And the Uchiha's future.
How could those two be aligned?
"Still don't get it?" Sora stepped forward, his amber eyes gleaming with near-fanatical light.
"When the village's Hokage is someone with Uchiha blood flowing through their veins—do you think the Uchiha clan would still struggle to integrate?"
"If the Uchiha clan head is the Hokage himself—would those rumors, suspicions, and guards in the village still exist?"
"When the rule-maker is Uchiha—would the Uchiha need to adapt to those damn rules?"
A barrage of rhetorical questions stormed Itachi like a tempest.
Battering him until he swayed.
Yeah.
Why not?
If... if it really happened as he said...
Then his father's ambitions, the elders' radicalism, the clansmen's resentment, the village's defenses...
All the contradictions, all the sources of his unbearable pain—would dissolve effortlessly!
A brand-new, bright path—one he wouldn't dare dream of—was brutally torn open before him.
Too perfect.
Perfect enough to seem like a false genjutsu.
"So, Itachi."
Sora's voice rang again, pulling him from the chaos.
"Will you support me becoming Hokage?"
He asked it calmly—as if inviting someone to dinner.
Itachi's brain completely crashed.
Support him?
Support a boy of unknown origins, claiming Uchiha blood, in reaching for that supreme position?
This...
"I know what you're worried about." Sora seemed to read his mind.
"My identity. My Sharingan."
He smiled, full of confident insight.
"Right now, no one knows I have the Sharingan except you."
"In the eyes of the Third and Elder Danzō, I'm still that orphaned war child—pure-blooded civilian ninja background, extraordinarily talented."
"I'm a blank slate—the cleanest, most perfect one that can be molded into anything."
"Compared to you, compared to Shisui—I'm an 'outsider' with no clan burdens, no historical baggage."
"I'm the perfect candidate."
His voice carried an enticing magic.
"And I promise you—I'll never do anything to harm the village."
"Because my goal is to become the Hokage who protects it—not destroy it."
These words precisely stepped on Itachi's bottom line.
And completely shattered his final psychological defense.
He looked at Sora—at those sincere amber eyes.
He wanted to refute but found he couldn't utter a word.
Because Sora was right.
Logically flawless.
If you ignored how absurd the whole thing was.
"I..."
Itachi opened his mouth, but no sound came.
He felt his worldview, outlook on life, values—all overturned and reshaped into something utterly foreign in these few minutes.
"My mind's... a bit messed up right now."
After a long while, he forced out those words through clenched teeth.
"Let me... think alone for a bit!"
"Of course." Sora nodded immediately, agreeing readily.
His expression was like a patient teacher seeing his prized student finally get it.
"But before I let you think—one thing you have to promise first."
Itachi looked up.
"This conversation today—heaven knows, earth knows, you know, I know."
Sora's expression turned serious again.
"I don't want a third person to know."
"You can't tell anyone!"
"Including the Hokage you respect most, your closest friend Uchiha Shisui, and even... your dearest brother, Sasuke."
"If you can't do that—then everything we just said was a joke." Sora stared at him, adding.
"I'll still be that energetic Akashi Sora."
"You'll still be the Uchiha Itachi painfully struggling for clan and village."
He emphasized the last three words heavily.
As if reminding Itachi that refusal meant returning to that hopeless abyss.
Itachi's breathing hitched.
He looked at Sora's calm face, massive waves surging in his heart.
Agree or not?
Reason told him to refuse immediately and report everything to the Third Hokage.
But emotionally—that bright future Sora painted was like deadly poison, irresistibly attractive.
It might be... the only way out.
A long time passed.
Long enough for the forest wind to seem still.
Itachi slowly, solemnly nodded.
"I promise."
Those four words drained all his strength.
And meant his life had veered completely off its original track from this moment.
"Good."
Sora's seriousness melted instantly.
He reverted to the sunny boy.
"I knew you were smart, Itachi."
He stepped up, slinging an arm around Itachi's shoulders again like buddies.
"Don't look so gloomy—this is great news."
"If I become Hokage—it's the best outcome for the Uchiha and the village."
"This might be the closest the Uchiha has ever been to truly integrating."
He leaned to Itachi's ear, voice light and smiling.
"Alright, enough sentimentality."
He pulled Itachi and started walking.
"It's still a long way back to the village."
"I hope you'll think it over carefully on the way."
"Give me your answer before we get back."
With that, he ignored his stiff companion and strode toward the Land of Fire, humming an off-key tune—steps light, as if the world-altering conversation was truly just trivial banter.
Itachi was half-dragged along.
He kept his head down, staring at the slightly thin back bathed in sunlight ahead.
And their long, intertwined shadows on the ground.
Silence the whole way.
They resumed running.
But this time, the atmosphere was even stranger than before.
Itachi's heart was a tangled mess.
While Sora savored the thrill of his plan succeeding.
Finally, after hours more of travel.
Itachi's voice broke the silence.
"I'll support you, Sora-senpai."
Sora stopped, turning with just the right amount of surprise.
"So soon? We're still far from the village—sure you don't want more time?"
This was his final probe.
"No need."
Itachi shook his head—his answer firmer than Sora expected.
"For the village, and for the clan—this is indeed the best choice."
Sora looked at him—those black eyes now free of confusion, holding only a desperate resolve.
Good.
This most crucial piece was fully in place.
"Then."
Sora extended his right hand to Uchiha Itachi, smiling sincerely.
"From today on—we're true allies."
Itachi looked at the outstretched hand, hesitated briefly, then grasped it.
Two young hands—bearing far too many secrets—clasped firmly.
However, just as Itachi prepared to let go.
"Since we're allies." Sora's smile turned mysterious.
"Let me show you one more good thing."
Itachi blinked.
Sora said no more.
He simply slowly closed his eyes.
The surrounding air froze again.
The forest wind stopped.
Birdsong vanished.
An indescribable soul-deep pressure enveloped the small space.
Then.
Sora opened his eyes.
Crimson replaced the warm amber once more.
But this time—not three slowly spinning tomoe.
The three tomoe twisted as if by invisible force, fused, and transformed into a new, eerie yet magnificent pattern.
Left eye: countless layered, infinitely extending geometric domains.
Right eye: a simple single point and rings, as if encompassing all universal truths.
Mangekyō Sharingan!
"Ah!"
Itachi let out a short exclamation.
He jerked his hand back, staggering two steps—as if seeing the most terrifying monster.
His own eyes instantly turned crimson, three tomoe spinning wildly, staring fixedly at Sora's.
Genjutsu?
No!
This ocular power's texture, this pressure—absolutely not imitatable by genjutsu!
It was...
Real!
Uchiha Itachi—this once-in-a-century genius—his brain crashed a second time.
If the three-tomoe Sharingan had overturned his common sense.
This Mangekyō Sharingan utterly pulverized his worldview.
"Did you see it clearly?"
Sora's voice was calm; he didn't retract his dōjutsu, simply displaying it quietly.
"This is my true sincerity."
Itachi's mouth hung open, speechless.
He just stared blankly.
"You can tell your father."
Sora spoke slowly, dropping a bombshell.
"Tell him you've confirmed my bloodline—I awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan."
"Have him lead the Uchiha clan to support me becoming Hokage in secret."
"The fewer people who know beyond your father—the better."
"This way—it gives your father confidence, a new hope. As long as the leader believes, the Uchiha won't fall."
The crimson, magnificent Mangekyō slowly reverted to three-tomoe, then back to warm amber.
Sora's smile remained harmless as ever.
As if the one with god-like eyes moments ago was his twin.
He looked at the petrified Uchiha Itachi, heart calm.
The ultimate test of trust.
Now complete.
"Alright, snap out of it, Itachi."
Sora stepped up, waving a hand in front of Itachi's eyes.
"Keep spacing out and it'll get dark."
Itachi's body shuddered violently.
He suddenly came to, breathing rapid, chest heaving.
He looked at Sora's grinning face, throat dry—as if burning.
Mangekyō Sharingan.
The legendary eyes of the Uchiha clan.
A cursed power that only awakened after immense pain from losing a loved one.
Yet this Akashi Sora...
Why did he have it?
And he showed no cursed gloom—instead... overly sunny.
"You..."
Itachi's voice was hoarse, unlike his own.
"Who... are you really?"
"Me?"
Sora pointed at himself, utterly matter-of-fact.
"Akashi Sora—Konoha ANBU, your teammate, future Hokage."
"And now—your only ally."
He counted on his fingers, like introducing a new friend.
This extreme contrast made Itachi feel his sanity being repeatedly torn.
"Let's go."
Sora gave him no more time to think, grabbing his wrist again and starting forward.
Itachi was pulled along, mechanically stepping.
His brain still overloaded.
Mangekyō...
What did possessing the Mangekyō Sharingan mean?
It meant ultimate power capable of shifting battles—or even a ninja village's balance.
Those forbidden techniques on the clan's ancient stone tablet were no longer legend to its bearer.
No wonder...
No wonder he dared claim he'd become Hokage.
No wonder he dared say he'd shatter the balance between village and clan.
He had the capital.
The trump card to flip the entire table.
"So now you understand?"
Sora's voice came from ahead, interrupting his thoughts.
"I told you to say three-tomoe to Fugaku—not Mangekyō—to protect you and him."
Itachi's head snapped up.
"The Mangekyō card is too big."
Sora continued without turning.
"Big enough that the Third Hokage and Elder Danzō would eliminate me at any cost."
"Big enough to give Uchiha Fugaku wilder, crazier ideas."
"Human hearts can't withstand that test, Itachi."
Each word was cold water on Itachi's chaos, calming him bit by bit.
Yes.
He was right.
"So three-tomoe is just right."
Sora's voice carried a hint of triumphant scheming.
"A lost, extraordinarily talented Uchiha who awakened three-tomoe."
"This identity gives the Uchiha hope and confidence—enough for them to bet on me."
"Without arousing bad intentions."
"It's the perfect leverage point to shift the situation."
Itachi listened silently.
He realized all his doubts, all the incomprehensible parts—Sora unraveled them lightly.
He was a master chess player—anticipating every move, setting the most exquisite trap.
And he himself had been the most important piece in that plan from the start.
"I understand."
After a long while, Itachi spoke.
His voice regained its cool clarity—but with an indefinable relief.
Since he couldn't resist... join him.
This might truly be the only chance to save everything.
"Good."
Sora smiled satisfactorily.
The rest of the journey—they spoke no more.
Itachi needed time to digest information that overturned his thirteen years of life.
Sora hummed a tune, enjoying the pleasure of success.
When Konoha's familiar massive gates appeared on the horizon again.
Itachi stopped.
Sora stopped too, turning puzzled.
"Sora-senpai."
Itachi looked at him—his black eyes free of chaos and struggle, holding unprecedented resolve.
"From today on—these eyes of mine will clear all obstacles for you."
"Until you sit in that position."
A vow.
A vow from Uchiha Itachi, staking everything.
Sora looked at him—his smile softening into appreciative solemnity.
He extended his hand, grasping Itachi's firmly.
"I'm looking forward to that day."