Scroll 3: The Third Uchiha [Naruto]

Chapter 70: The Uchiha Prodigy [Shippuden]

"They assigned him to a top secret mission, for they'd need the Sharingan to face the Uchiha. That mission was for the eradication of the entire clan." Sasuke leaned forward, his face to the ground. I glanced at Rin who had put her other arm on her face so that both were crossed over her eyes. Her hands were in tight fists.

"Itachi was faced with a terrible choice; a decision to raise his hand against his fellow brethren was probably an unbelievable struggle. But if ninja the caliber of the Uchiha were to revolt it could have easily become the trigger for the fourth ninja war" I explained.

"So Itachi made up his mind, he himself would drop the curtain on his own clan's history. Of course he did not hate the Uchiha, he simply did what he had to. The discrimination of the village, the object of their antagonism, he shouldered all the blame. No one should ever question Itachi's decisions or the sacrifices he made." I said firmly. Itachi, regardless of his motives, had my respect.

"So Itachi sought me out and made me a proposal. In exchange for letting me carry on my vendetta against the Uchiha, I was to leave the village alone. The third Hokage tried to resolve the situation through negotiations for compromise, but time ran out. The efforts failed, the night drew near and Itachi knew his fate." I told them.

"To become known as a criminal who murdered his own clan, to bear the burden of disgrace and become a rogue ninja all of that was part of the mission. Itachi completely fulfilled his duty, except for one single mistake, or rather two." I noticed Rin tense, but Sasuke still didn't look up.

"I had attempted to take the Princesses life myself that night. I didn't want her to be threat in the future. I admit that I was a fool to believe Itachi would actually kill her. In the end he couldn't bring himself to kill either of his younger siblings" Sasuke looked up then, the realization in his eyes.

"Afterwards Itachi begged the third Hokage to protect you and the Princess from Danzo and the Councillors. He fled the village after threatening Danzo; if anything were to happen to either of you he would leak all the intelligence he had to neighboring villages. He worried about both of you above all else" I explained.

"He gave you a reason to hate him. He wanted you to believe that the Uchiha was a proud clan. He begged the Hokage to make sure neither of you would learn the truth and from the moment he left the village he resigned himself to battle you to the death in order to bestow onto you new powers." I finished.

"No, your lying! It has to be a lie! Itachi tried to kill me many times!" He shouted.

"If Itachi really wanted you dead, you would be. Even your contingency plans were factored into his calculations, he had to pressure you hard in that battle. Surely you've figured out why" I asked and his eyes widened.

"He wanted to relieve you of the curse mark and awaken your Mangekyo without harm coming to the Princess. He needed to be the one that died and while she had the ability to ruin his plans, he couldn't bring himself to harm his baby sister and had too stand by to let you do it." I noticed him flinch at my words. While Itachi could no longer bring himself to harm the Princess further, it would have still been hard on him to watch Sasuke fight her.

"There's no way I'd ever believe you, Itachi was pure evil, he was a criminal who became an Akatsuki!"

"As did Rin, and she joined to protect you and Itachi. They have both had their own agendas for years." I replied.

"Itachi joined to watch from the inside, the organization not only threatened his village but also his sister. He always had the welfare of the Hidden Leaf in his mind just as he always thought of both of yours. Itachi appeared in the Hidden Leaf after the death of the third Hokage who had promised to protect you both. He wanted to remind Danzo and the councillors that he was still alive and still a threat. He wanted to make sure..."

"Stop it! More lies, everything you say is..."

"I knew he was lying" Rin's voice was somewhat startling, she was quiet but clear and made Sasuke go silent.

"I knew Itachi would never do this for power, he would never hurt us like this for something as trivial as power. He would never kill mother and father for something so stupid" She spat, anger trembling in her voice.

"R-Rin..." Sasuke stammered.

"I told you this, again and again and again but you never listened." She accused. Her hands dropped from her face and I stood when I saw her Sharingan activated.

"And now he's dead, He's gone forever because you let your stupid ego and pathetic vendetta blind you from the truth!" I tried to move forward when she raised her voice but she shot her hand up and dark chakra followed separating us. She sat up, and slowly got to her feet as she faced Sasuke. He stared up at her unsure of how to respond. Rin's grip was tight around Itachi's necklace and I thought she would hit him again.

"I need to be alone" She let the wall drop and Sasuke sprang to his feet, but I stopped him from following.

"She won't go far"

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Sasuke

As Madara predicted Rin hadn't strayed far from the hideout. In fact, she only left to sit on the beach near by. Her gaze watched the ocean as the waves rolled in. As much as I wanted to deny it I couldn't. After all these years Rin had always been right. I walked towards her, stopping at her side and offered my hand. She glanced at it but didn't take it.

"Rin, we need to talk about this" I started and she scoffed.

"Now, now you want to talk about this? Now you want to sit down and have a little chit-chat about how Itachi wasn't insane!?" She replied shortly and I sighed, feeling a lump in my throat.

"I don't know what else to say Rin" I admitted.

"How about start with how I was right? How if you had listened, and I mean really listened to me for one second all of this could have been avoided! How about apologizing for killing my brother!" She screamed, getting to her feet. I noticed the necklace now around her neck and met her gaze.

"Our..." She slapped me, hard enough to turn my head and somehow her slap hurt more than if she had punched me again.

"You don't get to say that Sasuke!" She shouted and I let her hit my chest.

"You don't get to call him that when I was the one who defended him!" I glanced at Jugo when he moved forward, the glance was enough for him to keep still. I knew she needed to get this out.

"When I was the one who stood by his side!" I flinched as her punches strengthened.

"When I was the one who believed in him while you spent your entire life training to kill him!" I caught her wrists and she pulled back, but I kept my grip tight.

"He's my brother, not yours. You lost that right!" She spat.

"I'm sorry Rin" Was all I could think of to reply. She had every right to be angry, every right to be mad at the situation. I pulled her into my arms when her fighting ceased.

"I'm sorry" I repeated and felt her hands gripping the back of my shirt.

"I hate you" I wasn't sure I heard it, but she had spoken so clearly and calmly that I knew there was no mistaking it.

"R-Rin..." I stammered, slowly letting her go.

"I will never forgive you for this Sasuke, and if it wasn't for Itachi's sacrifice I would cut you down where you stand." She said, tears dripping down her cheeks. The anger in her eyes felt like it was burning into me.

"Betray me again and..." She paused. Rin didn't deliver empty threats and I knew if anything, or at least hoped that right now it was just her anger speaking.

"You're all that I have left Rin, you're my sister" I pleaded but her glare didn't waver.

"Since when has family meant anything to you?" Every word she said felt like a blade cutting through my skin. I watched her as she started walking away.

"Rin wait" I called and she paused.

"Where will you go?" I asked and she released a slow breath.

"Where Itachi would have wanted us to go" She replied.

"Home"