Naruto: Reborn in His Younger Self

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When you meet a close friend, a thousand cups of wine are too few.

After the conversation had reached this point, Itachi felt there was no need to hide anything anymore.

"I have a terminal illness, and I don't have much time left. I'm only surviving because of medicine," Itachi admitted.

"It would be better to do this than die in vain."

Naruto was a little surprised. He really hadn't known about this in his past life. Sasuke had rarely spoken about his brother.

What he knew was mostly what Obito had said while wearing the mask and what Kakashi had told him.

No wonder Itachi had been so determined at that time, insisting on choosing to die at Sasuke's hands.

It turns out that life waits for no one.

From the looks of it, Itachi only had a few days left to live.

In this case, Naruto no longer concealed anything.

He looked at Itachi and said, "Itachi, aren't you curious about how I know all this? I'll tell you the truth—I traveled back from the future!"

Itachi frowned, clearly not believing him.

Naruto continued, "Are you planning to pull me into your Genjutsu world later, then have the crow with Shisui's eye go down my throat and stay hidden inside me? Then, you'll cast a Genjutsu to make me forget about it for now, right?"

Itachi was shocked.

"Your purpose is that in the future, if Sasuke ever tries to destroy Konoha, I'll definitely stop him. At that moment, the crow will emerge, activating Kotoamatsukami from Shisui's eye, making Sasuke protect Konoha, right?"

Itachi's eyes widened slightly. He was stunned.

How does Naruto know my exact plan?

Could it be that he was caught in a Genjutsu, and Naruto had entered his mind?

Impossible. The strongest Genjutsu user, Shisui, was already dead.

If Itachi himself claimed second place in Genjutsu, then no one else could claim first.

If it's not Genjutsu, then this can only be… reality.

"Are you really from the future?" Itachi asked, his voice measured but serious.

Naruto nodded solemnly.

Itachi hesitated for a moment before asking tentatively, "How is Sasuke in the future?"

Naruto smiled. "He returned to Konoha. He and I are brothers. Moreover, I became Hokage, and he's my right-hand man. He also married Sakura and had a daughter named Sarada. She's really cute! She and my son, Boruto, actually get along pretty well. If you were here…"

Naruto suddenly stopped talking.

Right. Itachi was terminally ill. This was a dead end.

Itachi smiled, his expression unreadable.

Naruto's expression darkened. "Is there really no way to cure you?"

Itachi shook his head.

Naruto took a deep breath, then made a request to Itachi.

Itachi frowned slightly. "What is it?"

Naruto looked at him seriously. "Please engrave Kotoamatsukami into Shisui's eye, ensuring that when activated, the person under its influence follows my will without realizing it."

Itachi's brows furrowed. "Do you intend to use it on Sasuke?"

Naruto shook his head firmly. "No. Please believe me. Sasuke returned to Konoha because of my influence. I didn't use any techniques on him. Sasuke is my brother—I would never manipulate him!"

Itachi was moved.

Sasuke is my brother. I will never use any jutsu on him.

Naruto's words felt like they were spoken by his own past self.

Itachi was deep in thought.

Today's conversation had exceeded all his expectations, especially with Naruto claiming to have traveled through time.

This…

After thinking for a while, Itachi finally spoke. "Naruto, I choose to believe in you. And I choose to believe in my foolish little brother, Sasuke."

Saying that, Itachi summoned a crow, its eye glistening with Shisui's transplanted Sharingan. The bird landed on his hand.

Activating his Mangekyō Sharingan, Itachi focused his power on the crow's eye.

More than ten seconds passed.

Itachi closed his eyes, his entire body trembling slightly. His chakra was significantly drained, and he almost lost his balance.

Clearly, carving a Genjutsu of such power into Shisui's eye had taken a severe toll on him.

Then, taking out a summoning scroll, he threw it to Naruto.

"I've engraved Kotoamatsukami into Shisui's eye. The remaining eye power is only enough for one activation. As for how you use it, that's up to you."

The crow flapped its wings and flew over, landing on Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto took the summoning scroll, looked at Itachi, and sincerely said, "Thank you."

Itachi opened his weary, bloodshot eyes and met Naruto's gaze. "Is everything you said about the future true?"

Naruto nodded firmly.

Itachi smiled slightly, then turned and walked away.

Watching Itachi's retreating back, Naruto's emotions were complicated.

It turns out that some things cannot be changed, even with a second chance.

With that thought, Naruto sealed the crow into the scroll and carefully stored it away. He was about to leave quickly.

Meanwhile, as Itachi walked away, a gentle smile appeared on his face. His vision blurred slightly, but he didn't mind.

If what Naruto said was true… then it really was a happy ending.

So her name is Sarada?

I wonder if she's as cute as Sasuke was as a child.

I wonder if she'll be like Sasuke when he was young—pestering me every day to teach her shuriken techniques.

If I don't have time, I could always just tap her forehead…

Thinking of this, Itachi smiled with genuine warmth, from the bottom of his heart.

He really wished he could live to see that future with his own eyes.