Sasuke's Answer
This time...
you're not going to reach the other side!
I'm the one still standing.
Opposite from the last time.
I just want to protect...
the dream I finally realized.
I don't want anymore...
You look pretty depressed, Hashirama.
Can't perk back up this time, eh?
Can't we show each other our guts?
The first steps are for us to not give up on our ideals
and to get a lot stronger.
Let's build our settlement here!
They say where there's a will, there's a way...
And yet, I...
That dream is now becoming reality.
A Wood Style Clone...
I can't believe my back was taken...
I will protect our...no, my village.
No matter what.
I still believe to this day that protecting the village
will lead to the protection of the people, shinobi, and children!
I will not forgive anyone who threatens the village.
Be they a friend...sibling... or even my own child...
You've changed...Hashirama.
I made up my mind right then...
to endure in order to watch over the present.
You've got your priorities backwards.
Ultimately... It shall someday lead the village to darkness.
And thus...my battle with Madara came to an end.
I don't know how Madara returned to life now.
I definitely killed my friend...
For the sake of the village.
That's right...
The village...
that Madara and I first envisioned...
is something that joined one clan to another.
It was an invaluable cornerstone that created order out of chaos,
then maintained it.
It protected the children and averted pointless conflict.
It made peace a reality.
However...it gave rise to despair,
the kind that your brother Itachi was forced to bear.
Perhaps what Madara said was correct, after all.
Perhaps he foresaw this state of affairs.
I am the shinobi who created these circumstances.
Furthermore, I am also the one who considered them acceptable.
I believe that shinobi are those who endure for a purpose.
But depending on what that purpose is, a shinobi can change.
Just as Madara...and I did.
Shinobi...
Shinobi are those who endure...
in order to achieve their goals.
For me, it was building a village.
But it seems Madara found something else.
This plan of Madara's that Orochimaru mentioned earlier...
To erase all the shinobi in this world...
I don't know what that means in literal terms, but...
It's the Infinite Tsukuyomi
where village, shinobi, and citizen are all irrelevant.
He intends to put everyone under genjutsu
and manipulate them as he sees fit.
To negate everything that my older brother, Madara's younger brother...
and all of you...
have tried to protect.
My older brother inherited your will without even talking to you.
My older brother...
Itachi... You also serve as the Uchiha Clan's pipeline
to the Village nerve center.
You know that, don't you?
Even as he shouldered that heavy responsibility for the clan...
We cannot allow such a thing!
If they are going to start a revolution and usurp our power,
we have no choice but to judge the Uchiha as traitors of the Leaf!
Wait, Koharu.
Don't rush to such a decision.
But Hiruzen, the Uchiha Clan will not be dissuaded.
We must take measures to avoid mayhem.
And that includes innocent children.
Do not say such things before Itachi!
Besides, taking on the Uchiha will be no easy task.
There's got be some sort of strategy we can use!
We have no time to waste.
We must strike preemptively, before they have a chance to act.
If we join forces with our respective ANBU Black Ops
and launch a surprise attack from behind,
it will be over in no time.
The Uchiha are old comrades in arms.
I want to settle this with words first before force.
I will come up with a strategy.
Itachi...
Buy me some time, however little it may be.
He stood between the village and the clan in their strife...
I see... So you've aligned with the other side?
Father, Mother...
I...
I know, Itachi.
Itachi, just promise me this.
Take care of Sasuke.
I will.
Do not fear.
This is the path you have chosen.
Compared to you, our pain will be over in an instant.
Even if our philosophies differ, I am proud of you.
You are truly a kind child.
He even killed his own parents...
We received intel that Itachi Uchiha of the Akatsuki is dead.
Put a mark on his image and remove him from your Bingo Book.
So that traitor is dead at last.
But Captain, who was able to kill him?
Looks like it was his younger brother, Sasuke.
How ironic...
His own brother killed the one who slaughtered their kin.
Serves him right!
After that atrocious thing he did!
Not only that, he joined up with the Akatsuki
and came after the Leaf Village!
He's the most notorious villain in Hidden Leaf history!
I wish we got our hands on him first!
He was forced to kill his own clan and
endure the brand as a Rogue Ninja...
Yet, he continued to keep an eye on the organization
that wanted to harm the village.
And even in death...
I'll have protected my village
as Itachi Uchiha of the Leaf once again.
I have no more regrets.
My older brother endured longer and harder than you.
And died stating he was proud to be Leaf Shinobi.
Isn't it ironic that the shinobi who understood you more than anyone else...
was from the Uchiha Clan?
Your brother was not the only one.
I had a subordinate named Kagami Uchiha
who was much like your brother.
Second Hokage... I thought you despised the Uchiha.
That's not entirely true.
I treated anyone who posed a danger to the village,
no matter what clan they belonged to, with extreme caution.
And there's no doubt that the Uchiha Clan warranted my suspicions...
The Uchiha just happened to be a clan
particularly disposed to be considered as such.
But, it is also because they could feel such deep love
that there were quite a few Uchiha over the years
like your brother and Kagami...
who could transcend the boundaries of the clan
and devote themselves to the village.
My elder brother believed the village
was something that could eliminate the framework of clans.
Well, the reality is... This wasn't so simple.
The idealism of my elder brother Hashirama...
And the danger that Madara posed...
Mediating between these two things,
and protecting and strengthening the village
were my duties as the Second Hokage.
Shisui Uchiha was a descendant of Kagami Uchiha.
He was a friend of your older brother Itachi.
Many, including myself, embraced the First Hokage's Will of Fire.
But perhaps, I was more naïve than any other shinobi.
I wasn't able to continue the Second Hokage's task
of village-building skillfully enough.
Which is how I ended up burdening Danzo with the village's darkness.
I killed Danzo in vengeance.
Until the end, he spoke that he would protect the village,
no matter how dirty the means.
It seems I've failed miserably time after time as the Hokage.
I guess I'm responsible for creating the situation that exists now.
No... You're not to blame, Lord Third.
You did everything you could for the sake of the village respectably.
I'm the one who died during the Nine Tails' attack on the village!
You had such high hopes for me as the Hokage...
And I couldn't live up to them.
I'll say... After he passed over me and picked you.
Everyone was so disappointed.
Lord Orochimaru... You sound like you're pouting.
A little...since the Third Hokage is right here.
Had I lived, perhaps I could have helped to foil
the Uchiha's plans for a coup d'état much sooner...
Now then... Sasuke...
What will you do?
Will you destroy the village?
Or...
Sorry, Sasuke...
Let's do it some other time.
Sorry, Sasuke. Let's do it next time...
You probably hate me, huh?
But, we only have each other as siblings.
I'm always going to be there for you,
even if it's only as an obstacle for you to overcome.
Even if you do hate me...
That's what big brothers are for.
You all suspect me?
There is no value in killing you now... my foolish little brother.
If you wish to kill me, resent me, hate me,
and survive...in obscurity.
I did what you said...
I resented you and hated you...
and I survived just so I...
so I could kill you!
I have no interest in someone like you...
You're weak, because you don't have enough...
hate.
I always lied to you and asked you to forgive me.
Deliberately keeping you at a distance by my own hand.
All because I didn't want you to get caught up in any of this.
But now, I believe...
That perhaps you could have changed
Father, Mother, and the rest of the Uchiha.
If I had been open with you from the start...
And looked you straight in the eyes and told you the truth,
then I wouldn't have had to stand before you,
from above, as a failure, telling you all of this.
So this time... I want to impart this truth to you...
You don't ever have to forgive me.
And no matter what you do from here on out, know this...
I will love you always.
I'm going to the battlefield!
I won't let the village, and Itachi become nothing!
It's been decided then!
Tobirama!
Prepare to fly us outside!
Even if I wanted to use Flying Raijin, I'm bound right now.
Orochimaru, was it? What will you do?
You said earlier that you'd follow Sasuke.
Of course... We will accompany him.
What?!
J-Jugo, what about you?
I'm going too.
It's my job to protect Sasuke.
Four super-strong zombies...
Three monsters...
If I tag along, I'm dead for sure!
I'm making a break for it when I see a chance!
This view brings back memories!
It's now or never!
What the hell?!
It's you after all, Sasuke!
I sensed your chakra and I couldn't believe it,
so I backtracked and look what I find!
Karin...
Oh my... So many of my best experiments gathered here in one place!
You bastard...!
I'll never forgive you!
I'm sorry, Karin.
You bastard! As if a simple apology will get you off the hook...
you good for nothing...
I see you still have a weakness for Sasuke, Karin...
Listen, Lord Orochimaru!
Sasuke...had the gall... to stab me and...
What a coincidence. Me too.
But I'm helping Sasuke now.
This is perfect timing. You help too.
What?!
I guess I have no choice...
Who is she?
Judging from the chakra and that red hair...
She's from the Uzumaki Clan.
One more idiot joins the pack.
I bet Madara will be surprised.
Orochimaru...
Why did you decide to help Sasuke?
You were trying to destroy the village.
After being inside Kabuto, I realized something...
He imitated the way I lived and tried to possess everything,
and failed.
So now, I'm just curious about the different path Sasuke has chosen.
Unlike Kabuto, Sasuke didn't copy me.
Fellow Hokage!
As we stand atop the Great Stone Faces
that have watched over the Hidden Leaf...
Let us burn this sight of the village into our memory!
I'm finally going to see my son.
Naruto, I wasn't able to do anything for you as a father...
I'll make it up to you by bringing you a huge present.
All right! It's been a while since my last war!
I'd better be on my toes!
Madara... We'll defeat you this time for sure!
This may sound foolish,
but I'm kind of looking forward to seeing my old friend!
Just you wait, Madara!
There's always conflict, no matter what the era.
But this shall be the end of wars!
Let's go!
Obito, you once dreamed of becoming Hokage.
I can't see you not understanding Naruto's feelings!
You can still go back!
It's because I understand Naruto's mind...
Next time on Naruto Shippuden: "Hole"
...that I want to negate everything that he does!
HOLE
Tune in again!