AUTHOR NOTE:
Brothers, tonight marks the final resolution for Uchiha Itachi. I've always planned to keep this guy alive—to make him witness the rise of the Uchiha, to realize how childish his ideals were, to wallow in regret. Seeing that most of you support this idea puts me at ease.
After all, I've always believed there were other ways to handle the clan. Even if the Uchiha really had reached a point of no return, what about the innocents—those who weren't shinobi, the children, the babies? Did they deserve to die too? Leaving only a single brother alive might look noble, but it was always about control—he even planned to use Kotoamatsukami to keep Sasuke bound to the village. I really don't feel much sympathy for someone like that.
Also, someone in the comments said something that hit home: Itachi is in the mindset of a fanatic convert. Killing him now would be too merciful.
But letting him live won't be without cost—and Tobi's here anyway.
And seriously, this isn't filler. The story needs proper buildup to progress—
Please add to your library, keep reading, I'm counting on you!