Spoilers for Chapter 397
The TRUTH about Uchiha Itachi.
Now with script and a spoiler picture!
Okay, I'm sure a lot of people were seeing this from a mile away, but honestly - FTW!? When last chapter Tobi was like, "I know the truth about Uchiha Itachi!" the one thing that I was telling everyone that I hoped it was NOT was something along the lines of, "By the way... Itachi was good. lol." And what does he say!?
"By the way, Itachi was good. lol. You killed the wrong guy!"
Now, Sasuke is pretty much screwed for life because he's been told that he's killed an innocent man - not just ANY man, his BROTHER - who was apparently trying to protect him. On top of it, now Sasuke has the Mangekyou and now HE'S going to go blind and the world's going to end on top of it, because Tobi basically has Sasuke's eyes in his grasp so that he can reach that ultimate Sharingan level or whatever.
Basically - I'm a little pissed. And a LOT confused.
Itachi? Protector of the Leaf!? This sounds like something out of an Itachi-fangirl fanfic!
I mean, I'm not dissing Kishimoto. I'm sure he has a great plan ahead for wherever this is going - but it had better be good, because I'm going to need some REAL convincing before I suddenly admit that, yeah, okay, Itachi wasn't an evil bastard. Killing his entire family was necessary. Unless, of course, it turns out that he didn't do that. But that wouldn't make sense either.
And, to top it all off, we have to wait another two weeks before we learn anything else! Well, DAMN.
Here's the script:
Side panel: The third Sharingan user... What does he know about Itachi? What is he trying to accomplish?
Page 1 ...The man who knows the truth about Itachi. (Tobi with his Sharingan revealed & Sasuke with the Sharingan activated in his left eye only stare at each other.)
Page 2 (Close-up of Sasuke glaring with the Sharingan in the left eye only. The left eye begins to bleed and the Sharingan begins to change shape. It turns into the Mangekyou and blood falls from his eye.) Tobi: !
Page 3 Tobi: Impossible! (Sasuke glares and Amaterasu suddenly engulfs Tobi's right shoulder in black flame!)
Page 4 397: The Man Who Knows The Truth Tobi Is Engulfed In Black Flame... Can It Be!? Tobi: Guah! (Tobi disappears into the flames as his mask falls to the floor.)
Page 5 (Tobi falls back into the darkness never revealing his face. Sasuke clutches his left eye in pain.) Sasuke: Ngh- Tobi (from the darkness): Ghaah! Urgh... (Silence from Tobi. Sasuke is left panting on the bed.)
Page 6 (Sasuke grimaces in pain and the Mangekyou fades from his eye. There is no sign of Tobi. Sasuke catches his breath as the pain fades away.)
Page 7 (Sasuke is left confused.) Sasuke: What... the hell... was that? (Sasuke looks toward the darkness where Tobi has apparently died. Silence.)
Page 8 Tobi: The "Amaterasu" that Itachi implanted into you. Sasuke: !! (Tobi comes back out of the shadows and picks up his mask, putting it back on.) Sasuke: ...??
Page 9 (Tobi appears unharmed by the black flame.) Tobi: Itachi, Itachi, Itachi... even in death, he never ceases to amaze me. Even planning for a situation like this. (Tobi approaches Sasuke.) Sasuke: .... What... What are you saying!? Tobi: He equipped you with his jutsu as a last ditch effort to kill me. Or perhaps his intention was simply to keep me away from you. Sasuke: ?
Page 10 Tobi: I assume that he set things up so that the sight of my Sharingan would automatically trigger "Amaterasu" to activate. Sasuke: ...? Tobi: (Thinking) Fortunately, I managed to keep a few secrets even from him... If I hadn't, I'd be dead right now. Tobi: It's what you'd call a fail-safe... Although he only got as far as the "fail" part. Sasuke: ...I have no idea what you're getting at. Tobi: Look, Itachi did SOMETHING to you right before he died, right?
Page 11 Sasuke: ! (Sasuke remembers Itachi poking him in the forehead just before he died.) Tobi: Somehow at the last second, he transferred all his eye techniques into you. Sasuke: ...That makes no sense... What are you trying to say!? Why would Itachi want to- Tobi: You still don't know? Sasuke: !?
Page 12 Tobi: It was...
Page 13 Tobi: ...to protect you. (Sasuke is stunned.)
Page 14 Tobi: .... Sasuke: .... Protect me!? Is that supposed to be funny!?
Page 15 Tobi: As I said before, you knew so much about your brother, yet you knew nothing at all. (Sasuke clenches his teeth in anger.) Sasuke: You keep fucking with me and I WILL kill you. Tobi: I see talking with you is going to be difficult. I guess I understand, some weirdo takes you in and starts saying all these shocking things. But I assure you, I speak the truth. You asked Itachi yourself about the person who helped him that night. Sasuke: ....
Page 16 Tobi: It was me. Uchiha Madara. (Sasuke is once again stunned.) Tobi: I know everything there is to know about Itachi. Of course, he died without realizing just how much. (Sasuke clutches the bedsheets in desperation.) Sasuke: Enough! I don't care anymore! Go away, and never come near me again!
Page 17 Tobi: I think you should - No, you HAVE to question me. It's your MISSION... your DUTY! (Sasuke ignores him.) Tobi: ....You need to know about him... this man who risked everything to protect the shinobi world... the Leaf Village... and, most of all, his little brother. You need to know about Uchiha Itachi's life! Just When Sasuke Had Learned Everything... Madara's Words Thrust Him Back Into Confusion. Is He Really Implying That Itachi Wanted To Protect Sasuke!?
And... for all of your viewing pleasure, my favorite panel that I decided to color: