Reunion

Stepping forward, all of the girls quickly glanced at each other before stepping through the portal and passing through. The previous night they had decided that Chu Yuechan would be leading at least until they met Itachi. This was mainly due to her being the strongest out of the three of them. Qin Wushang was still very worried for Cang Yue and protested at first, but was later convinced when Cang Yue told him that there was nothing to worry about.

Stepping through the portal, They all were met with an incredibly harsh winter. Xia Qingyue and Chu Yuechan did not care much but Cang Yue definitely felt it slightly. However, it was not enough to cause any more than slight discomfort. This was mainly due to the snow that had piled up several feet and the deafening winds constantly blasting them.

After a while, the rest of the participants had entered with people like Ling Jie and Ling Yun also entering. Their goal this time was to try and follow Chu Yuechan as they knew that they were going to meet with Itachi. After a second of planning, they took off into the distance to follow after them.

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In Shuji's underground base he sat there surrounded by a pile of books and manuals. For the past few days, he had fully immersed himself in the total concentration breathing manuals, specifically the sun breathing manual. With this, he could potentially have infinite stamina but he would need to learn the specifics of the curse. It was not worth it to him if he had to die before 25.

He had also thought back to his revelation with Itachi. He had for so long been using Itachi's name that part of it fused with him. He had come up with a way however to explain his new name to them. It would be a long shot but it would work well. Thinking of this he decided to go into the Sky Poison Pearl and wake Jasmine up.

"Hey, Jasmine…. I know we haven't spoken as you have been sleeping, but we will be going to meet them soon." Shuji said lightly.

Jasmine who was in the Sky Poison Pearl heard this and became more awake. She had been sleeping the past 3 days or so due to the amount of stress and also the poison flaring. The poison flared mainly because she could not control it when she was so emotionally unstable. Luckily Itachi or now Shuji as he called himself, had explained a few things to her.

First, he had explained to her how he was extremely sick and he had truly planned to die there for his brother. He explained how he had caught an incurable illness and was okay with dying for his brother as he felt that he deserved to go to hell. Later he explained how he had found his progenitor's DNA and a way to upgrade his DNA with it. It was said that he would potentially be able to survive with it, however, the chance of surviving was close to 0%.

This was why he sent a clone to take place in the fight on the very off chance that he could survive. He explained how at this moment, he realized the necklace he was wearing was actually the Mirror of Samsara and he had met his past reincarnation! This had shocked her as he now had not one but two of the Heavenly Treasures!

He explained their conflict with each other, their fight, and eventually their acceptance of each other. They were now Shuji Otsutsuki, which was apparently a mix between them both. Otsutsuki being part of Itachi, and Shuji being a way for him to pay his respects to his predecessor.

After this, he explained most of the past of this plane that he knew. He explained to her the hidden villages as well as the Uchiha clan. She was shocked to hear of these hidden villages but realized that they must be very powerful to be able to hide so well. She didn't however learn much more about the Uchiha clan than she did from the memory of his past. In fact, when she told him this he seemed shocked before he realized what must have happened and smiled wryly.

"To think that narcissistic b*stard would actually do that…" he said mockingly.

Jasmine who heard this realized that he must have figured out who had shown everyone the illusion. Shuji never went into much depth but he had given her enough to where she had answered her main questions. She now knew that this was the one who had been with her from the beginning and that was enough for her. It did not matter if he changed his name or if his body changed. As long as they were together she was happy.

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Chu Yuechan, Xia Qingyue, and Cang Yue had now been in the secret realm for about a day. They had been searching frantically for Itachi but still found no sight of him. They were starting to worry that something was wrong or that man with hair that looked like a paintbrush, had lied to them.

Ling Yun and Ling Jie who were following them were also very confused. They had truly believed that he would have shown up by now and didn't understand why he had not. It was only then that a bright flash occurred near Xia Qingyue and revealed a man standing in place of it.

Cang Yue, Xia Qingyue, and Chu Yuechan all went on guard extremely quickly. They did not know what had happened but seeing this man now in front of them, had made them all extremely tense. They had never seen anybody quite like him but for some reason, he seemed familiar to all of them.

He had an angular face with extremely pale skin. It looked perfect almost like it was sculpted to perfection. He was wearing a gray kimono with black magatama around the neck and parts of his chest. It also was slightly opened towards the top of it, revealing parts of his chiseled chest. On his waist was a sword that was fastened firmly to his waist that looked incredibly beautiful. His hair and eyes however were the most captivating. His hair was pure white like the most delicate of snow but it also had a strand of black like the darkest of nights. His eyes looked incredibly beautiful but deadly as well. They were a dark crimson but if you stared in them long enough, it would seem as if you were being pulled into a chilly abyss.

He looked around slightly before looking at Chu Yuechan, Cang Yue, and Xia Qingyue. Suddenly his face broke out into a small smile. It looked so perfect that many would not be able to believe their eyes when looking at him.

"I'm sorry I was late you three…" he said softly.

Suddenly all of their eyes widened at the implication of saying that. Their eyes looked at him and realized that it was the same warm smile that they were all used to. Even though it was a different face, there was only one person who could give them such a warm smile but filled with such melancholy underneath. All of this made sense to them but they needed to make sure it was really him.

"W-Who are you?" Cang Yue said with a stutter. She was so nervous that she couldn't help but stutter due to her heart pounding.

"Oya… You can't tell who it is..? I'm hurt my princess, after all we did together…" he said with a slight smile and joking tone.

This was all that Cang Yue needed to realize that it was really him. Only he called her princess in that slight joking tone. Only he could be so obnoxious and such a handful while looking so calm and wise. Only he… could make her heart flutter the way it did when he was around. The others seeing this realized it was him and their eyes started tearing up.

Cang Yue ran towards him trying to give him a hug with her tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. Shuji saw this and decided to respond back by pulling her close to his chest and hugging her. Xia Qingyue slowly walked over with tears in her eyes while smiling lightly under her veil. Chu Yuechan however stood there looking at him with a cold expression. No matter how cold her face looked at that moment, however, the tears glistening her eyes gave away how she truly felt. Itachi slowly pushed Cang Yue away and began to speak with an apologetic expression on his face.

"I know that you have questions on why I did what I did, but I'll try to explain to you now... We have a lot to talk about.." he said with a calm tone.

He explained once again how he had caught an extreme illness and truly planned on dying that day, only this time to Cang Yue, Chu Yuechan, and Xia Qingyue. He then went on to explain how he made an experiment on himself to upgrade his bloodline in hopes of living but that the success rate was so low that he didn't want to give them false hope. He told them how he had wanted his brother to take his eyes and go back to his village a hero for killing him. This had made their eyes go wide in shock, as they only then realized, that he truly never wanted anybody to know his past. He had truly intended to take all of the burdens onto himself and become the villain all so his brother could be a hero.

Knowing this only furthered their resolve to be with him after they had now known it all. He had gone through so much and now he could finally be free and with them. They had all realized that they held feelings for him and he for them, but they were okay with sharing him. They realized what he had gone through and all felt that if anyone deserved to have them, it was he himself. This was also because harems were quite common throughout the realm.

"Do you know how much we worried about you…?" asked Chu Yuechan still with some signs of tears in her eyes. She really wanted to be angry at him but found she couldn't. Their time together, his sacrifice for his brother, his past. It all led her to further believe that if anyone deserved her heart, it was the man in front of her.

"We loved you and we thought you had died!" Cang Yue slightly shouted out with tears in her eyes. Xia Qingyue did not speak but if one was to look at her, you could tell that she was thinking the exact same. Shuji looked at this and felt guilty in his heart. They had admitted how they truly felt and he was happy but at the same time, he could not accept it.

"Did you expect us to just forgive you and go back to how things were..?" asked Chu Yuechan with a confused tone.

"Did you think so little of the time we spent..? You almost threw us out..." Xia Qingyue said with her voice slightly breaking...

"I'm sorry… I wanted to be together with you all but I couldn't… I don't deserve to be happy… You have all seen my past now thanks to Gojo I assume. You should know that the blood on my hands will never wash away… They were my family… They were innocent. I killed the last person I loved… How could you ever think to fall in love with me…" he said full of sadness and pain. With him and Itachi truly becoming one, he truly took his sins as his own. He no longer believed that he truly deserved them.

Seeing him like this truly made all of their hearts tighten. He obviously had regrets and they truly felt that maybe they were wrong. It hurt too much to see the pain that he was in. Chu Yuechan walked up to him before slapping him. This had shocked him and the others but soon they saw the tears threatening to spill out of her eyes once again.

"I will always love you…So don't you ever say that again or try to get away from me again." She said as she dove into his embrace.

Seeing this he was slightly shocked before he warmly smiled and wrapped his arms around her. At this moment, although he knew that he didn't deserve any of their love, he truly felt happy. When he had first arrived everything seemed so fake to him. It was him going through the motions and having fun… however at this moment, he was content.

"For a long time I have lived by myself..." he started to say.

"Ever since I killed my clan I truly believed that I had deserved no redemption. I isolated myself and only then did I learn something I had not known before. In this world, the worst kind of pain is not the type you feel when you are stabbed, no is it the kind you feel when you are hurt. Loneliness is the world's worst kind of pain..." he said.

"If I had only 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," he said with a look of regret on his face.

This look on his face only made their hearts twist and hurt more. They understood that he blamed himself for this, but they had forgiven him. Why couldn't he see that they didn't care any longer? That they loved him for who he was? Suddenly he started to smile lightly, however.

"You will never have to forgive me, however, for no matter what happens to you from here on out, I will always love you. If you can still find it within you to be with me though... then being with you would make me the happiest man in the world..." he said with a loving smile on his face.