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Itachi's thoughts just before his battle with Sasuke.
Spoilers for those who have not read the manga.
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People may still wonder why I did what I did.
There is a reason, there is always a reason for people's actions.
Mine was to measure my capacity against the clan.
At least that was what I said to everyone.
Most people accepted that reason, concluding that I was crazy or simply power-hungry…or both.
Most people really believed that I alone committed that crime, the genocide of the Uchiha clan.
Things are never as simple as they seem to be at first glance.
I hated the clan.
That is an undeniable truth.
I resented its ways and its wish to undermine everything, to try to seize control of the shinobi world.
It was a demon clan…a clan that survived by consuming its members. A cannibalistic clan.
Madara was the one who opened my eyes, the one who helped me or rather, the one who insisted to exterminate that cursed clan.
I don't know what he is after, what his reasons and his motives are. His agenda still remains unclear, but at the time I was eager to help him, for Sasuke's sake.
Sasuke...my brother.
I wanted him to hate me. I wanted him to live and to hate me.
It was the only way for him to survive, to survive and become stronger.
He needed a motive and I gave it to him…no matter how much I hurt him, his survival mattered to me more than anything else, more than what he thought of me.
Madara wanted me to kill him. The only reason he allowed him to live was in order for me to get his eyes…at least that was what I claimed, I don't know if he believed it.
The hour of our confrontation approaches, the time for my redemption is not far.
I am sorry Sasuke...I couldn't be the brother you needed.
Maybe I am not even entitled to be called your brother. Naruto seems to see you as a brother, I hope you find in him the family that both of you were denied.
However, there is one last thing I can do for you, as your brother.
Then, the future will be in your hands, without my shadow hanging over you.
Don't forgive me.
I wish I could have been your beloved brother.
Maybe I will be…in another life…