Sasuke's "brother" almost made Itachi lose his composure entirely. Taking two deep breaths, he asked,
"Sasuke, what did you just call me?"
Sasuke turned his head with a haughty tilt, speaking in a muffled voice.
"I called you brother. What? Is there a problem?"
Itachi's voice trembled as he tried to suppress the surge of emotion.
"There isn't, … I'm just...truly happy."
Hearing the choked tone in Itachi's words, Sasuke turned his gaze back, a complicated expression in his eyes.
"Brother, I've been thinking a lot lately. I realized I was foolish to doubt your love for me."
Itachi stood still, listening intently as Sasuke continued.
"I kept my distance because I didn't know how to face you. But now… I've lost enough already. At least I still have you, my older brother—the one who cares for me most. I can't lose you again."
"Sasuke…"
Itachi could hold back no longer. Tears welled up, and ignoring the stares of those nearby, he rose to his feet and pulled Sasuke into a firm embrace.
"Your brother will never leave you again."
Sasuke rested his chin on Itachi's shoulder, closing his eyes without another word.
Meanwhile, in a restaurant not far away, Chiga was eating with Kurenai when he suddenly chuckled to himself.
Kurenai looked at him curiously.
"Senpai. What's so funny?"
"Nothing," Chiga replied, smirking faintly. "I just overheard a conversation between two brothers. It was… interesting."
"Brothers? You mean Anbu Captain Uchiha Itachi and his younger brother Sasuke?"
"Huh? How did you guess?"
Kurenai grinned proudly.
"I heard Yugao say the new Anbu Captain is a complete brother complex. Always talking about his little brother, rushing home after work because he needs to cook for him."
Chiga went silent, thinking, So Itachi's brother obsession is already common knowledge…
__
At a quiet lake, Obito lay sprawled on the back of the Three-Tails, feeling its warmth. He had switched back from his Tobi persona a moment ago.
High above, Deidara's voice rang out impatiently.
"Hey! Tobi! How long are you going to lie there? We still need to finish the job!"
Obito ignored him, rolling over as if he'd fallen asleep. Beneath his mask, silent tears traced down his face.
The Three-Tails had once been sealed inside Rin. It was because of that bond that she had chosen death by Kakashi's hand. Obito sought even the faintest trace of her presence within the beast, but all he felt was the hollow ache of loss.
Deidara sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"I don't get it. Why did the leader team me up with you?"
From Deidara's perspective, Tobi was useless—just comic relief—while he had done all the work to subdue the Three-Tails. What he didn't know was that Obito's Genjutsu underwater had made it possible for his explosives to breach the creature's defense so easily.
Switching back to his playful persona, Tobi sat up and called,
"Deidara-senpai! I dozed off! Did you say something?"
"I said get off the Three-Tails! We need to move before the Hidden Mist arrive!"
"Oh, okay! Let's hurry and escape!"
"Idiot! It's called a retreat! What do you know!?"
Suppressing the urge to blow Tobi to pieces, Deidara created a massive clay dragon. The two departed with the Three-Tails strapped to its back.
Moments later, Mei Terumi arrived with a squad of Hidden Mist ninja.
"Mizukage-sama!" a sensory ninja reported. "The Three-Tails' presence has vanished!"
Mei's face darkened. The loss of a tailed beast was a devastating blow. Their village had already lost the Five-Tails after Utakata, its host, became a rogue. Without a beast's power, their strength dwindled further.
Tailed beasts were like strategic weapons—rarely used, but vital to possess.
Her frustration deepened. "Who could have done this?"
Ao stepped forward.
"Mizukage-sama, I suspect the Akatsuki. Only they would have the audacity and power to take a beast."
The name alone tightened Mei's jaw. The Akatsuki were made up of S-rank rogues, each dangerous enough to threaten an entire village. Even the Hidden Mist would struggle to defeat them head-on.
She thought of Gaara, the Kazekage of the Hidden Sand, who had recently been captured and stripped of his beast. That incident had nearly cost him his life.
After a heavy sigh, she spoke.
"Dwelling on this won't change the fact—they have the Three-Tails. All we can do now is strengthen our defenses and prevent another loss."
The news spread quickly across the seas. In Iwagakure, the Tsuchikage Onoki immediately sent scouts to locate Roshi, host of the Four-Tails, who still wandered abroad. But it was already too late.
In a dense forest, Roshi lay wounded before the Six Paths of Pain. Tendo Pain's gaze was cold as he thrust a black receiver into Roshi's body. The host let out a final groan before falling still.
Konan descended from the trees, her paper sheets swirling around Roshi's body, lifting him into the air.
"The Four-Tails has been secured," Tendo Pain said. "Only the Eight-Tails remains."
Konan nodded.
"It's said the Eight-Tails' host has perfect control and rarely leaves the Hidden Cloud Village. Capturing him will not be easy."
Pain's expression hardened.
"Easy or not, the Eight-Tails will be ours."