Kisame chuckled darkly.
"Itachi-san felt homesick, so he went back for a look."
"At this very moment, he should already have met him… his little brother." Kisame spoke without restraint, openly revealing Itachi's secret without the slightest concern.
At those words, Sasori gave him a deep, probing look. As one of Akatsuki's earliest members, Sasori knew more than most.
On the surface, Kisame and Itachi were partners. In truth, Kisame's role was to monitor him.
According to Pain's original assignment, neither Kisame nor Itachi were supposed to participate in this mission. Yet not only had they come, they had also split up—meaning Kisame must have received an order to separate from Itachi.
And it was clear that this order had not come from Pain.
Then from whom? Sasori's gaze swept briefly over Kakuzu and Deidara.
Not these ones.
Which meant—within Akatsuki itself lurked a second power.
"…None of this concerns me," Sasori concluded. Knowing was one thing, meddling was another.
Pain was here; it was his burden to worry about. Sasori only needed to complete his own task.
His eyes shifted to his opponent: Konoha's jōnin, Kurenai Yūhi.
A female shinobi… He realized he had no female puppet among his collection yet. Her strength seemed decent. She could make a fine addition.
"Hey, get ready. Someone's coming."
Leading his group back toward the battlefield, Naruto suddenly grinned.
In his sensory perception, Itachi was already moving toward them.
'Sasuke,' Naruto's voice sounded in his teammate's mind, 'someone you're very interested in is about to arrive.'
By now, Sasuke was no longer surprised by this kind of sudden telepathic contact.
If it was Naruto, then it was simply normal.
Their silent way of communicating passed unnoticed by everyone else.
'Who?' Sasuke asked, though deep down he already knew the answer.
There was only one person in the shinobi world, besides Naruto, who could truly interest him.
'Itachi.'
Even though he had been prepared for it, the instant he heard that name Sasuke's eyes flared scarlet.
In that moment, memories of his parents came flooding back, along with the blood-soaked night of the Uchiha massacre.
'Remember what I told you before?' Naruto's voice continued. Over the years, he had revisited that night with Sasuke more than once, even reconstructing the massacre, forcing Sasuke to confront the truth of what had happened.
He had analyzed Itachi's motives for the slaughter again and again.
Back in the early days, before falling into Orochimaru's hands, Sasuke's outlook had been fairly normal. He valued comrades, was willing to sacrifice for them—in short, a completely ordinary boy for his clan.
But after Orochimaru took him, and especially three years later in Shippūden, Sasuke's thinking began veering down twisted paths.
And by Boruto, he had become something else entirely—a stiff, joyless caricature, stripped of the human reactions he once had.
Once, Sasuke had been cool and aloof, yes, but he still blushed, grew jealous, analyzed opponents, and made careful judgments.
After three years of Orochimaru's "nurturing," he became nothing but a stone-faced poser, charging headlong without thought.
Naruto privately wondered if Orochimaru had cultivated Sasuke's power at the cost of his brain. After all, Orochimaru only wanted Sasuke's body. A clever Sasuke would have been more dangerous to him.
And so, the last "normal" Uchiha had been twisted as well.
'Does Itachi love you, or the Leaf? Do you want to see the answer for yourself?' Naruto had once framed the question this way for him.
'It doesn't matter what he feels,' Sasuke's voice replied now, calm to Naruto's surprise. Clearly, he had long since steeled himself for this day.
'I will kill him with my own hands.
The sinner of the Uchiha… will be judged by the Uchiha.'
Naruto remembered a strange argument he had once overheard: "Everyone in the shinobi world has the right to hate Itachi—except Sasuke. Because Itachi spared Sasuke, all he did was for Sasuke's sake."
It was absurd.
First, whatever love Itachi bore for Sasuke, his actions had not been "for Sasuke"—they were for the Leaf. It was the Leaf that he had raised his blade for, not his brother.
Second, Sasuke's family and his entire clan had been butchered. That he himself was spared out of "love" hardly stripped him of the right to hate.
To claim that Sasuke had no right to resent him—what then? Should he thank him? Be grateful?
Utterly illogical.
If anything, the truth was the opposite: the Leaf might lack the right to resent Itachi, but Sasuke had the strongest claim of all to avenge him.
"Itachi loved Sasuke, so he spared him. Therefore Sasuke has no right to hate him." It wasn't just twisted—it was moral blackmail, without even morality behind it.
By that logic, one could say: "Because I love you, all the money in your pocket belongs to me."
'I understand,' Naruto nodded, respecting Sasuke's resolve—especially regarding Itachi.
It was said that when two people spent enough time together, their thoughts and habits began to influence one another. All the more reason to set the right example.
And now, Sasuke was no longer the boy who—after his entire clan had been slaughtered—could suddenly reverse himself at the revelation "my brother loves me" and go running to worship him.
'I will personally avenge my clan!' Sasuke vowed, his tone firm.
'And if you fail,' Naruto said seriously, 'before he tries to control you, I'll kill him myself.'
Naruto had never hidden the truth of Kotoamatsukami from Sasuke. He would never abandon him. If anything went wrong, Naruto would cut Itachi down in an instant.
'Fine.' Sasuke's reply was subdued, tinged with melancholy.
Which was understandable. With a brother as unhinged as his, even the most cheerful soul might grow haunted.
"Don't let yourself be swayed by that false brotherhood," Naruto said aloud, patting his shoulder. A faint current of energy passed from his palm into Sasuke, dispersing a little of the gloom. "I am your brother, Indra."
Sasuke nodded seriously. Over these years, he had long since come to regard Naruto as an older brother.
"I won't be swayed by false brotherhood, Ashura-nii!"
Just then, a figure appeared ahead, clad in a black cloak patterned with red clouds.
It was Itachi.
He spared not a single glance for the others. His gaze fell only upon Sasuke.
And softly, he spoke.
"Sasuke."
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