Opening the cell door, Kagami looked calmly at Itachi Uchiha, who was bound to a rack. A cruel smile played on his lips. "Uchiha Itachi," he said, his voice dripping with ice, "are you ready to accept your punishment for slaughtering our entire clan?"
Itachi's body trembled, his face as pale as paper. The dried blood that traced paths from his empty eye sockets had solidified into shocking, dark streaks, making his eyeless face look hideous and terrifying.
Hearing Kagami's words, Itachi lifted his head, his voice pleading. "Kagami, you can do anything you want to me! But please, let Sasuke go. He is just an innocent child!"
At the mention of his name, a faint flicker of recognition stirred in Sasuke's otherwise numb and ruthless eyes, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared, leaving his expression cold and emotionless once more. After being thoroughly conditioned by Kagami's cursed power, Sasuke had become a perfect killing machine. Even with his once-hated brother before him, he remained completely indifferent.
"Hehehe... innocent?" Kagami laughed, but his expression grew colder with each passing second. "He's innocent? Then what about the other Uchiha children? Was my newborn child not innocent?"
The memory of the night of the massacre, when Itachi had unhesitatingly unleashed Amaterasu on Suzune and the infant Sukuna, caused Kagami's rage to flare uncontrollably. If he hadn't blocked the black flames in time, his wife and child would have been burned to death, suffering unimaginable pain in their final moments. The thought caused the anger in his heart to erupt like a volcano. He wanted nothing more than to tear the man before him limb from limb.
But simply killing Itachi would be far too merciful.
Hearing Kagami's words, the light in Itachi's vacant sockets seemed to dim, his face shrouded in a cloud of guilt. He clenched his hands into fists, veins bulging. "I know you hate me," he choked out, his voice trembling, "but I had no choice! If I didn't kill them, Konoha's peace would have been shattered, and Sasuke would not have survived!"
His face was a mask of pain. "I don't ask for your forgiveness. But Sasuke is my only brother. I am willing to give you everything, even my life, in exchange for his safety. I only ask that you do not transfer this hatred to him. He is innocent! He deserves a future! I beg you!"
"Oh?" Kagami's gaze was like ice, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "Regret? What's the point of saying that now? Can a few words of regret bring back the dead? It's too late. It's all too late!"
He then looked fiercely at Sasuke, his tone filled with unquestionable authority. "Sasuke, go. Let your so-called 'good brother' experience the pain his choice has brought you."
"Yes, Lord Kagami," Sasuke replied, his voice short and firm, as cold and empty as a polar wind. There was no emotion in his eyes, as if he were about to deal with a complete stranger.
"Sasuke? Is that you?" Itachi finally realized his younger brother was there. He had assumed the person with Kagami was someone else. But a seed of doubt was planted. Shouldn't Sasuke be screaming at him, demanding to know why he had done it? Why was he so calm?
He wanted to ask, but Sasuke remained impassive, showing no intention of answering. With a cold, blank face, Sasuke walked to a nearby brazier, picked up a red-hot iron brand, and approached Itachi. Without a flicker of hesitation, he pressed the searing metal firmly against Itachi's shoulder. A sizzle filled the air, thick with the smell of burning flesh. Itachi clenched his teeth, a pained groan escaping his lips.
"Sa... Sasuke... I'm sorry," Itachi gasped, his voice trembling from the pain. But a faint smile touched his lips, as if he believed this torture was a form of atonement. "You must be in so much pain, right?"
Sasuke's expression didn't change. He was deaf to Itachi's words, continuing his task with mechanical indifference. Itachi assumed Sasuke's silence was born of hatred, so he said no more, silently gritting his teeth against the agony while forcing a gentle smile.
Looking at Itachi's expression, Kagami felt a chill. 'Has he awakened some masochistic tendency?' he wondered.
Itachi continued to profess his love for Sasuke, expressing his willingness to endure any pain to pay for his sins. But no matter what he said, Sasuke remained a silent, emotionless machine. After a long time with no response, Itachi finally realized something was deeply wrong. Based on his understanding of Sasuke, it was impossible for him to be so unresponsive. He should have at least told him to shut up. The complete lack of any emotional reaction was abnormal.
"Sasuke, answer me! Say whatever you want! Vent your hatred on me!" Itachi roared weakly. But Sasuke just continued the punishment, cold and detached. Itachi finally understood. Sasuke had been broken, trained into an emotionless machine.
"Kagami, what... what did you do to Sasuke?" Itachi screamed, his voice raw with fury. "He's just a child! How could you do this to him?"
The rapid shift of emotions on Itachi's face—from pain to anger, resentment, and finally, regret—was almost impressive. He was a master of facial expressions. But Kagami felt no sympathy.
If you knew this would be the outcome, why did you do it in the first place? Since Itachi was willing to trade the lives of his entire clan for his brother's, he had to accept the consequences. Regret was useless now. If Kagami hadn't fused with the Sukuna template that night, he, Suzune, and their child would all be dead. He had no mercy left for Itachi. If Sasuke's Indra chakra wasn't so valuable, he would have ordered him to disembowel himself right in front of his "loving" brother.
Ignoring Itachi's roars, Kagami turned to Sasuke. "You continue his punishment. Be careful not to kill him." Then, he turned and left the cell, leaving Itachi to his fate. He intended to torture Itachi slowly, not letting him die so easily.
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