Uchiha Itachi walked quietly beneath the sun-drenched canopy, his pace slow and almost aimless. A black, sticky silhouette occasionally rose beside him—Black Zetsu.
Black Zetsu grinned with those unnervingly white teeth and asked,
"Mr. Itachi, are you certain this is the correct path?"
"Zetsu," Itachi replied calmly, "he will find me no matter which path I take. Where is he now?"
"As expected of brothers, Mr. Itachi."
Black Zetsu slipped between the trees like a smear of moving ink.
"Uchiha Sasuke has arrived near Ichisen Cliff. His current route is slightly off from here."
"It's fine. We'll wait ahead. He'll come."
Although Itachi's voice was even, his certainty carried a quiet, unshakeable weight.
Meanwhile, Sasuke stood atop Ichisen Cliff, staring into the distance as a flock of birds burst from the treetops below.
According to the intelligence he had gathered, Uchiha Itachi had already left the Akatsuki.
Sasuke pulled out a compact chakra-tracking device—its design almost like a Dragon Radar. With a press, several blue dots blinked into existence.
Those dots represented chakra signatures… Itachi's included.
"A strong chakra reading to the northwest… Did I take a wrong turn?"
A faint, cold smile surfaced on Sasuke's lips.
He stepped off the cliff without hesitation, descending rapidly and leaping between the trees with fluid grace.
In moments, he vanished into the forest, leaving only the echoes of startled wings behind.
"Has he finally arrived?"
Itachi's eyes opened. His Sharingan—three tomoe spinning slowly— glowed coldly in their crimson sockets.
A lone figure approached: a handsome young man wearing a loose shirt emblazoned with the Uchiha fan on the back.
Sasuke.
Seeing Itachi calmly waiting ahead, Sasuke wasn't surprised. He hadn't suppressed his presence. Besides, the Akatsuki's intelligence network had always been sharp.
"Sasuke… my foolish little brother. You've finally come."
Itachi's voice was ice.
Sasuke's expression remained composed, though something wavered beneath that calm.
"Foolish?" he murmured, then chuckled darkly. "My foolish older brother—you have no right to call anyone foolish. You're the most foolish one of all."
"You believed whatever the Village told you. You slaughtered your own clan—obediently, blindly. Being brainwashed… that is the true definition of foolishness."
Itachi's face stiffened faintly.
"Do you think your ideology holds any meaning now?" Sasuke continued. "Look carefully. The Village you devoted your life to protecting has already fallen into our hands. Lady Tsunade and the others—do you see where they stand now?"
"But remember this, Itachi: the Uchiha graves hold no peace. Their spirits still scream. This is the result of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura… and you."
"Tell me, Itachi—can you face Shisui?"
Sasuke's sorrow-tinted words cut deeper with each syllable. A shadow of pain moved across Itachi's features.
"Shisui… I'm sorry, Shisui…"
Itachi whispered.
His gaze toward Sasuke remained icy, yet a fleeting warmth shimmered deep within—gone as quickly as it appeared.
"Clan members… are nothing more than the measuring rods for my ability. You're still naïve, Sasuke."
He tilted his head slightly.
"Is your hatred deep enough?"
Itachi's voice suddenly exploded into a roar.
His wrist flicked—Kunai burst forward in a deadly cloud.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Each Kunai, wrapped in dancing embers, streaked toward Sasuke like flaming birds.
Lightning crackled around Sasuke's hand.
In an instant, he slashed through every incoming projectile, tearing flames apart with blinding speed.
"In this world," Itachi said coldly, "the strong devour the weak. Power is everything."
Sasuke threw his head back and laughed—wild, unhinged, the sound of years of hatred erupting at last.
"Hahahaha… Itachi, Itachi… you're still pretending?"
"I never understood why the Village mattered so much to you. Did the parents who raised you mean less than the Village that only used you? Everything you had came from the clan. Without the Uchiha, would that Village even exist?"
"You want me to hate you, to chase power, and eventually kill you to restore the Uchiha clan's glory? Impossible!"
Sasuke's laughter was wild, jagged, almost hysterical. "With only one survivor left, how am I supposed to revive the clan? Your idea was rotten from the very beginning!"
His words made Itachi's pupils tighten sharply.
"You wanted to protect the Village, prevent it from being thrown into chaos. And your brilliant solution was to slaughter the entire Uchiha?" Sasuke's voice trembled with fury. "If the clan was a source of instability, then why not let the Uchiha leave? Move out of Konoha! That way the Village wouldn't suffer, the clan wouldn't suffer, and neither side would lose strength!"
"I hate it, Itachi! I hate your blindness!"
"I hate that you were played like a fool by the Village you swore loyalty to!"
"And I hate everything you tried to arrange for me!"
"What made you think I would follow your script?!"
"Answer me, Uchiha Itachi!"
Sasuke's hatred surged like a storm, but beneath it, his mind remained painfully clear.
Itachi's expression twisted—not in anger, but in anguish.
"Sasuke… you don't understand…"
"Spare me!" Sasuke snapped. "Letting you die like this would be far too easy!"
He leaned forward, his voice low and venomous.
"Do you want to know Shisui's plan for you? If you want the Uchiha revived so badly, then you can work for it! I'll break your legs and force you to marry dozens of women—keep producing Uchiha children until the clan rises again!"
(TN: 😂😂😂)
Itachi froze.
(Shisui… you betrayed me?! That's not the pure-hearted Shisui I knew. How could he come up with something so cruel?)
Sasuke lunged, Chidori screeching in his hand.
Before he could strike, thick tree branches erupted from the ground, coiling around his waist and dragging him back.
Sasuke looked down in shock as the wood swallowed upward.
"Don't celebrate too early."
Itachi suddenly turned. Behind him—another Sasuke appeared, Lightning Release flickering in his palm.
The Sasuke bound by branches dissolved into a dried log.
"Oh? Really?"
A Kunai slid coldly across Sasuke's neck from behind, pinned by Itachi's large hands.
Moments ago, the Itachi in front of him exploded into crows, scattering into the sky.
"Sasuke, your genjutsu has improved," Itachi said, tone flat, breathing steady—as if this dance was nothing new.
Not far away, outside the illusion, Black Zetsu stared blankly at the two unmoving figures locked in their genjutsu duel.
He poked his head out from behind a boulder, tiny eyes squinting with suspicion.
At that moment, a White Zetsu popped up beside him.
"Hey, Black Zetsu… do you know what poop tastes like?"
White Zetsu asked innocently, staring at Black Zetsu's pitch-black body.
Black Zetsu's expression darkened instantly.
"Get. Lost!"
...
(End of Chapter)
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