"Betraying the organization…"
The Deva Path and Konan narrowed their eyes.
They didn't know the details of Kai and Itachi's history, but—Uchiha were Uchiha. At a moment like this, protecting one's own wasn't that hard to understand.
Besides, their attitude toward Kai had been complicated from the start.
Especially after what Zetsu had just said—Pain's wavering resolve began to tilt.
Or rather… Nagato's resolve.
Compared to Yahiko's dream, everything else suddenly felt less important.
Shh… shh…
Three seconds later, the Deva Path stepped forward slowly and spoke in a low voice.
"Uchiha Itachi. Move."
Pain had made his choice.
The instant those words landed, the ruined battlefield went quiet.
Black Zetsu exhaled deeply, relieved he hadn't misjudged him.
At the same time, excitement surged through him.
As long as he could take Kai down… he could act without restraint.
Itachi's eyes cooled.
A crow perched on his shoulder pecked uneasily at its own feathers, as if torn by indecision.
In Itachi's gaze, the Mangekyō grew sharper—more piercing.
Crack.
Just as the Deva Path prepared to speak again, Konan suddenly stepped in front of him.
"Tendo… maybe we should wait."
"Hm?" The Deva Path turned back, confused.
He didn't understand why Konan would stop him now.
Black Zetsu's smile froze again.
Tired.
So tired.
He never expected the organization's intelligence expert—and its walking wallet—to suddenly throw up a hand too.
Weren't Uchiha all obsessive lunatics?
Then why, in the span of a few breaths, were Akatsuki's two biggest pillars already splitting in opinion?
Sensing Pain's confusion, Konan only shook her head without explaining.
Pain hesitated for three seconds.
But when he caught the shape of her lips forming four words—
"Uchiha Madara"—
he understood.
Madara. Itachi. And the boy in front of them.
Internal conflict within the Uchiha clan was beneficial to their side.
With that thought, Pain's cold Rinnegan swept over Konan. After a brief pause, the foot he had lifted… did not come down.
He remained still like a statue.
Only a faint violet shimmer flickered in his eyes, as if calculating something.
Black Zetsu: "..."
If he could curse freely right now, he'd turn into a raging war god and unleash a full-on tirade.
So, after confirming none of these people could be relied on, he quietly slipped into the ground.
Underground Hiding Like a Mole Technique—
No.
Hiding Like a Mole Technique: Mayfly.
Rustle, rustle.
He moved fast, swimming through the earth toward the other side.
If the front wouldn't work, he'd come from behind.
He didn't care about pride.
Ten meters.
Five.
One.
The moment he reached striking distance, he shot an arm out toward Kai—
Mental Fusion!
Splurt—!
But in that razor-thin instant—
A sudden chill bloomed.
Black Zetsu's entire body went rigid. Even his "hair"—no, his edges—felt like they were exploding.
Like something terrifying had locked onto him.
He twisted his head and saw it.
The man in front of him—Itachi—was suddenly engulfed in a crimson aura.
A red skeleton, standing like a cage between him and Kai.
"…This is… Susanoo?"
Black Zetsu frowned. Then, surprisingly, he relaxed.
"Hmph. A few bones."
"A toy for Indra's descendants."
"I'd like to see how long you can keep it up."
Drip. Drip.
Beside Kai, Itachi slowly rose and stepped forward.
Blood ran down from his eyes.
His fingers were still frozen in the shape of the seals he'd just formed.
Fwoosh.
Around him, molten-red chakra boiled and rolled like magma.
Crack—crack.
From the soil, segments of crimson bone speared upward like bamboo shoots breaking through dirt.
In a blink, they assembled into a skeletal frame—
a Susanoo ribcage and skull.
The thing that had intercepted Black Zetsu was this red skeletal guardian.
"Susanoo…!" Jiraiya visibly loosened, letting out a breath.
But the storm in his heart only grew larger.
"Fugaku… you lucky bastard."
"Both your sons are monsters."
Then his expression tightened.
"But… it's too late for Sage Mode."
"At best, I'll have to find a way to get out of here with the kid…"
With that, Jiraiya began edging forward, fingertips rubbing a scroll as he moved.
One step at a time.
"You're trying to run?"
The Deva Path glanced at him from the corner of his eye and shifted slightly—almost casually.
But the space he left… just happened to be wide enough for Jiraiya to rush toward Kai.
Then Pain's gaze returned to Itachi.
A genuine note of admiration passed through his voice.
"No wonder 'Madara' valued you."
"A fourteen-year-old who can use Susanoo… your future is limitless."
It wasn't just praise.
There was a trace of envy he didn't even notice himself—
envy for youth, for life, for a body that still worked as it should.
But when his eyes lifted and he saw Itachi cough, tears of blood trailing—
that envy died instantly.
Thinking about it… his own body was awful.
But at least he didn't cough like that.
"Cough… cough…"
Itachi coughed again. His voice turned faint, unstable.
"Sorry."
"He… is my younger brother."
"Younger brother?" Black Zetsu barked.
"Then I'm the ancestor!"
He howled uselessly.
And in a certain sense… that wasn't entirely wrong.
"Haa…"
Just as the situation tangled into something unreadable, Kai moved.
He forced his throat open and released a low, animal-like sound—tight, suppressed.
Then he lifted his head.
His face was fully visible now.
Those eyes—once crimson, once spinning with the "666" Mangekyō pattern—
were changing.
"…His Mangekyō is evolving?" Itachi's pupils flickered.
"But… can a Mangekyō even evolve…?"
His mind raced through every secret record he'd read in the clan.
Nothing matched this.
Yet he still braced himself, keeping his body between everyone and Kai.
Drip.
A thread of black liquid slid from the corner of Kai's eye.
Cold. Dark.
Just looking at it made the spine want to shrink.
Zzzt—
But when it hit the ground, that black liquid crackled—like tiny arcs of electricity.
The puddle beneath it hissed and melted open, leaving a nail-sized hole.
A straight drop.
Bottomless.
"Pff—!"
Itachi spat blood.
Not from his illness this time—
but because he'd stared too long at that black chakra.
In one instant of eye contact, Itachi felt a freezing, invasive spiritual energy tear into him.
He grunted and stumbled back half a step, forcing himself upright.
His eyes were filled with disbelief.
Just now—
his prideful mental strength, the thing that had carried him through countless battlefields…
in front of Kai's black chakra—
was nothing.
Fireflies against the moon.
He'd only glanced at it and was already broken.
Crack… crack…
And worse—
the Susanoo skeleton he'd summoned by squeezing every last drop of willpower…
was collapsing.
The point of collapse was exactly where Kai's black chakra drops had landed.
BOOM—!
At some point, Itachi's body shuddered violently.
He vomited a mouthful of blood.
The crimson ribs of Susanoo flickered crazily—
like a candle in a storm, seconds from extinguishing.
"A perfect opening!"
Nearby, Black Zetsu—still stubborn, still relentless—lit up with joy.
He sprang forward.
"Mine—mine—it's all mine!"
In his head, he was already imagining the future:
kicking Madara aside, crushing Obito, strangling Pain—
and living in pure, shameless freedom.
RATTLE—
But the moment he rushed in—
a violent chain-ringing erupted through the air.
And from the depths, a whisper crawled into everyone's ears, like something speaking from the underworld:
"Senra… Heart Chains."
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