Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke

Akatsuki Base.

Ninjas from across the shinobi world had been desperately trying to uncover the status of the tailed beasts inside the base.

However, with Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Sasuke guarding it, none had succeeded. Infiltrating the Akatsuki base was a suicide mission.

A hundred shinobi might sneak in…

And a hundred would die.

It was a mission that was as deadly in practice as it was on paper.

At this very moment, Hatake Kakashi silently appeared near the outer edge of the Akatsuki base, lying in wait for Madara to depart.

Inside the base, Madara received news from a White Zetsu clone.

And this time, it brought good news.

"Lord Madara!"

"We've found Kisame Hoshigaki!"

The clone was visibly excited as it reported.

"We secretly tailed him and discovered Uchiha Obito's location. They're hiding not far from the base, waiting for a chance to infiltrate!"

"Heh…"

"Still bold as ever."

Madara chuckled coldly.

Leaping down from a high platform, he turned his head to instruct Sasuke:

"Sasuke, hold the base while I'm gone. Can I trust you?"

"Just a few pests…"

Sasuke looked utterly disdainful of any enemy that might try to sneak in. As far as he was concerned, no standard jōnin could touch him.

Madara raised an eyebrow, glanced at Sasuke for a second, and then followed the White Zetsu clone toward Obito's last known location.

After all…

It wasn't far.

Even if something happened at the base, Madara was confident he could return instantly. He didn't believe Sasuke would struggle to defend it.

This sixteen-year-old brat…

The jōnin from the other villages weren't in his league.

However, the moment Madara left, Sasuke met a former jōnin teacher who might actually be a match—his old sensei.

Hatake Kakashi, hiding in the shadows, had carefully infiltrated the perimeter. But within the base, he quickly spotted a familiar figure.

Even though he'd mentally prepared—

Kakashi hadn't expected to encounter him so soon.

Uchiha Sasuke sat on a stone step, hand resting on a slender sword, his crimson Sharingan swirling as he locked eyes with the intruder.

"Kakashi…"

Sasuke's voice echoed coldly through the base.

"Don't bother hiding. I've already seen you. This is not a place you should be."

And indeed, by all logic, Kakashi shouldn't be here.

After all, none of the eight tailed beasts held by Akatsuki came from Konoha.

And with Lord Shigen and the bulk of Akatsuki marching toward Konoha, Kakashi, as a Konoha jōnin, should have remained to protect the village.

"And this isn't where you belong either…"

Kakashi stepped from the shadows, gaze heavy with disappointment as he looked at his former student.

"That's no concern of yours."

Sasuke gripped the hilt of his sword, the sinister chakra radiating from him unfamiliar and chilling.

"Leave, Kakashi. I could kill you at any moment, but I'm reserving chakra for real threats. You're not worth it."

"You should be in Konoha…"

"Not chasing a missing-nin while Shigen leads Akatsuki straight at your home."

"I didn't think…"

Kakashi sighed, struggling to reconcile the student before him with the past.

"That you'd turn out like this…"

But then again…

Sasuke had always been like this—aloof, cold, defiant.

"It doesn't matter what I've become."

Sasuke believed he'd grown stronger, that his soul and blade had sharpened since leaving Konoha.

"As long as I can kill Uchiha Itachi, I don't care if I tear down the shinobi world alongside Lord Shigen and Madara."

"Enough."

"Leave. There's nothing for you here."

His logic was simple.

"Konoha wouldn't be foolish enough to covet tailed beasts during a crisis like this."

True—

But Kakashi didn't move.

In fact, his expression turned grim. What he was about to do was far beyond what Sasuke could expect.

"Konoha doesn't want the tailed beasts."

Kakashi lifted his hitai-ate, exposing his Mangekyō Sharingan.

"But we can't allow them to remain in Akatsuki's hands."

"So that's why you're here?"

Sasuke casually drew his sword, voice cold.

"I don't care who owns these beasts. But I'm not letting them leave this place."

A battle between former student and teacher was imminent.

Sasuke rose, blade spinning in a swift flourish, descending the steps toward Kakashi.

But…

Kakashi stepped back.

And at that moment, Sasuke noticed something strange—

Kakashi's eye began to spiral, forming a Kamui vortex.

A figure emerged from the swirling distortion.

Slicked-back hair.

Deep tear grooves on both cheeks.

Crimson Sharingan gleaming.

Uchiha Itachi.

Sasuke's face twisted in shock.

He had thought Kakashi alone posed no real threat.

Now, he realized Kakashi had brought the one person he least wanted to see.

Itachi calmly stepped through the vortex, one hand tucked inside his cloak. His gaze—hazy from his failing eyesight—locked onto his younger brother.

"Sasuke's on guard duty?"

"Then leave this to me, Kakashi."

"I'm counting on you, Itachi."

Kakashi vanished toward the base's inner chambers.

He knew full well the truth behind the Uchiha massacre—and while he didn't fear a clash between the brothers, he did feel a twinge of guilt.

Sasuke would likely never forgive them… for fighting alongside Itachi.

But there was no other choice.

They had no time to waste.

After all, Akatsuki's strike team had been scouted.

Only Madara and Sasuke remained at the base.

Madara would be handled by Obito and Orochimaru.

Sasuke…

Would be faced by his own brother.

Itachi's eyes burned red, vision barely registering Sasuke's face—only his taller silhouette. But his voice remained composed.

"It's been a while, Sasuke."

"Heh…"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, ignoring Kakashi's departure.

All focus was now on his brother—the man who murdered their parents, their entire clan.

"Yeah… It's been a while."

"So… Konoha's working with traitors now?"

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Powerstones?

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