Chapter 15 : Sweet Sibling Bond

The Hokage's office was tense.

The heavy silence was only broken by the quiet ticking of a clock and the rustling of papers on the desk. Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, sat at the center of the room, his face grim. Around him stood Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane—Konoha's highest council members and his oldest friends.

They were gathered for one reason: the missing Mangekyō Sharingan—Shisui Uchiha's eye.

Despite days of intense searching, the spy who attacked Danzo and stole the eye was still not found. Both the Anbu and Root had scoured the village from top to bottom. Every alley, every hidden passage, and every suspect had been investigated. Spies were flushed out. Civilians were questioned. Still, nothing.

No clues. No trail. The Mangekyō Sharingan had simply vanished.

And rightly so, since no one in their right mind would believe that a 7-year-old stole that eye under Danzo's nose, let alone a kid coming from a civilian background. 

Not even Minato Namikaze could have done that at that age.

"This is madness," Homura said, pacing the room. "We searched the entire village. Every suspect. Every record. And still no lead?"

"This should've never happened," Koharu added sharply, glaring at Danzo. "We warned you! You should've never taken the eye from Shisui in the first place."

Danzo stood at the side, arms crossed over the fresh bandages that wrapped around what remained of his arm. His face was cold, but the tension in his jaw was visible.

"The decision was made for the good of the village," he replied. "You think I wanted to lose the eye? That I let this happen?"

Hiruzen leaned forward, voice low. "That eye… if what we know about it is true—if it can truly rewrite a person's will—then it's not just a lost weapon. It's a threat to the entire shinobi world."

"If any other village got their hands on it…" Koharu whispered.

"They could take control of the Daimyō," Homura muttered, horrified. "They could start a war. Or worse, end one before it begins—without anyone knowing how."

They fell into silence again, each thinking about what could happen if the eye was used on the wrong person.

Then Danzo broke the silence.

"It's the Uchiha."

The others turned to him.

"They're behind this," Danzo said firmly. "Who else could it be?"

"Danzo—" Hiruzen began, but Danzo raised a hand.

"No. Listen to me. The masked attacker who took the eye… he was small. Almost the size of a child. There is no one in this village that fits that description and has that level of skill—except one person."

He looked Hiruzen directly in the eye.

"Itachi Uchiha."

Homura frowned. "You're saying Itachi stole the eye?"

"There's no solid proof," Koharu warned. "Transformation jutsu exist. Genin learn it in the Academy. A shinobi could make themselves appear smaller."

Danzo didn't back down. "Even so, who else in this village has the speed, the precision, and the motive? He's quiet. Always watching. Close to Shisui. And more importantly, that masked man's attack came out of nowhere. Either it was so fast that I couldn't see it or they were invisible in nature. What kind of jutsu lets someone do that? Unless it's another one of the Mangekyō abilities," Danzo said, pausing the conversation for a second.

"Are you telling me that Itachi too might have awakened his Mangekyō?"

"What else could it be if not a Mangekyō ability? And if anyone had a reason and capabilities to take that eye—it's him. And if he did, then the Uchiha have it now."

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes. "Even if that's true, what are you suggesting?"

Danzo stepped forward. "If the Uchiha are holding that eye, we can't wait. What happens if they use it on the Nine Tails' Jinchūriki? What if they rewrite his will and take control of the beast?"

The room froze.

That fear—the fear of losing the Nine Tails again—cut through every doubt. Even Hiruzen, who had always defended the Uchiha, couldn't ignore that possibility.

Still, he didn't speak. Not yet.

There was no proof. No name. No trail.

But for the first time… he started to doubt.

And that, Danzo knew, was the first step to war.

...

Haruno House.

Sukuna burst into the house like a tornado, nearly kicking the door off its hinges.

"Sakura!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Sakura, who was peacefully brushing her hair in front of the mirror, jumped so hard her comb flew across the room. "WHAT is wrong with you!?"

"I have something amazing," Sukuna said, holding up a scroll with a wide grin. "Behold! The Mystical Palm Technique!"

Sakura squinted at the scroll. "...You stole that, didn't you?"

"Yeah... had to jump thou—Wait what... I didn't steal it." Sukuna stammered, puffing out his chest with indignation. "I asked. Politely. Maybe threatened a little. Used my good looks. Anyway, that's not the point."

She crossed her arms. "You failed the jutsu test like a rock in water and now you're chasing medical ninjutsu? This smells fishy."

Sukuna waved her off. "Not for me, idiot. For you! You've got good chakra control. You're smart. You'd make a great Medical Nin!"

Sakura blinked. "You… got this for me? And what good chakra control? Didn't Iruka Sensei say that I need to work more on my chakra control..."

"Ah, forget about Iruka sensei. He knows nothing..."

Sakura was speechless...

"And yes, I got this for you," he said, voice dripping with fake nobility. "Because I am the best big brother in the world."

"We're twins."

"Older by 1 minute and 20 seconds!"

She narrowed her eyes. "What's the catch?"

"What do you mean?"

"You never do something nice without a reason."

"That's slander—"

"You gave me a flower once and it had a caterpillar in it."

'That wasn't me...' Sukuna wished to say but he can't very well tell the girl that her brother was already dead and he was an impostor, now, can he?

"Okay, that was one time—"

"And you tried to cook for me and the pot exploded."

'Yeah that was me... I thought learning to cook would make me better at my curse technique.' He pursed his lips.

"That was… experimental cuisine. And since then I have improved a lot. Haven't I?"

Sakura couldn't deny that. The horrible cook from earlier really can make some decent food. But how was that related to this?

She stared at him, unamused.

Finally, Sukuna growled in frustration. "Come on, give it a try. I'm not that bad that you outright don't believe me. I'm not gonna eat you or anything."

'Now that I think about it, Sukuna did eat his sibling in the story, didn't he?' Sukuna couldn't help but muse. Wondering how Sakura would taste like... and immediately shook his head internally.

'Better not think about it. It just sounds wrong. In more ways than one.'

"No." That was Sakura's reply.

He groaned. "Why are you so difficult!?"

"Because you're always up to something!"

'Tck... someone said the truth. Without motivation, there is no input.'

Sukuna suddenly went quiet. Sakura raised a brow. "What now?"

Without warning, Sukuna slashed his own hand.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Sakura shrieked as blood started to drip from his palm. She didn't even question how he, with his bare hands, was able to slash open his own hand.

"Here!" he shouted, slamming the scroll into her hands. "Heal me. Or I'll bleed out. And haunt you in my afterlife." He wasn't joking. He was capable of doing it and he very well would if it came down to it.

"You idiot!!"

"I'm dying!"

"You're not dying, you drama queen!"

"I can see the light! It's warm! So beautiful..."

"I swear if you die, I'll kill you!"

Sakura scrambled to read the scroll, muttering the hand signs. "Mystical Palm Technique… focus chakra… steady hands…!"

"Hurry up! I'm turning pale!"

"I'm telling Mom about it."

"Tell her how you let me die because you couldn't read fast enough..."

She concentrated, focusing her chakra just like the scroll said. A soft greenish-blue glow formed on her hands. With shaky hands, she placed them over his wound. The glow dimmed… then flared again… and slowly, the bleeding stopped.

Sukuna was looking at her with adept attention.

Sukuna blinked. "Huh… you actually did it."

"I did it?" Sakura said, stunned.

"You did it," Sukuna grinned. "You're a natural, Sakura!"

She stared at him. "You made me do emergency healing by injuring yourself! What is wrong with you!?"

"I got results, didn't I?"

"I'm going to kill you."

"You just saved me!"

"Doesn't mean I won't end you later!"

As Sukuna bolted for the door laughing, Sakura chased him, scroll in hand, yelling, "GET BACK HERE, YOU STUPID MANIAC!"

Another day, sweet sibling bonding at its finest. Sukuna quite liked harassing his little sister. It had this little addictive charm to it that he couldn't let go.

'One of the few pleasures of life...'

However, his goal was achieved. He figured out something big. This might help him achieve RCT finally.

xxx

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