The two of them once again stepped into the base of the Akatsuki organization. They walked through a winding, convoluted corridor, and someone led Sasuke into a very secretive underground room.
As they pushed open the door, although they didn't see anything inside, they could already hear the beeping sound of the monitoring devices.
"Lord Kaoru," a figure inside the room stopped their busy work upon hearing the door, then approached and bowed in greeting. It was Shin.
"Hmm," Kaoru nodded, glancing at the distant machinery. He then asked Shin, "Is everything set up?"
"Yes," Shin nodded hesitantly, a trace of gloom and sadness flashing in his eyes. "When you brought him back, he was already dead. We've now preserved his body according to your instructions."
"Good job," Kaoru said, patting Shin on the shoulder in reassurance.
"What is that?" Sasuke, instinctively looking at the machine, felt something was wrong. An inexplicable emotion surged within him.
"Ah," Kaoru sighed helplessly, then looked at Sasuke. "You go take a look yourself..."
"..." Sasuke frowned, silent, glancing at Kaoru with suspicion. Then he stepped forward, and when he finally saw the scene before him, his expression changed completely.
A huge glass cabinet, filled with a mysterious green liquid. Inside the liquid, a person was soaking, surrounded by countless tubes. But none of that mattered. The important thing was—this person was Itachi, his brother!
"Itachi!" Sasuke suddenly snapped back to reality, slamming his hand onto the glass cabinet. His eyes fixed tightly on what was inside. Finally, he stretched his hand in and tightly grasped Itachi's hand. But his body, lacking any warmth, told him the harsh truth—Itachi was already dead.
"Kaoru! What are you trying to do?! Itachi is dead! What do you mean by preserving his body like this?!" Sasuke turned sharply, shouting at Kaoru.
"Isn't that obvious at a glance?" Kaoru stepped forward, adjusting some buttons on the machinery. "It's naturally to prevent his body from rotting."
"Prevent him from rotting?" Sasuke's anger turned into a bitter smile. He suddenly grabbed Kaoru's collar and roared, "He's already dead! What's the point of doing all this?!"
"..." Kaoru fell silent, looking at Sasuke with a somewhat mocking gaze. "Are you mistaken about something?"
He gently pried Sasuke's hand away and smoothed out the wrinkles on his clothes. "You're the one who killed Itachi. It was Itachi who wiped out the entire Uchiha clan. What are you shouting at me for? It was because of me that Itachi died?"
Sasuke was stunned, unable to refute Kaoru's words. But recalling Itachi's gentle and doting side, his heart ached so much that tears brimmed at the corners of his eyes.
"I've never done anything meaningless," Kaoru looked at Sasuke with a bit of compassion. "This is the gift I'm giving you. I brought you here so you can make a decision. You should already have the Mangekyō Sharingan now, right?"
Hearing Kaoru say this, Sasuke's eyes froze slightly. Instinctively, he activated his Sharingan, and a six-pointed star pattern was clearly engraved in his eyes.
"Sure enough, the pain of killing Itachi awakened the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan in you," Kaoru nodded. "In that case, you should be able to understand what I'm about to say next."
"Perhaps Itachi also told you that overusing the Mangekyō Sharingan will gradually seal your eyesight. The only solution is to fuse the Mangekyō Sharingan of close relatives to create the Eternal Mangekyō. Itachi hoped you could obtain this power. Now, it's up to your choice."
"Eternal Eye? You want me to transplant Itachi's eyes?" Sasuke asked uncertainly.
"It's not what I want. It all depends on your own choice," Kaoru shook his head. "The method to transplant the Sharingan, Itachi already told me. If you want, I can help you."
"...No need," Sasuke said after a brief silence, his tone somewhat bitter. "I'm still unsure what I should do about Konoha. Does Itachi want to see me do that...?"
"I believe that whatever you decide, Itachi wouldn't blame you," Kaoru sighed. He didn't argue with Sasuke. "I'm just here to let you choose. How you do it is up to you. But right now, you're strong, but not yet capable of dealing with Madara. The Eternal Mangekyō has boundless chakra, which can greatly assist your ideals."
"No, not yet," Sasuke replied after thinking again. "I've decided to get close to Madara. If he finds out I transplanted the Eternal Mangekyō, he will definitely suspect my intentions. So, it's better not to do that for now."
"Hmph," Kaoru smiled at Sasuke's words. "Not bad. You're starting to think for yourself now."
"Yeah. After fighting Itachi, I realize I was really too naive in front of him," Sasuke sighed.
Shaking off the complicated thoughts in his heart, Sasuke gently shook his head, then asked: "Kaoru, how do you think I can find Madara?"
"Uchiha Madara? He's easy to find," Kaoru said with a smile. "Actually, during your fight with Itachi, Madara was also monitoring you. Now that you've come to me, he's probably searching for you all over the world. I think—once you step out, you won't even need to look for him. He'll come looking for you himself."
"Is that so...?" Sasuke hesitated. "In that case, I'll set out. But before that, I need to find some allies." Sasuke said, then swung his long cloak, gave one last glance at Itachi in the glass cabinet, and headed toward the door.
"Sasuke, it looks like you've truly grown up," Kaoru smiled as he watched Sasuke's back walk away.
...…
On the high platform of the Hidden Rain Village, three figures stood facing each other.
"How is Itachi's and Sasuke's fight going?" Pain was the first to ask.
"Sasuke won," Obito replied. "His Sharingan's ability was fully unleashed. Although Itachi held back a little, this is reality. That pair of eyes will become even stronger than Itachi's."
"Then that means... Itachi is dead, and our organization has lost another talent," Konan said with a hint of sadness. "It's a bit worrying."
"Whatever. Itachi wasn't exactly loyal to us in Akatsuki," Obito replied lightly.
"And what about Sasuke? The one who killed Itachi should have already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. He's going to be a great help for our future," Pain said.
"Sasuke disappeared after fighting Itachi. Not only that, but even Itachi's body has vanished," Obito responded, looking a bit uneasy. "We've already sent Zetsu to find him. I believe we'll have news soon."
"However, now that Itachi is dead, our agreement not to attack Konoha is over. Only Tailed Beasts Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails remain uncaptured. It's time for action," Obito said, then looked at Pain.
"Leave the Nine-Tails to you. You're the best suited to handle it," Obito added.
"Understood," Pain replied coldly.
"However, Konoha has Uchiha Kaoru. He possesses powerful ninjutsu, and most of our Akatsuki members have already fallen to him. Plus, Konoha also has other strong fighters. Capturing Naruto Uzumaki won't be that simple," Obito analyzed.
"Hmph..." Pain snorted, a trace of contempt flickering across his pale face.
"Is there any point in saying such boastful words?" Pain said indifferently. "I am a god, invincible..."
"Hmph, that's true. If that's the case, I'll leave it to you," Obito said.
At this moment, Zetsu's body emerged from the side.
"We've located Sasuke Uchiha," White Zetsu announced.
____________________
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