"Kanon... Sasuke..."
Sasuke looked down at Naruto, his gaze flat and devoid of emotion.
"Naruto, is it?"
"So you're here too."
"Tell me, has Kakashi come as well?" Sasuke inquired, his tone as casual as an old friend making polite conversation after years apart.
"Unfortunately, Kakashi couldn't make it. I'm his substitute."
"As of now, Team Kakashi is taking you two back to Konoha."
Yamato's voice was heavy and commanding, ensuring both Sasuke and Kanon heard him clearly.
"Team Kakashi?"
Sasuke's gaze shifted to Sai, who was still half-kneeling on the ground. He spoke with chilling indifference.
"Is this guy our replacement?"
"Another naive fool, it seems."
"Babbling about protecting the bond between me and Naruto."
Hearing Sasuke's words, Naruto and Sakura both flinched.
"I may not know you siblings well yet," Sai interjected, "but Naruto and Sakura risked their lives to track you down this far."
"There has to be a reason for that."
"They refuse to give up on the bond they share with you."
"They're desperately trying to maintain that connection. I may not fully understand it yet, but Kanon! Sasuke! You two should be able to understand!"
Kanon didn't say a word. She merely stared at Sai with a frigid expression. If Sasuke hadn't stopped her, she would have already used her Flower Realm to snap Sai's neck.
"Yes, I understand," Sasuke replied.
"That is exactly why it must be severed!"
"Right now, I have other bonds, the bond with my cherished younger sister, and the bond of hatred for my elder brother!"
"Too many ties only lead to hesitation."
"The stronger the desire, the more it dilutes one's most precious feelings. I only need my bond with my sister and my hatred for Itachi. That is enough!"
Hearing Sasuke declare this so loudly, Kanon's cheeks flushed slightly. She felt a wave of embarrassment—talking about our bond like that... honestly, nii-chan!
Naruto's pupils trembled as he gazed up at them.
"If that's really true, then why... why did one of you spare me, and the other save me?!"
"Did you think that would be enough to cut everything off?!"
"Naruto, I already told you when we first met," Kanon said softly, her voice carrying a trace of finality.
"You're too naive."
Beside her, Sasuke's voice remained level. "The reason is simple. It's not that I couldn't sever the bond between us; I simply didn't want to gain power using the method that man told me."
"And of course, you are my sister's best friend. At the time, I spared you more out of consideration for Kanon's feelings."
"You..." Naruto was speechless. He looked at Kanon with a desolate gaze, feeling as though a blade had been dragged across his heart. A piercing, agonizing pain surged within him.
"There's something I should tell you. Back then, I only spared your life on a whim."
As he spoke, Sasuke's silhouette blurred like a ghost. Before anyone could react, he was standing beside Naruto, his arm draped casually over Naruto's shoulder.
Neither Yamato nor Sakura had even seen him move before he had closed the distance.
"By the way, wasn't your dream to become Hokage?"
"Instead of wasting time relentlessly pursuing Kanon and me, you'd be better off spending that time training."
"Don't you agree, Naruto?"
Sasuke's white robe fluttered in the wind, and his lips curled into a slight smirk. "So this time, my 'whim' is going to cost you your life."
Sasuke drew his Kusanagi Sword, keeping the blade reversed.
"I guess nii-chan is still nii-chan after all," Kanon remarked, patting the dust off her clothes before sitting down on the ground to watch.
Hearing the ring of the Kusanagi Sword leaving its scabbard, Naruto said with absolute conviction: "I told Kanon this once, and today I'm telling you."
"How can someone who can't even save a single comrade ever hope to become Hokage?"
"Right, Sasuke?"
"That's why I said you're too naive!" Kanon shouted down at Naruto, exasperated.
Faced with this "incorrect" answer, Sasuke swung his blade down ruthlessly.
"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed, but Sai had already moved.
He lunged forward and grabbed Sasuke's wrist, though blood once again leaked from the corner of his mouth.
"A sound defensive maneuver," Sasuke noted. Beside him, Naruto performed a backflip to break away.
Yamato was already weaving signs with lightning speed, wood sprouting from his hands.
"Chidori Stream!!!"
Sasuke's Sharingan activated, and his body erupted with crackling purple lightning. The surge instantly blasted Sai, Naruto, and Yamato's Wood Release away.
Naruto tumbled backward. Sakura's expression froze; she had seen Kanon use a similar technique before.
"Is that... another jutsu that releases Chidori from the entire body?"
At that moment, Kanon, sitting outside the crater, began to spit Great Fireballs into the sky.
"What is Kanon doing?" the others wondered, bewildered.
Sasuke, however, gave a slight nod. It seemed Kanon understood what he intended to do next and was actively creating the atmospheric conditions for Kirin.
Sakura charged forward, her fist cocked back, but Yamato saw the look in Sasuke's eyes and felt a jolt of alarm.
That look... this kid is dangerous! He moved before Sakura could strike, raising a kunai to parry. But the moment the kunai touched Sasuke's Chidori-infused blade, it snapped like glass.
The Kusanagi Sword, glowing with lightning, plunged directly into Yamato's shoulder, pinning him against the wall.
"Captain Yamato!"
"That defense was a failure," Sasuke said coldly, evaluating Yamato's performance.
"My Kusanagi Sword is special. It cannot be blocked."
As the electricity coursed through his body, Yamato felt his limbs go numb.
In the distance, Naruto struggled to his feet. His pupils were beginning to turn red.
"Is it starting again?" Kanon sat on the ground, hugging her knees as she watched Naruto below.
"Nii-chan, do you need a hand?"
"No! Stay back!"
Sure enough, a few seconds later, the Tailed Beast cloak around Naruto began to recede, seemingly suppressed by Sasuke's presence. Kanon knew why; Sasuke had entered Naruto's subconscious and confronted the Nine-Tails himself.
Seeing Sasuke staring intently at Naruto, Yamato gritted his teeth and forced out a hand sign. A pillar of wood erupted from his chest, forcing Sasuke back several steps.
"Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!"
A wooden cage instantly materialized around Sasuke, trapping him.
As Yamato prepared to follow up with more signs, the cage was shattered by Sasuke's Chidori. He leaped back up to the rim of the crater.
"Kanon, are you ready?"
"I've been ready!" Seated on the ground, Kanon pointed to the sky. Indeed, storm clouds had gathered directly above Sasuke, crackling with atmospheric electricity.
The others, however, hadn't noticed the change in weather; their focus was entirely on Sasuke.
"Why..."
"Why are you still so obsessed?!"
"Orochimaru is going to take over your body eventually!"
"Kanon! Are you just going to let that happen?!" Naruto roared at the two of them.
"You're still such a child, Naruto," Sasuke said calmly.
"To me, revenge is everything. As long as I get my revenge, I don't care what happens to me or what becomes of this world."
"Let me put it plainly: right now, neither I nor Orochimaru is strong enough to defeat Itachi."
"But if giving my body to Orochimaru is what it takes to gain that power..."
"Enough!" Yamato interrupted. His expression was grim; he was prepared to use more forceful measures.
"I'm sorry, but it's time to get serious."
"We can't just turn a blind eye to a pair of siblings who fled the village just like Orochimaru, especially when one of them has joined the Akatsuki."
"The Akatsuki's intel is right in front of us. No matter what it takes, we are bringing these two back to Konoha!"
Hearing Yamato's grand declaration, Kanon only sneered.
"Konoha? Once I slaughter Itachi, it'll be Konoha's turn to feel the pain," she laughed coldly.
"Kanon! I am the only one who will kill Itachi!" Sasuke barked firmly.
Seeing Sasuke's desperate urge to kill Itachi before she could, Kanon broke into a beautiful smile.
"Then, nii-chan... let's have a race."
"A race?"
"Let's see who kills that animal Itachi first!"
Sasuke frowned at the suggestion.
"You're in the Akatsuki. Your intel gathering is way faster than mine. You're obviously just messing with your big brother!"
"Hmph! Are we racing or not? If not, I'm putting natto in your dinner next time."
"Fine! We're racing, alright?!" Sasuke looked at his sister helplessly. There was nothing he could do; she was his only sister, and since they shared the same goal, he had no choice but to indulge her.