Kisame was an honest man who yearned for a genuine world free of lies.
Facing Itachi's newly reconciled younger brother, he refused to deceive the boy, even with a well-intentioned fabrication.
He took a moment to reflect.
First, what did "like" even mean?
Kisame didn't understand the concept.
But he soon recalled his female teammate from his Hidden Mist Anbu days.
The only person who had ever shown him warmth, who had ever moved him—perhaps that was the first stirring of "like."
It was the sole faint flicker of light in his brutal life, and he extinguished it with his own two hands.
"I did once," Kisame said, his voice deadpan, as if discussing the weather. "But after encountering Konoha's Morino Ibiki on an intelligence mission, I killed her to ensure no intel leaked."
He didn't pretend to like men just to appease the traumatized Uchiha.
"Uh, sorry... never mind. I'll be going now," Sasuke mumbled, suddenly incredibly awkward.
'Morino Ibiki... wasn't he the proctor from the Chūnin Exams?'
The Shinobi World was far too chaotic.
Even a simple trip outside the village could lead to encountering a dozen rogue ninjas holding grudges against Konoha.
Intimidated by Kisame's answer, Sasuke didn't dare ask anyone else on the street.
What if they all hate Konoha?
Wouldn't asking personal questions just invite an assassination attempt?
The odds of that happening were uncomfortably high!
Sasuke walked toward the ship docked on the shore, pondering Kisame's tragic backstory.
Kisame, who partnered with his brother Itachi and served in the legendary Akatsuki, was undeniably powerful.
Therefore, Kisame killing his teammate wasn't due to strict ninja rules or the inherent need to protect intel, it was simply because he was too weak at the time.
If he possessed the raw strength to instantly annihilate Morino Ibiki's entire squad, the intel would never have leaked in the first place.
Indeed, raw power was the only thing necessary to protect those he cared about.
Sasuke's resolve to undergo the eye transplant grew even stronger!
Only by awakening the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and, as Makoto mentioned, the mythical Rinnegan, could he obtain the strength to protect his bonds.
With enough power, even if his brother's strength diminished after losing his original eyes, it wouldn't matter—Itachi wouldn't need to lift a single finger in combat ever again.
Conversely, if Sasuke rejected the surgery out of naive sentimentality and faced an overwhelming Ōtsutsuki enemy, the best-case scenario would be a repeat of Kisame's tragedy.
...
Sasuke boarded the ship.
A few hours after setting sail, Sasuke stood on the deck and asked Itachi the exact same question.
"Nii-san, do you like women?"
Itachi looked over, visibly puzzled.
He analyzed Sasuke's cryptic question, focusing his mind on whether the emphasis lay on "you," "like," or "women."
'Could Sasuke be thinking about restoring the Uchiha Clan already?'
"That isn't what we should be considering right now," Itachi replied gravely.
"Oh, I remember now! What was her name again?" Sasuke muttered, lowering his head, straining his brain to recall the name of the Uchiha kunoichi who used to hover around his brother.
"Izumi," Itachi stated, with the same cold detachment as his shark-like partner.
Kisame steeled his heart after murdering his teammate, only occasionally reminiscing with a heavy sigh.
While Itachi's relationship with Izumi seemed much closer, Itachi was far more ruthless, severing any lingering romantic memories between them without a second thought.
If Sasuke hadn't brought her up today, Itachi's mental world would have remained centered solely on his little brother and the village's safety.
'Izumi? Who is that?'
"Right, that's it—Izumi. Uh..."
Itachi's prompt triggered a buried memory.
Rumor had it that Izumi once subtly teased Sasuke as a toddler for looking like a pretty little girl.
'Wait a minute!'
'Izumi...'
The name instantly conjured a cursed association in Sasuke's traumatized brain: Izuna.
Especially since, shortly before passing out in the dirt, he had front-row seats to Sai's deranged ink-jutsu stage play.
Uchiha Izuna underwent a surgery, had an artificial womb transplanted, and became his mother!
A chill ran down Sasuke's spine.
Following this terrifying line of logic, Sasuke looked up and posed a dead-serious question.
"Nii-san... are you sure Izumi was actually a girl?"
"???"
Itachi was once again thrown into deep perplexity.
Even if an enemy ninja was trying to taunt him, they couldn't have formulated such a bizarre question.
But his adorable little brother would never try to mock him, right?
Sasuke question must have a meaning.
"What do you mean?" Itachi asked, his stoic facade cracking after failing to deduce the logic behind the inquiry.
"Have you ever seen Izumi use the restroom or take a bath?" Sasuke pressed, his Sharingan practically spinning with paranoia.
Sasuke could only ask this question indirectly.
He couldn't very well ask his stoic older brother, 'Nii-san, did your girlfriend have a dick?'
"?"
Itachi began to seriously suspect that Sasuke was hitting puberty and suppressing some very confusing urges.
Or perhaps he had been irreparably corrupted by Jiraiya, Kakashi, Naruto, and the other degenerate influences residing in Konoha.
"No," Itachi replied simply, unable to fathom the psychological horror behind Sasuke's interrogation.
"Just as I thought..." Sasuke sighed, his soul leaving his body.
'It seemed Uchiha Izumi might have been a boy after all.'
Sasuke gave up.
He no longer wished to tear away the Shinobi World's deceptive veil.
Ignorance is a bliss!
...
Konoha.
Sasuke and Itachi arrived at the outskirts of the village. Itachi secretly sent a coded message to Tsunade, requesting her surgical expertise for the transplant.
The brothers waited at a secure, temporary safehouse in the woods.
A few hours later, the medical team arrived.
However, it wasn't just Tsunade and her apprentices, Sakura and Ino. Orochimaru and the Sound Four emerged from the shadows as well.
Upon receiving the request, Tsunade considered Sasuke to be Orochimaru's test subject and decided to inform the snake Sannin.
Thus, Orochimaru utilized the Sound Four's erratic Flying Thunder Formation to teleport directly to the rendezvous point.
Itachi harbored zero fondness for the treacherous Orochimaru, but having the two greatest medical minds in the world collaborating on the delicate ocular surgery ensured maximum stability.
"Before we proceed with the excision and transplant," Orochimaru hissed smoothly, pulling a glowing syringe from a cryogenic travel container.
"I ask that you both maintain calm and relaxation. Avoid any panicked thoughts. If you can't control your heart rates, I can administer this."
"What's that? An anesthetic? Isn't that standard procedure?" Tsunade asked, eyeing the suspicious neon fluid.
"No, this is a highly experimental hormone cocktail that forcefully stabilizes the emotional spectrum. It has some minor, insignificant side effects," Orochimaru replied with a sinister smirk.
Orochimaru shook his head slightly, his slitted eyes drifting to the Sound Four guarding the perimeter.
"When a Cursed Seal activates, the host's mind becomes flooded with rage. But with this injection, a subject can retain their rationality."
"Tell me the side effects first," Itachi interrupted, his Sharingan glowing with intense wariness.
"To be precise, the side effects only trigger in male biology. This synthetic substance will force the rapid development of secondary feminine characteristics—skin becoming flawlessly smooth, body hair thinning and disappearing, and so on." Orochimaru remained entirely unfazed by Itachi's killing intent, casually listing off the body-horror side effects.
"Oh, and it isn't entirely negative actually! If a shinobi wishes to fully transition into a kunoichi, this compound is exceptionally useful in achieving rapid feminization," Orochimaru added with the chilling, detached enthusiasm of a true mad scientist!
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