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Chapter 57
"That's why I came all this way—just to let you meet Uchiha Sakyo face-to-face."
Fire's consciousness began to blur. The side effects were far beyond what a ninja of his level could endure.
Especially… he wasn't even a normal person. With his already defective body, being forcibly used as a Flying Thunder God anchor—he couldn't hold on much longer.
At the mention of Sakyo, Itachi finally spoke: "Location."
Fire, in a daze, saw anger flicker across Itachi's face.
Good… mission complete…
"The location is…"
With those words, Fire closed his eyes and breathed his last.
But throughout it all, Itachi's expression remained unchanged. He had never been angry.
That… was just genjutsu.
Itachi stood silently in place for several minutes. Kisame also stood frozen for several minutes.
The sky… the rain stopped.
After the rain ceased, Itachi gave Kisame a slight glance. Kisame nodded, formed hand seals, and vanished in a puff of smoke.
At the same time, in a certain room in the Land of Rain, the real Kisame was sleeping soundly and peacefully…
…
As time passed, the clear moon was quietly covered by several patches of dark clouds.
The moonlight dimmed. In the dense forest, only vague silhouettes could be seen.
From the distant woods came movement. A figure in an Akatsuki cloak slowly approached against the night wind.
It was Uchiha Itachi—the former genius of Konoha, now the "eye" of Konoha within Akatsuki.
As he drew closer, no emotion could be seen on Itachi's face.
The hidden Root members felt a surge of energy.
The main target had arrived.
Whether tonight's plan succeeded or not was no longer important.
What mattered was preserving the results of Danzō's years of effort.
The sibling reunion was far different from what Tenraku Kumo had imagined. She forced herself to look normal, smiled, and waved at Itachi.
Itachi paused mid-step. His gaze briefly drifted toward the nearby grass where Root was hiding.
"Happy birthday."
Uchiha Itachi pulled out a box of dango marked with the character for "sweet" from his pouch and handed it to Tenraku Kumo, speaking calmly.
Tenraku Kumo froze instinctively. In her mind, she recalled the training Root had given her.
Uchiha Sakyo's birthday wasn't today. Uchiha Sakyo hated sweets…
Was he testing her?
Probably.
Already prepared, Tenraku Kumo snorted coldly and said in a spoiled tone: "So I really am not your little sister?"
"Forgetting my birthday is one thing, but giving me sweets? You're such a terrible brother."
Uchiha Itachi lowered his gaze and said indifferently: "Oh."
Then, Itachi slowly extended two fingers toward Tenraku Kumo.
Tenraku Kumo inwardly breathed a sigh of relief and continued her performance.
The Uchiha clan… no, Uchiha Itachi's boring forehead-poking game?
So childish…
"Tsukuyomi."
At such close range, Tenraku Kumo barely heard the two words.
Then, the entire world changed.
A dark red-and-black color scheme filled everything, tombstones scattered across the landscape.
Not far from Tenraku Kumo, Uchiha Itachi stood expressionlessly.
Tenraku Kumo's pupils shrank slightly. She immediately sensed danger.
She… had been exposed?
Sure enough, Uchiha Itachi spoke directly to her: "Do you need my help?"
Tenraku Kumo forced a smile, glancing at the background scenery in an attempt to bluff: "B-Brother… what are you talking about?"
Uchiha Itachi ignored her words and spoke even more bluntly: "Within the Tsukuyomi space, everything is under my control—including the flow of time. People outside cannot see anything inside Tsukuyomi."
Tenraku Kumo froze. She had escaped Root's surveillance?
She was finally out of their sight?
Yes!
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that—she had more important things to handle.
Tenraku Kumo spoke excitedly to Uchiha Itachi: "Hello, my name is Akiji Kumo. I'm being coerced by Root."
"They're holding my parents hostage, so I have no choice but to work for them."
"You… you're Uchiha Itachi… you're really strong, right? Can you help me?"
The more she spoke, the less control she had over her emotions.
For so many years, she had lived under constant pressure.
All for the sake of freeing her parents from Root's control.
Itachi silently watched the girl pleading for help. His heart felt little fluctuation, but some truths he had to tell Akiji Kumo.
Itachi said calmly: "Your parents are already dead."