"Shisui..."
Itachi crouched in the corner of his room, staring at the pile of dried flowers, his eyes devoid of any light.
When he'd returned home, he hadn't even greeted his younger brother, immediately retreating to this corner.
The image of Shisui leaping off the cliff refused to leave his mind.
Itachi was consumed by regret.
He'd intended to properly bury Shisui's body after the suicide.
Yet...
He'd discovered strange arrangements along the Naka River—withered chrysanthemums placed at multiple points along the cliff.
As if someone had been holding a premature memorial for Shisui.
Clearly, only Root ninja under Danzo would do something like this.
And just as he'd expected, shortly after Shisui's jump, Root operatives began searching the area.
To conceal everything—to prevent Danzo from finding his friend's corpse—and to fulfill Shisui's final request...
Itachi had lured the Root ninja away, erasing all traces of the chrysanthemum "markers."
"The Uchiha clan..."
Itachi lightly touched his eyelids, murmuring the words with profound sorrow.
"Big brother—"
Thud thud thud...
Hearing Itachi's return, Sasuke came running from his room, bare feet slapping loudly against the floorboards in his eagerness.
But his actions made Kaito frown. As the brothers passed each other, Kaito grabbed Sasuke by the collar.
"Go back to bed."
Thump—
Mid-sprint, Sasuke landed hard on his backside, his face contorted in pain.
Flailing his limbs wildly, Sasuke struggled to break free, but Kaito's recent training had significantly increased his strength. Dragging Sasuke was like handling a chick—within seconds, he'd hauled him back to his doorway.
This infuriated Sasuke.
"Uchiha Kaito! Let me go!"
"Or else... don't blame me for what happens next!"Sasuke tilted his head, his crimson pupils trailing two eerie red lights as he turned. With his single tomoe Sharingan activated, his confidence was practically overflowing.
The Sharingan had awakened in him a few days ago when he saw the shattered piggy bank. If it weren't for Kaito being so unreasonable...
Perhaps he would have eagerly shared this good news with him already.
"?"
Sasuke's arrogant words slowly drew a question mark above Kaito's head.
Wait...
You're showing off to me just because you awakened a one-tomoe Sharingan??
"One tomoe... Do you really think you can act cocky in front of me?"
Of course, Kaito wouldn't tell his foolish little brother that he had already awakened a two-tomoe Sharingan.
He'd awakened one when beating Shisui up, and another when getting beaten up by Shisui.
He kept it quiet mainly to avoid crushing the kid's fragile ego.
Hearing this, Sasuke's expression grew even more arrogant, his eyes widening as if to flaunt his new ability.
His late-night visit to his brother wasn't just out of longing—there was definitely some showing off involved.
Kaito responded with a cold laugh, pulling out his "left and right guardians" before uttering two icy words:
"Blind him."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the two sunflowers on his shoulders erupted with all their stored light. Healing might be beyond them today...
But making this foolish red-eyed brat see the sun up close was well within their power.
For a moment, the hallway seemed to be hit by two flashbangs.
Sasuke, who had been glaring, got a front-row view of the sun...
"Ah—"
Sasuke's scream echoed as his vision turned pure white. Squinting, Kaito lightly hooked his right foot, sending the boy face-first into the ground.
"Uchiha Kaito!"
"I hate you!!"
"You... you're just jealous I awakened my Sharingan! Let me go! I don't want to spend tonight with someone like you!"
Kaito: "..."
Amid the wailing, Sasuke was dragged back against his will. Having learned his lesson, he kept his eyes tightly shut even while cursing,
terrified that Kaito's Shinobi Flowers might blind him again at any moment.
"Go to sleep early. You have school tomorrow."
"If you sneak off to Itachi's room tonight..."
"Don't blame me for beating you up."
Kaito knelt by the bed, methodically gathering the light bulbs hidden under the covers, speaking over his shoulder to the sulking Sasuke behind him.
"Someone clearly misses his brother... I bet you're waiting for me to fall asleep..."
"So you can go see him alone, right?"
Sasuke pouted, his eyes darting toward the door—his transparent scheming wasn't even worth calling out.
Sasuke knew full well that whenever Itachi returned, Kaito would always rush to ask him strange questions first.
He didn't understand why Kaito did this, but maybe it was just Kaito's peculiar way of expressing affection.
And today, it seemed Kaito hadn't asked yet.
"Shut up. Mom's already asleep."
"Keep making noise... and I'll make you swallow a light bulb."
Sasuke: !!!
The threat made Sasuke shudder.
A few days ago, his curiosity had led him to swallow one, earning him a memorable beating.
The force of Father's iron rod that day still left a deep impression.
"Hmph!"
Sasuke let out a weak protest but ultimately lay down obediently and pulled the covers over himself.
However.
He hadn't given up on seeing his brother just yet...
The next day.
After dressing, Kaito kicked the sleeping Sasuke, eliciting another round of indignant squawking.
He hadn't slept all night, locked in a battle of wits with this idiot—an ordeal comparable to taming a hawk."Big Brother!"
The first thing Sasuke did after waking up, aside from cursing that annoying guy a couple of times, was rush out of his room without even changing his pajamas, heading straight to the living room to find Itachi.
At that moment, Itachi sat alone in the living room, staring blankly at his breakfast.
Even upon hearing his adorable little brother's call, he didn't lift his head or glance at Sasuke.
Sensing something off about his brother's mood, Sasuke slowed his steps as he approached, swallowing the many words on the tip of his tongue until only concern remained.
"Big Brother... what's wrong?"
"Sasuke... good morning."
Itachi raised his head, forcing a strained smile as if nothing was wrong. When he saw Kaito, he braced himself for the usual question.
"Kaito..."
"Morning, Itachi."
Before Itachi could finish, Kaito nodded casually in greeting, then grabbed some bread and milk from the table before turning to put on his shoes at the entrance.
Itachi's gentle expression froze slightly, while Sasuke's gaze at Kaito grew increasingly suspicious.
What... what's going on??
Why didn't Kaito ask that either-or question today??
Sasuke glanced at Itachi, then back at Kaito. Standing between them, he sensed something unusual.
"Big Brother... did you two have a fight?"
Itachi shook his head, his gaze still fixed on Kaito. After a long pause, he reached out to pat Sasuke's head, smiling gently.
"Of course not."
"We're brothers."
At that moment, Itachi seemed to have an epiphany, his eyes piercing as if he could see right through Kaito.
He watched Kaito leave, murmuring to Sasuke.
"Sasuke, let me ask you something."
"If... killing a few people could save many, or saving a few would mean many must die..."
"What would you choose?"
Itachi's tone suddenly sounded a lot like Kaito's, and Sasuke's face twisted at the question.
"Big Brother, did you and Kaito make some kind of agreement?"
"Why are you taking turns asking this now?"
Sasuke scratched his head, finding his brother unusually cryptic today, but obediently shared his thoughts.
He took less than a second to think before mimicking Kaito's mannerisms—grabbing at the air, clenching his fist, and shouting.
"Of course..."
"I'll take them all!"
Itachi chuckled and shook his head helplessly. "Sasuke, sometimes..."
"You can't have your cake and eat it too."
...