Chapter 84: Loyalty
In the darkness.
Uchiha Itachi sat motionless on a cold stone chair, as still as carved granite. His eyes were shut tight. He waited in silence for Sasuke to arrive—waited for everything to finally reach its end.
Time slipped by, minute after minute.
A faint tread broke the hush, and a figure drifted in behind him like a ghost.
Though he hadn't turned, Itachi's keen senses caught the unfamiliar presence at once. He lifted his head; a dark glint flickered in those deep eyes. He remained seated, but every muscle drew taut, ready to strike.
"Reminiscing about your brother?"
With that soft whisper, a slender, pale hand with pronounced knuckles settled lightly on Itachi's shoulder.
In an instant, a queasy revulsion surged up from the depths of his soul. An invisible tug seemed to seize his very essence, and his brow knit. So strange a method—an assault that reached directly into the spirit—was rare in the shinobi world; only a handful possessed such a Kekkei Genkai.
Itachi knew at once who it was.
Hasumi Maki… or rather—Renji Mahito.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +1,000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +1,000]
[Chakra (154,620,002 / 200,000,000)]
"Itachi."
The voice came again as the figure rounded the chair to face him. A fox-faced ANBU mask hid his features. He wore ROOT's black, form-fitting garb, and long blue hair, tied high, fell to his waist like a waterfall—beautiful and uncanny all at once.
Itachi's gaze fixed on the hair, then sharpened. This was the same man who had taken Shisui's Sharingan not long ago.
"Renji Mahito."
He spoke slowly, calm, discarding his first guess and naming the other. He'd already seen Renji Mahito's true face.
Compared to Hasumi Maki, who paraded his malice, Renji's evil lay buried deep—like a viper coiled in shadow, impossible to guard against.
Itachi's unnervingly precise intuition had already separated the original from the volatile clone.
A faint laugh slipped from beneath the mask, airy and mocking. Renji reached up without hesitation and removed it.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +1,000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +1,000]
[Chakra (154,621,002 / 200,000,000)]
...
On the other side.
Another Renji clone sped toward the Uchiha hideout with Sai. They masked their presence just before Sasuke's arrival, lying in wait for the perfect moment to step in. According to Danzō's immaculate plan, they need only bide their time, let the brothers exhaust each other, and harvest the spoils.
But that was Danzō's plan, not Renji's. Renji had his own.
Here, the real Renji regarded Itachi intently. "Sasuke will be here in about ten minutes."
And not only him. Naruto's squad was doggedly trailing Sasuke, drawing closer by the second.
Renji, however, felt no concern over Naruto's interference. The reason was simple: Obito and Black Zetsu were even less willing than he was to see Sasuke hauled back to Konoha. Sasuke was a valuable piece to every side. Obito and Black Zetsu would move to intercept Naruto's team themselves—of that, Renji had no doubt.
…
"Your physical condition is… troubling," Renji said, his voice colored with a disturbingly warm concern—as if he were an old friend.
Touching Itachi's soul had told him more about this body than Itachi himself knew. Even without this battle, Itachi's time was short. The illness had invaded his organs too deeply. There was no cure.
No cure for ordinary people, Renji thought. For me—who can reshape flesh at will—it's a moment's work.
"Itachi."
Even at full strength, Itachi couldn't match him; in this dying state, he had no chance. Only Sasuke would trouble himself to fight a brother like this—and even then, Itachi would be holding back.
Renji Mahito reached out and clasped Itachi's wrist.
Itachi's mind screamed, but his body lagged behind. He was too slow.
That same sickening crawl scraped over his soul again. His essence felt like a toy in Renji's hand—cotton, to be squeezed into any shape. Resistance was meaningless.
"You can't even avoid my hand anymore?" Renji sighed, the meaning layered. "You're gravely ill."
Itachi only stared back, face smooth as still water. Nothing seemed to crack his calm.
"Itachi… how far can your Sharingan truly see?" Renji asked, voice cooling, accusation threading through.
Itachi lifted his gaze to meet the oppressive stare. After a beat of silence, he answered in his flat, distant tone, "No one can truly see the future."
Renji's lip curled. "Really? Then your elaborate grooming of Sasuke contradicts every word you just said."
Wanting others to walk a life you mapped for them step by step… that is arrogance refined.
Itachi took the mockery without a flicker, measuring Renji as if he were a trivial obstacle.
"In that case, let me show you what an unpredictable 'future' really is." Renji smiled thinly, a cunning glint in his eyes. "I'll make you witness everything that happens to Sasuke—while stripping away any chance to stop or change it. You'll watch his final end with your own eyes, shackled in hatred and pain."
He paused, savoring the faint gravity that finally passed over Itachi's face.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +10,000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +10,000]
[Chakra (154,631,002 / 200,000,000)]
Renji never released anyone who could yield Malice Value like this. Even death required his leave. Call it arrogance; he didn't deny it.
Deep, mysterious blue fire—like heaving surf—rushed across Itachi's body. The blaze looked eager to devour, yet, to Itachi's surprise, it didn't burn.
As Renji slowly let go, a strange warmth poured into Itachi.
The chronic sickness that had gnawed at him for years vanished in a heartbeat, as if it had never been.
An indescribable lightness filled skin and bone. Lost strength flooded back with crushing force. For a heartbeat, that long-forgotten power felt like rebirth.
A tender heat lingered—like winter sun burning through haze.
But warmth is fleeting. A vibrant body couldn't mend a decaying soul. Even restored, he knew with iron certainty that he would die by his brother's hand.
It was the end he had chosen.
"I'm looking forward to your life-and-death struggle with Sasuke. Fight with everything you have, Itachi," Renji breathed against his ear, voice low and magnetic. "I've been waiting years for this long play between you two."
At last, I can shed this old mask in front of Sasuke, Renji thought—reveal something truer, then don a new face to welcome his Malice Value.
"What exactly do you intend?" Itachi asked, eyes like ice, utterly still. With anyone but Sasuke, his composure was almost inhuman.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +5,000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +5,000]
[Chakra (154,636,002 / 200,000,000)]
"Guess," Renji said, smiling.
That word always pulled more malice from Itachi. The uncontrollable, the unpredictable—those were true danger. Renji Mahito was the first in years to make him feel genuinely powerless.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +5,000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +5,000]
[Chakra (154,641,002 / 200,000,000)]
"Sasuke's here. I won't intrude on your reunion."
Renji's form bled away, thinning into the air until it vanished.
Moments later, before Itachi could fully absorb what had happened, he heard footsteps.
Sasuke's face drew into focus.
In the dark, two pairs of crimson Sharingan turned.
…
On a distant branch.
Renji's clone and Sai watched the Kirin roil within the clouds. Renji's eyes stayed fixed.
Sasuke has to lean on Fire Release and draw natural energy to cover his lack of Chakra, Renji analyzed. I don't. My reserves can fuel an ultimate Lightning Release on their own. They bleed years to forge these techniques… and I only need to touch their souls. An instant, and an S-rank jutsu they honed becomes mine.
"Uchiha Sasuke is impressive, isn't he? That's what you're thinking, right?"
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +1,000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +1,000]
[Chakra (154,642,002 / 200,000,000)]
Sai glanced at the spectacle only once before his gaze returned to Renji's face. Renji didn't notice. Or perhaps he did—and didn't care.
After all, Sai thought, I'm not Uzumaki Naruto or Uchiha Sasuke. I'm someone Renji left behind in ROOT. Why would he care?
"What's going on in there? Proud of him?"
Sai spoke a great deal—perhaps too much. Renji's brow creased.
"Did I touch a nerve?" Sai prodded.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +1,000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +1,000]
[Chakra (154,643,002 / 200,000,000)]
His tone went sharp, needling. "Who do you want to win? Who do you want to die? No—wait… both of them die, don't they?"
Renji's hand closed around Sai's throat.
I could let Sai be the first.
This Renji was nothing like the one Naruto and Sasuke remembered. Only Sai saw the real face.
Sai's lips curved. There was no fear in him.
"Will you kill me, Renji?" he asked softly, using the name. "You can—absolutely. I'm willing to die by your hand."
His voice was calm as stagnant water. "It's better than dying on a mission, by some stranger."
Sai held Renji's eyes. "If I die by your hand, you'll remember me." Twisted longing threaded the words. To be remembered by Renji—that was his deepest wish.
"And killing me betrays Lord Danzō," Sai added, smile widening. "All of ROOT will hunt you. You'll remember me even more. That's… perfect."
Gentle tone; hair-raising meaning.
For someone like this, Renji thought with genuine distaste, killing him would only grant him a perverse satisfaction.
He loosened his fingers, withdrawing his hand from Sai's neck.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +1,000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +1,000]
[Chakra (154,644,002 / 200,000,000)]
Let him be. Even a mosquito is still meat. He can keep dripping Malice Value. But I only keep trained dogs at my heel.
Renji's eyes kept their cold, cruel light; the corner of his mouth held a playful, mocking tilt.
"Sai. Will you listen to me… or to Danzō?"
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +3,000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +3,000]
[Chakra (154,647,002 / 200,000,000)]
"Do I really need to answer?" Sai's smile was false, but his words had never sounded more sincere.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +3,000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +3,000]
[Chakra (154,650,002 / 200,000,000)]
"Yes. I'll listen to you."
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +3,000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +3,000]
[Chakra (154,653,002 / 200,000,000)]
Renji nearly laughed. From start to finish, only Sai had hated him with such purity. And somehow, that felt… satisfying.
Plop.
A wet, bloody piece of tongue hit the dirt.
Blood drenched the lower half of Sai's face; the dark red made his pallor ghostly. His body quivered with pain, yet his eyes never wavered.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +3,000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +3,000]
[Chakra (154,656,002 / 200,000,000)]
He couldn't speak. His tongue had been severed—cleanly, without a twitch of doubt.
He did it himself? Renji's eyes widened for a heartbeat.
Then he touched Sai's blood-slick cheek, a smile tugging at his lips.
Inside Sai's mouth, the severed tongue knit back together—instantly, flawlessly.
"This is the proof of my loyalty."
----
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