Chapter 72

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Yuki sat by the window, while Suigetsu and Jugo went out to gather intelligence, and Karin went to buy food and supplies.

The room fell silent, with only Sasuke's even breathing filling the air.

As night fell, Xue opened her Sharingan, sensing the movements within a ten-mile radius.

It seems that the Konoha ninjas haven't caught up yet, and the Akatsuki's operation to capture the Jinchuriki has probably progressed to the point of capturing the Nine-Tails.

Xue closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind for a while.

"What are you thinking about, Yuki?" Sasuke had woken up at some point and sat up.

Xue opened her eyes when she heard his voice, and the two looked at each other.

She replied calmly, "I wasn't thinking about anything."

Sasuke frowned slightly, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

"Are you... hiding something from me?"

Xue looked away and gently shook her head.

Sasuke clenched his fist, then quickly relaxed it.

He said in an almost commanding tone, "Xue, come here."

Although she didn't quite understand Sasuke's intentions, Yuki rarely resisted his requests.

She sat down beside Sasuke's bedding. The boy before her, with snow-white skin and dark hair, had a bandage wrapped around his forehead, yet his handsome features remained undeniable despite his injury. He exuded a faint scent of cedar, a lingering fragrance from his three years with Orochimaru, untouched by the stench of snakes. She took his hand, and Sasuke's fingers intertwined with hers.

"What's wrong, Sasuke?"

Sasuke wondered if the girl before him knew that she was the object of his first dream. She was the object of his affections. At twelve years old, the object of his budding romance wasn't a girl his own age, but his aunt who had watched him grow up. His first kiss was with her and his brother; his first love and his first time were both with her. Occasionally, he would think that Itachi's first time was probably with Yuki too. Someone like Itachi must have done everything with Yuki long before that.

Looking at her face, Sasuke would always recall those words from his childhood.

I'm going to get married along with my aunt and brother.

That's what he said back then.

Then the man said.

[If I'm with Sasuke and my aunt, I'd be happy even if it meant risking my life.]

The sapling his parents planted for him in the courtyard of the Uchiha clan head's mansion had long since withered and died.

Xue, do you know what that man is doing again?

Xue's free hand touched Sasuke's face. What was Sasuke thinking?

She remembered when Sasuke was just born, he was always in Itachi's arms, wrapped in a cloth.

He cries loudly whenever anyone holds him except Itachi.

She wouldn't even let Koizumi hug her...

Sasuke would only reluctantly let Yuki hug him for a while, but when he opened his eyes and realized it wasn't Itachi, he would pout and wave his hands, looking for Itachi everywhere.

Sometimes, Yuki would sense that Itachi always had the idea of ​​arranging everything for Sasuke, forcing Sasuke to follow the path he envisioned, like a puppet on a string.

Itachi spared his life, but ruined his childhood. Day after day, the scenes of Tsukuyomi and the horrific massacre of his clan replayed in Sasuke's mind. In an instant, his beloved brother transformed into a demon from hell, cruelly murdering his parents and clan. Even his gentle aunt, who had protected him, disappeared on the night of the massacre and was listed by Konoha as a rogue ninja of the same rank as his brother.

Every sleepless night, I tossed and turned, feeling like I was living a life worse than death.

The pain of not being able to clear his aunt's name, the pain of not being able to kill his beloved enemy.

Sasuke grew up in this environment until the fox spirit boy, who had been cared for by his aunt, entered his life.

The existence of Class 7 could bring him some warmth, but it was far from enough—

Unable to let go of the hatred he carried, he severed the bonds of the past. Even when he knew that killing Naruto would grant him power at the Valley of the End, he gave it up. He wanted to surpass Itachi through his own strength and his own actions.

Their foreheads touched, and their dark eyes seemed to always be able to see into each other's appearance.

I found a slight resemblance to Itachi—

“If you won’t say anything, then do it.” Sasuke spoke up: “Let me forget what I was thinking just now, Uchiha Yuki.”

Xue was slightly taken aback, but Sasuke's expression didn't seem like he was joking.

"Shuiyue, they'll be back soon..."

Sasuke's fingertips lingered lightly on the corners of her eyes, which resembled Itachi's, her long upper and lower eyelashes like delicate feather fans.

Xue turned her head to the side, her tone somewhat unnatural: "You're still injured..."

"It doesn't matter."

Sasuke lifted the hem of Yuki's clothes, and before Yuki could refuse, a black vest was revealed beneath the thin chainmail. Sasuke's caresses occasionally gave Yuki the illusion that he was Itachi. Sasuke buried his face in the crook of Yuki's neck, the scent of lilacs filling his nostrils—the only sleeping pill that could lull him to sleep.

He thought, after everything is over.

After that man died, he and Xue lived a life of anonymity in a little-known country.

Can we put aside everything about revitalizing the Uchiha clan and the conflict between Konoha and the Uchiha clan?

He was no longer a hothouse flower; he longed to know everything.

But if Xue doesn't want to talk about it, he doesn't want to force her.

He will learn everything from that man.

Regardless of the reason for the extermination of his clan, he must ascertain the truth and then make his own choice.

Sasuke reached out and hugged Yuki, pressing his ear close to her heart.

The slow, beating heartbeat confirmed it wasn't a dream.

My aunt... Uchiha Yuki, she was definitely and truly by my side.

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The next morning, due to the approaching Konoha pursuers, they had to leave the inn where they were temporarily resting.

Sasuke absorbed Orochimaru's power, and with Karin's chakra supply, he recovered quickly. Next, they planned to explore each of the strongholds provided by Yuki and the locations confirmed by Jugo, to see if they could obtain information about Itachi.

Karin tore Sasuke's clothes to shreds, and Jugo summoned many small birds, which then carried the shredded cloth in their beaks and flew off in different directions.

In this way, Sasuke's scent will be dispersed, making it difficult for the sensory ninjas sent by Konoha to continue tracking him.

In the dim and dense forest, following Sasuke's instructions, Yuki and the other three waited for Sasuke above Akatsuki's stronghold.

"Sasuke should be alright, right?" Suigetsu placed the Executioner's Blade behind him next to the boulder and leaned back on it.

Karin frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

"What if he runs into Itachi first when exploring Akatsuki's base?" Suigetsu sipped her straw, her gaze falling on Yuki beside Karin. "What if Itachi is inside? That kind of guy must be incredibly difficult to deal with."

"How could Sasuke lose to someone like that..." Karin's voice trailed off, her confidence clearly waning towards the end.

“Perhaps we should also consider the worst-case scenario.” Shuiyue observed Xue’s expression.

Upon hearing this, Karin said excitedly, "I'll go check inside right away, and if anything happens, I'll rush in immediately."

Suigetsu chuckled and said, "Karin, why do you get so nervous whenever it involves Sasuke?"

Karin, whose secret had been exposed, subconsciously adjusted her glasses and stammered, "N-no, don't talk nonsense!"

"Then I'll ask the bird to scout around and see if any pursuers are coming," Jugo said with some worry.

"What about Xue?" Shuiyue asked, looking up at her expressionless face.

Xue frowned slightly and said, "Let's go down and find Sasuke."

Shuiyue stood up, her eyes becoming more serious.

As expected, they were still worried about Sasuke. When the four of them arrived at Sasuke's side, the dim cave was filled with fallen crow feathers, and the air still carried the scent of Itachi's chakra.

“I should have said that you are not allowed to act without my orders,” Sasuke said coldly.

Xue took a step forward: "I asked them to come together."

Sasuke looked at her with his crimson three-tomoe Sharingan, and after a moment...

He took a step forward: "Come on, tell me."

Xue's gaze fell on the black feathers on the ground, indicating that Itachi and Sasuke had already met.

They are now on their way to the Uchiha clan's stronghold when they encounter Naruto Uzumaki's shadow clones.

Sasuke used Chidori to shatter Naruto's shadow clones.

"That guy's a real pain in the neck," Sasuke said.

The five people moved quickly forward and stopped on the ruins of the Uchiha clan's stronghold.

Standing atop the telephone pole was a man in an Akatsuki robe with blue skin—Kisame.

Kisame held the Samehada sword in one hand and was half-squatting with the other hand on his knee.

"Long time no see, Miss Yuki. So you're with Itachi's brother."

Xue coldly watched him speak and said, "Kisame."

"Then, let's start from here. Sasuke, please go there by yourself."

"This is Mr. Itachi's order."

"Please wait here for a moment, everyone else, including Miss Xue."

Sasuke curled his lips into a smile, his mind filled only with the thrill of avenging his great enemy.

He wanted to kill the man he had hated since he was seven years old.

"Understood. The squad setup was designed to ensure that my one-on-one fight with him wouldn't be disturbed in any way."

Yuki noticed that Obito wasn't there; it seemed he had gone to intercept Konoha ninjas.

Karin disagreed with Sasuke fighting Itachi alone and suggested that everyone work together to defeat Kisame.

Kisame sneered, "I have no intention of fighting you, but if you insist on forcing your way through, I won't hold back."

"Even if it's Miss Yuki, it's still me." Even Kisame wasn't quite sure how strong Uchiha Yuki was, but he had to keep his promise to Itachi.

"Karin, behave yourself. This is my own revenge." Sasuke leaped through Kisame's path and ran towards the Uchiha clan's stronghold. Yuki watched Sasuke's figure, which became a tiny pixel on her retina.

Suigetsu used boredom as an excuse to fight Kisame, while Karin's mind was entirely on Sasuke, and the beautiful red-haired girl occasionally showed a worried expression.

"Karin, believe in Sasuke," Yuki comforted her. She knew that this battle was a carefully planned scheme by Itachi to sacrificing himself and lead Sasuke down the path he had laid out for him.

Sasuke will not die.

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