Chapter Sixty-Two

After completing their mission, Deidara, Sasori, Itachi, and Kisame briefly crossed paths.

Deep green forest, in a dark stone cave.

"Hey, Itachi. Where did Yuki go?"

Deidara blocked Itachi's path. Since Yuki left the group, Deidara and Sasori hadn't seen her again. Although Akatsuki members were supposed to keep to themselves, Yuki hadn't appeared at any organization meetings for a long time. Even though Deidara harbored resentment towards Itachi, he had no choice but to come and ask him about it.

After all, aside from that Uchiha brat who defected from Konoha.

Itachi is the only one in the world who shares her race.

Itachi stopped, while Kisame turned to look at Deidara and Hiruko.

He chuckled, surprised that the Akatsuki members had started caring for each other.

Itachi's gaze lingered on the blurry clump of blond fur before him, and he said coldly, "No comment."

"You bastard—"

"Deidara, stop!" Hiruko controlled the giant scorpion's tail, stopping Deidara's intended attack.

After a moment of silence, Deidara finally clicked his tongue.

Hiruko and Deidara left the cave, leaving only Itachi and Kisame behind.

"Mr. Itachi, regarding Uchiha Yuki... she might be in the Land of Water," Kisame said. He had smelled a faint scent similar to Itachi's on the Mizukage, Yagura, in the Land of Water.

Itachi raised his eyes, his gaze falling on the cold moon hanging high in the sky outside the cave.

He remained silent, only his crimson Sharingan eyes swirling silently.

"It seems that Itachi-san will be leaving the group for a while." Kisame's dark blue skin seemed to blend into the night. As he finished speaking, Itachi added, "I'll be troubling you for a while."

The night breeze lifted the sleeves of Akatsuki's robe, and the black wisps of hair on Itachi's forehead were also slightly stirred.

"Isn't it only natural to help your comrades? I will keep it a secret from my superiors as it is dealing with Mr. Itachi's personal matters."

Kisame said this.

-

As usual, Xue sat on the bed, reading a book to pass the time.

I'm not sure which month I've been detained here.

The room was cursed, and she could not freely control her chakra; even her eye techniques were completely sealed.

Xue lowered her eyes, her gaze fixed solely on the black words on the white paper of the book.

The sudden knocking startled Xue.

Obito never knocks on the door; he always just appears in the room.

At first, Yuki resisted, but in the end, both were covered in each other's teeth marks. Obito seemed to possess some kind of cell that could heal rapidly to a certain extent; even if his skin was bleeding profusely from Yuki's cuts one second, it would be completely healed the next.

With a click, the door opened.

Itachi stood in the doorway, gazing at the black-haired young woman in a white dress. Long deprivation of sunlight had made her skin even paler, yet her appearance remained largely unchanged. Their eyes met, and a soft, indescribable sigh filled the air.

Xue frowned slightly. Itachi looked at her quietly and asked in a low voice, "Since when... did your memories return?"

Xue's gaze fell on the Ring of Emptiness placed on the table, her tone unchanged.

Is it important?

Itachi seemed to realize something and said, "You've already gone back."

"Yes," Xue replied briefly.

Itachi stood there, still expressionless. Yuki, however, recalled a scene from long ago when their positions had been switched. Back then, after completing her mission, she went to the clan head's mansion to find Mikoto. Behind Mikoto, a child who bore a resemblance to her overlapped with the figure of Itachi standing before her now.

When I grow up, I'll protect my aunt.

As he spoke, his soft hair caressed her palm, and Xue took it as innocent childish talk.

She hated Itachi, she hated Obito, and she hated herself even more. She hadn't protected anything, she hadn't safeguarded anything.

But at the very least, she wanted to give an explanation to her deceased clansmen.

For whatever reason, she could never forgive him while he was alive.

Itachi approached her and reached out his hand. His cool fingertips, painted with black nail polish, touched her cheek. Yuki looked up, and the strong smell of medicine emanating from him reached her nose. After regaining her memories, she realized that this was the potent smell of the medicine he had taken when he was nearly overdrawing his Sharingan and suffering from bloodline disease.

"Are you going to kill me?" Itachi asked, then added, "I'm sorry, but I'll leave my life for Sasuke to kill."

Xue bit her lower lip, a turmoil of emotions churning in her mind. A bittersweet feeling welled up from the bottom of her heart, gradually spreading to her fingertips, until it permeated her entire body. Countless times she had agonized over decisions she couldn't control, only to ultimately accept the fate of the Uchiha clan, with Sasuke remaining as the sole survivor.

If you weren't involved, you'd find it all utterly ridiculous.

It was an immeasurable pain, in every sleepless night after the extermination of the clan.

Itachi could only sleep briefly, without being awakened by nightmares, when she was by his side.

She pushed Itachi's hand away, her voice cold: "Don't touch me."

Itachi frowned slightly, seemingly puzzled.

He thought he had been honest enough, so why did she still have this attitude?

"Tell me, who else was involved in this?"

"Don't even think about using Shisui's Kotoamatsukami on me, it won't work on me."

Yuki clenched her fists. Although she knew Itachi had his own reasons, she couldn't suppress her grief and anger.

"Snow, I am Uchiha Itachi from Konoha." Itachi lowered his eyes.

Xue chuckled softly and looked away.

Forget about Konoha, she'd had enough of this so-called Will of Fire.

“What about the child… Xiao Qiu’s child just turned one year old.” Xue bit her lower lip, which began to bleed. She said, “I… I really can’t accept it.”

Xue couldn't help but stand up and grab his collar.

Itachi had to bend over slightly.

"......Feel sorry."

The loud slap echoed in the closed room. Xue tried to find a trace of reluctance on Uchiha Itachi's face, but unfortunately, she didn't.

The force was so great that Itachi, whose face was turned to the side, even tasted the rust on his lips.

"I...I'm going to kill you, Uchiha Itachi—"

Even after being knocked to the ground, Itachi simply said, "Without chakra or eye techniques, you are no match for me."

Before Xue's fist could land, a sudden disturbance occurred in the space. A black glove suddenly extended and grasped Xue's wrist. As the figure appeared, the tall Obito appeared, lifted Xue up, and casually tossed her onto the bed.

He spoke lightly, seemingly unsurprised by Itachi Uchiha's visit.

"Senior Xue, how can you treat our allies like this?"

Beneath the orange, swirling mask, only a single, blood-red Sharingan eye was visible. He bent over, resting his hands on his knees, and extended a hand towards Itachi Uchiha lying on the ground. Itachi ignored him, stood up on his own, brushed non-existent dust off his robes, and a trace of blood lingered at the corner of his mouth.

Obito, however, found it boring and moved closer to Yuki, who had been thrown onto the bed. He firmly grasped her folded wrists with one hand, easily pinning her to his chest. Leather black gloves rose from the hem of her skirt, revealing large expanses of fair skin and unclothed body parts, brazenly groping her in front of Itachi.

Itachi seemed to realize something, his eyes sweeping over the actions of the two.

Xue struggled: "Let me go!"

Obito chuckled softly, "How come you still don't learn your lesson after so many times?"

His movements intensified, as if in a provocation, deliberately directed at Itachi Uchiha.

"Would you like to come over and pet your aunt, Itachi?"

Xue had to bite her lower lip to control herself from making any strange noises. Uchiha Itachi raised an eyebrow slightly, lowered his eyes, and his gaze fell on the slight undulations of her snow-white skin. The black gloves contrasted sharply with her fair complexion, and—

"No... Uchiha Yuki and I are just clansmen."

He ruthlessly severed all ties.

He stepped forward, his expression indifferent, but his well-defined fingertips touched another uncovered area, then his large hand completely enveloped it: "It's not the so-called aunt-nephew relationship..."

He stared intently at her lower lip, which was bleeding from being bitten by her pearly teeth, then lowered his head slightly and kissed it directly. Noticing that she was trying to retaliate by biting off the tip of her tongue, Itachi reached out and pressed his thumb into the last tooth in her mouth, causing her jaw to be temporarily dislocated.

"Hahaha—you can even lay a hand on your aunt who watched you grow up, but I can't bear to do that to her." Obito laughed as he spoke, but his hands were anything but still moving.

Itachi simply repeated his actions, lowering his head to kiss her, sucking on the tip of her tongue.

A very chaotic scene, with a beautiful young woman sandwiched between two adult men.

"Is Itachi's food really that delicious? He seems to have swallowed it all, he ate it all." Obito sneered with a wicked sense of humor.

Xue could clearly feel that Itachi's thing had grown considerably larger after what he said. However, his handsome face remained unchanged, without any expression, except that his smooth forehead was covered with a thin layer of sweat after he removed his headband, making it clear that he was enduring something.

"Seeing how close the aunt and nephew are makes even an outsider like me a little jealous... and also makes me want to do the same."

The pile driving motion was repeated, sometimes slow, sometimes heavy.

"Snow-senpai, you're so cute! I really want to eat you up in one bite!" The man wearing a completely orange mask held Snow, whose mouth was slightly open and drool was dripping from the corner of her lips. Obito, wearing a mask, had his only visible Sharingan eye on Itachi, who also had a three-tomoe Sharingan. He said, "Right? Itachi thinks so too."

How strange, this is something that should be considered extremely shameful.

Xue felt a tingling sensation all over her body, and she couldn't stop the sounds that were escaping her mouth.

Itachi didn't answer. His clothes were still intact, except that the crotch of his Akatsuki robe was slightly undone. Occasionally, a pinkish-white, columnar organ could be seen amidst the repetitive actions. He narrowed his eyes slightly, his Sharingan working overtime to record the absurd events unfolding before him, but he couldn't quite make out Yuki's expression.

Is it comfortable? Or painful?

"Give her to me."

"So, what can Itachi offer in exchange?"