Sasuke's cry of "Brother!" nearly made Itachi faint. He took two deep breaths and asked...
"Sasuke, what did you just call me?"
Sasuke turned his head away haughtily and muttered...
"I call you brother! What? Is there a problem?"
Itachi fought back tears, his voice choked with emotion as he spoke.
"No problem, no problem! I'm really happy!"
Sasuke, hearing Itachi's trembling voice, turned his face with a complicated expression and said softly,
"Brother, I've thought a lot these past few days, and I've realized how foolish I was to doubt your love for me."
Itachi listened blankly, while Sasuke continued speaking.
"The reason I was so cold to you was because I really didn't know how to face you. But now I've figured it out. I've already lost enough, but at least I still have you, my brother who loves me the most. I absolutely can't lose you too!"
"Sasuke..."
Itachi could no longer hold back; tears welled up in his eyes. Ignoring the stares of those around him, he stood up and hugged Sasuke tightly.
"Brother will never leave you again!"
Sasuke rested his chin on Itachi's shoulder, closed his eyes, and said nothing.
In another restaurant not far away,
Senga was having dinner with Hong, suddenly laughed. Hong looked at him suspiciously and asked,
"Senior Senga, what are you laughing at?"
"Nothing much, I just overheard a conversation between two brothers, and it was really interesting!"
"Brothers? Senga Chiga, are you referring to the Anbu Commander Uchiha Itachi and his younger brother Sasuke?"
"Huh? How did you know?"
Senga was slightly surprised, thinking to herself that Kurenai's guess was incredibly accurate!
Hong smiled smugly and said,
"I heard from Yugao that the new Anbu Commander is a total brother-obsessed guy. He often talks about his younger brother to others, and he rushes home as soon as he gets off work, saying he's going to cook for his brother!"
"..."
Senga gasped in astonishment. Good heavens, it turns out everyone knows about Itachi's brother complex!
At this very moment, in a certain lake,
Obito was lying on the Three-Tails 'Three-Tails body temperature.
Before coming here, he had already put Tobi in charge, but now he has switched back to doing it himself.
Deidara was shouting at him from the sky.
"Hey! Tobi! How much longer are you going to lie there? It's time to hand over the work!"
Obito ignored him, simply turning over as if he had fallen asleep.
No one could see that his face beneath the mask was covered in tears, because the Three-Tails had been sealed inside Rin, which was why she chose to die at Kakashi's hands.
He wanted to sense a trace of Rin's presence in the Three-Tails, but she was gone, and all he felt was endless sorrow.
Deidara sighed and rubbed his forehead, saying...
"I really don't understand you! Why did the leader of the Flower Clan want me to team up with you?!"
In Deidara's view, Tobi was just a show-off; he was the one who did all the work from beginning to end in capturing the Three-Tails.
However, what he didn't know was that just now underwater, if Obito hadn't used Genjutsu on the Three-Tails, how could Deidara's Clay Bomb have so easily subdued the Three-Tails, which was known for its strong defense?
Obito switched back to Tobi's personality, slowly rose from the Three-Tails' belly, and shouted at Deidara in the sky.
"Deidara -senpai! I just fell asleep! Did you say anything?"
Deidara said irritably,
"I told you to get off the Three-Tails right now! We should leave; it'll be troublesome if we bring the people from Kirigakure back!"
"Okay, Deidara- senpai! Let's run away quickly!"
"Damn it! What do you mean, 'escape'?! This is a retreat! What do you know?!"
Deidara resisted the urge to blow Tobi to smithereens with a bomb, and instead used clay to create a gigantic dragon, which carried the Three-Tails away.
After the two left, Mei Terumi arrived late with a group of Kirigakure ninja. Several sensory ninja reported to Mei Terumi.
"Lord Mizukage! The Three-Tails' aura has vanished!"
Mei Terumi stared at the lake with a grim expression. The disappearance of the Tailed Beast was definitely a major event for the ninja village.
Originally, Kirigakure still possessed the Five-Tails, but Utakata, the Jinchuriki of the Five-Tails, had become Rogue Ninja, which meant that Kirigakure had completely lost the Tailed Beast.
Tailed Beast are like nuclear bombs to ninja villages; you may not use them, but you must have them.
After Kirigakure Obito already severely weakened, and now it has lost its Tailed Beast, making matters worse.
Mei Terumi said through gritted teeth,
"Damn it! Who did this?!"
Qing, who was standing to the side, spoke up.
"Mizukage, I suspect it was the Akatsuki who captured the Three-Tails! Only they have the audacity and strength to capture a ninja beast!"
Mentioning Akatsuki, Mei Terumi's expression darkened. This organization was almost entirely composed of S-rank Rogue Ninja, and none of them were people that an ordinary Shinobu village could handle.
Even Kirigakure wasn't confident they could destroy Akatsuki. You see, even Gaara, the Kazekage of Sunagakure, was recently captured by Akatsuki Organization, had his Tailed Beast extracted, and almost lost his life.
She remained silent for a while, pondering Akatsuki's purpose in capturing the Tailed Beast. The more she thought about it, the stronger her inexplicable sense of crisis became.
Finally, Mei Terumi sighed heavily. There was no point in thinking about it now. The Three-Tails had already been captured, and all she could do now was strengthen the village's defenses to prevent Akatsuki from taking advantage of any loopholes.
News of Kirigakure's loss of the Three-Tails quickly spread throughout the Ninja World, and the Akatsuki Organization was brought into the open.
Upon learning the news, Ōnoki of Iwagakure immediately sent people to find Rōshi Four-Tails Jinchuriki. Roshi was currently a wandering monk, and if he encountered Akatsuki, he would likely be in grave danger.
However, he was a step too slow. Since Kisame had already joined Konoha, Roshi was now facing a formidable lineup composed of the Six Paths of Pain.
In a forest, Deva Path Pain looked down indifferently at Roshi lying on the ground. Roshi struggled to get up, but Deva Path Pain suddenly produced a Black Rod and stabbed it into Roshi's body.
The Black Rod entered his body, and Laozi let out a muffled groan before falling completely still. Konan jumped down from a tree, waved her hand, and countless pieces of paper flew out, enveloping Roshi's body and lifting him into the sky.
Deva Path Pain looked up and said softly.
"The Four-Tails has been successfully captured. Next, only the Eight-Tails of Kumogakure remains."
Konan nodded.
"It is said that the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki has a very high compatibility with the Tailed Beast, and has always stayed in Kumogakure, making it quite difficult to capture."
Deva Path Pain narrowed his eyes and said coldly.
"We must get the Eight-Tails, no matter where it is!"