You Two, Come with Me

"Something that makes me happy..." Uchiha Itachi's eyes gleamed. It was as though Sasuke no longer needed him, but if Sarada still did, that might be enough to keep him alive.

Though Sarada's attitude toward him was less like that of a niece toward her uncle and more like that of a master toward a dog—or even a slave worse off than a dog.

But if it could make Sarada happy...

A person's spine was hard and sturdy. Sometimes, no matter how crushing the pressure, it could not be completely broken. But once it had been broken, even if one exhausted every effort afterward, it would likely never straighten again.

After trying several times, a dozen times, or even more, even those tightly clenched muscles would grow numb. If someone gave him a pole to prop himself up with at that point, anyone would clutch it desperately.

Uchiha Itachi now treated Sarada as that pole. Unfortunately, it was covered in sharp barbs. If he did not want to be pierced bloody, he would have to cast away the last of his flesh—or make his skin thicker than those barbs.

Uchiha Itachi had never imagined that after his future self became a walking corpse, he could still turn into such a shameless clingy nuisance.

At this moment, being unable to die seemed to have become an advantage. It meant his skin would never lose its thickness, either.

"Sarada... please..."

Uchiha Itachi's voice and demeanor were far humbler than when he had faced the Third Hokage. If Sarada raised her foot and told him to clean the mud- and dust-caked soles of her high-heeled boots, he might open his mouth without the slightest hesitation.

But Sarada saw through his thoughts and said,

"Even if you became my dog, you probably still wouldn't