"We're here."
After traveling over a hundred kilometers to reach the agreed meeting place, Sasuke looked at the abandoned building before him and spoke.
Haku surveyed the deserted surroundings, sounding incredulous. "There isn't a single person from the Akatsuki here."
Sasuke answered without looking back. "Because they don't believe I can defeat the Uchiha Clan's former prodigy."
"They're really underestimating you, Sasuke."
Haku seemed to have great confidence in Sasuke.
Even the normally quiet Gaara spoke up.
"Sasuke, the shopkeeper said Itachi Uchiha was a powerful shinobi who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. Are you sure you want to face him alone?"
They were no longer the ignorant little kids they had once been.
The gap between the Mangekyō Sharingan and the Three-Tomoe Sharingan was like an unbridgeable chasm, far from easy to cross.
"I'll settle this myself. None of you are allowed to interfere."
Sasuke turned around, his eyes blazing fiercely.
Gaara had expected as much. Faced with Sasuke's warning, he shrugged to show he understood.
And so, the three of them said goodbye to Sasuke there, watching his back gradually disappear.
Sasuke stepped forward, heading toward the place where his destiny awaited.
Whether what came next was life or death, it would mark the conclusion of his fate.
Dad, Mom, I've come to avenge you.
Sasuke silently repeated those words, then walked inside, one resolute step at a time.
"I'm here, Itachi."
On the first floor of the abandoned building, Sasuke finally saw the older brother who never left his thoughts.
"You finally came, Sasuke."
Itachi sat on an enormous chair. The two deep lines on his face gave him a more inscrutable look. He wore the Akatsuki uniform, and a ring bearing the character [Vermilion] adorned one slender finger.
The instant he saw Itachi, the surge of