The Sealed Shadow

Under the moonlight, Sasuke and Itachi faced each other.

Sasuke's Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan slowly spun as his gaze traveled from Itachi's ash-gray reincarnated face to his hands, then back to his eyes. He saw a clarity in Itachi's eyes unlike Kabuto's control—the trace left behind by Shisui's Kotoamatsukami.

"Itachi." Sasuke spoke the name again, more softly than before. "You broke free from the Impure World Reincarnation?"

"Temporarily," Itachi said. "Shisui's eye gave me an opportunity. But Kabuto may retake control at any moment."

Sasuke fell silent for a moment before asking the question he had thought would never have an answer. "Why?"

Itachi knew what he meant. The massacre, the betrayal, the infiltration, the death—all the lies and pain of those years lay within that single question.

"Because you were more important than the village." Itachi's voice was calm, as calm as if he were talking about the weather. "But I don't want to explain it a second time. There isn't much time. I need your help finding Kabuto."

A complicated emotion flickered in Sasuke's eyes. He neither pressed for answers nor made his stance clear. He merely turned sideways, opening the path behind him.

"Lead the way," Sasuke said. "Explain as we go."

Itachi nodded and walked past Sasuke. The two brothers entered the depths of the forest side by side, their shadows stretched long by the moonlight.

"Where is Kabuto?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm not sure. But his chakra threads cover the entire battlefield. If we trace them backward through the gaps in our perception, we can find his real body." Itachi paused. "I need your Sharingan to filter out the interference."

"And you're not afraid I'll stab you in the back?"

Itachi did not turn around. "You won't."

The corner of Sasuke's mouth twitched slightly—not a smile, but