Sasuke: Already Fallen into Kuro-gege's Embrace

Looking at Sasuke's face, which was blank with shock, a smile of pleasure involuntarily crept onto his lips.

"That's the expression I wanted to see!!"

As I waved and shouted in my heart, I couldn't help but feel a surge of pride and triumph.

Ah, so this is what it feels like to be a braggart and get slapped in the face? It feels so good!

It's like wearing new underwear to welcome the morning of New Year's Day!

He opened his arms wide with delight, looking at the second assistant with affection in his eyes:

"After all these years of feeling stifled, it's finally time to show off!"

Come on, you two! Don't hold back your emotions, unleash your shock and admiration towards your brother!

"... Why."

Sasuke lowered his head, his whole body trembling slightly uncontrollably.

"Huh?"

Seeing Sasuke's reaction, which was completely unexpected, the smug smile on his lips froze on his face, and he tilted his head in surprise.

"What's wrong with this child? Could it be that he's having a stress reaction after seeing the Mangekyō Sharingan?"

Thinking of this, Kou instantly suppressed his emotions that were about to overflow, and his gaze toward Sasuke became filled with more sympathy.

Yes, no matter how strong Nizako's resilience is, he is still just a seven-year-old child.

Just a few months ago, I was tormented half to death by Uchiha Chu, who had awakened the Mangekyo, and now, not long after, I've seen another pair of Mangekyō Sharingan...

It's perfectly reasonable to feel emotional upon seeing something and experience a stress response.

"It was I who didn't think things through..."

While inwardly reflecting on his actions, Kou habitually cursed Uchiha Itachi, who was nowhere to be found at the moment.

A perfectly healthy Uchiha cub has been turned into this state by stress, all because of that damned psychopath!

Uchiha Itachi, your crimes are heinous!!

(A man with kidney deficiency, currently taking drugs: Ah Qiu!)

Just as Kotoko was about to put on that gentle, elder-like expression, ready to pat Sasuke's head and offer some guidance to the child whose mental state was clearly not quite right,

Sasuke suddenly raised his head, staring intently at him with his bloodshot eyes.

"Don't touch me!! You damn liar!!"

As he spoke, Sasuke suddenly swung his hand and slapped away the hand that was reaching for his head.

Kou looked at the child who had suddenly erupted in surprise, instinctively wanting to say something.

But when he met Sasuke's eyes, he was suddenly stunned.

Two streams of hot tears silently welled up from her reddened eyes and rolled down her still slightly chubby cheeks.

The tears were faintly tinged with blood.

"You..."

"Shut up! You empty-talking liar!!"

Sasuke angrily interrupted Koko's unspoken words:

"I actually believed your nonsense just now, and really considered you a member of the clan I could rely on..."

Haha, that's incredibly stupid!

Sasuke stared intently at Koko, and in his tear-filled eyes, a pair of One-Tomoe Sharingan appeared uncontrollably.

Why! Why did you have these eyes, yet you didn't stop him that night!

If you had been there that night, with those eyes, you should have been able to stop him!

Since you keep saying you want to avenge the Uchiha Clan, then why don't you, with these eyes, kill him? Why?!

Sasuke completely lost his mind and roared angrily at Kou.

He had long forgotten that the man in front of him could easily take his life, and couldn't even maintain the most basic logical thinking.

Under normal circumstances, he would never have questioned why a missing-nin who had left Konoha nearly five years before the Night of the Uchiha Massacre did not appear that night.

At this moment, Sasuke simply unleashed all the grievances and pain that had accumulated over the past few months the instant he saw those familiar eyes.

Looking at Sasuke's face, twisted beyond recognition by tears and anger, the initial surprise and astonishment in my heart had gradually subsided without me even realizing it.

He looked at Sasuke, his eyes filled with deep sympathy and understanding.

No one in the entire Ninja World could empathize with Sasuke's near-collapse at that moment better than him.

After hearing the devastating news of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, even though I was mentally prepared for it, I still broke down and cried uncontrollably in that secret room.

And what about Sasuke, who personally experienced that night and suffered even greater harm than I did?

Thinking of this, he sighed deeply in his heart, then took a step forward and slowly extended his hand towards Sasuke.

Sasuke looked at the hand that was slowly reaching out to him, and a hint of almost insane determination flashed in his One-Tomoe Sharingan, which were blurred by tears.

He strode forward and threw a punch with all his might, aiming it at the direction of the knock.

At the moment he threw that punch, a near-pathological, yearning-for-relief glint flashed in his eyes...

But the expected excruciating pain did not come.

The long, strong hand did not attack him; instead, it pulled him tightly into a warm embrace.

Sasuke his punch and crashed into Kou's chest.

That embrace was broad and warm, carrying a scent he couldn't quite describe, a scent that seemed to have been forgotten deep in his memory, belonging to a very, very long time ago...

Sasuke's pale face pressed against the fabric of the robe in his arms, feeling the steady heartbeat beneath the cloth, and he was suddenly startled.

"My Mangekyō Sharingan was awakened after I learned of the Night of the Uchiha Massacre."

He held the still slightly trembling child in his arms and spoke in a calm, low voice.

Sasuke was stunned.

He forced his head up, gazing at Koto's face, which appeared remarkably calm in the moonlight. The crimson light in Koto's Sharingan had faded, revealing once more his clear black eyes.

"You..."

Kouchi gazed gently at the child in his arms, who had regained some of his composure. He raised his other hand and gently wiped away the remaining tears from Sasuke's face.

"You may not believe it, but I can assure you that every single word I just said to you was absolutely true."

Before I activated these eyes, I truly lacked the strength to confront Uchiha Itachi head-on.

The pain I felt regarding the extermination of our clan... was definitely no less than yours!

Sasuke stared blankly at Kokoro, feeling the rough, warm hand on his face, and nodded subconsciously.

He had gradually regained his senses and could clearly feel that every word the man spoke came from the bottom of his heart.

"Perhaps I really misunderstood him..."

Thinking of this, a genuine sense of apology appeared in Sasuke's still reddened eyes.

He looked at the man in front of him who had experienced the same pain as him, and the hand that had been hanging helplessly in mid-air slowly and tentatively wrapped around Kou's back.

Feeling the hand that carefully encircled him, a slight hint of surprise flashed in Kou's eyes.

He paused for a moment, then explained to Sasuke in a more serious tone:

"I do have the strength to kill him now, but for many reasons, I cannot do it yet."

But I can assure you, one day I will definitely...

"It's okay."

Sasuke interrupted Koko's unfinished promise with a hoarse voice.

He didn't know what the "reasons" Kou was referring to were, nor did he need to know.

At this moment, there was one thing he could completely believe:

The man before her, the only remaining member of her tribe who shared the same pain, was someone she could trust.

The eyes of Uchiha don't lie...

Sasuke buried his face in Kokoro's chest, tightening his grip on Kokoro's arms even more.

"It's alright, as long as you're alive, that's enough."

"Thank you, thank you for being alive, thank you..."

Sasuke sobbed, then buried his face in Koto's arms again, like a young animal that had finally found its den, curled up in that hard-won warmth, and began to sob softly and intermittently.

As he felt the small body still trembling in his arms, the light in his eyes gradually dimmed.

"Alive...?"

His hand had unknowingly landed on Sasuke's soft black hair, gently stroking the child who shared the same pain as him.

After a long while, the sobbing in her arms gradually subsided.

That little face, still bearing the traces of tears, finally drifted off to sleep in Kou's arms.

Looking at Sasuke, who was fast asleep in his arms, a complex struggle welled up in his eyes.

He held Sasuke like that for a very long time, until the full moon outside the window moved a little further to the west, and then he sighed bitterly.

"To still not forget my purpose under these circumstances... I'm really broken."

He whispered softly, his scarlet eyes slowly rotating with intricate patterns as he focused on the unsuspecting child in his arms who had placed his trust in him.

"I really am not a good person."

While urging the already prepared pupil power in his right eye, he muttered to himself with a low sarcasm.

Inari God, has already begun to act...

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