When Hebi reached the vicinity of the Land of Fire, Sasuke Uchiha stopped first.
He said nothing, merely turning his head to look toward the clearing ahead.
A crow stood in the center of the clearing. Its entire body was jet-black, nearly twice the size of an ordinary crow. Its eyes were red, with three tomoe slowly rotating in its pupils.
That was Itachi Uchiha's chakra.
Suigetsu held Kubikiribōchō across his body, its tip slightly angled as it blocked the path between Sasuke Uchiha and the crow.
Karin took half a step back, pressing her back against a tree trunk as her sensory ability instantly spread out, scanning the crow's body and the area dozens of meters around it. "It's alone. There's no other ambush."
Jugo stood on the outermost edge, his body leaning forward slightly in a defensive stance, his eyes fixed tightly on the crow.
The crow did not attack. It merely tilted its head, as if confirming the identity of those who had arrived.
Then it spoke.
It was not a real crow's cry, but Itachi Uchiha's voice—low, calm, and devoid of emotion. It came through the crow's throat, slightly distorted. "I'll be waiting for you at the old Uchiha clan grounds, the place where resistance once began. Come there and settle all the grudges between us brothers."
After speaking, the crow fell silent, then turned into feathers and scattered into the air, leaving Hebi standing there in a daze.
Suigetsu lowered his sword. "It's a trap."
Sasuke Uchiha looked impatient. "So what if it is? I'll kill him either way."
Karin stepped forward. "What if he's surrounded himself with a lot of people—"
"He won't." Sasuke Uchiha did not turn his head as he passed Karin. "If he wanted to surround and kill me, he wouldn't