My foolish little brother

Before Sasuke could push himself up.

Itachi appeared with the Body Flicker Technique.

His long fingers shot out and clamped tightly around Sasuke's throat!

The suffocating sensation instantly engulfed his entire body!

Sasuke's pupils contracted sharply. He struggled wildly, fighting back with all his might!

Hatred, fury, and defiance drove him to struggle with every ounce of strength he had!

Yet before Itachi, all his efforts were as childish as a game.

Weak, laughable, insignificant.

Uchiha Itachi lowered his eyes, gazing coldly at his brother's contorted face. His voice chilled to the bone, every word striking where it hurt most.

"My foolish little brother."

"You're still so useless."

"Still so weak."

"When will you become worth killing?"

"It seems... your hatred is still nowhere near enough."

Each sentence was like a blade, viciously piercing the last of Sasuke's pride.

With his throat locked in Itachi's grip, Sasuke struggled to breathe, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at his own older brother.

Tears, hatred, and humiliation mingled in his eyes.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and roared brokenly, using the last of his strength.

"I... will... kill you!!"

Itachi seemed not to hear his roar or his vow.

Crimson light slowly rotated within those indifferent eyes.

His Mangekyō Sharingan silently awakened!

Sasuke's pupils froze, then abruptly contracted!

The next second!

An agonized scream rang through the training ground in the dead of night!

In one brief instant.

Sasuke's entire body stiffened, his eyes rolled back, and he passed out from the sheer agony, hanging limply in Itachi's grasp.

The night was silent, the cold wind bleak.

Holding his unconscious brother in one hand, Itachi stood silently in the deserted training ground, the emotions in his eyes too complex to decipher.

The scene on the Sky Screen shifted to a stark white ward in Konoha Hospital.

Sunlight spilled through the window frame and fell across the hospital bed.

Sasuke Uchiha's eyelashes suddenly fluttered, and his eyes snapped open.

His head felt as though it would split apart.

"Sasuke! You're finally awake!"

Naruto, who had been keeping watch beside him for a long time, instantly brightened and hurried closer, his voice full of concern. "Are you okay? You were unconscious for three whole days! You scared me half to death!"

The instant he heard Naruto's voice, Sasuke's muddled mind snapped into focus.

The scenes from the training ground that night replayed in his mind-

Itachi's cold gaze, his contemptuous words, the suffocating grip around his throat, and the overwhelming power of the Mangekyō that he could do nothing against!

Hatred, humiliation, and defiance instantly shattered his reason!

Sasuke abruptly pushed himself upright, his face twisted and his eyes bloodshot, and screamed wildly into the air:

"Uchiha Itachi!!"

"I'll kill you! I swear I'll kill you!!"

His chest heaved violently, his entire body taut. Every word carried an almost maddened obsession, and the murderous intent in his eyes seemed ready to spill out of his chest.

Standing nearby, Jiraiya's expression tightened slightly at the sight. He quietly asked for confirmation, "So the person who injured you and left you unconscious for three days was Uchiha Itachi, correct?"

Sasuke immediately frowned at those words. He turned toward the unfamiliar white-haired man, full of wariness, and asked coldly, "Who are you?"

Naruto immediately jumped in, introducing him with his usual boisterous manner. "Sasuke, this is the Pervy Sage! He's super strong! He's been teaching me how to get stronger lately."

"What do you mean, Pervy Sage!"

Jiraiya's eyes instantly widened, and he bristled on the spot, indignantly protesting, "It's the Toad Sage!! Watch your mouth, you little brat!"

"You are the Pervy Sage! You peep into the women's baths!"

"Huh? That's research! How can you call it peeping?"

The two began bickering right there, trading retorts in a lively racket.

On the hospital bed, Sasuke watched them coldly. His already strained nerves grew more agitated, and he felt as though he was about to fall apart.

He had just endured devastating mental torment, his mind consumed by hatred and power, yet all he could hear was their childish squabbling. It sounded unbearably grating and ridiculous.

After a while, Jiraiya finally dropped his playful expression. He waved off Naruto, who still wanted to argue, and his face grew solemn.

He looked at Sasuke's hostile face and the darkness lurking in his eyes, then sighed softly.

"If Uchiha Itachi was the one who did it, none of this is surprising."

"You were unconscious for three whole days not because your physical injuries were too severe, but because your mind suffered an extreme shock."

With a complicated look in his eyes, Jiraiya slowly explained the truth. "He used genjutsu on you-and advanced genjutsu at the level of the Mangekyō Sharingan, at that."

"A mental assault of that magnitude would drive an ordinary person completely insane after a single exposure. It's already a miracle that you survived."

At those words, Sasuke fell utterly silent.

He lowered his eyes, hiding his expression. Only his remaining hand clenched tightly, its knuckles white and the veins in his arm standing taut.

Itachi's power, again.

That unreachable Mangekyō of his, again.

All my training, all those days and nights of relentless work, all the growth I risked my life to achieve-and before Itachi, I'm still insignificant, laughable, unable to withstand a single blow.

"Naruto, let's go. We still need to find Tsunade. Let Sasuke rest," Jiraiya instructed.

Somewhat reluctantly, Naruto turned to Sasuke and said earnestly, "Sasuke, I'm going away with Master Jiraiya for a while to find that person who's supposed to become Hokage. Rest up and wait for me to come back!"

Just as Naruto turned to leave, Sasuke, who had remained silent, suddenly spoke.

His voice was hoarse and flat, betraying no emotion. "Tsunade... is she the new Hokage who's about to take office?"

"Is she strong?"

Jiraiya laughed heartily at the question, his tone utterly confident. "Of course! Tsunade is one of the strongest Kage Level fighters in the Shinobi World. Her medical skills and monstrous strength are unmatched."

At this point, Jiraiya's smile faded slightly. His gaze settled on Sasuke's empty left shoulder, regret and hope in his eyes as he softly added, "Perhaps Tsunade could find a way to reconstruct your left arm."

Sasuke's body abruptly stiffened. His pupils trembled slightly, and he froze.

Reconstruct my left arm?

Ever since losing his arm, he had spent countless days and nights in regret and pain.

His incomplete body would always be his weakness, a deficiency he could never overcome.

Yet in the very next instant, another figure suddenly flashed through his mind.

"How does Orochimaru compare to you?"

Besides, Orochimaru could restore my arm too.

Before Sasuke could think further, Jiraiya's expression suddenly grew serious, and he warned him solemnly, "Sasuke, I know you're desperate to become stronger, but Orochimaru is a rogue ninja from Konoha. You must never entertain any thoughts of turning to him. Don't go down the wrong path."

After saying that, Jiraiya sighed softly, his tone tinged with wistfulness and melancholy. "You know, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and I were once students of the Third Hokage. We were teammates."

"How glorious it was when the Sannin stood side by side. But time passed, our hearts took different paths, and nothing is as it once was."

After reflecting on the past, Jiraiya stayed no longer. He turned and left the ward with Naruto.

The heavy door closed softly, shutting out every sound from outside.

In the stark, empty white ward, only Sasuke remained, all alone.

Who knew what he was thinking!