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Chapter 89
🕑 Added 2025-03-19 12:13:25 +0000 UTCSasuke saw Ayumu out the window, tapping his own forehead and then disappearing without a word.
Sasuke tensed up instantly, a few days ago Ayumu had informed him that Itachi was in Wave, and if Sasuke wanted to talk to his brother, Ayumu would make sure to arrange a meeting.
He agreed almost immediately, but in typical Ayumu fashion, while he was reliable for the big things, he made sure to be as annoying as possible when it came to the little things.
Which was why Sasuke didn't know when Itachi would show up.
"Saiken, could I have some privacy?" He asked softly. Saiken paused his cleaning to look at him.
"Sure, I'll make sure the brothers keep away from here." He agreed easily enough without needing an explanation.
And with that, Sasuke was alone.
He sat down on one of the bigger tables, taking a deep breath before exhaling slowly.
His thoughts were simultaneously racing and going nowhere, Itachi was about to walk into this room, and he still had no idea what he wanted to do.
But just because he was lost in thought didn't mean time stopped.
And the door opened, revealing his older brother, wearing clothes that looked more civilian than anything else.
Sasuke's fist's clenched, his nails digging into his palms, his Sharingan activated on instinct alone.
Itachi himself had a blank face, but the slight tension in his shoulders and his eyes was visible.
They both stared at each other, neither knowing what to say.
"Sit." Sasuke forced out. That seemed to break Itachi out of his stupor, his brother slowly stepped towards one of the chairs, keeping an eye on Sasuke before sitting down.
The silence continued for a minute, before Sasuke spoke up again.
"Why?" He asked, the question that haunted him ever since Ayumu told him the truth, and many years before that. Ayumu was confident in the factual history, but he admitted to not being as confident with the more emotional aspect of it.
Itachi himself looked uncertain on how to answer that question.
"The Uchiha were planning a coup against the village." He started after some hesitation.
"I know." Sasuke interrupted. "I know about the coup, I know about Danzo and his involvement, I even know about 'Madara'." He spat out that last word in disgust.
"I know that you had to choose between your family and the entire village, but why did you use the Tsukuyomi on me!? Why did you let Danzo get away with it? Why..." Sasuke trailed off as his voice broke slightly.
"I wanted you to find the strength to stop me, I... " Itachi hesitated once more, before letting out a sigh. "I didn't want you to hate Konoha."
Sasuke clenched his jaw so tightly he could feel his teeth straining against each other.
"That's not a good enough reason." He said lowly. He realized now that he was never strong in Konoha, or with Orochimaru.
He was a child with one purpose, and that purpose left him blind to everything else, if Konoha had really wanted too, they could have turned him into nothing more than a weapon.
And when they didn't, he willingly gave himself to Orochimaru, even knowing his goal and that he might die and have his body stolen.
He was strong while fighting, sure, but the rest of the time?
Mentally he was weak, easy to manipulate, content to stew in his hatred without a second thought.
"I know." Itachi agreed. "I realized my path was a mistake, I thought that I had found the best option in an impossible situation, but the truth is that I took the easiest one."
The older Uchiha looked away from Sasuke for the first time, staring at the floor with regret filling his eyes.
"I felt so certain that there were no good paths, that it was just choosing between terrible ones, so I stopped thinking about it and accepted the path that required no further thinking on my part." He admitted quietly. "And so, I killed our family, forced you to hate me, allowed myself to become a monster in your eyes..."
Itachi's voice trailed off, clearly struggling with speaking any further.
Sasuke took some deep breaths, his nails had pierced the skin of his palm, drawing blood.
This was what he expected, and what he feared, because it killed his all consuming hatred towards his brother.
It was all...
"So fucking pointless." He whispered under his breath.
His thoughts when Ayumu first told him the truth of the Uchiha Massacre were similar, but he had fooled himself into thinking that he could just ignore it.
That if he just waited, the conflict in his heart would be resolved somehow, he was fighting against himself, clinging to his hatred like a drowning man clung to a plank of wood.
He felt tears gathering in his eyes, as they left a trail down his cheeks, dripping onto the table.
They were red, blood dripped from his eyes.
"Leave." Sasuke demanded. Itachi hesitated again, before slowly standing up and turning towards the door.
He didn't look back once as he walked out of the restaurant, the bell ringing softly as the door shut behind him.
Sasuke was left alone again.
And for the first time since that night, he didn't want revenge.
He just wanted his family back.
***
"Hey Shark-Fucker."
Kisame twitched at that, he hadn't heard that insult in years, not since he was one of the Seven.
He looked up from his drink, he had been drinking quite a lot since that... conversation with Ayumu, it didn't do much, for once, he regretted his strong constitution, he could really use a blackout right now.
Zabuza Momochi stared down at him, wearing civilian clothes, and lacking his signature sword.
"Fuck off." He said bitterly. "I ain't got time for your shit right now."
Zabuza grabbed the other chair and sat down.
"I don't give a shit." He responded bluntly, that made a feeling of nostalgia sweep through Kisame.
It was almost word for word a conversation they had when Kisame had just joined the Seven Swordsmen.
"Fine, what the fuck do you want?" He asked after some silence.
"I want to know what the hell you're doing here." Zabuza asked while sitting down. "Last I heard, you were running around with those S-Ranked Missing Nin."
"What? You don't like a big bad Missing Nin being in your little new kingdom?" Kisame snapped back.
"It's not my kingdom." Zabuza said dismissively. "And yes, besides you're trespassing, I don't remember you receiving permission to enter Wave."
Kisame scoffed at that, a smirk appearing on his face.
"Oh? And how are you going to make me leave?" He challenged. "I can still beat you without even trying."
It was true, while Zabuza was stronger than him at the beginning, by the time everything fell apart, Kisame was unquestionably stronger than him.
But Zabuza didn't seem bothered by this declaration, in fact, he was amused by it.
"I'm sure you can, I'm quaking in my boots at the thought of it." His tone was mocking. "But no, why bother kicking out a sad drunk."
That pissed Kisame off more than he would admit, he didn't like having his moment of weakness thrown in his face.
He glared at Zabuza, who simply raised an eyebrow, meeting his gaze steadily.
But Kisame's glare faded, and he simply downed another glass of alcohol, wondering just how strong he needed to make it before it started affecting him.
"How did you do it?" He asked suddenly, staring into his now empty glass.
"Do what?"
"Get over the whole failed rebellion thing." Kisame clarified bitterly.
Zabuza scowled at that question.
"Ah, that." He muttered. "I would give some bullshit about how hope is always worth fighting for, but I'm not a sentimental person."
Kisame waited patiently as Zabuza seemed to be trying to come up with an answer.
"At the end of the day, I tried to rebel because I didn't like what Kirigakure had become, and at the end of the day, I joined this little kingdom because I liked what I saw."
Kisame waited again, but Zabuza seemed to have said all he wanted.
"That's it?" He asked in disbelief, hoping there was more too it.
"What the fuck do you want from me? I'm not a philosopher." Zabuza responded with a scowl. "If you want a long speech, go talk to the priests."
Kisame didn't answer that, simply looking at the table in front of him.
The two sat in silence for a few minutes.
"Hey, Shark-Fucker, you looking for a job?" Zabuza asked suddenly.
Kisame gaze snapped up at Zabuza suddenly, disbelief coloring his face.
But Zabuza wasn't joking, so he let out a laugh.
Oh, what the hell? If he didn't like it, he could leave at any time.
"Sure, why not?"
Comments
Valeron
The MC already wants peace, so world peace is in his plans, although as shown many times, it is a hard path, both in this novel and in the series.
Moustafa Al_taweel
Can you write this novel to where the idea of solving the peace of the ninja world because the novel is very beautiful
Moustafa Al_taweel
Complete 💯✅
