Itachi stirred, a prickling discomfort coursing through his entire body like a thousand needles—the price of overexerting himself.
His eyes, in particular, throbbed with unbearable pain.
The figure beside him was a blur, but he could still make out that it was Kawasaki.
"Kawasaki-senpai, is that you?"
Kawasaki squeezed Itachi's hand.
"Can you still see my face?"
"Mostly," Itachi answered.
Kawasaki shook his head gently. "No, you can't."
"Everything before you is a blur."
Itachi froze for a moment, then nodded silently.
Kawasaki offered a faint smile and began to explain the situation in detail.
...
The next day.
Uchiha Clan Compound.
Sasuke's eyes snapped open.
How did I end up in bed?
Oh no!
Brother!
This time, as Sasuke leaped out of bed, he remembered to throw on his outer shirt before bolting out the door.
He ran straight for the hospital.
Arriving breathless, Sasuke found that his brother was already awake.
Lady Tsunade was speaking with his sensei.
"...in his condition, I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to fight again."
A jolt of fear shot through Sasuke. "Lady Tsunade, what are you saying? What do you mean he can't fight again?"
Itachi tilted his head, listening, before turning his vacant gaze toward the sound of Sasuke's voice.
"Is that you, Sasuke?"
"Brother, it's me, Sasuke."
A great terror welled up inside him. Sasuke rushed forward and gripped Itachi's hand tightly, his eyes pleading with Tsunade.
Tsunade sighed. "Itachi's eyes are on the verge of blindness. In this state, he can no longer participate in battles."
Sasuke's eyes turned red, and an overwhelming, uncontrollable sorrow washed over him.
"Brother, why did this happen?"
Lying pale on the hospital bed, Itachi forced a smile and slowly pulled his hand free.
He gently tapped Sasuke's forehead with two fingers.
"Forgive me, Sasuke. I won't be able to help you with your training anymore."
Sasuke stood frozen, memories flashing through his mind like a film reel.
From his childhood when his brother carried him home after he was injured.
To his brother teaching him how to throw shuriken.
To Itachi teaching him Taijutsu before he left the village.
And now, to the strained smile on his brother's face.
Under Kawasaki's watchful gaze, a suffocating, powerful aura erupted from Sasuke, surging in intensity.
Unconsciously, Sasuke's Sharingan activated. The two tomoe swirled, and in the empty space, a third tomoe blazed into existence.
He collapsed onto Itachi, tears finally breaking free.
From the side, unnoticed, Kawasaki watched with narrowed eyes as Sasuke's spiritual energy skyrocketed, culminating in the evolution of his Sharingan to its three-tomoe state.
Just as I thought. The key to pushing Sasuke's Sharingan to a higher level isn't anger, but the pain of severing bonds.
Tsunade was surprised to see Sasuke's Sharingan evolve, and a thoughtful look crossed her face.
She had known Itachi's vision was severely damaged but had assumed he could at least still see shapes.
She hadn't expected him to be practically blind.
Tsunade had already confirmed that Itachi's condition, much like Fugaku's, was irreversible.
It was a tragedy for someone as young as Itachi, who had yet to start a family, to have his sight fail so completely.
The only options now were an eye transplant, or...
Tsunade spoke up. "Orochimaru has made considerable advancements in cloning technology. Perhaps we can ask if he can clone a new pair of eyes for Itachi."
Sasuke's head snapped up, tear tracks still wet on his cheeks.
"Lady Tsunade, are you serious?"
Tsunade paused in thought. "Kakashi's eye has already been successfully cloned, though it hasn't been implanted yet."
She and Orochimaru had once been teammates. Although she resented him for experimenting on her grandfather's remains and hadn't seen him in years, the Third Hokage always had messengers relay information to her whenever she was off gambling.
Tsunade usually ignored them, but the Anbu were clever; they would deliver their message and promptly leave.
As a result, she was reasonably well-informed about the progress of Kakashi's cloned eye.
"Whether he can clone the Sharingan of your Uchiha clan is another matter, but we can let Orochimaru try."
"As for whether Orochimaru will be willing..."
"Don't worry," Kawasaki interrupted her. "He'll agree."
Kawasaki seemed utterly confident.
"Sensei, is that true?" Sasuke asked, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
Kawasaki ruffled Sasuke's hair. The boy was still unaware of his own evolution. "Leave this to me. And by the way, I have some good news for you. Your Sharingan has evolved."
Sasuke froze, then pressed his lips together. "The best news would be my brother's eyes getting better."
Behind him, Itachi closed his eyes and smiled.
...
Land of Water War Zone.
Tsuren Island.
With all Kumogakure forces having retreated into their stronghold, Kirigakure had withdrawn all its troops from the neighboring Tsuze Island and amassed them here.
The original plan had been to launch a probing attack against the Cloud ninja last night.
However, the fierce battle between Obito and the Uchiha members had drawn everyone's attention.
The Cloud ninja were unsure of the attacker's identity but understood he was there to assassinate the Uchiha.
By the time their scouts arrived, Shisui was gone, replaced by the Uchiha clan head, Kawasaki.
It wasn't until Obito finally vanished that they confirmed his identity as Uchiha Obito.
They mistakenly assumed Obito was simply there for revenge.
Kirigakure, on the other hand, immediately identified the man as Obito.
Seeing him back in the Land of Water, their first thought was that he was there to cause trouble again.
Fortunately, Obito had run into the Uchiha clan right away.
By the end of the battle, it was clear that both Obito and the Uchiha were heavily wounded.
Itachi's injuries seemed particularly severe.
The Uchiha had used the opportunity to withdraw.
Most likely, they had already retreated to safety.
At dawn the next day, Kirigakure began its probing assault against Kumogakure.
Using the defensive maps provided by the Uchiha, the Mist ninja had a decent understanding of the Cloud's patrol routes.
However, the various sealing tags, pitfalls, and tripwire traps set by Kumogakure greatly slowed Kirigakure's advance.
The situation had now devolved into a game of cat and mouse, with Cloud ninja hiding in the periphery while Mist ninja painstakingly disarmed traps.
They had made almost no progress all morning.
Tsuren Island, Kirigakure Base.
In the meeting room.
Smack!
Mei Terumi slammed her palm on the table.
"This is our only chance. We must take their stronghold before Cloud reinforcements arrive."
"Ideally, we'll kill or capture their jinchuriki."
Ao spoke from the side. "The jinchuriki's condition is unknown, and we currently lack the power to confront one."
Mei's expression was resolute. "I will personally lead the assault this afternoon. We must take down Kumogakure."
Ao's face grew grim. With the war at this stage, it was understandable that the Mizukage would want to take the field herself.
If they didn't press their advantage now, Kirigakure would be unable to turn the tide once the main Cloud forces made landfall.
Ao turned his head to look at Kisame, who was standing nearby.
"If the Cloud's main forces arrive, are you confident your leader can handle them?"
Kisame's small, bead-like eyes darted back and forth. "No problem at all. The boss is incredibly strong. Even if the Raikage himself showed up, he'd be no match for him."
"You don't need to worry too much about this mission. Even if Kumogakure's main army gets here, the boss has ways of dealing with them."
"There's no need to take unnecessary risks right now."
Mei shook her head. "We can't just sit here and do nothing. It would be best to capture their base while we can."
Kisame stood up. "In that case, let us take the vanguard."
Behind Kisame stood Juzo Biwa and Zabuza.
Having just been accepted by Kirigakure, they were eager to prove their worth and nodded in agreement with Kisame's proposal.
As for Suigetsu, he had been sent to the rear. According to Mei, his combat abilities were still limited, and his priority should be training.
Though reluctant, Suigetsu had no choice but to be escorted away by the Mist ninja.
...
Back on the battlefield in the Land of Water.
The Kumogakure forces had held their ground for the entire morning.
Everyone knew that Kirigakure's afternoon assault would likely be far more ferocious.
The tension was palpable.