Uchiha Sasuke's eyes shifted slightly as he looked at Uchiha Itachi and spoke softly.
"You once said that back then, there was also a masked man who called himself Uchiha Madara involved, right?"
Uchiha Itachi was slightly taken aback, then nodded slowly.
"That's right, Sasuke. Don't tell me you're thinking…?"
Uchiha Sasuke withdrew his gaze.
"Yeah. Even though I don't understand why someone who calls himself Uchiha Madara, a former clan leader of the Uchiha, would slaughter his own descendants…"
"Since he was involved in what happened back then, my next target will be him."
Hearing this, Uchiha Itachi lowered his head slightly and tried to persuade him.
"Sasuke, that man isn't so simple."
Uchiha Sasuke suddenly stood up.
"No matter who he is, I'm not afraid."
Uchiha Itachi shook his head slowly.
"Then what are you planning to do next?"
Uchiha Sasuke smiled faintly. "Aren't you part of the Akatsuki? Just contact him and lure him here. Then we can join forces and kill him."
"It's not that simple." Uchiha Itachi spoke calmly, shattering Sasuke's expectation.
"Setting aside whether we can even kill him, just getting him to come here alone is already unrealistic."
"Why?" Uchiha Sasuke asked, puzzled.
"Because Uchiha Madara is the one pulling the strings behind the Akatsuki. Why would he listen to me and come to us? Also, I've already left the Akatsuki."
"You left the Akatsuki?" Uchiha Sasuke grew even more confused.
"Yes. I was only ever infiltrating the Akatsuki to gather intelligence on them. And not long ago, the organization's public leader, the Deva Path, had already begun to suspect me. On top of that, during their attack on the Hidden Leaf Village, I deliberately gave them the wrong signal. So my identity was definitely exposed."
Uchiha Itachi explained calmly.
"Even so, you didn't have to leave in such a hurry. It's just the Akatsuki," Uchiha Sasuke said, a bit overconfident.
"Sasuke, you're underestimating them." Uchiha Itachi frowned slightly before speaking again.
"Then if you can't lure him out, we'll just break into the Akatsuki's headquarters. It'll just take a bit of time," Uchiha Sasuke said casually, as if their base were nothing more than his own backyard.
Uchiha Itachi shook his head slowly.
"Sasuke, you need to understand—there's always someone stronger out there."
In other words: Sasuke, the Akatsuki runs deep. It's not something you can handle so easily.
"Every member of the Akatsuki is a powerful rogue ninja, each with their own abilities. None of them are to be underestimated," Uchiha Itachi said patiently.
But Uchiha Sasuke didn't take it seriously.
"You're boosting others' confidence while undermining your own."
"In any case, this matter needs further discussion. We'll take it step by step."
Uchiha Itachi spoke quietly. Since Sasuke had already set his mind on going after the masked man, Uchiha Madara, he didn't try to stop him anymore.
However, this was a serious matter that required careful planning.
Seeing Itachi say this, Uchiha Sasuke nodded slightly.
After their conversation ended, the fish had just finished roasting. Uchiha Itachi handed two grilled fish to Uchiha Sasuke, and the brothers ate in silence.
Uchiha Itachi chewed slowly, thinking to himself.
Yesterday, the Deva Path attacked the Hidden Leaf Village. If Rorin was there, he should have been able to defeat the Deva Path.
If the Deva Path was defeated, then going to the Akatsuki's headquarters with Sasuke would be a bit less dangerous.
Looks like I need to contact Rorin and find out what exactly happened.
Beside him, Uchiha Sasuke chewed on his fish when he suddenly remembered something and looked toward the direction of the Hidden Leaf Village.
When they left the Hidden Leaf Village, Uzumaki Naruto was safe and sound. So his earlier warning must have had some effect.
And since Uzumaki Naruto saw him leave together with niichan, he probably won't come bothering him anymore.
Uchiha Sasuke pondered silently as the two brothers finished their dinner, each lost in their own thoughts.
...
After dinner, Uchiha Itachi used the excuse of going to relieve himself and left, arriving at a secluded grove.
He took out a bone from inside his clothes and slowly infused it with chakra.
...
Hidden Leaf Village, inside Rorin's temporary rented room.
Having just finished a shower and about to head out for dinner, Rorin sensed the signal of the Flying Thunder God.
"Hm? What does Itachi want with me?" Rorin muttered.
Plans never keep up with changes. Rorin shook his head, then used the Flying Thunder God to appear beside Uchiha Itachi.
"Yo, Itachi. What's up? Don't tell me you're finally paying up on that bet with the three-colored dango?" Rorin said with a grin.
Hearing this, Uchiha Itachi smiled faintly. If Rorin hadn't brought it up, he would've forgotten.
"Next time. Definitely next time."
"By the way, did something unexpected happen during your fight with Danzō? Most of the village already knows about your infiltration," Rorin said, looking at Itachi with a curious expression.
"Yes. In the end, Danzō used the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing, trying to seal both Sasuke and me along with himself. At that critical moment, I had no choice but to use the complete form of Susanoo to escape, which is why my location was exposed," Uchiha Itachi said softly.
"A sealing technique too? What a coincidence," Rorin said with a slight smile.
Uchiha Itachi looked puzzled, and Rorin continued,
"During my fight with the Deva Path, he also used a sealing technique to trap me. Luckily, I managed to escape in the end."
When Rorin mentioned the fight with the Deva Path, Uchiha Itachi remembered why he had called him and looked at him seriously.
"Rorin, I wanted to ask—what was the result of your battle with the Deva Path? Did you eliminate him, or did he escape?"
Rorin replied calmly, "As for the Deva Path… we took all of them down."
Hearing this, Uchiha Itachi nodded slightly. That would reduce a lot of the danger if he and Sasuke went to the Village Hidden in the Rain.
"By the way, after the news of you killing Danzō spread, Tsunade-sama, under pressure from the higher-ups, had no choice but to issue a mission to intercept and eliminate the two of you," Rorin said slowly.
Uchiha Itachi smiled faintly. "So who took that mission?"
Rorin pointed at himself. "That unlucky guy would be me."
Uchiha Itachi smiled calmly. "If we didn't know each other, we might've actually fallen at your hands."