The moment the exploding tags flew out, Sasuke used the smoke and dust from the explosions to charge towards Uchiha Itachi.
"Boom, boom, boom."
The successive explosions made the ground tremble slightly.
However, at that distance, it would not affect the land beneath their feet.
The huge amount of materialized Chakra disappeared in an instant. Uchiha Itachi leaned forward, no longer able to stand and about to fall.
Sasuke caught him steadily, preventing Uchiha Itachi from falling to the ground headfirst.
The unease grew to its peak at this moment. Although it was only a few steps, when he caught the falling Uchiha Itachi.
Sasuke gasped violently, his heart squeezed tightly, his throat and heart felt a sharp pain as if he was suffocating.
Uchiha Itachi's body felt icy cold, a chill that could be clearly felt even through his clothes.
Drizzling rain fell continuously. Whether it was an illusion or not, even the falling raindrops seemed warmer than Uchiha Itachi's body temperature.
14 Sasuke opened his mouth. He had many things he wanted to ask, like why he still wanted to fight him even though he was like this.
This suggestion was made by Uchiha Itachi himself. Sasuke basically trusted his brother unconditionally. Although it was a bit strange, he did not question it much and came as promised.
Actually, he was a little secretly pleased, thinking that perhaps he could now stand at a height similar to his brother's.
That was why Uchiha Itachi proposed to fight him.
Sasuke wanted to get his brother's approval, but he definitely did not want Uchiha Itachi to die in front of him.
He really wanted to ask Uchiha Itachi what was wrong with him messing with his emotions.
He knew Uchiha Itachi was gravely ill. He knew it from the beginning, the day he joined the Akatsuki organization, he saw it with his own eyes.
But Uchiha Itachi usually acted like someone who was perfectly fine.
Whether on missions or in daily life, besides Uchiha Itachi occasionally coughing up blood, he seemed no different from anyone else.
Even so, he was still very strong, maintaining a high level of skill.
Except for his partner Kisame and Sasuke, everyone else in the Akatsuki organization didn't even know that Uchiha Itachi was close to death.
They had initially planned, who between the two of them would be kept.
But Sasuke knew better than anyone that if that day ever came, the one who would be kept would definitely be him.
Just like how he was left in the village to be protected, protecting him was something Itachi did most often.
The usual Uchiha Itachi was too normal, sometimes Sasuke would find bloody tissues when tidying up.
Rolled up balls of paper wrapped around dark red blood.
Sasuke knew everything from the beginning, but he lived as if he knew nothing.
His brother was too good at deceiving, whether it was others or himself, everyone was blinded by the peaceful facade.
The person closest to him seemed to be the biggest fool.
When Uchiha Itachi invited him out for a fight, shouldn't Sasuke have realized something, instead of unconditionally trusting his brother as usual?
But what can be said now? Whether these words are spoken or not, whether questions are asked or not, what meaning do they have anymore?
"..."
Sasuke opened his mouth, but in the end, no words came out.
He vaguely felt warm liquid falling onto his arm. In this cold atmosphere, this brief warmth felt almost hot.
It wasn't his tears. He didn't want to focus his gaze there.
It was blood seeping from Uchiha Itachi's mouth, falling onto Sasuke's sleeve, penetrating bit by bit, touching his body heat, and merging into his flesh and blood.
Like brothers with the same blood flowing in them, returning to their origin.
Uchiha Itachi stared at Sasuke with his eyes open. His pupils had completely lost their sparkle and even seemed unfocused.
That last attack must have coughed up all the blood in his lungs, or shaken it out. Uchiha Itachi no longer made that gurgling sound when he breathed.
He was very close to Sasuke, and could clearly feel his heartbeat and the warmth of someone who was alive and would continue to live.
Uchiha Itachi's consciousness began to blur, his thoughts started to scatter. When a person is about to die, they should recall many things, but his mind was blank.
It seemed that the strength required for a life review had also been used up when he used Susanoo earlier. He had nothing left.
Uchiha Itachi gently poked Sasuke's forehead with his finger. His hand, which was slipping down, briefly touched Sasuke's cheek.
Sasuke only got some dust and smoke on him. His clean face was stained with a dazzling and glaring crimson.
Uchiha Itachi's hand dropped, resting quietly by his side. He closed his eyes peacefully, with a rare smile on his face.
This expression seemed quite common when Sasuke was little, but after growing up, Uchiha Itachi rarely showed such a smile, often appearing thoughtful and burdened.
"To suddenly attack us like that..."
Zetsu's head emerged again from beneath the rubble. The ground had been relatively flat before, and they could still find a way out.
This level of exploding tags could not harm them at all.
However, they were suddenly caught in the explosion, and with smoke and dust flying everywhere, it took them some time to get out.
He was just an observer, honestly recording the battle from the sidelines. He didn't interrupt the duel between the two brothers, nor did he interfere midway.
If anything, they were the more innocent ones, after all, it was them who were occasionally in danger of being affected by the situation here.
What a bizarre attack.
"Itachi is already dead."
While White Zetsu was muttering complaints, Black Zetsu, who had been silent all along, spoke.
"Huh?! He's already dead?"
"He looked so fierce just now, I thought Sasuke would lose."
White Zetsu quickly snapped out of his complaining and poked his head out to look at Sasuke.
Sasuke was still, his head slightly bowed. Due to the angle, Zetsu couldn't tell his expression, and he was holding the now dead Uchiha Itachi in his arms.
Black Zetsu's eyes narrowed slightly. The current situation didn't seem to be quite what they had imagined.
"Are their relationship that good...?"
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