"You need to come back to the district. Fugaku-sama is in the hospital."
Shisui hadn't offered much of an explanation, nor had he expanded on his worrying news before he popped out of existence. Sasuke surmised that it had everything to do with Naruko's presence. If Sasuke had to guess, the tension amongst his clan must have reached its peak. Whatever it was that upset his father a few days ago must have come to a head. Had his cousins attacked and hurt his father? Why? Did it have to do with the village?
"What are we waiting for? Let's go, 'ttebayo!" Naruko exclaimed with urgency in her voice.
There would be no point to arguing with Naruko. While he did trust her to be able to defend herself, he knew that he should avoid involving Naruko in his clan's business. Sasuke eyed Naruko for a few seconds before quickly activating his Sharingan and casting a genjutsu as quickly as he could. He stood back to watch Naruko's bright gaze dim just before she leapt away in the opposite direction of the Uchiha district. Reassured that she would be out of harm's way for now, Sasuke hurried back to his home. (He told himself that he'd deal with her anger later.)
Sasuke wasn't sure what he expected to see when he got back to the compound. His father was in the hospital, but what about his mother? Was Itachi already there? Was the Hokage? Sasuke knew that the Yondaime had been very indulgent with his clan in the past, but he also knew that the Hokage had already made it clear that he wouldn't tolerate traitors to the village. With narrowed focus, Sasuke picked up the pace.
As he ran, Sasuke'd run through several different possibilities for what he would see when he got home, but he hadn't expected to come upon an all-out battle in the streets. From where he stood atop the wall surrounding the district, Sasuke tried to pinpoint who was fighting whom. Unfortunately, there were no green flak jackets or even any ANBU uniforms mixed in among the bodies. As far as he could tell, everybody had an Uchiha clan crest emblazoned on their backs. There were young, old, men, women, skilled fighters, and civilians. His clan was tearing itself apart.
Sasuke had long thought about what he would do if he ever had to choose between the clan and the village, but he hadn't expected to choose between separate halves within the clan. He couldn't readily identify who was fighting for what cause. None of the faces he spotted popped out as any of the particularly vocal clan members.
Maybe he hadn't been paying enough attention? Had he been ignoring the tension amongst his clan? The anger, hatred, and frustration that he was now seeing on his family's faces looked far too intense for what he expected. Had he been too focused on Naruko and the threat of the Akatsuki? (Or had Orochimaru pulled away too much of his interest?)
His Sharingan allowed him to see the kunai coming towards him long before it had even left his aunt's hand. She was just a civilian in the clan, one of his clan's best seamstresses, but her aim was better than a civilian's should be. Had she been training for this fight? She lacked any sort of power or speed behind her throw, so it was easy for him to snatch the oncoming projectile out of mid-air before zeroing in his gaze on her.
He could see the exact moment she realized her blunder. She'd been so kind to him the last time his mother had brought him and Itachi into her shop to get a new kimono. But now, she was staring at him with fear in her dark eyes. Did she expect him to try to kill her now? He didn't get a chance to try to alleviate her fears before she took off running, shoving others out of her way as she ran, and causing some to stop and look around at what could have terrified her.
The looks he got from other clan members ranged from (maybe?) relief to disgust and hatred. What did they expect him to do? Try as he might, he couldn't see the separation between his family members. He couldn't tell who was on the right versus the wrong side. (Was there a right and wrong? They were all family.)
Sasuke didn't get a chance to decide before one of his cousins, Kenichi, was leaping at him, Sharingan actively swirling. His cousin's Sharingan had only two tomoe, but that didn't discourage him from trying to slice his kunai across Sasuke's eyes. With a narrowed gaze, Sasuke dodged and parried the blows with relative ease.
"Traitors don't deserve those eyes!" Kenichi shouted at him, hatred and frustration flashing in his eyes.
Sasuke gave him a small frown before using chakra to sidestep, deflect the oncoming strike, and land a precise hit at the side of Kenichi's neck. He caught his cousin as he was falling, probed around his vagus nerve with some healing chakra, and gently lowered the unconscious, older man to the ground by the back of his clothes. Sasuke watched more of his family shoot him both wary looks and hateful glares.
"Sasuke-chan! Help us kill them the way they killed Fugaku-sama!" a voice shouted. Sasuke didn't bother to determine who it had been. He had more pressing concerns, such as where his mother's well-being. He could hear a few disappointed cries as he took to the rooftops and leapt away.
He couldn't kill his family. Sasuke was surprised that the rest of the clan seemed to not have similar qualms. He could see brothers and sisters fighting each other, wives fighting their husbands, children opposing their parents… It all left him feeling deeply troubled. He couldn't imagine fighting his brother, parents, or Shisui to the death. What was so different about him from the rest of the clan that was preventing any of this madness from making any sense?
Despite a portion on his attention being trained on his inner thoughts, Sasuke had more than enough time to detect the fireball hurtling towards him. A controlled burst of chakra to his legs had him flipping out of the way of the attack and leaving a chunk of the roof to be blasted away instead. Sasuke barely acknowledged the now exposed wood that was slowly catching on fire. His attention was quickly pulled away by his cousin, Yashiro, landing on the roof of the neighboring building. His cousin was clutching a bloodied tanto in one hand and a couple shuriken in the other. Sasuke's grip tightened on his kunai.
"I had originally disliked you for your callous and disrespectful disregard for Fugaku. But then I realized that he was nothing more than an old fool; too scared to do what needed to be done for the good of the clan. Clearly, you could see far better than I could," Yashiro said, raising up from his defensive stance and taking up a more open pose. "I wonder how well you can see now?"
Sasuke wasn't sure if that was a dig about his Mangekyo ravaging his vision, but then Yashiro said, "You can see right through Fugaku, but you struggle to see through Itachi's tricks."
Incensed and offended, Sasuke almost growled, "My brother doesn't-"
"He's a traitor to the clan. He has poisoned those around him and pulled them over to the village- Shisui, Fugaku, and even you. You would stand for the village and die for it, but the village hates the Uchiha. They treat us worse than scum! They reject, ostracize, and surveil us while still expect us to serve them!" Yashiro was shouting over the streets now. The fighting below slowed to a stop as more and more people began listening to his words. Several below shouted their jeers and objections, becoming more invigorated by the ranting.
"The village needsthe strength of the Uchiha, not the other way around!" Yashiro shouted, being backed up by more shouts of agreement.
"This village is corrupt and unfair!"
"Madara-sama was right!"
Yashiro turned back to Sasuke just as his other cousins, Tekka and Inabi, took up their places behind him. Blood was still dripping from their weapons as well. "Sasuke," Yashiro said and pointed his tanto at Sasuke. "You can either join us or die at our feet. Renounce your brother and your traitorous ways or I'll be cleaning your blood from my hands later."
Sasuke was highly doubtful of that. His cousins were all in their fifties, too old and battle worn to fight with more than just their words anymore. He was sure that he wouldn't even need his Mangekyo to humiliate them for even insinuating that they could kill him or that he would betray his brother.
"You're an idiot," Sasuke scoffed, filling the near silence that had fallen. "I've killed stronger men than you." Tekka and Inabi looked rageful at his words, but Yashiro smirked.
"So be it then," Yashiro said and rushed in. The clang of steel colliding signaled to those fighting below to resume their attacks.
His cousin was about as strong as he expected, clearly skilled but rusty. He was too slow to keep up and not agile enough to dodge some light swipes of Sasuke's kunai. He wasn't attacking fatally, preferring a slower reveal of the gap between their strength and skill. When Sasuke had managed to practically blur out and into his cousin's line of sight, he smirked at the panicked expression on the older man's face. He watched the shock and fear in cousin's eyes as Yashiro realized what was coming. Sasuke had poked through another hole in the man's defenses and now his kunai was poised to permanently blind Yashiro.
But despite the clear threats made against him, Sasuke didn't feel the need to truly injure his family. At the last second, Sasuke diverted his hand and let the tip of his kunai graze Yashiro's temple instead before quickly kicking the man in his chest and sending him flying backwards into Tekka and Inabi's arms. More than a little ruffled, Yashiro quickly twisted back onto his feet with a growl.
"He can't take us all at once," Sasuke read Inabi's lips as he whispered to Yashiro.
Sharingan spinning lazily, Sasuke said, "Even the three of you together wouldn't be a challenge for the newest of genin."
Sasuke got the reaction he was looking for when all three of their faces flamed. "After we kill you, we're going to kill Itachi as well, and then we'll finish what Madara-sama started. We'll use the kyuubi to destroy this rotten village and everyone in it that profits off the back of the Uchiha!" Yashiro exclaimed, leading the other two into a charge.
Sasuke felt an unbidden spike of his chakra, the smugness he had been feeling slowly dissipating and being replace by a cold fury. With renewed energy, Sasuke gathered some lightning and channeled it through the kunai. He didn't want to kill family, but he would do whatever was necessary to protect his precious people.
His killing intent was rising with every second that passed. Nothing oppressive or suffocating yet, but potent enough that it gave his cousin's momentary pause. It wasn't enough to stop them completely, but it didn't matter. Time was slowing down now, his eyes already showing him the moments when he would slit all their throats. Suddenly, Sasuke's instincts screaming at him to dodge just in time to miss the rain of shuriken that fell in a perfect line between him and his cousins.
Sasuke turned wild eyes onto whoever had intervened, pausing at the sight of Itachi impassively staring down at them from a power pole. Itachi's Sharingan spun lazily, a clean tanto in his hand and a frown deepening on his face. Sasuke felt the rest of his killing intent peter out in the wake of Itachi's silent disapproval.
"Itachi!" Yashiro shouted for the heavens to hear.
"Yashiro," Itachi acknowledged calmly.
"So, you've come down from your seat at the Hokage's feet? Did Yondaime-sama not think we were important enough to face himself, so he sent you in his stead? Have you come to silence our voices? Our warranted complaints?" Yashiro was still yelling, now capturing the attention of everyone around. A few of the shinobi on the street leapt up onto the buildings to get a better view of the interaction.
Itachi stared at the trio for a few seconds before looking around at all the red and black eyes staring up at him. "It is only a matter of time before outside forces arrive. Lay down your weapons and give up this pointless crusade," Itachi spoke, his tone level and voice strong.
"Pointless!?"someone echoed in outrage.
"You're fighting an unwinnable battle for imagined slights. You focus on the trivial and lose sight of what is most important. Change is impossible in this fog of ignorance," Itachi said, his voice sounding both disapproving and disappointed.
Although he was sure that his brother wasn't speaking to him, Sasuke still felt the weight of Itachi's words weighing down on him. However, Yashiro didn't seem to feel the same. "It's you that's ignorant! You would turn your back on your clan! Forsook your own family and aligned with the village that would repay you by asking you to give your life for them!"
Itachi's eyes narrowed as he calmly asked, "How many of your own clansmen have you felled with your sword today? How many homes have you set ablaze? It's not the village that's our enemy."
Sasuke watched a few of the onlookers look around them, their eyes catching on splatters and pools of blood drying in the streets and the few burning buildings. The conviction that had just been rampant and strong was slowly wavering. Sasuke watched Itachi jump from the power pole, arc through the air, and land on the roof with almost inaudible steps. Despite his brother's (showy) display, Yashiro, Tekka, and Inabi were turning even redder, still grasping at their rage. Apparently through with using words, Yashiro released a loud battle cry and charged.
Without his Sharingan, Sasuke would have missed the quick blur that was his brother moving in head on. Sasuke could track each single punch to each man before they each were sent flying in different direction. Itachi stood up straight while the men groaned from the ground. Red eyes gleaming, Itachi turned his gaze onto the others still milling around. Without using any killing intent, Itachi had managed to put genuine fear into the rebels. Sasuke was mildly impressed, if not jealous.
Sasuke frowned at the sight of the former rebels quickly fleeing from sight. "We need to stop them," Sasuke objected, but Itachi's grip on his shoulder stopped him.
"How do you plan to stop them, Sasuke?" Itachi asked him. Apparently, Itachi still had some more disapproval to spare. Sasuke grit his teeth, but looked down and away from his brother's knowing gaze. "Death should not be a sentence given to family."
Feeling the tips of his ears burn in shame, Sasuke pulled out of Itachi's grip. His brother let him go without a fight. "And what about them? How many do you think they killed today? It was probably them that hurt Tou-san. They wanted to kill you. They wanted to release the kyuu-" Sasuke started but couldn't stop himself in time.
Itachi's expression shifted to one almost reminiscent of exasperation. Knowing that he'd said exactly the wrong thing, Sasuke stepped back and away from his brother to collect his thoughts. "Sasuke," Itachi stressed. When Sasuke ignored him, Itachi tried again. "Otouto, revenge is a double-edged sword. The longer you hold onto it, the deeper you cut yourself," Itachi explained in a patient way, as if he were speaking to a child.
"Don't worry. I don't have to hold it for long, Itachi. I'm already strong enough to have my revenge whenever I want," Sasuke replied.
"You misunderstand me, Sasuke. Your vengeance and hatred will consume you, little brother. I'm telling you to let it go," Itachi said in an imperative tone.
It was his shame and embarrassment from being lectured by his big brother that made Sasuke turn an annoyed look on his brother. "Would you?" Sasuke muttered. "I would kill anyone to protect my precious people. That includes you, Nii-san," Sasuke said. And because he knew that it would hurt his brother just a little bit, Sasuke said, "Would you do the same for me?"
Losing his indifference, Itachi gave him a pained expression just before his face smoothed out again. Immediately, Sasuke wanted to take back the words, deeply regretting saying them in the first place. "Nii-san-"
"It's alright, Sasuke. You're right. I am a hypocrite," Itachi said. The shame Sasuke felt before was nothing compared to what he felt at seeing the unguarded love in Itachi's eyes. "Tou-san is stable in the hospital. He took a hit for Kaa-san from a tanto. She's staying with him in the hospital."
"Good," Sasuke replied. "Shisui sent a clone, but he didn't know much."
"Can you locate Shisui? I don't think he should need much help, but it's imperative that we get a handle on this quickly," Itachi requested as he put out the nearby fires with a water jutsu.
"Where are you going?"
As he was moving to leave, Itachi replied, "Izumi was visiting her mother today. I'm going to find her."
"I hope you find her soon," Sasuke replied, still feeling a little awkward around his brother. (Why? Why had he said something so stupid?) Itachi gave him a silent nod and left. Was this the moment that Itachi's seemingly never-ending elove for him would begin to fade? With a silent sigh, Sasuke left the roof as well.
~:~
Shisui had awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan when he was fifteen. It had been a completely avoidable and pathetically pointless event. He'd turned his back on a rival- a friend.He'd let his jealousy take hold and chosen to let a friend die. A comrade had needlessly lost their life and Shisui had gained the Mangekyo Sharingan and the ability to cast the most powerful genjutsu in existence. He'd let someone die and had been rewarded for it. Fugaku-sama and the clan elders had been proud of him for reaching such a difficult milestone. But their pride had only served to make him even more disgusted with himself.
It took a while for Shisui to able to accept that this was who he was deep down. (Try as he might to uphold Uchiha Kagami's name and legacy, he'd failed at the most pivotal moment.) It took a heart to heart with Itachi for him to begin to understand that he was human and bound to his imperfections. Shisui had always wanted to be a good role-model for Itachi, but it was his younger cousin that he often compared himself to. But as much as Itachi had tried, he couldn't help Shisui let go of all his self-loathing. These eyes were a curse. They provided strength as payment for suffering. While he wasn't opposed to use his Sharingan to strengthen his base abilities, Shisui adamantly refused to use his Mangekyo. He didn't need that kind of power.
Unfortunately, not everyone in his clan felt the same way. Shisui had known for years that there were others in the clan with the Mangekyo, but he'd never made a point to discuss their eyes with them. (It felt like a creepy topic for conversation in his opinion.)
He had been moving through the streets, efficiently knocking out his warring clanmates with a preference for the anarchists he recognized from clan meetings. His advance through the streets had been suddenly halted by a group of shinobi surrounding him an alleyway. "You chose a decent location. You're trying to box me in to limit my movement," Shisui mused as he glanced around him. There were at least twenty men blocking all paths of escape.
"Our task was to take you out of commission before Itachi arrived," his uncle that had taught him how to water walk said.
"Don't want to take us on at the same time?" Shisui surmised.
"It's easier this way. You have the Mangekyo, but one isn't as good as three," his uncle said as his eyes shifted into his Mangekyo. Two others in the crowd copied his moves and readied their weapons. Three Mangekyo at the same time would be challenging, but not impossible to beat. 'Just have to be quick,' Shisui thought with a small grin.
~:~
In Itachi's opinion, one of the worst things about his ability to process information was just how quickly he could do so much of it at once. Sometimes, it felt like he could be focused on multiple things at once. While he was concerned for his father in the hospital, he was also feeling concern for Izumi and Shisui who were both somewhere in the district. He considered how Minato would react once he heard the news of the uprising. His mind was even running on the latest disappointing news of mission failure from Kakashi-san. But the majority of his focus was directed towards his little brother.
Sasuke's words had hurt, but they hadn't been untrue. Itachi was a hypocrite, and he was well aware of it. Much of his beliefs and actions deeply conflicted with each other- his pacifism and astoundingly high body count, his want for peace and his willingness to strike down those that threaten his village and loved ones, his genius and inability to figure out how to save his brother.
It felt like every time he took his gaze off his brother, Sasuke seemed to sink deeper and deeper into his hate and vengeance. But Itachi could tell that no matter what he said, Sasuke only became increasingly deaf to his warnings and pleas. Orochimaru's interference and the threat of the Akatsuki kept his little brother in a constant state of urgency and impending catastrophe. Sasuke wanted- needed- to become strong enough to protect, but Itachi worried over his brother's need for power. Such a lust couldn't end well.
"Itachi!"
Izumi's voice had him turning to and running to her before he'd consciously thought to do it. He didn't stop when he touched down on the ground before her. She had an arm around her injured mother, providing a support to lean on. Itachi examined the older women's injured ankle.
"It's just a sprain. I was about to take her to the hospital," Izumi explained.
"You're low on chakra," Itachi observed and crouched in front of his soon to be mother-in-law.
"Thank you, Itachi-kun," she said gratefully as she slowly moved to climb on his back.
"I had to use my Sharingan. I held them off as best as I could without it," Izumi started. She must have seen the concern he felt because she rushed to say, "I'm alright. Most of them started running after that."
She was always too quick to brush off her own problems. He was about to say something else, but Izumi quickly cut off his worry to ask, "Where's Sasuke and Shisui?"
"I sent Sasuke to find Shisui," Itachi said, doing his best not to bring up the clear limp in Izumi's step. He could see the blood running down her leg.
Izumi quickly shifted to block his view of her injury while attempting to lead him away. "We're going to the hospital anyways," she reasoned.
Itachi quickly made a clone. "We can get there faster if my clone carries you," Itachi pointed out. Izumi gave him a patient smile, already wise to his intentions. The very second his clone wrapped its arms around her back and knees, Itachi felt a large spike of chakra coming from the west.
"Have the ANBU arrived?" Izumi asked.
"The ANBU?" he heard Yua say from his back, sitting up straighter and trying to see if she could see what he was looking at.
"I don't think so," Itachi replied. If it were the ANBU, he wouldn't be able to feel their chakra signatures at all. Unfortunately, his sensing abilities weren't sharp enough to specifically identify who it was using so much chakra or how many there were.
"You should hurry," Izumi said and tried to leave his clone's grasp. He wasn't sure how he felt about her easy acceptance of him abandoning her. "The clan is in trouble which means the village is in trouble. You're Itachi of the Leaf," she explained and helped her mother off his back. He watched his clone take his place before leaping away with the older woman.
It didn't feel right to leave her, but she was right. Duty should come before attachments. Itachi summoned another clone. He would only leave her because he was sure that she'd be alright. "I'll come find you as soon as things have settled," Itachi said, taking advantage of their solitude by kissing her forehead.
"I know. Don't worry," Izumi replied as his second clone picked her up and left with her in his arms. Now that he was alone, Itachi took a moment to center himself and push his emotions aside. Whatever he was about to find would need his complete focus.
~:~
Sasuke was doing his best on trying to find Shisui, but he couldn't get his mind off Itachi's words. Maybe his brother was right, yet again? Itachi was always right. Why would he be wrong about this? Had he been only hurting himself this whole time by living for revenge? For the past few months, Sasuke had refused to let go of his need for vengeance. He pushed himself past his limits and was finally able to face Orochimaru on even footing. But how far had he truly gotten? Orochimaru was still alive and hidden away. If he couldn't kill one snake, how strong was he really? Did Itachi think he was incapable of handling his want for retribution?
As much as he tried to steer his thoughts away from the idea, it refused to leave his thoughts. Itachi was a hypocrite. If Itachi was right about vengeance, he didn't seem to care about the repercussions of his own. Would Itachi's vengeance somehow be more justified than Sasuke's was? Did Itachi somehow think that he was superior to him?
Sasuke wanted to scoff at his thoughts. Itachi was his loving, nosy, meddlesome brother. Itachi had never been cruel to him. He'd never compared their strengths or acted with condescending malice. Itachi had only ever encouraged and tested him. Itachi had always believed that Sasuke would surpass him one day. (Sasuke now resisted the urge to ask how far off that day was.)
His thoughts and legs came to an abrupt halt when he felt a large spike in chakra coming from the middle of the district. Switching directions, Sasuke made his way over to where he was sensing a lot of dense chakra starting to build. It was difficult to pinpoint Shisui's chakra signature amongst the heavy cloud, but Sasuke had a good hunch that his cousin was at the center of whatever power struggle had just broken out.
Sasuke jumped down into an alleyway, his eyes roving over the splatters of blood still running down the walls. He couldn't tell how many had been here, there were too many bloody footprints and puddles to get an accurate count. Continuing on, Sasuke came upon some unconscious bodies lying on the ground and against the walls. If this had been Shisui's handiwork, he was clearly very efficient and successful. Sasuke was certain now that Itachi's concern had been misplaced and he would find Shisui no worse for wear at the end of this trail of bodies.
Sauske's casual stroll down the alley was paused by the feel of a new chakra signature. It took Sasuke less than a second to recognize it as Itachi's, but his brother's chakra had never felt so oppressiveand cold. Clearing the rest of the alley with a few strides, Sasuke pushed out onto the main street and felt his heart stop.
He had been right to expect most of Shisui's attackers would be incapacitated. But he would never have predicted that he'd see his cousin laying at the center of the chaos with a katana plunged through his gut. Sasuke could still see the small movements in Shisui's torso that signified his shallow breathing. But before he could take a step towards Shisui, Sasuke was stopped once again by the feel of his brother's chakra.
Itachi was standing at the other end of the street, his eyes focused on Shisui, and his entire body wrapped in red flames. Sasuke had seen his brother's Mangekyo only once, but it hadn't looked so menacing the last time. The way his brother's chakra was roiling, it wouldn't be much longer before the entire village was kicking down their gate.
Sasuke wanted to step out towards his brother, but when Itachi's eyes suddenly looked up from Shisui's body it felt like his brother was looking right at him. He was wrong, however. Itachi's gaze was focused on the only other man standing. Sasuke couldn't identify the man from just his back, but he was certain that he had been the one to down Shisui. Without warning, Itachi left eye's started bleeding, the veins in it becoming more pronounced.
"Tsukuyomi," Sasuke heard what sounded like his brother's voice. But it was far more ominous than he'd ever heard it. Sasuke barely suppressed the shiver that ran down his spine.
Initially, Sasuke had no idea what had happened, if anything at all. There were a few beats of tense silence until he heard the screaming. He watched the man fall to his knees with screams of terror filling the air. Sasuke couldn't see any injuries on the man, despite his tortured screams. Itachi was now rapidly blinking and clutching at his eye in pain, his body doubling over with a heavy pant. Whatever jutsu he had used must be over, but their uncle was still screaming bloody murder. Sasuke watched as his uncle screamed himself hoarse before rolling over onto his back and going completely still.
Sasuke's eyes widened. It had to be a genjutsu. But what could Itachi have shown him that would cause such a break down? He had no idea that his brother possessed such a frightening power.
Just like that, Sasuke watched several ANBU leap out of the shadows and oppose his brother. The fear that had locked his limbs in place had quickly left, being replaced by an urgent need to defend his brother. His path was blocked by an ANBU in a cat mask that warned, "Do not interfere."
Sasuke was ready to shove his way through to his brother if he had to. But it was the commanding voice of the Hokage that stopped him. "Stand down," he ordered before slowly approaching Itachi. "Itachi-kun, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you to shoulder this burden alone. Please," Minato said and offered Itachi a hand.
Finally, the red aura around his brother vanished and seemed to take the last his fight with it. Sasuke could see his brother breathing deeply, his eyes trained on the ground and his shoulders slumped. Minato moved to take a step closer, but he paused when a racking cough started to fill the air. Sasuke hadn't heard his brother cough like that in years. Sasuke tried to look around the troublesome cat ANBU because the Hokage must have done something to his brother for him to sound so terrible. The Hokage was moving in closer still, reaching a hand towards Itachi just as Itachi coughed up enough blood to cover his hands. Itachi looked at his hands in surprise for a split second before his face went blank and he collapsed into the Yondaime's arms.
"No," Sasuke's soft plea barely carried. All the past fear that he had felt over losing his brother to his illness was resurging with a vengeance now. Without caring for the ramifications, Sasuke channeled his lighting release throughout his body while elbowing the ANBU in his exposed side. The momentary stun was enough to break him out of Cat's hold, but Sasuke didn't make it more than a few steps before he was ensnared in thick vines that had just sprung up through the earth. There was a soft, confused, 'Mokuton?'that ran through the back of his mind before disappearing in the wake of overwhelming concern for his brother. From where he was pinned to the ground, Sasuke watched Minato glance at the bodies around him, frown deeply, and give the ANBU a subtle nod. With fire in his eyes, Sasuke tried to keep his gaze on Minato, but he felt his lids grow heavy. His last thoughts were a confused lament on his chakra being stripped away.