"Fine," Sasuke relented, a small smile playing on his lips. He was very familiar with this gesture. As long as his brother said those words and followed them with that signature, gentle poke on the forehead, Sasuke knew it was a promise—a request agreed to, but one that would have to be fulfilled at a later time. That was enough for him. Just having his brother here, spending this time with him, was more than he could have asked for.

"By the way, Sasuke," Itachi asked, his tone shifting slightly, "has the clan made any major decisions recently?"

"Yes," Sasuke nodded, his eyes lighting up with pride. "Brother, from now on, we're going to have our own village! It's called Madara-gakure, and its leader is the first Dōkage—Uchiha Madara."

"Haha, is that right?" After receiving Sasuke's enthusiastic confirmation, Itachi raised his head, a genuine smile touching his lips as he looked at the darkening sky. "The Uchiha clan… will finally have a real home."

"Sasuke," he asked, his gaze returning to his younger brother, "when the clan is stable and you've grown up, what is it that you want to do most?" Itachi was curious about what goals his brother held in his young heart.

"What do I want to do?" Sasuke's expression hardened in an instant. "Revenge, of course. Revenge on Konoha!" The memories were still fresh, the images of how the village elders had persecuted his father still vivid in his mind. It was Konoha that had driven them from their home, forced them into this remote wilderness to scrape out a new life.

"This is all Konoha's fault!" Sasuke's eyes burned with a pure, unadulterated anger, and a single, scarlet tomoe swirled to life in each of his eyes, blooming quietly, uncontrollably.

Seeing this, Uchiha Itachi was slightly stunned. He finally understood. His brother, like so many Uchiha before him, was now defined by a deep and abiding hatred. Itachi's first instinct was to persuade him, to tell him that a heart so young should not be burdened with such darkness, that he should be content with the new life they were building.

But he held the words back. Was Sasuke wrong? Or was he the one who had been wrong all along? He had inherited the ideals of Uchiha Shisui, that so-called "righteousness," the "Will of Fire." And in the end, what had it brought Shisui? Nothing but a miserable, forgotten death. His life had been extinguished in an instant, his body never recovered. His sacrifice had not earned him Konoha's sympathy, nor had it saved the Uchiha clan from the brink of destruction.

If Shiro had not appeared, if Madara had not returned, the current Uchiha would have likely met the same fate. Perhaps revenge, perhaps resistance, perhaps unyielding strength… perhaps these were the only true paths to survival for a shinobi, for a clan. The only way to truly seize control of one's own destiny.

As this realization settled over him, Uchiha Itachi felt a great weight lift from his shoulders. The exhaustion that had settled deep in his bones seemed to lessen. He no longer needed to worry about unnecessary things, about grand, empty ideals. As long as his family and his clan were safe and happy, that was all that mattered. All those other so-called righteous causes were nothing but hollow, high-sounding words.

"Sasuke, it's getting late," Itachi said, his voice soft again. "You should go home, or mother and father will worry."

"Well, okay," Sasuke agreed, though his shoulders slumped. "Brother, you haven't been home in so long. Mom would be so happy to see you."

"Hehe…" Uchiha Itachi's lips curved into a faint, sad smile as he shook his head. "I still have things to do. I won't be coming back today."

"Ah?" Hearing that Itachi was leaving again, Sasuke's face fell. "Brother, you're leaving already? What kind of mission did that old man Madara give you that you can't even come home?" Sasuke's voice trembled, on the verge of tears. He had finally been reunited with the brother he had missed so dearly, only to be separated again so soon.

"Sasuke, be good at home. I will come back."

"Don't blame our father for being so busy, and don't blame me."

"Everything we do now, Sasuke… is for the Uchiha."