Forged Beyond

Thunder before the storm - 2

Naruto crouched in front of Taka, the rain still dripping from his soaked jacket, steam rising faintly off his feverish skin. His scarf—a deep red thread of memory—clung to his neck, heavier than before.

He didn't say much.

Didn't need to.

He reached out, his hand gentle, and cupped the boy's cheek. Taka flinched at first, but Naruto's touch was warm. Understanding. Human.

Naruto tilted his jaw.

And there it was.

The curse seal. Small. Black. Twisting like ink just behind his jawbone.

A seal designed to punish silence.

To strangle betrayal.

Naruto's fingers hovered over it for a beat.

"...I need to know everything," he said softly, but there was a thunderclap behind those words. "Everything you know. Will you help me?"

Taka didn't hesitate.

"Yes."

Naruto's eyes flickered—pride, pain, relief all rolled into one—and he stood.

"Then follow me."

The rain followed them, weaving between rooftops, dripping off lanterns. They reached the Uchiha estate, the wind quieter there, like the walls themselves were holding their breath.

Izumi opened the door.

She knew something was wrong the second she saw Naruto's face.

Before she could even ask, Naruto handed her the letter.

She read two lines.

Then froze.

Her fingers trembled. The paper crumpled slightly in her grip.

She didn't speak. Just turned and ran inside.

Naruto stepped in behind her, Taka quiet like a shadow.

Izumi stormed into the room where Itachi sat—calm, reflective as always. A man who carried silence like armor.

She threw herself down beside him, the letter already shaking in her hand.

"Itachi... look."

Itachi read it once.

That was enough.

Then, slowly, his gaze drifted toward the corner of the room—

To the puppet.

Lifeless. Sitting with folded hands, resting against the wall like a doll abandoned mid-performance.

"So that's why..." Izumi whispered.

She turned to Naruto. Her eyes narrowed.

"...Wasn't he a spy?"

Naruto nodded once, gravely.

"He was. But he's on our side now. He chose it."
He placed a hand on Taka's shoulder, firm and protective.

"And I need you both to believe that."

Izumi hesitated, but Itachi didn't. His eyes glowed faintly red—the calm before the storm. The storm behind every Uchiha breath.

"I want you to use your Sharingan," Naruto said. "You're the only one whose eyes are even close to Sasuke's. I need to know what was done to him. What he knows. What he felt."

Taka didn't flinch as Itachi stood.

Didn't flinch when the Sharingan bloomed in his eyes.

Didn't even flinch when the genjutsu began.