Prologue

In an alternate timeline where Itachi spares Sasuke and takes him under his wing within the Akatsuki, Sasuke grows up surrounded by darkness, honing his skills and his thirst for power. But as he turns eighteen, a different kind of conflict brews within him-one driven not by vengeance, but by forbidden emotions he can't fully understand. Torn between the hatred he clings to and the unsettling affection that simmers beneath, Sasuke finds himself caught in a twisted web of loyalty, desire, and the ever-present shadow of his brother. In this tale of fractured bonds and forbidden feelings, the line between love and hate begins to blur-and the consequences could change everything.