Itachi and Sasuke, Brothers (volume)

is volume 25 of the Naruto manga.

Chapters

 * 218.
 * 219.
 * 220.
 * 221.
 * 222.
 * 223.
 * 224.
 * 225.
 * 226.

Synopsis
Naruto tries to reason with Sasuke, though Sasuke is uninterested in returning to Konoha. As the two start to fight Sasuke remembers why he became so determined to gain power and kill Itachi. Sasuke spent his childhood trying to win his family's recognition, though their interest was always focused on Itachi and his prodigious skills. Just when Itachi began to distance himself from the clan and Sasuke started to enjoy his family's attention, he returned home one day to find that Itachi had killed their entire family. Deciding to spare Sasuke, Itachi gave him words of advice: in order to become strong enough to kill him and avenge the clan, Sasuke need only strive for power. To help Sasuke down this path, Itachi told Sasuke how to gain the Uchiha clan's most powerful ability, the Mangekyo Sharingan: simply kill your closest friend. Having since come to find Naruto to be his closest friend, Sasuke prepares do just that, finding the loss of Naruto to be an adequate payment for the strength needed to kill Itachi.