Itachi flushed a little at that, but he couldn't deny the importance of Sasuke to him. Sasuke was so many things in Itachi's mind, and no matter how surly he got, he would always be Itachi's younger brother, the one who had once been so tiny he could be cradled in Itachi's arms. The next time Itachi held a child and felt such a devotion for them would probably be his own.

"I promise I won't even suggest it if he's not ready. He is young, but I don't want to hold him back just because of that." Sasuke was young, and Itachi didn't want his brother to go through the things Itachi had gone through. "If I just recommend him for Special Jounin, it won't be such a jump in difficulty, but he'll still feel he's improving and moving forward."