"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
Tears streamed down his face as he gripped the kunai tightly, his hands trembling.
Naruto, watching the scene unfold through his enhanced perception, almost couldn't contain his laughter.
"Would you call that crocodile tears?"
Inside the dimly lit room, when Itachi pointed his ninja blade at his own parents, neither of them flinched. Seated on their knees, they remained motionless, their faces unreadable.
Uchiha Fugaku understood—his eldest son had no choice in this matter. In the end, Fugaku had chosen his allegiance, standing on Konoha's side. But what he hadn't foreseen was that his proudest son wouldn't even have the freedom to remain a bystander.
Even more despairing was the fact that the executioner was his own child.
When Itachi entered the room, Fugaku still clung to the faint hope that his son wouldn't go through with it. Yet, as he knelt beside Mikoto, his back turned to Itachi, he refused to look at him.
"Do they not even want to face him?" Kyuubi's deep voice rumbled in Naruto's mind.
Naruto smirked slightly but remained silent. He observed their faces—void of emotion, void of tears.
Shifting his gaze slightly, he glanced at the shadowed corner where Uchiha Obito lurked, silently witnessing the massacre. Communicating telepathically with Kyuubi, Naruto mused:
"Itachi—the supposed savior of the Uchiha clan. Even as a double agent, his parents probably believed he could lead them back to greatness."
"And in the shadows, the other so-called savior—the man calling himself Uchiha Madara, but really just Obito."
Kyuubi remained silent. He knew all too well the feeling of betrayal. And he could understand the hollow numbness of Fugaku and Mikoto in this moment.
"Didn't you say he has the heart of a Hokage?" Kyuubi finally asked.
Naruto chuckled. "Sure. But look at him. Besides tears, does he have any emotion? Guilt? Rage? Nothing."
"He claims he's doing this for peace. Isn't that a bit self-righteous? Do you think that justifies his actions?"
"The so-called greater good... demands the blood of one's kin."
Kyuubi suddenly burst into laughter. "He butchered his own parents, his clan—down to the newborns. For justice? Are you serious?!"
"And what about Shisui? The one who supposedly loved the village so much. If he really cared, why didn't he seek revenge on Danzo?"
"You said it yourself—if he truly believed in his ideals, he could've defected, used his intelligence to force Danzo's hand. But no, he chose to die instead, leaving everything to Itachi."
Naruto cut Kyuubi off. He knew this discussion was stirring old wounds in the beast. Perhaps, it was simply disbelief at the absurdity of it all.
"Now comes the most ironic moment of the massacre."
Inside the room, Fugaku, still expressionless, spoke his final words:
"Itachi, promise me... Take care of Sasuke."
"...I understand."
Itachi's grip tightened on his blade, his entire body shaking. Mikoto closed her eyes.
"Don't hesitate. This is the path you've chosen."
Then came the words that would haunt Itachi for the rest of his life:
"Compared to you, our pain will last only a moment."
A single stroke—
A sharp breath—
Blood stained the floor as Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto fell silent forever.
At that moment, Itachi felt an unbearable pain in his eyes.
His three-tomoe Sharingan spun wildly before transforming—Mangekyō Sharingan awakened.
Just then—
"Nii-san!"
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor.
Sasuke, eyes wide with disbelief and terror, stumbled into the blood-streaked room. He staggered backward, his mind reeling, before collapsing to the ground.
"Why?"
"Nii-san!!!"
Tears blurred Sasuke's vision as he clutched his head, his mind refusing to accept the truth. His parents—his clan—
He wanted to scream at his brother, demand an explanation, tell him that Uchiha Shisui might still be alive—that things could be different. But his thoughts were a chaotic mess.
"Why... Mom, Dad... and everyone... Why?!"
Sasuke was utterly broken, lost in the horror of the moment. Yet, ironically, he was the most normal one of them all.
But like all storms, the rain eventually stops, and the sky clears.
Tonight, however, the storm had only begun.
"Because I killed them all."
Itachi's face was hidden in the shadows, but his scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan glowed ominously.
Sasuke froze, his entire body trembling.
"No... No way... That's impossible! You wouldn't... You wouldn't do that! There's no reason! Right?!"
Itachi slowly stepped toward Sasuke, his bloodstained blade reflecting the dim light.
"Then let me show you."
His Mangekyō spun, and in an instant—
Tsukuyomi.
Sasuke's pupils shrank to pinpricks as his consciousness was yanked into a nightmarish world.
Forced to witness everything.
Every slice of Itachi's blade.
Every life taken.
The child he had just played with the day before—mercilessly cut down.
Then, at the heart of the carnage, his parents knelt before Itachi, the final moment replaying once more.
Sasuke lunged forward, screaming, reaching—
But it was a cruel illusion. No matter how he struggled, he couldn't change anything.
The blade fell again.
The words echoed again.
The pain returned again.
When Sasuke finally broke free of the Genjutsu, his Sharingan had awakened.
A single tomoe.
Itachi glanced at him, his expression unreadable.
"Only one tomoe?" he murmured.
He sighed. "Not enough."
"Forgive me, Sasuke."
Tsukuyomi.
Once more, the nightmare began anew.
By the time it ended, Sasuke was barely conscious, his mind shattered beyond recognition.
The true tragedy of the Uchiha clan had only just begun.
And once again, he saw his parents die before his eyes—at the hands of his most beloved brother.
He screamed, his voice filled with anguish. "Stop it! I don't want to see this anymore! No! Please, no more!"
His Sharingan still displayed a single tomoe.
Itachi, ever the dutiful elder brother, ended the Tsukuyomi, his expression unreadable as he gazed down at his trembling sibling.
Looking at his younger brother, who was about to collapse from the overwhelming mental torment, Uchiha Itachi spoke the words that would define Sasuke's path forever.
"My foolish little brother..."
"Hate me, curse me, survive in misery... Live on like a pathetic insect. And when you have eyes like mine, seek me out."
With those parting words, Sasuke lost consciousness.
Itachi took one last deep look at his younger brother, unable to face the bloodied remains of their parents any longer. Then, without hesitation, he vanished into the night, using the Body Flicker Technique.
Shortly after Sasuke was taken away, another figure emerged.
Naruto slowly rose from the shadows of the battlefield, surveying the carnage.
"Well?"
"The bodies are still fresh."
"Take them. They might be useful later."
"Should we take all of them?"
Naruto shook his head. "No, just one. Fugaku's remains are crucial. He might hold the key to improving my eyes."
"Understood."
A Wood Clone carefully lifted the still-warm corpses of Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto, preparing to transport them elsewhere.
Naruto glanced at the devastated district, then created two more shadow clones.
"Scour the area. Retrieve every scroll related to ninjutsu and forbidden techniques. Leave behind anything of value for Sasuke."
"Got it."
At that moment, one of his clones sent a warning.
"Root operatives are approaching."
Simultaneously, White Zetsu emerged from the ground.
"Two different groups are heading this way."
Naruto narrowed his eyes. Apart from the civilian bodies littering the streets, not a single Uchiha ninja corpse remained. Not one Sharingan was left intact. Even the clan's fallen had been stripped away without a trace.
A clone, having assumed a perfect disguise, observed from the shadows as the Root operatives and White Zetsu arrived at the same time.
A smirk played on the clone's lips. As he flickered out of existence, the last kunai disappeared into the earth.
The Root operatives and White Zetsu found only an empty battlefield.
Both sides glared at each other in disbelief.
"You?!" they spat simultaneously.
Outside, Sarutobi Hiruzen arrived just in time to strip Danzo of his position as Hokage's advisor.
Danzo stood still, silent. He hadn't even needed to act. He had merely come to go through the motions, planning to reap some rewards in the chaos. Yet now, he was leaving empty-handed—and without his title.
He clenched his fists, though his expression remained eerily neutral.
But the moment his Root operatives returned with their report, his carefully maintained composure shattered.
"What did you say?!" he bellowed.
"Not a single body remained, Lord Danzo. There was fresh blood at the scene, but the corpses have all vanished."
"No trace whatsoever."
Danzo's face twisted in fury. "Damn that Uchiha Madara... He broke our deal!"
He slammed his cane into the ground. "Find them! I don't care how long it takes! I want at least one Sharingan!"
His supply of spare eyes had vanished overnight.
Could it have been Hiruzen? No, impossible. The old man wouldn't be so ruthless—not when he likely still had Shisui's other eye in his possession.
The realization made Danzo seethe with rage.
Meanwhile, in another part of the village, Obito received White Zetsu's report.
For a moment, he stood in stunned silence.
Then, a slow, mocking chuckle escaped his lips.
"Danzo, huh? Impressive."
Fortunately, he had taken some Sharingan from the Uchiha police force before the slaughter had ended. Otherwise, even he would have walked away empty-handed.
"Tch... A smile never disappears—it simply shifts elsewhere."
At a hidden storage location, Naruto surveyed his newfound treasures with barely contained amusement.
"Haha, the Uchiha Clan, the pride of Konoha... truly a wealthy family."
He shook his head. "Fugaku, oh Fugaku... Even in death, you continue to provide."
He turned to the army of Wood Clones, each of them brimming with fresh Uchiha 'nutrients.'
"There's so much here... It might take days to absorb everything. And with this many Sharingan... Achieving the Mangekyō is inevitable. Perhaps even the Eternal Mangekyō."
But then, something made him pause. His gaze darkened as he turned toward the corner of the room.
There, resting atop a bed of flowers cultivated from Senju nutrients, lay two unconscious figures.
Uchiha Mikoto and Uchiha Izumi.
Their injuries were completely healed. Their heartbeats remained steady. They were alive—on the brink of waking.
Only one final step remained.
As for Fugaku...
He had already been reduced to the single most valuable 'resource' in the entire Uchiha Clan.
…
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