"You guys, leave it to me!"
He was once regarded as the most precious family and closest friend.
Now, he was merely an obstacle to achieving the grand ambition of the Eye of the Moon Plan.
On the other side, within the ancestral hall of the Uchiha clan—
"Uchiha Itachi, do you realize what you're doing?!"
The chief elder of the Uchiha clan, standing alongside a group of clan shinobi, glared furiously at Uchiha Itachi, his voice filled with rage.
Faced with the accusations from his own kin—the very people he had grown up among—Itachi remained eerily calm.
"I have not betrayed the Uchiha clan," he said coldly.
"I am saving it in my own way."
The tension in the hall was suffocating.
"The Uchiha alone do not have the strength to defeat Konoha," Itachi continued.
"If you truly choose rebellion, our clan will be forever branded as traitors. Our name will be carved into history as outcasts, despised for generations to come."
"I seek a different path for the Uchiha. A way for us to survive."
He lowered his head slightly. "I'm sorry, everyone."
The moment his words fell, his entire presence shifted. A suffocating, bone-chilling aura filled the room.
With a single glance, the crimson glow of the Mangekyō Sharingan burned in his eyes.
In an instant, the expressions of the Uchiha gathered before him twisted in horror.
"Th-That's… the Mangekyō Sharingan?!"
"Such terrifying power…!"
Even the elder Uchiha, a veteran shinobi, was no match for him. After only a brief exchange of blows, Itachi's blade slashed across his throat. His body fell lifelessly to the ground.
The others fared no better.
Blood sprayed. Bodies collapsed one after another.
Illusions took hold. Shadows moved in sync with the flickering kunai in Itachi's grip.
Step by step, he made his way toward the heart of the Uchiha compound—his home.
The residence of the clan head, Uchiha Fugaku.
Drenched in the blood of his own people, his Sharingan weeping crimson tears, Itachi stood before his parents.
"Father… Mother… I'm sorry."
A hushed apology.
A swift movement.
Two kunai pierced their hearts.
Silence.
Then—
"Dad? Mom? Nii-san… what are you doing?"
A trembling voice.
Sasuke Uchiha had returned from the Academy, his small frame frozen in shock. His wide, innocent eyes took in the carnage—the bodies of his clansmen, his fallen parents—
And the one responsible.
His beloved older brother.
His world shattered.
"Sasuke… hate me."
For the first time that night, a flicker of hesitation crossed Itachi's gaze. A pain deeper than words.
But only for a moment.
His Mangekyō spun once more.
"Tsukuyomi."
A scream tore from Sasuke's throat before he collapsed into unconsciousness.
A single tear slid down Itachi's cheek.
It was over.
Beyond the Uchiha district, hidden in the shadows, a lone observer watched the massacre unfold.
Kazuki stood not far from Shimura Danzo, silently witnessing the annihilation of an entire clan.
The sight stirred something within him.
"That man… Uchiha Itachi… is a monster."
For the sake of some twisted notion of "righteousness," he had slain his own parents. His own kin.
Such a thing—was beyond human.
Kazuki did not agree with his methods.
But this was not his battle to interfere in. The Uchiha and Konoha—this was their conflict. His only interest tonight was the Sharingan.
To him, this was nothing more than an elaborate spectacle. A fleeting display of carnage.
But what came next—
That was what truly mattered.
Danzo, standing nearby, had also witnessed everything.
The way Uchiha Itachi and the masked man—the true orchestrator—had dismantled an entire clan in a single night.
For a moment, even Danzo felt a deep, lingering fear.
"So this is the true power of the Uchiha's Sharingan… terrifying."
Yet beneath that fear, there was something else—
Satisfaction.
"Finally, the Uchiha plague has been eradicated from Konoha."
But even so—
The power displayed tonight was dangerous. Unchecked.
It had to be controlled.
"Once I obtain the Sharingan from these corpses, it will become my power. And with it, I will cleanse Konoha of all remaining threats."
Danzo's gaze hardened. His mind was already set.
With a swift hand signal, the Root operatives moved.
One by one, the barriers were lifted.
Without hesitation, the elite ninja flickered into the night—swift, precise, devoid of emotion—
Like perfect tools, carrying out Danzo's will.
As they infiltrated the Uchiha district, only four guards remained at Danzo's side.
Tonight's bloodshed was not yet over.
Kazuki already knew in his heart—this was his moment!
Shimura Danzo's entire attention was fixed on the ruins of the Uchiha clan below. He was certain that, being deep within Konoha, this operation was highly classified. Only a select few knew of his presence here, meaning there were few guards around.
However, what Danzo didn't realize was that, at this very moment, someone was silently closing in on him.
The Uchiha clan had just been massacred.
Shimura Danzo had yet to collect many Sharingan, nor had he implanted Hashirama's cells into his body. At this point, he was still an ordinary Wind Release user, possessing only a few sealing techniques. He was far weaker than he would later be during his battle against Sasuke at the Five Kage Summit.
Then—
The silence in the air was suddenly broken.
One of Danzo's bodyguards, Inuzuka Yu, sensed something was wrong. A presence had appeared—abruptly, unnaturally, and dangerously close to them.
His expression shifted, and he called out in alarm, "Lord Danzo, be careful—!"
But it was already too late.
Kazuki struck with deadly precision. His movements were swift, giving even elite Jōnin-level Root operatives no time to react.
"Pfft!"
A kunai, swift and merciless, pierced Inuzuka Yu's throat.
It happened in an instant.
Before anyone could process what had occurred, one of Danzo's guards had already collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
"Protect Lord Danzo!"
Another guard shouted in alarm as the remaining three instantly took defensive positions, forming a triangular formation around Danzo. Their senses sharpened, their eyes scanning their surroundings.
Yet, something was off.
Despite their Jōnin-level perception, they couldn't detect even the faintest trace of the attacker's presence.
"Lord Danzo, it seems the enemy is a master of stealth. Please proceed with caution!" one of the guards warned.
Danzo's face darkened. His lone visible eye burned with fury.
"Who dares attack me?!" he snarled.
But the only response he received was silence.
Seconds passed, dragging on like an eternity.
A cold sweat formed on the brows of Danzo's remaining guards as tension thickened in the air.
Whoever this assassin was, they were no ordinary shinobi.
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