A week had passed since the Night of the Massacre, and the skies over Konoha remained heavy with clouds, creating an oppressive atmosphere. The once-bustling streets were now devoid of their usual life.
On the third day following the massacre, the bodies of the Uchiha clan leader, Fugaku Uchiha, along with the fallen Uchiha ninja and civilians, were buried one by one.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, personally attended the memorial, dressed in mourning attire, accompanied by two of the Hokage's advisors and the leaders of other prominent families.
At the same time, both the Hokage and the daimyo of the Land of Fire declared that the nation was now in a state of war, with border defenses raised to their highest level of alert.
Konoha's top leadership issued a worldwide bounty for the fugitive Uchiha squad, marking them as rogue ninjas wanted dead or alive.
Ten elite three-man teams from the Anbu were dispatched to hunt down the traitors, with orders to capture or kill without rest.
The flood of mixed information—truths interwoven with lies—caused widespread panic and uncertainty among the village's clans.
Uchiha District
At the Uchiha clan leader's estate, Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha sat on the wooden steps beneath the eaves. The two brothers, one older and one younger, stared blankly at the shattered Uchiha fan emblem on the wall outside the gate.
Sasuke's dark eyes were bright and clear, his delicate features showing weariness. He remembered the day when the clan mistakenly believed Itachi had killed Shisui and confronted him at their home. In a fit of rage, Itachi destroyed the clan's fan emblem.
Now, the once-lively Uchiha district was empty, the streets desolate and silent.
Itachi's gaze dropped, glancing sideways at his younger brother, who remained quiet, neither crying nor acting out. Guilt washed over him as he lowered his head.
Since the Night of the Massacre, Sasuke had awakened his single-tomoe Sharingan, overwhelmed by grief and spending his days hiding away at home, weeping.
But only a single tomoe...
Itachi was not satisfied with this.
Yet, at least...
It was a beginning.
Two days ago, Sasuke had finally accepted the reality that his father had been killed, his clan wiped out, and his mother had fled.
However, he still wandered in a daze, speaking little, but showing a growing hatred in everything he did—even in how he ate. This, at least, pleased Itachi.
Only extreme hatred could fuel the growth of the Uchiha. It was both a curse and an opportunity.
Suddenly, two elite members of the Root organization appeared, landing gracefully in front of Itachi after a few swift leaps.
They glanced at Sasuke, who sat there numbly.
One leaned down and whispered in Itachi's ear.
Itachi's expression shifted slightly. He slowly stood up, looked down at Sasuke, and smiled, his eyes narrowing as he spoke softly, "Sasuke, for the next few days, you'll have to take care of breakfast, lunch, and dinner on your own. I've received some intel, and I'll need to go out on a mission for a while."
Sasuke's expression remained cold. He stood up, turned to leave, but then paused, his back still facing Itachi, and asked, "Are you going to find Mom?"
Itachi nodded with a smile, making his voice as gentle as it once had been. "Yes, I'll bring Mom back."
Sasuke walked towards the training ground in the yard without another word.
Itachi watched his brother's retreating figure, his face slowly losing any trace of a smile, leaving only the deep lines of sorrow. His voice turned cold as he addressed the subordinates beside him. "Let's go."
"Yes, sir."
In the Uchiha clan's training yard, Sasuke, his face twisted with rage, gritted his teeth and unleashed a furious storm of punches on the wooden training post in front of him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
His small fists pounded relentlessly against the post, splitting the skin on his hands, staining the wood with blood, but he didn't stop his assault.
Finally, his rage exploded.
Bam!!
Sasuke jumped, landing a spinning kick that sent the post flying.
Gaaah!
On the wall surrounding the courtyard, a pitch-black crow was startled by the commotion, flapping its wings before settling down again, watching Sasuke intently.
"Hah… hah…"
Sasuke, sweating and gasping for air, leaned on his knees, then suddenly turned to glare at the crow. In that instant, his pupils turned blood-red.
One tomoe appeared in each eye.
Sensing danger, the crow prepared to fly away.
Swish!
A kunai flew through the air, anticipating the bird's movement, and struck it squarely in the neck. Blood splattered as the bird was decapitated, its body falling lifelessly to the ground.
"Hah… hah…"
Sasuke withdrew his right hand, which had thrown the kunai, still gasping for breath. His Sharingan deactivated as he collapsed onto the grass, repeatedly pounding his fists into the earth.
"Itachi Uchiha!!!"
Sasuke gritted his teeth, his eyes wide with fury, imagining Itachi's face in the grass before him, smashing his fists into the ground again and again.
When his anger subsided, he pulled out another kunai from his pouch and stabbed it furiously into the dirt.
Grass and soil scattered everywhere.
When he was finally exhausted, young Sasuke lay on the ground, staring up at the bleak sky. His hands loosened their grip on the kunai, his face blank, as he drifted into his memories.
On the night of the massacre, he had been knocked unconscious by his mother. When he awoke, a familiar figure was there, helping him sit up against the wall.
That person was Uchiha Kuroki .
Sasuke had seen him a few times at the Police Force headquarters.
A long time ago, Sasuke had met him with his mother, Mikoto, and had respectfully addressed him as " Captain Kuroki ," as he was the captain of the Police Force.
On the night of the massacre, Kuroki had appeared and used a genjutsu to show Sasuke how Itachi had mercilessly slaughtered their clan and even their parents.
It was at that moment that Sasuke awakened his Sharingan.
He also learned that Kuroki had saved his mother, controlling her body to escape.
Otherwise...
Sasuke's face twisted again, his teeth grinding so hard that his gums bled, his fists clenching tight.
Otherwise, his mother would have been killed by Itachi, the demon, that very night!
With that thought...
Sasuke slammed his fist into the grass again.
Afterward...
Sasuke begged Kuroki to take him and his mother away together, but Kuroki left him with only one sentence: "Don't worry about your mother. What you need to do now is survive. When the time is right, I will come back for you."
After speaking, Kuroki left the Uchiha clan's grounds and headed to the outskirts. Before leaving, he used genjutsu to make Sasuke pass out again.
Over the past few days, Sasuke had also come to understand the shifting views within the ninja village regarding the "Uchiha Clan Massacre."
Now, Sasuke could only feel that the so-called Hidden Leaf Village was filthy, rotten, and unbearably dark! As the true culprit, Itachi, who slaughtered his own clan, had risen to the highest ranks of the village. He was revered by the Third Hokage as a hero who had tried to save the Uchiha!
And Kuroki , the victim who preserved the Uchiha bloodline, was instead accused of killing his own clansmen and labeled an S-class rogue ninja by the village!
How absurd, laughable, and tragic.
This was the "greatness" that Itachi had always talked about—he didn't even have the heart to sit down and talk with his clan. Instead, he passed such a swift judgment on them, sentencing the innocent civilians of the clan to death!
With a broken spirit, Sasuke dragged his weary body off the grass and sheathed his kunai.
He needed to go back and treat his wounds.
Before Kuroki returned to reunite him with his mother, Sasuke had to live on in the Hidden Leaf, even if it meant temporarily siding with Itachi!
On the streets of the Uchiha clan grounds...
Itachi noticed that his surveillance crow had been cut down by Sasuke. He raised an eyebrow, sighed softly, and left with his subordinates.
He headed toward the Hokage Tower.
Walking through the corridor...
Itachi reached the door of the Hokage's office. Before he could knock, he heard a commotion inside.
After a brief pause, he pushed the door open.
Itachi's pupils dilated as he witnessed the most shocking scene of his life.
"Hiruzen! Hiruzen, open your eyes!"
"Monkey, hang in there!!"
The two Hokage advisors were panicking, frantically crouching on the floor.
And there, lying flat on the cold ground, was the man who had ruled the Hidden Leaf for most of his life, standing at the pinnacle of this world's power—God of shinobi, Hiruzen Sarutobi!
His lifeless eyes stared at nothing, his face gaunt, as Koharu tried desperately to heal him.
Itachi's eyes trembled slightly as he walked toward the Hokage's desk and glanced at the intelligence scroll that lay open.
Beside it were two charred Fire Temple belts.
The scroll contained the news of Asuma's death and the destruction of the Fire Temple.
...
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PS: Let me explain.
Sasuke being awakened by the protagonist's shadow clone was foreshadowed. After being knocked unconscious by Mikoto, Sasuke was lying on the ground. When Itachi found him, Sasuke was leaning against the wall, supported by Kuroki 's shadow clone. I deliberately left out the detail of the shadow clone helping Sasuke after rescuing Mikoto.
As for those who need to be eliminated, they will all be dealt with later. No one will escape.
Keep reading with confidence!