"You talk too much."
"Itachi!"
A familiar voice cut through the chaos. The moment Izumi heard Itachi, a wave of relief washed over her. But it vanished the next second. When she saw him, her eyes flew open, she clapped a hand over her mouth, frozen in place. Shock and disbelief twisted her features.
'How...?'
"Impossible! Impossible! This isn't real!"
The heavy scent of blood clung to Itachi. His katana was stained crimson, and he had emerged from the Uchiha Shelter, the very place Izumi had risked her life to protect. The shelter gate stood ajar, and through the hazy moonlight, dark, still-flowing blood was vaguely visible inside.
Izumi felt the blood drain from her face, her body freezing from shock. She couldn't speak, her lips trembling uncontrollably. It felt like a sharp knife had been plunged into her chest, twisting. One moment, she was clinging to hope, the next, she was plunged into a nightmare.
"Are you finished?"
"Yes."
'Madara's calm question, Itachi's flat reply, they confirmed the sickening truth twisting in Izumi's gut.
A gentle breeze stirred, rustling leaves around Itachi. They scraped together like whispers, like countless wronged souls weeping, their silent cries telling Izumi of the horrors within.
'They were just babies! Barely toddlers!'
'They were your own clan! Your family!?'
'How... how could you?'
Izumi wanted to scream, to demand answers, but when she opened her mouth, only a choked gasp escaped. The overwhelming smell of blood from Itachi, the horrifying contrast between her image of him and this reality, made her dizzy. Weakness flooded her limbs. She sagged, gasping for air, hot tears mixing with snot streaming down her face. The person who had been her last hope was, in truth, the architect of the Uchiha's destruction.
Itachi walked past her without a glance.
As if she were a stranger.
In that moment they passed, something inside Izumi shattered. Broken into irreparable pieces.
"Why...?" she whispered with ragged voice. "Why did you do this?"
Itachi paused. He raised a hand, pointing to the spinning pattern in his eye. "To test my capacity. For these eyes," he said, his voice flat, devoid of emotion. "You can only gain them by killing the person closest to you."
"The Mangekyo Sharingan." His tone was cold, as if discussing the weather.
"Just for that? You killed our clan... everyone... even the children..."
"Yes."
The simple, affirmative reply stole the last flicker of light from Izumi's eyes.
*Clap clap clap* The masked man's slow applause broke the silence.
"Quite a performance, Itachi." He tilted his head. "Kill her. If you can't bring yourself to do it, I can finish the job."
"I will execute her myself." Itachi's voice remained emotionless. He drew his katana and vanished, reappearing instantly before Izumi. The blade plunged into her chest, piercing her heart. There was no hesitation, no flicker of doubt in his movement.
Blood welled from the wound, quickly soaking the ground red.
Izumi Uchiha didn't react at all. Her vacant eyes stared sightlessly at the pooling blood.
As Itachi reached out to gently close her eyelids, a new voice, grave and filled with shock, rang out.
"Itachi!"
Fugaku had arrived with the last remaining Uchiha elites. He took in the scene: Itachi, the masked man, the ground littered with Uchiha bodies, and spoke, his expression grim.
"Colluding with an outsider... you have betrayed the Uchiha!"
"Don't say that," 'Madara' chuckled, a cruel sound. "I was part of the Uchiha once." He surveyed the scene with twisted amusement. "A lover first, now family? What's next? Let's see how much more... entertainment tonight holds."
Fugaku led the remaining Uchiha in a desperate charge towards Itachi and Masked Man. No one saw the subtle twitch of Izumi's fingertip, or how the crimson blood around her seemed to gradually fade away.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Flame Jutsu!" A massive fire dragon erupted from Fugaku's mouth, hurtling towards the two figures.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
"Fire Release: Garuda!"
Several Uchiha elites unleashed their own techniques, unwilling to be outdone. A vast wave of flames swept over the compound, the heat so intense it could be felt dozens of meters away.
"It's useless." 'Madara' remained untouched by the fire ninjutsu. With a single, swift movement, he took the life of an Uchiha elite. His attack, however, brought Itachi and Fugaku face-to-face.
"Itachi!" Fugaku glared coldly at his son. The look was utterly foreign, as if he were seeing Itachi for the very first time.
"I apologize, Father. I have disappointed you."
"It seems," Fugaku said, his voice heavy, "you chose Konoha over the clan." He knew Itachi had his own ideas, but relocating the clan was too delicate a matter. Any mistake could spell their annihilation. Itachi working in ANBU was a constant worry, Fugaku feared he might accidentally leak information.
He hadn't had time to talk to Itachi properly, planning to send the first wave of clan members away secretly to ensure the bloodline's continuation before informing him.
He never imagined Itachi would go to such extremes, not only colluding with the masked man early on, joining Konoha's side against the Uchiha, but also ruthlessly murdering his own kin.
Looking at this horrific scene now, he realized it was fortunate he hadn't confided in him sooner.
"What about Sasuke?"
"Sasuke will be safe in Konoha."
For the first time, Fugaku's expression twisted into a bitter, sarcastic smile. "It seems you've arranged everything with Konoha already." Konoha, Konoha, Konoha... Konoha, co-founded by the Uchiha and Senju clans. Through three Great Shinobi Wars, the Uchiha never once shirked their duty.
They were always on the front lines, in the most dangerous spots, taking on the hardest missions. Countless clan members died for Konoha. The Uchiha clan had made immeasurable contributions.
Suspicion. Exclusion. Suppression. Even being forced out of the village heartland to this isolated borderland. Was this the 'fairness' Konoha preached? Repeated forbearance only resulted in constant coercion. 'We Uchiha treat Konoha as our home,' Fugaku thought bitterly, 'but does Konoha treat us Uchiha as family? Or merely dogs to be leashed and controlled?
"For peace," Itachi stated, as if it were the most obvious truth. "Rebellion would only cause war. Many people would sacrifice, many families destroyed." He paused. "I had to do this."
'Are the people of Konoha human with lives that matter, but we Uchiha are not?'
"For... peace... Peace... hahaha!" Fugaku roared with bitter, resentful laughter. He pointed a trembling finger at Itachi, his voice raw with fury. "Are the people of Konoha human with lives that matter, but we Uchiha are not? Why do you value their lives above ours?!" His voice cracked. "Many people in Konoha will sacrifice, many families destroyed... and what about the Uchiha, Itachi? Is that not already our fate?" He gestured to the corpses around them. "Your hands... they're stained with the blood of countless clan members!"
"Yes," Itachi replied, his gaze steady, unwavering. "But I have no regrets."
"Truly stubborn," Fugaku breathed, looking at his son as if at a stranger, someone possessed and unreachable. He took a deep, ragged breath. Then, his voice dropped, serious and low, echoing through the blood-soaked compound.
"I, Fugaku Uchiha, Head of the Uchiha clan, hereby declare: From this day forward, Itachi Uchiha is stripped of his Uchiha identity." His gaze met Itachi's. "From now on... he is no longer of the Uchiha clan."
-------------------
Dear Readers and Fans,
For those eager to dive into next chapters earlier before others, I invite you to join us on Patreon. By becoming our Patron, you not only gain access to exclusive advanced chapters but also help us continue this endeavour and expand it further.
https://www.pat reon.com/8Ashes8
(no space)
You can read upto 7 Chapters in advance.