"Itachi," Sasuke said indifferently, silently retrieving a Weapon Scroll.
"Itachi!" In stark contrast to Sasuke's composure, one member of the Root squad was far more agitated. Had Fugaku not physically held her back, Izumi Uchiha would have already charged forward.
"My foolish little brother." Itachi spared Izumi only a glance, mildly surprised by the masked ninja's hatred. The figure felt vaguely familiar, but he dismissed it, his focus entirely on Sasuke. "I thought you would rush me the moment you saw me. You are calmer than I imagined."
"Is it because you joined Root that you've learned such restraint?"
That question clarified things for Naruto. Compared to Orochimaru, Itachi clearly viewed Danzo as the greater threat to Sasuke.
Naruto had publicly mentioned Danzo more than once and never hid his own affiliation with Root. If even the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki served Danzo, it stood to reason his teammate would follow suit.
Sasuke craved power. While Danzo loathed the Uchiha, he wouldn't hesitate to use Sasuke as a weapon against Itachi. Truth be told, Root was the only place in Konoha that could offer Sasuke the strength he sought.
The alternative was defecting to Orochimaru.
Logically, it made sense. Especially seeing Sasuke embedded within a Root squad now.
Itachi had surfaced specifically to confirm this allegiance. The seemingly casual question was a probe.
'Itachi... Is far too manipulative and scheming. Though, he lacks intelligence for effective long term plans.'
A certain Jinchuriki (Naruto) thought this, the same person who could see through others at a glance yet shamelessly complained about people being too complicated. He conveniently forgot how he used a 'Diary' to toy with a man in his 60's emotions (Hiruzen), or how he stripped another elderly man of his power and tricked him into spinning in circles (Danzo).
'Who would do such excessive things?'
'I, Naruto, would be the first to condemn him.'
Even if caught red-handed, Naruto would deny it to the bitter end.
Itachi, however, never imagined that a cheater like Naruto existed beside Sasuke. Nor could he guess that the current Root squad was comprised almost entirely of Uchiha.
"I used to think I'd lose my mind the moment I saw you," Sasuke said, playing along with Itachi's assumption. He didn't deny joining Root. In his mind, if Naruto was part of this Root business, he'd likely end up there eventually anyway.
To Itachi, silence was admission.
"But I realized I was wrong."
"The current you is just a clown. You're pathetic."
Sasuke withdrew his weapon. It wasn't his signature tachi, instead, he produced the strongest Spiked Club right from the start.
'That weapon...' Fugaku's eyelid twitched behind his mask when he saw the massive bludgeon. 'Why does it look so much like Karin's?'
We Uchiha represent the sword, even a Fuma Shuriken is acceptable. But who uses such a crude, brutish weapon?
"Pathetic..." Itachi chuckled, then laughed, his voice rising until it broke into a maniacal cackle.
There it was, the Uchiha maniacal laugh.
"The only pathetic one here is you, my foolish little brother."
"Your parents, your clan, I killed them all."
"Have you forgotten? To test my Capacity, I obtained these eyes."
Itachi's eyes snapped open, revealing the pattern of the Mangekyo Sharingan. He aimed to enrage Sasuke, to lure him away from the squad. He was wary of the Root ninja standing nearby, their chakra felt strong, making it difficult to gauge.
He assumed Sasuke would snap.
What he failed to notice was the complex look in the eyes of his father, Fugaku.
In fact, all the disguised Uchiha were looking at him the same way.
Like they were watching a tragic clown.
"See? That is why I feel you are pathetic." Sasuke remained completely unmoved. After training with Naruto for so long, if he still lost control at a simple provocation, he'd be subjected to the 'Super-Sized Training Package' daily. "Because I've realized you are genuinely stupid."
"Do you think I don't know the truth?"
"My foolish 'Onii-san'."
"Didn't you claim you extended the Butcher's Knife to our kin to test your Capacity?" For the first time, a malicious grin stretched across Sasuke's face. He enunciated every word clearly. "So, if I were to use Konoha to test 'my' Capacity right now... would you stop me?"
Every surviving Uchiha knew the goal of his Clan Annihilation Plan, yet none could comprehend his motivation.
Did the Uchiha really have to surrender without a fight? To wait like lambs on a chopping block?
Did the Uchiha not deserve to be treated with respect like a human? Did they not deserve to live?
They desperately wanted to ask Itachi why on behalf of the souls in the Pure Land.
'What does Sasuke know?' Itachi was stunned. He was even more alarmed that the Root members didn't react to Sasuke's threat against the village.
'What did Danzo tell him?'
'What is Root planning? What is Danzo planning?'
He had assumed Danzo wanted the brothers to fight to the death so he could reap the benefits, but now Itachi couldn't read the old man's game at all.
It would be strange if he could, Danzo was currently lost in a delusion of being the Fifth Hokage and didn't know what he was doing either.
"That has nothing to do with me." Itachi hid his internal shock perfectly. "With your current power, rather than letting you die at the hands of Konoha ninja..."
"...it would be better for me to end you here today."
"With these eyes."
But he was met only with Sasuke's mocking stare. He had been seen through completely.
"Are you talking about the Mangekyo?" Sasuke laughed, in his own version of Uchiha Maniacal laughter. "Guess... what is this?"
In Sasuke's eyes, three tomoe's merged. The Hexagram appeared.
'Is that the Mangekyo Sharingan?! Sasuke has awakened it too? How?!' Itachi was shaken to his core.
'How did he awaken it? Danzo? Third Hokage?' He had ten thousand questions he wanted to scream at Sasuke.
Unlike Itachi, Fugaku and the other Uchiha watched from the back with eyes full of pride.
'As expected of my son.'
'Sasuke must have suffered greatly for that power.'
They lamented their own lack of aptitude. The Mangekyo Sharingan wasn't a roadside cabbage, not all Uchiha could awaken it. Even though the clan had become countless levels stronger since their exodus, save for a select few, the vast majority still lacked the qualification to wield this power. It required more than just stimulation, it required something deeper.
"Itachi! Your sins cannot be washed away." Sasuke glared at him with deadly seriousness. "I will avenge our dead parents. I will avenge the clansmen you killed. I will avenge the innocent women, children and babies you slaughtered in cold blood!"
"I will offer atonement to the clan on your behalf."
"With your death."
"Your death is the best atonement for them!"
"Today is your doomsday."
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