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Itachi walked toward his parents. The shadows that had obscured him parted, and the moonlight finally illuminated his figure.
Approaching his parents felt like stepping toward the last remnants of light.
Tears streamed uncontrollably from his three-tomoe Sharingan, their scarlet glow betraying his emotions. He fought to suppress his sobs as he answered his father.
"I understand."
Itachi raised his blade, but his hand trembled uncontrollably.
Fugaku, still facing away from Itachi, spoke as he always did when disciplining his son. "Don't be afraid! This is the path you've chosen. Compared to you, our pain will only last a moment."
As a father, Fugaku had always refrained from overly praising his son, fearing pride might lead to failure. But this might be his last chance. With that thought, he spoke again.
"Even if our ideals differ, I'm still proud of you."
No response came from behind him—only the sound of stifled, heart-wrenching sobs.
With a faint smile, Fugaku spoke once more. "You truly are a kind child."
The conversation ended there. The blade rose and fell, and it was over.
No one knew how long Itachi wept in that room.
Some time later, from a dark corner of the room, Kagaya emerged, clad in his Akatsuki robe.
"Itachi…"
Kagaya had been there for a while. After escorting Izumi to the doorstep of Itachi's home, he had used a genjutsu to knock her out. He then found Fugaku, and their conversation was brief.
Fugaku had only asked one thing of Kagaya: to help Itachi if he ever needed it. Kagaya agreed.
Just as Shisui had once entrusted Kagaya to Itachi's care, Fugaku now entrusted Itachi to Kagaya.
Afterward, Kagaya, carrying the unconscious Izumi, had watched everything unfold from the shadows of the room.
Itachi had noticed Kagaya's presence long ago, but as if by unspoken understanding, neither acknowledged the other.
When Kagaya stepped forward, Itachi looked up, his tear-streaked face meeting Kagaya's gaze. "Kagaya, is this what it feels like to lose your parents?"
Kagaya was silent for a moment. Unlike Itachi, he hadn't been forced to kill his own parents. "Who knows..."
---
Much later, Itachi explained everything to Izumi after she awoke.
Her eyes widened in shock. "So that's how it is? But if I'm still alive, doesn't that mean your agreement with the village leaders is void?"
Kagaya shook his head. "Just come with us. Leave Konoha."
Itachi raised his blade, turning toward Izumi.
Kagaya frowned and immediately grabbed Itachi's hand. "Enough."
Itachi wanted to kill Izumi—for her own sake. If she followed him and Kagaya out of Konoha, her strength wouldn't be enough to survive. She might also end up like Itachi, branded with the infamy of slaughtering their clan—a burden so crushing that most would rather die than bear it.
Itachi didn't want Izumi to carry the stigma of annihilating their clan.
Izumi wasn't naive. She saw through Itachi's intentions. Grasping his hand, she smiled and said, "Itachi, don't worry about me. My parents were lost in the Nine-Tails incident. Now, the Uchiha clan is gone too. The only person I care about is you. I'm not afraid of bearing the name of a clan-killer. Take me with you."
Itachi stared at Izumi, stunned. To an outsider, her choice might seem trivial, but to someone in her position, willingly taking on the infamy of genocide to follow him was an immense act of loyalty.
Kagaya released Itachi's hand.
Izumi stepped forward and embraced Itachi. "If we get the chance, let's come back and eat three-color dango again."
"Mhm," Itachi murmured.
---
On a rooftop, Obito waited quietly for Kagaya and the others to arrive.
Soon, Kagaya, Itachi, and Izumi appeared behind him.
Obito turned to Itachi. "Is it done? You—never mind. Let's go."
Itachi donned his ANBU mask again. "You and Kagaya go ahead. I need to have a word with Konoha's leadership."
Obito didn't respond but glanced at Kagaya, silently questioning.
Kagaya shook his head. "Let's go. I won't be 'having words' with Konoha's leaders. When I deal with them, it'll be more than words."
A vortex swirled, and Obito, Kagaya, and Izumi vanished from the spot.
---
At the Uchiha clan grounds, the Third Hokage arrived with the ANBU to investigate.
"It's horrific," one ANBU muttered.
"What happened here?" another asked.
Even the ANBU, accustomed to assassination missions, couldn't help but recoil at the sight of the clan's annihilation.
The Third Hokage approached, speaking calmly. "Search for survivors!"
---
A short while later, an ANBU reported, "We found one survivor."
They had discovered an unconscious Sasuke.
"Send him to the medical team," the Third ordered.
Some time later, another ANBU approached the Third to report. "Aside from the survivor we found earlier, everyone else has been killed."
The Third fell silent. Though he had anticipated this outcome, hearing it confirmed still weighed heavily on him. "Recover all the bodies. Every single one. Don't miss any in the houses."
The ANBU began their work, murmuring among themselves as they did.
"Who could have done this?"
"Uchiha Itachi," a voice answered.
Danzo appeared behind the Third, continuing, "Uchiha Itachi despised and hated his clan. He conspired with Uchiha Kagaya to kill Uchiha Shisui and steal his eyes, sparking conflict with his clansmen. And in the end, it led to this tragedy."
The surrounding ANBU were stunned. They hadn't imagined someone could slaughter their entire clan out of mere hatred.
The Third's eyes narrowed, and he snapped, "Stop dawdling and get to work!"
At his command, the ANBU quickly dispersed to recover the bodies.
Danzo approached the Third and said, "This resolves everything."
The Third responded with barely contained anger. "Resolves what? Now, a massive bone is lodged in our throat. Don't you understand?"
The "massive bone" the Third referred to was Itachi's defection, which cost Konoha a powerful asset, along with the Uchiha clan's annihilation. While the village avoided internal conflict and retained most of its strength, it was now in a precarious state, like a bone stuck in its throat, threatening to choke it at any moment.
Danzo scoffed. "Just a small bone."
Clearly, Danzo acknowledged the Third's point but didn't think the situation was as dire as the Third believed.
The Third spoke with disappointment. "Danzo, I can no longer ignore your unilateral actions. Effective immediately, you are relieved of your position as Hokage Advisor."
Danzo began, "But, Hiruzen, I—"
The Third cut him off. "If you claim this was for the village, the Uchiha were part of the village too. Furthermore, disband the Root division under your command. I'll soon decide your formal punishment. Until then, you're confined."
Danzo froze, said nothing, and turned to leave. The Third ignored him and walked forward, their conversation ending there.
At the same time, two Root operatives appeared beside Danzo, reporting, "Lord Danzo, the body count is off."
Danzo paused, surprised, and whispered, "What did you say?"
"Several bodies are inexplicably missing."
Danzo closed his eyes, then opened them, looking at another Root operative. He realized something.
"I saw everything," a voice said from behind a mask—Itachi's voice. The "everything" Itachi referred to was Danzo's collection of Uchiha Sharingan.
The mask's eyeholes revealed a three-tomoe Sharingan. "And I'll keep watching."
"Tch," Danzo sneered.
Itachi continued, "If you dare touch Sasuke, I'll leak all of the village's secrets to enemy nations."
With that, Itachi's body dissolved into a flock of crows, scattering into the night.
"Damn it," Danzo muttered, frustrated. He had no intention of sparing Sasuke and had never planned to honor his agreement with Itachi. But with Itachi's threat, Danzo had no choice but to comply. Despite his many misdeeds, Danzo genuinely acted for the sake of Konoha.
---
Author's Note: Hello, friends!
Some readers have pointed out that this plot follows the original story closely, and that's true.
The events leading up to and including the clan massacre haven't changed much. This is because I want to depict the changes brought about by Kagaya's growth. I don't think it's realistic for Kagaya, with his current lack of strength, to casually alter major events in the ninja world. That would feel too strange.
What I want to show is Kagaya's journey from being unable to change anything to eventually shaping the ninja world with ease.
This is already evident in the massacre. With Genji, Daisuke, his parents, and Shisui, Kagaya was powerless to change anything. But here, during the massacre, while he still couldn't alter the larger tide, he managed to save Izumi.
As the story progresses, Kagaya's influence on future events will become increasingly significant.
*****
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