Sasuke stared at the group chat before him.
His heart was filled with both anticipation and fear.
He anticipated that there might be a twist to the truth.
Perhaps…
It wasn't Itachi who destroyed the clan, but other Shinobi using Genjutsu.
He feared that everything was exactly as he saw it.
Itachi killed the entire clan, including his parents.
If that were truly the case, the last bit of hope in Sasuke's heart would turn to bubbles, vanishing completely.
The murder of his mother, the killing of his father… such hatred could not share the same sky.
[Dark Group Owner: I'm here. I know the whole truth of what happened back then.]
[Second Pillar Thinks He Can Do It: Tell me! Now! Right now!]
Sasuke's eyes were bloodshot.
He was almostinsane.
However, just as he was roaring at Hattori, Naruto's gaze instantly turned cold.
Without hesitation, he punched Sasuke to the ground, his crimson claws tightly gripping Sasuke's neck.
"Speak to the Group Owner Mister with respect."
Naruto's demon fox-like pupils stared coldly at Sasuke.
In Naruto's heart, the Group Owner Mister was the most important person to him.
Anyone who dared disrespect him was his enemy.
"I..."
A deathly fear surged in Sasuke's heart.
He wanted to struggle.
He wanted to use Ninjutsu, wanted to activate his Sharingan.
But he was pinned down by a crimson Chakra, unable to move.
'What a terrifying aura!'
A trace of terror flashed in Sasuke's eyes.
'Was this still the same dead-last?'
The cold claws, the merciless eyes, the swift movements…
Reflected in his eyes was the face of a demon.
Sasuke didn't doubt for a second that if he didn't apologize, Naruto's claws would immediately slit his throat.
[Second Pillar Thinks He Can Do It: I was too impatient. I'm sorry, Group Owner.]
Sasuke lowered his head and apologized softly.
Before his revenge, he had to preserve his life, to live on humbly.
"That's more like it."
Naruto chuckled coldly and retracted his claws.
[Dark Group Owner: More words are useless. I'll share a memory fragment. Experience it for yourself.]
[Dark Group Owner has uploaded a memory fragment. Please view.]
Sasuke's fingertips trembled as he gently tapped open the dust-covered memory.
A silver moon hung in the sky.
A slender figure cut an arc across the horizon.
"It's Itachi! He's wearing the Anbu's uniform!"
Given Sasuke's familiarity with Itachi, he recognized the figure's identity with just one glance.
'But…'
'Why was he here?'
Sasuke widened his eyes, watching as Itachi knelt on one knee, reporting to a man wearing a kimono.
"The Uchiha Clan shows signs of rebellion, Danzo-sama. Should we..."
"The village's peace must be protected, Itachi. Even towards your own clansmen, you must be clear about your stance."
Danzo's eyes were cold as he spoke in a low voice.
Itachi's face was expressionless.
Not even a flicker of emotion.
He only replied with one word.
"Yes."
Sasuke was shocked speechless.
'So, it was our own clan that wanted to rebel against Konoha.'
'So, the one who truly wanted to massacre the clan wasn't Itachi, but this old man named Danzo.'
'But...'
"It was you who personally carried it out, Itachi."
Sasuke watched the scenes in the memory, his fists clenching involuntarily.
The Uchiha Clan's members fell one by one in pools of blood.
It was as if he had returned to that nightmare of a night.
Itachi's crow-like eyes stared mercilessly at him.
"Why did you do it, Itachi?!"
"You could have told everyone! You could have found a better outcome! Why... why choose such an extreme method?!"
Sasuke wailed, his heart torn apart.
[Dark Group Owner: Because he simply didn't care about the so-called Uchiha Clan's members. From beginning to end, he never considered the Uchiha, only the village and you.]
Hattori chuckled coldly and typed slowly.
[Dark Group Owner: Itachi's true nature is that of a ruthless Shinobi machine. You are the only exception. But the Uchiha Clan wasn't so lucky.]
'I am the only exception?'
Sasuke laughed miserably, bloody tears streaming from his eyes.
"I'd rather have died in that disaster."
"Every time I close my eyes, the screams of my parents, the wails of my clansmen, echo in my ears."
"I have nightmares all night long, and in my dreams, it's always Itachi's eyes."
"And you're telling me it's all because he loved me? To let me live?"
Sasuke broke down.
Originally, he could vent all his hatred on Itachi.
Itachi was the villain.
The one who started it all.
Killing him would avenge his clan.
But now…
Things had changed.
The blood feud of his clan was with Konoha.
Itachi was just a tool, but he also personally slaughtered his clansmen.
They were all objects of Sasuke's hatred.
His clansmen, his brother, the village.
He hated every one of them!
Hated why his clansmen couldn't accept their lot and wanted to rebel…
Hated why Itachi obeyed the order and carried out the killings…
Hated why Konoha treated the Uchiha Clan this way, annihilating them so coldly.
Hate! Hate! Hate!
[Ding! Sasuke's darkening progress has reached 30%. Reward: Three Tomoe Sharingan.]
The endless hatred caused the single tomoe in Sasuke's eyes to slowly swirl, forming a second curve.
The Two-Tomoe Sharingan.
"I..."
After a long time, Sasuke finally spoke.
His voice was like weeping, like pleading, like a ghost, like a demon.
Naruto looked at this version of Sasuke.
He inexplicably felt a sense of shared suffering.
If his path of darkening was one of resentment…
Resenting the village's indifference towards him, resenting his parents dying before he was born…
Then Sasuke's path of darkening was one of hatred.
Hating his clan's rebellion, hating his brother's cruelty, hating the village's cold-bloodedness.
One day…
Sasuke would grow, to the point where all his enemies would have to take him seriously.
When he returned again…
Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Susano'o.
That day, let hatred scream across the world.