"It's you?!"
"So it really is true… Your secret has already been exposed, known throughout the village. And yet, you still dare to appear in Konoha?!"
Uchiha Itachi narrowed his eyes, his expression tightening as an instinctive sense of danger surged through his body. The presence before him was like a thorn buried deep in his nerves,familiar, yet profoundly unsettling.
The mysterious man in the mask let out a cold chuckle.
"Why wouldn't I dare?"
His tone was calm, but beneath it lay a trace of irritation.
"What truly surprises me is this,who exactly leaked my secret? My existence, my identity… it should have been impossible for anyone to know."
Itachi's gaze sharpened.
"Then tell me,are you truly Uchiha Madara?"
"So what if I am?"
The masked man's voice carried a mocking indifference.
"You claim it's unbelievable because history says I died long ago. But the 'truth' you cling to is nothing more than a distorted reality passed from mouth to mouth, shaped by lies and convenience."
Itachi fell silent. Countless thoughts clashed violently within his mind. The name Uchiha Madara was not merely history,it was a symbol, a curse, and a nightmare intertwined with the fate of the clan.
After a long pause, the masked man spoke again, his tone low and pressing.
"So, have you decided?"
"You still remember our agreement, don't you?"
"I help you erase the Uchiha clan from existence… and in return, you join Akatsuki and lend me your strength."
Itachi slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were filled not with hesitation, but with weary resolve.
"At this point… the arrow has already been drawn. There's no choice but to release it."
The masked man sneered.
"Exactly."
"Because of those rumors, the Uchiha have already moved ahead of schedule. The rebellion has begun."
"By now, they're gathering their forces, preparing to strike at Konoha's leadership."
"If you hesitate any longer, the so-called 'peace' you desire will become nothing more than an impossible dream."
Itachi nodded slowly.
"I know."
"I've already prepared myself… for what must be done."
"Good."
The masked man paused briefly before continuing,
"Then wait for me a moment. I still need to negotiate one condition with Konoha's upper echelon."
Itachi frowned.
"What condition could possibly matter at a time like this?"
The air grew heavy.
"…My younger brother. Uchiha Sasuke."
For the first time, the masked man fell silent.
"…So even you," he said coldly, "are capable of harboring such intense personal emotions."
"Feelings like these will only cloud your judgment, Uchiha Itachi."
Itachi's voice sank, firm and unwavering.
"This is my only request."
With that, he turned and walked away, his back rigid, his steps heavy,each one echoing the price he was prepared to pay.
The masked man watched his retreating figure and let out a low, amused laugh before his form dissolved once more into the void.
Not long after, as Itachi made his way toward the Hokage's office, a familiar figure stepped into his path.
Shimura Danzō.
Itachi's heart tightened instantly. For a fleeting moment, a terrifying thought crossed his mind,was Danzō about to repeat what he had done to Shisui? Was he here to seize the Mangekyō Sharingan?
But Danzō did not move.
Because he wasn't confident.
He knew all too well that if he made a move now, the one who might fall would be himself.
Instead, he spoke coldly,
"Uchiha Itachi… the Uchiha clan is already stirring."
"You should have made your resolve by now."
Itachi nodded.
"I know. But I have one final condition."
Danzō sneered.
"Oh? And what would that be?"
"My brother. Uchiha Sasuke."
"No matter what happens tonight,or in the future,you and the higher-ups of Konoha are not to lay a hand on him."
Danzō paused, momentarily stunned.
"That's all?"
"That's all."
A cruel smile crept onto Danzō's face.
"Very well. I can agree to that."
"But don't let such meaningless emotions interfere with your judgment."
The moment those words left his mouth, a masked Root ninja appeared at high speed, kneeling on one knee.
"Lord Danzō! There's unusual activity at Naka Shrine!"
"The Uchiha rebellion… has officially begun!!!"
Danzō's expression shifted slightly.
"So fast…"
He turned sharply toward Itachi.
"Uchiha Itachi. Do what you must do."
The muscles on Itachi's face twitched subtly, but his voice remained steady.
"Yes, Lord Danzō."
At that very moment, Itachi was heading to rendezvous with the masked man. Together, the two of them would intercept the Uchiha clan,and slaughter every last one.
Meanwhile, under the leadership of Uchiha Fugaku, the clan's elite forces were advancing in full force toward the Hokage's office, their killing intent boiling over like an unstoppable tide.
At the same time, Hiruzen Sarutobi's ANBU, the Sarutobi clan, Danzō's Root forces, and the Shimura clan had all been fully mobilized.
Alongside them were the veteran powerhouses cultivated over the years by Hiruzen, Danzō, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado,loyal, hardened elites prepared for the worst.
Though they trusted Itachi, they had already braced themselves for open war.
As night descended upon Konoha, darkness slowly engulfing the village, a true civil war loomed on the horizon.
And then,
At the outskirts of Konoha, a lone figure quietly approached.
Using his sensory abilities, he carefully observed the massive defensive barrier enveloping the entire village.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
The newcomer was none other than Chiba.
Such a grand spectacle,the night of the Uchiha clan's annihilation,was something he absolutely could not miss.
The three pieces of intelligence he had deliberately spread throughout Konoha had triggered exactly the chaos he anticipated.
Now, he could even sense the thick stench of blood rising into the air above the village.
A blood-red full moon slowly ascended through the night sky.
Chiba raised his hand, as if to touch the defensive barrier.
This barrier was not merely defensive,it was primarily sensory. Any outsider entering or leaving would immediately be detected and reported to Konoha's leadership.
Yet Chiba remained completely unfazed.
In an instant, his body underwent natural elemental transformation, turning entirely into true ice.
The next moment,
He stepped straight through the sensory barrier.
Inside Konoha's sensory division… there was no reaction at all.
Nothing had been detected.
The Ice Fruit was of the Nature type.
In other words, once Chiba had fully elementalized, he became nothing more than pure ice,his entire body crystallized into frozen matter, cold and absolute, shimmering under the eerie light of the blood-red moon. No sensory barrier built to detect chakra fluctuations could perceive him. The Konoha defenses, reliant as they were on conventional chakra sensing, were utterly blind to his presence. He moved through the village like a ghost, silent as the frozen wind, untouched and untraceable.
Once inside Konoha, Chiba reformed his human shape, his body condensing from ice back into solid flesh. The village sprawled below him, quiet yet brimming with latent tension. The full moon hung low in the sky, a swollen orb of crimson that cast jagged shadows across the rooftops and the familiar stone paths of the Hokage Rock. From this vantage, he could see the carved visage of the Hokage staring down at the village,a silent guardian that had watched generations rise and fall. And yet, tonight, even this imposing stone face seemed powerless to prevent the chaos he had orchestrated.
A flood of strange, conflicting emotions washed over him. Konoha was a place he had known in stories, in legends, in whispered histories,and yet, standing above it now, it felt both intimately familiar and utterly alien. The village hummed with life, ignorant of the storm about to break. For a moment, Chiba's gaze lingered on the rooftops, the winding streets, the faint glow of lamps in distant windows. The anticipation, the tension, the inevitability of what was about to unfold,it was intoxicating.
"Konoha Village…" His voice was low, almost reverent, yet carried a thrill that resonated with the icy wind. "I've finally arrived. Tonight…" He clenched his fist, feeling the chill seep into his bones, his entire being vibrating with the power of the Ice Fruit. "…tonight, you will witness a masterpiece."
A sinister smile crept across his face, the kind of smile that promised inevitability and doom. "A play of blood, betrayal, and fire… A spectacle written by fate itself. And I," he whispered, his eyes reflecting the crimson moon above, "am the author."
The village lay silent beneath him, oblivious to the currents of hatred, fear, and resolve now swirling in its heart. Every shadowed alley, every corner, every building would soon become a stage for the deadly dance of clan and loyalty. And Chiba, perfectly calm, perfectly cold, knew that nothing,not the Hokage, not the Uchiha, not even fate itself,could stand in his way tonight.
The night stretched before him, thick with tension, suffused with a crimson light, and alive with the scent of the coming storm. He took a deep breath, letting the cold seep into every fiber of his being. "Let the play begin."
And with that, the first act of Konoha's blood-soaked drama was about to unfold under the watchful gaze of the red moon.