Sasuke was stunned. From the surname, it sounded like someone from the Uchiha clan.
Izumi exclaimed, "Oh, it's him~~"
"You know him?"
Sasuke had never heard of this clansman's name.
"I don't know much, but I've heard the elders in the clan mention him. He was supposedly a genius with three kekkei genkai..."
"Three kekkei genkai..."
Sasuke's mouth hung open. "How can one person have so many kekkei genkai?"
Izumi explained, "Apparently, both his parents were kekkei genkai users, and he rarely inherited both of their kekkei genkai."
Sasuke immediately expressed his doubt. "That would only be two, though..."
Izumi thought for a moment and said, "Hmm, the third one, it seems, was a kekkei genkai he acquired through training later on..."
"A kekkei genkai can be acquired through training..."
Sasuke was taken aback. He had never heard of such a thing and looked at his almighty brother.
Itachi nodded. "Some kekkei genkai can be acquired through training."
"How do you train for that?"
"It's quite complicated. It's too early for you to learn about that..."
If he continued, Itachi felt it would never end.
Sasuke puffed out his cheeks. "Hmph, you always treat me like a child."
Izumi smiled. "But you are a child..."
"What about him?" Sasuke asked.
"He's no longer with us..."
Izumi's tone was full of emotion.
As a member of the Uchiha clan, she could more or less feel the prejudice the villagers had against them.
Some of the older clansmen would often mention his name when they chatted, saying that if he were still alive, the Uchiha clan would not be in this state.
Sasuke's small mind couldn't quite process it. "No longer with us?"
Izumi further explained, "It means he's dead."
"Dead? Can a ninja that amazing die?"
Just as Izumi was about to continue, Itachi took over the conversation. "Sasuke, didn't you want to practice shuriken? If we keep talking, the whole day will pass..."
Death was a heavy topic, and Itachi didn't want Sasuke to be exposed to it too early.
However, thinking about what was about to happen later, Itachi couldn't help but feel immense despair for his brother.
When Tōshirō was mentioned, Itachi wondered what the Uchiha clan would have been like if he were still alive.
Tōshirō would have become the clan leader, and their father could have been freed from his busy duties. Itachi would have had more time to spend with him, and their relationship wouldn't be as strained as it was now.
Perhaps they would not have ended up in this situation.
On a large, leafy tree. Itachi, hidden by the darkness and leaves, was quietly watching the Naka Shrine.
For a long time, he had a subtle and sharp feeling that the Uchiha clan's coup was not as simple as it seemed.
Itachi watched his surroundings without blinking, afraid of missing anything.
Soon, his wait was rewarded.
A door was opened, and a man walked out, looking around nervously as if afraid of being discovered.
Itachi stared at the man's face.
He had white hair and was quite old, with his eyes squinted into slits.
Uchiha Yashiro...
What was he being so sneaky about?
After Yashiro left, Itachi put the question aside and swiftly ran into the place Yashiro had just come from.
His crimson three-tomoe eyes quickly scanned the surroundings. One area was noticeably cleaner than the rest. Itachi quickly moved to that spot, triggered a mechanism, and a staircase leading to an underground room appeared.
This was a frequent meeting place for the Uchiha clan. Deep inside was a stone tablet inscribed with the Uchiha clan's history.
Itachi hesitated before rushing in, hoping to discover something. He also kept a close eye on his surroundings to avoid being discovered.
Itachi reached the deepest part without any trouble.
!?
A figure suddenly appeared before him.
Itachi quickly got into a fighting stance, ready to subdue the person in front of him at any moment.
The person had long hair and was standing with their back to him. Their exposed back was an excellent opportunity to strike.
"Heh, so you found me..."
As if he had expected it, the person with his back to Itachi spoke in a low voice.
"That voice is..."
Itachi's eyes widened in surprise.
Even after several years, Itachi still remembered the owner of that voice.
That was the person who killed all of his teammates, and because of it, he awakened his Sharingan.
He would never forget that painful memory.
The long-haired man turned around. He was wearing an orange mask with a pattern on it, identical to the one he had worn back then.
Seeing this man, Itachi clenched his fists, his body trembling slightly.
"It's been a while, Uchiha Itachi..."
The masked man raised his hands. "You've grown quite a bit since then."
Connecting this to Yashiro's furtive behavior, the confusion in Itachi's mind was immediately cleared. "You've been instigating the Uchiha clan all this time, haven't you?"
The killing intent seeping from his crimson eyes made the air feel much colder.
The masked man replied nonchalantly. "Don't say such unpleasant things. I simply told them their clan's history. It was their will that made them do all this."
"What is your true motive, Uchiha Madara—!"
"Hoh..."
The masked man crossed one arm over his chest and rested his hand on his chin. "How surprising."
Itachi demanded, "Answer me."
Facing his aggressive attitude, the masked man lowered his hands to avoid any unnecessary trouble. "Someone could come here at any time. Let's go somewhere else to talk."
"Alright."
Itachi wanted to see what Uchiha Madara was planning.
The two left the area, avoiding any witnesses, and went to the Forest of Death. No one was usually here, let alone in the middle of the night. It was the perfect place to talk.
The sky was illuminated by a bright moon, casting a faint glow that shone on Itachi's face as he stood there. The masked man was in the shadows, his crimson eye visible through the mask's hole.
"How did you know it was me?"
The masked man asked Itachi, his words an indirect admission that he was indeed Uchiha Madara.
"You managed to evade Konoha's security. You also know about the stone tablet in the Naka Shrine. Only an Uchiha would know that... Plus, you have the Sharingan."
"Just based on that...?"
The inner corner of Madara's eye, visible through the mask's hole, twitched.
"I have studied your actions and analyzed your thought process... There are all kinds of ninjutsu in this world. It's not impossible for a ninja like you to have survived until now."
"...Heh, you're quite sharp."
Uchiha Madara chuckled twice, following the conversation. "In that case, you must also know that I hold a grudge against both Konoha and the Uchiha."
"..."
"So, you intend to stop me?"
"No, I will help you get revenge on the Uchiha clan..."
Years ago, Uchiha Madara had tried to recruit his clansmen to fight against the Senju clan, but they had distanced themselves from him because they didn't want to start a war. As the clan leader, he felt betrayed. In his frustration, he challenged the First Hokage and was defeated.
It was this resentment toward Konoha and the Uchiha clan that led him to instigate the Uchiha to launch a coup.
Uchiha Madara narrowed his eyes. "How interesting... What's your goal?"
"You must promise me that you will not harm the village or Sasuke."
"Sasuke..." Uchiha Madara muttered, then seemed to understand. "Ah, your younger brother. What a good older brother you are."
"..."
"What will you do if I refuse?" Uchiha Madara tilted his mask, and his crimson eye peered out of the hole.
"Then you will be my enemy."
Itachi's three-tomoe eyes spun rapidly, converging into a shuriken-shaped pattern.
(End of Chapter)
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