Uchiha Clan Leader's Mansion.
Bedroom.
"Come in. There are no traps," Uchiha Fugaku said, kneeling beside his wife, Uchiha Mikoto, their faces impassive as the clan grounds' anguished screams echoed.
The bedroom door slid open.
Uchiha Itachi entered, drenched in clansmen's blood, wearing a Konoha headband and ANBU gray armor, gripping a sharp katana.
Fugaku sensed his son's hesitation and lowered his head with acceptance. "So, you've chosen their side."
"Father, Mother… I…" Itachi's red-rimmed eyes avoided his parents' backs.
"We understand, Itachi," Mikoto said coldly.
"Itachi, my final request: take care of Sasuke," Fugaku said calmly.
"I know…" Tears spilled from Itachi's three-tomoe Sharingan, his trembling hands clutching the katana.
"Don't be afraid. This was your choice. Compared to you, our pain lasts only a moment," Fugaku said firmly. "Even if our beliefs differ, we're still proud of you."
Itachi's mirror-like katana leveled between the couple, reflecting their stoic expressions.
Finally, Fugaku said calmly, "You're truly a kind child."
Itachi's heart raced, teeth clenched, tears streaming onto his trembling hands.
Konoha's peace! The clan's ambition! A path with no retreat! His oath to friends! To end wars in the ninja world! All of it—black threads binding his heart, suffocating him.
Uchiha Itachi aimed his blade at the thread closest to his heart: "clan."
Cutting it seemed to promise peace.
Without lingering, he said, "I… understand."
Moments ago, resolved to fall into hell, Itachi swung his sharp katana down.
Splatter—
Blood stained the tatami like a brush, crimson streaking across the floor.
Fugaku fell.
But at that moment, Mikoto's body trembled, her pupils glowing red as blade-shaped Mangekyō Sharingan spun in her eyes.
As Itachi's blade swung again, a kunai slid from Mikoto's sleeve. She gripped it, spun, and blocked his katana head-on.
Clang—
Kunai met katana, metal ringing, sparks flying.
Itachi's brow furrowed, stunned, his three-tomoe Sharingan meeting his mother's. "Mangekyō!" he exclaimed.
Mikoto's mouth hung open, dazed, her body moving beyond her control, as if it refused to die here.
Without hesitation, her body retreated, crashing through the bedroom window.
Crash—
Glass shattered. Mikoto fled into the darkness, never looking back.
"…" Itachi glanced at his father's body, then his mother's fleeing silhouette, emotions swinging wildly, incoherent.
What had happened?
Praised by Hiruzen Sarutobi for his Hokage-like thinking, Itachi pondered briefly and realized, "Is it because she can't let go of Sasuke? Father's dead, and Mother awakened the Mangekyō? But even if she lives, it won't change the situation."
Itachi left the mansion, returning to the streets. Looking around, he saw no one.
"If both Mother and Father had Mangekyō, I'd be the one dead," he mused, continuing deeper into the clan grounds. Glancing at the Police Force headquarters, he noted the fighting had ceased.
He had about fifteen minutes left.
---
Uchiha Clan Grounds Outskirts, Forest.
In the pitch-black forest, light footsteps mingled with rustling branches.
Multiple three-man teams arrived, wearing blue-green patterned masks, gray-white armor, tattoos on their left arms, and katanas on their backs.
These were Danzō's loyal Root operatives, trained under the guise of ANBU.
Perched or crouched on branches, they exuded a dark aura, like beasts long dwelling in shadow.
Tap—
A cane's dull thud echoed from behind. The Root members below turned, then lowered their heads, parting to clear a path.
An aged yet steady figure emerged from the shadows, stepping forward.
Mottled moonlight illuminated a wrinkled, scar-crossed face.
Shimura Danzō leaned on his cane with his left hand, his right eye covered by white bandages, his right arm wrapped in a black robe, hanging at his chest.
He gazed into the forest's depths, his cloudy left eye narrowing.
His shadow swallowed the moonlight, as if darkness reigned wherever he stood.
"Shimura Danzō!!" Uchiha Minamikaze and the others, disguised among the Root operatives, froze, pupils shrinking, breath catching.
Tsukikage had brought them to confront Danzō? Was this suicide?
The realization hit like a hammer, snapping the Uchiha from their grief.
It was impossible.
Danzō was the Hokage's advisor!
The few remaining Uchiha, even with Tsukikage's Mangekyō, couldn't defeat him amidst over a hundred Root operatives.
Tsukikage controlled nine of them, but could he control all the Root members here?
That was the Uchiha's collective thought—an utterly impossible mission.
Whoosh—
Two Root operatives flickered back from the forest depths, kneeling before Danzō. "Lord Danzō, the fighting in the Uchiha clan grounds will end soon," one reported.
Danzō tilted his head, his left eye sizing up his subordinates, his voice low. "Go. Collect the eyes quickly."
"Yes, Lord Danzō!" The right operative looked up, his mask's eyehole glowing red as three blade-shaped Mangekyō spun. "These eyes, you mean?" he taunted, rising and removing his mask.
Tsukikage's face emerged.
His Mangekyō's red glow, laced with Yin Release Chakra, pierced Danzō's widened left eye through eye contact, meeting familiar three-tomoe Sharingan resistance.
In an instant, the Mangekyō's power overwhelmed the three-tomoe's feeble stream like a tidal wave.
On the trees, countless Root operatives looked down, their gazes meeting the red glow. They froze, petrified like statues.
The Uchiha gaped. Tsukikage had done it—controlled everyone in a single moment.
His Mangekyō's dominance was staggering!
"What's happening?"
"Lord Danzō!"
"Enemy attack!!"
The Root operatives, unable to speak, stood frozen, shouting internally, bodies immobilized.
"How is an Uchiha here?" Danzō stood stunned, struggling to break free, his thoughts stalling. "I can't move."
Tsukikage's sudden appearance was unthinkable. While Danzō saw the Uchiha as prey, an Uchiha had made him the prey.
Instantly, the left Root operative lunged at Danzō, his mask falling, revealing Tamao's baby face.
"Take this, old geezer!!" Tamao's katana pierced Danzō's heart, clean and precise.
Controlled by Tsukikage, Tamao was thrilled—he'd finally struck the old man he'd always wanted to kill!
Simultaneously, Tsukikage reached for Danzō's bandaged right eye, his fingers like eagle claws, tearing through the bandages. Blood sprayed as he plucked out a Sharingan.
It was the Mangekyō of Shisui's Kotoamatsukami!
The Uchiha on the trees stared at the red-and-white eye, thoughts racing, anger igniting.
They understood now—Shisui's death was tied to Danzō!
Blood bloomed like flowers from Danzō's right eye socket and chest, staining his bandages and robe.
(End of Chapter)