Chapter 100: Uchiha Sasuke's collapse!
Everyone's eyes were fixed on Uchiha Akira, waiting for him to reveal the traitor's name. The air in front of Naka Shrine seemed to solidify at that moment.
Akira's gaze slowly swept over the astonished, angry, and disbelieving faces below.
"This traitor is not an unknown person. Quite the opposite. He was once the pride of our Uchiha Clan. He was a genius in the eyes of countless people."
Akira's gaze finally landed on a small, thin figure in the crowd: Uchiha Sasuke. At this moment, Sasuke was looking at Akira on the stage with a face full of admiration, fantasizing that one day he could also lead the Uchiha Clan to glory like him.
He had no idea how the words that were about to come would utterly shatter his entire world.
"This traitor who betrayed all of us…"
"His name is…"
"Uchiha Itachi."
Dead silence. Several seconds of deathly silence.
Then—
Boom!!!
The crowd completely erupted.
"Impossible!" A young Uchiha ninja screamed.
"Clan Head Akira! Are you mistaken! How could Itachi be a traitor!"
"That's right! Itachi is a once-in-a-century genius of our Uchiha Clan!"
"Brother…"
Uchiha Sasuke stood frozen, his small face pale. He looked blankly at the fiercely arguing clansmen around him, then at the expressionless Akira on the stage.
"No…"
"You're talking nonsense!" Sasuke shouted with all his strength.
"My brother is not a traitor! You're all lying!"
However, his voice was quickly drowned out by the louder clamor.
Uchiha Mikoto's body trembled slightly, and tears rolled uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes.
"No… impossible…"
Uchiha Sasuke couldn't understand why this name would appear here as a "traitor." That was his brother. The most perfect, strongest, and gentlest brother in his eyes. The genius that the Uchiha Clan was proud of. How could he be a traitor?
"Clan Head Akira… are you… mistaken about something…" Sasuke's voice, with the trembling and crying peculiar to a child, looked up at Akira with an almost pleading gaze.
He hoped it was just a joke. A cruel joke that wasn't funny at all.
Many ordinary clansmen who didn't know the truth discussed animatedly. Uchiha Itachi still had some prestige within the clan, especially among the younger generation.
Akira did not explain. He simply raised his hand, silencing the discussions.
Two Uchiha Jōnin with grim expressions carried a rough wooden stake, walking out step by step. Bound to the stake was a battered figure. That person wore a tattered Anbu uniform, his black long hair clung messily to his pale face, his head was bowed, and his body was tightly bound to the stake with thick ropes.
What was most shocking was his face. Those eyes that once made countless clansmen proud were gone, leaving only 2 bloody, hollow eye sockets.
Uchiha Itachi.
"Ah—!"
Uchiha Mikoto could no longer stand, her body went limp, collapsing to the ground, her hands tightly covering her mouth to prevent herself from crying out.
"Brother!!"
Sasuke's mind went blank. He looked at the figure bound to the stake, his most admired and beloved brother. An indescribable fear gripped Sasuke's heart. He tried to rush forward like a madman.
"Let me go! Let me go! That's my brother!"
Two Uchiha ninja, one on each side, held him expressionlessly, preventing him from moving an inch further.
Akira looked down coldly at the scene. The wooden stake was heavily placed in the center of the high platform. Only when all the clansmen had somewhat recovered from their shock did Akira speak again.
"Just last night, the Konoha S-rank rogue ninja, Orochimaru; the legendary bounty hunter, Kakuzu; and even that mysterious masked man who caused the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox incident and killed the Fourth Hokage and his wife, they, along with the genius of our Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Itachi, invaded our clan compound together."
"Not only that." Akira's voice grew more serious.
"After the invasion, Uchiha Itachi personally used the Mangekyō Sharingan's Genjutsu on his own father, the former Clan Head of our Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Fugaku!"
"Tsukuyomi!"
"Finally, he even raised a blade, intending to cut off Fugaku's head."
Boom!
The crowd completely exploded. Patricide! This was truly a demonic act, instantly igniting the rage of all Uchiha clansmen.
"If I hadn't arrived in time, now, the head of our former Clan Head would have already been cut off by Itachi!"
All eyes looking at Uchiha Itachi changed. They were no longer looking at a clansman who had made a mistake. Instead, they were looking at a scoundrel worse than pigs and dogs, who had betrayed his family, betrayed his bloodline, and even attempted patricide!
"Sa… suke…"
Just then, the lifeless figure on the wooden stake suddenly stirred. His cracked lips parted slightly, emitting an almost inaudible, hoarse syllable.
"Sa… suke…"
Uchiha Itachi seemed to be muttering in a dream, or perhaps using his last ounce of strength to call out the name he cherished most.
Uchiha Sasuke looked at his brother on the stage, tears streaming uncontrollably from his eyes. He didn't understand. He truly didn't understand.
Why? Why did it turn out like this?
The brother who would gently tap his forehead with his finger and say, "Forgive me, Sasuke, next time." The brother who was omnipotent in his eyes.
Why would he do such a thing? Collude with evil people like Orochimaru? Use terrifying Mangekyō Genjutsu on Father! And even raise a blade to cut off Father's head!
"I know some of you still hold onto illusions."
He didn't waste any more words. He simply slowly turned his gaze to Uchiha Fugaku, who was sitting in a wheelchair.
"Then, let the eyewitness to the event, our former Clan Head, Uchiha Fugaku, tell you the truth."
Everyone's eyes instantly focused on Uchiha Fugaku.
Fugaku sat in the wheelchair, his entire body trembling uncontrollably. Uchiha Fugaku dared not look into his wife's eyes. Nor did he dare to look at Sasuke.
He slowly raised his head. Those eyes, once filled with authority, now held only endless sorrow. His gaze swept over the crowd, landing on the bloody, battered figure bound to the wooden stake.
That was his son. His greatest pride once upon a time.
"Clan Head Akira…'s words…" Fugaku's voice was hoarse, like 2 pieces of sandpaper rubbing together, every word seemingly draining all his strength.
"…are all true."
Boom—!
If before there was only suspicion and anger, then Fugaku's personal confirmation completely shattered the last shred of hope.
"Last night, Itachi… he…" Fugaku's breathing became rapid, his chest heaving violently.
"He… used Mangekyō Genjutsu on me. Itachi finally raised his blade. Itachi said that for the sake of so-called peace, for the Village… our Uchiha Clan must become a sacrifice. And he, personally, would bring an end to all of it."