Before Yashiro could explain, Fugaku Uchiha stepped forward. A gentle and apologetic smile appeared on his usually serious face.
"I am truly sorry to disturb you so late, Ryoko. I even woke the child." Fugaku Uchiha lowered his voice in apology, then glanced at the baby with a touch of elder warmth. "The little one has grown quite a bit."
He then looked back at Yashiro's wife, still smiling. "May I borrow Yashiro for a short while? There is an urgent clan matter that needs his help. He will be back soon."
"You are too polite, Fugaku Uchiha." Yashiro's wife smiled again. "It is our family's honor that Yashiro can help the clan."
She lowered her head to soothe the child, then looked up at her husband and spoke softly. "It is cold outside. Come home early after you are done."
Neither she nor Yashiro held the slightest suspicion toward Fugaku Uchiha. They only felt respect for the clan head's late-night visit.
After all, Fugaku Uchiha's steadiness was famous within the clan. Even she knew that unless it were extremely important, Fugaku Uchiha would not act this way.
"No. Stop him. Stop him." In the mental space, the real Fugaku Uchiha shook his head and roared. "Shisui. Itachi. What are you doing?"
"I understand." Yashiro Uchiha nodded seriously.
He looked at his grandson's scrunched little face, his gaze softening as he gently touched the warm cheek. Then he turned and followed behind Fugaku Uchiha, stepping out of the warm yellow light and into the darkness of the night.
His wife stood under the light, holding the child and watching his figure disappear. She slowly closed the door.
She would never know that gentle reminder was the last thing she would ever say to her husband. She would never know that the words "come home early" would become a promise never fulfilled.
She would also never know that the clan head who had just smiled kindly at her child was leading her husband toward a death long planned. A man they trusted completely, believing he would lead them to a better future.
The night wind brushed against their faces with a chill. Fugaku Uchiha walked ahead in silence, his steps steady as he led the way toward a remote area at the edge of the clan grounds.
Yashiro Uchiha followed quietly behind, deep in thought about why the clan head had come to him so late. Was there a split among the radicals, or new movements from the village leadership, or had their secret procurement been exposed?
He did not notice that the warmth Fugaku Uchiha showed to the child had completely vanished. What remained was a calm deeper than the night itself.
Finally, Fugaku Uchiha stopped. Yashiro Uchiha came back to his senses and looked around, realizing they were far from any signs of people.
Only insects and the rustling of leaves in the wind could be heard. The place felt empty and isolated.
"Fugaku Uchiha, you…" Yashiro turned toward Fugaku Uchiha and opened his mouth to ask a question.
In the next moment, a pair of scarlet eyes opened in the darkness behind Fugaku Uchiha.
The instant he saw those Sharingan eyes, Yashiro Uchiha felt his whole body stiffen. A single thought flashed through his mind, enemy, even before he could question why the other side possessed Sharingan. Almost by reflex, the Three Tomoe appeared in his own eyes.
But to his shock, the Fugaku Uchiha in front of him moved first. A hand that had somehow already gripped a Kunai shot forward, cutting through the air with a sharp screech, and pierced straight through Yashiro Uchiha's chest.
Blood burst out as Yashiro Uchiha's crimson gaze froze in place. His body went rigid as he lowered his head in disbelief, staring at the hand that had gone straight through his heart. He then lifted his head in a daze and looked at Fugaku Uchiha standing right in front of him.
That face was still calm and steady, still the familiar Fugaku Uchiha he had always known. There was no anger, no hatred, not even the slightest emotional ripple. There was only a bone chilling coldness that made his heart tremble.
"Fugaku Uchiha, sir, you…" The tearing pain and fear swept through his body as Yashiro Uchiha opened his mouth, trying to say something, but Fugaku Uchiha pulled the Kunai back out.
Blood sprayed like a fountain, soaking his chest and splashing over Fugaku Uchiha's arm. Along with it, Yashiro Uchiha's life drained away. His body crumpled forward as if all its bones had been removed, collapsing to his knees as blood spread rapidly beneath him.
He struggled to raise his head and stared fixedly into Fugaku Uchiha's eyes, the emotions within shifting from confusion to pain, fear, and anger. His consciousness quickly blurred, and his vision fell into complete darkness.
Fugaku Uchiha said nothing, only standing there quietly and looking at Yashiro Uchiha. Under the pale moonlight, those deep black eyes showed no trace of emotion at all.
Yet inside the mental space, Fugaku Uchiha stood frozen, staring at Yashiro Uchiha whom he had personally killed. Yashiro Uchiha's eyes were still wide open, fixed in the direction of Fugaku Uchiha, filled with hatred and confusion that had solidified there.
Even in death, he could not understand, could not believe, why Fugaku Uchiha would kill him. He had trusted him so completely, as had everyone else, believing he could lead the Uchiha Clan to a better future.
"No!" Facing those eyes that refused to close, Fugaku Uchiha let out a hoarse roar filled with pain, anger, and fear. "Why, why did it have to be me?"
"Shisui! Itachi! Tell me!" he shouted. That was a subordinate who trusted and followed him, a living person with a family, attachments, and simple hopes.
And now, he had killed him with his own hands. Pain and anger crashed over him like waves, eroding the last remnants of his awareness, even causing the black liquid sustaining his consciousness to churn silently.
"That is still far from enough." Yunchuan Hyuga looked down coldly on everything, the Box of Ultimate Bliss slowly spinning in his palm. Watching oneself kill a clan member was nothing like calmly accepting death after everything had already been decided.
Most people were like this. If the blade did not cut into their own flesh, they could never truly understand the pain. Only when the dead were no longer numbers but living individuals would Fugaku Uchiha, as clan head, truly bear what he should.
In reality, Fugaku Uchiha wiped the blood from his hands and walked back toward the clan grounds step by step, like a machine following preset instructions. In the shadows behind him, the crimson in Shisui Uchiha's eyes faded, his face equally pale.
Even though he had steeled himself, killing clan members still brought pain. By contrast, Itachi Uchiha's expression was calm, unmoved by Yashiro Uchiha's death, believing that their deaths bought stability for others and peace for the village.
To him, Yashiro Uchiha had died with meaning. It was better than launching a reckless coup and dying pointlessly while dragging innocents down with him.
"Go." Obito Uchiha's cold voice came from the tree. A White Zetsu oozed out of the ground like mud and placed its hand on Yashiro Uchiha's still warm corpse.