Cold rain struck the eaves, making a dull and irritating sound. The night felt empty and sealed off by the weather, with no sign of movement beyond the narrow streets.
Itachi Uchiha carried the still unconscious Sasuke and moved like a shadow, slipping into a quiet house on the edge of the clan grounds. Inside the living room there was no light or sound, while faint snoring came from the master bedroom. He lowered his steps and closed the door without a trace of noise.
Itachi Uchiha moved carefully and placed Sasuke on the cold floor. In the dim light, the child's face still held a trace of fear that had not faded. A complicated look flashed deep in his red eyes before it was pressed down.
That hesitation vanished, replaced by a near cold resolve. "Sasuke…" Itachi whispered silently in his heart, "forgive me. This is the only way to protect you, and the only way to make you strong." His hand slowly rose, fingers reaching toward the tightly closed eyelids.
The crimson Mangekyo Sharingan rotated slowly in his eyes, and cold Dojutsu Power began to gather. He had to build another "Tsukuyomi" illusion before Sasuke fully woke up. It would be a world filled with hatred and endless repetition, a gift meant to force rapid growth in a cruel world.
Just as his fingertips were about to touch Sasuke, a sharp, startled shout came from the bedroom.
"Who is it?!"
Itachi Uchiha snapped his head up, and the figure that appeared was Inabi Uchiha. In the next instant, darkness fell over his vision, followed by pain at his neck. The blade in Itachi Uchiha's hand cut cleanly across his throat, and blood splashed across his face.
"You…" In the room, Inabi Uchiha's wife sat up in terror, but before she could scream, a Kunai flew from Itachi's hand. It pierced her throat like a striking snake, and she collapsed without a sound.
Behind him, Inabi Uchiha clutched his sliced throat, eyes wide with disbelief and fear. His body lost all strength and fell heavily to the floor. Blood spread beneath him as his breathing failed.
"There should be another child." Itachi Uchiha showed no emotion at all as he walked upstairs. Killing these hopeless extremists stirred nothing in his heart.
With Shisui no longer there to stop him, he would not spare the children raised on extremist ideas. Before leaving Konoha, every possible factor that could affect Sasuke had to be erased. Only then could he move on without concern.
As if hearing his words, the fallen Inabi struggled and reached out, trying to grab Itachi Uchiha's leg. The crimson, indifferent Sharingan lowered toward him. The blade pierced his heart without mercy.
Inabi's eyes dimmed, and his outstretched hand fell limp. All sound left him. Itachi Uchiha turned to continue toward the second floor, planning to remove the last obstacle before casting "Tsukuyomi" on Sasuke and returning to Shisui.
Then it happened. A piercing shriek tore through the air from the other side of the wall, sudden and overwhelming. The sound was dense and sharp, like countless arrows released at once, and a chill washed over Itachi Uchiha.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" Itachi reacted without hesitation, turning toward the source of the sound. He completed the hand seals with one hand and exhaled a massive fireball.
The dynamic vision of the Mangekyo Sharingan let him instantly catch sight of countless feathers. They were wrapped in Root marks and wind attribute Chakra, sharp as blades, and they tore through the thick wall and wooden beams to collide with the flames. The impact exploded with a deafening roar.
The wooden structure ignited at once, and burning Sui fragments flew everywhere. Yet the feathers infused with Wind Release and Chakra easily ripped apart the wall of fire. Some were burned or knocked aside, but many pierced through the flames and poured down like a rain of arrows.
The sound of blades entering flesh rang out in rapid succession. Itachi Uchiha's body and the wall behind him were pierced through by the blazing feathers. Blood surged from countless wounds as he was pinned in place like a broken doll.
With a soft sound, the nailed figure burst into countless black crows that scattered in all directions. Harsh cawing echoed as they fled through the fire. It was a Crow Clone.
A moment later, the crows gathered several meters away outside the house and reformed into Itachi Uchiha. His face was pale, and a deep wound on his left shoulder showed bone, blood quickly soaking his clothes under the rain. He ignored the pain and looked up at the sky.
The crimson Mangekyo Sharingan locked onto the figure above. Against the firelight, a figure floated quietly in the air. A wide rain cloak fluttered, and a pair of large glowing wings spread behind him.
Cold Byakugan eyes looked down through the mask holes. It was Yunchuan Hyuga. Even with the mask, Itachi Uchiha recognized him instantly, and his expression turned heavy.
This meant the ANBU and Root Ninja had all arrived. Any thought of continuing to clear out the remaining extremists was no longer realistic. The situation had completely shifted.
"Itachi Uchiha." Yunchuan Hyuga's calm voice carried clearly through the rain. His Byakugan swept over the two bodies lying in blood inside the house, then over the blood-stained clothes and Ninja Blade in Itachi's hand. Finally, it stopped on the dark hostility still lingering on his face.
"Tell me how much blood of your own people is on your hands." His gaze felt solid as it pressed into Itachi's soul. "How many more must you kill before you are satisfied?"
Itachi Uchiha said nothing and only frowned slightly. The silence hung between them, broken only by rain and fire.
"Unable to argue, or trying to resist with silence?" Yunchuan Hyuga's voice rose, sharp with killing intent. "Third Hokage and I have already cleaned out the White Zetsu mixed into ANBU."
"We also know it was you, Itachi Uchiha. You worked with those things called White Zetsu, let the wolves in, and personally planned and carried out the slaughter of your own clan." His voice did not slow. "And that so-called 'Madara Uchiha', where is he?"
"…What?" Itachi Uchiha's body trembled almost imperceptibly. He had seen Yunchuan Hyuga's terrifying Genjutsu before and could guess how the infiltrators were exposed. Gather all of ANBU together and trap them in an illusion, and the truth would surface.
As the caster, Yunchuan Hyuga could ask whatever he wanted in that illusion. Hearing this, Itachi Uchiha realized the village only knew about him, Madara Uchiha, and the White Zetsu. It did not know about Akatsuki or Shisui Uchiha at all.
A dry feeling rose in his throat. Did the village truly believe he killed only as an executioner? Did everyone in the entire Ninja World see him as nothing but a traitor who slaughtered his own people?
Watching the slight tremor in Itachi Uchiha's eyes, a smile appeared beneath Yunchuan Hyuga's mask. "Itachi, just carry the name of a clan butcher honestly." He continued calmly, "Isn't that what you wanted?"
What he claimed to have learned from the White Zetsu was his word alone. Shisui Uchiha still had value staying in Konoha, and Yunchuan Hyuga needed him to guide Sasuke. For now, he could not be forced to flee like Itachi Uchiha.
All Yunchuan Hyuga needed was for Shisui Uchiha to remain alive in Konoha. Whether that life was filled with suffering depended on what the Uchiha Clan Undead could do. Itachi Uchiha, however, had no remaining value.