"Jin?! Why are you back?!"
The moment he heard the voice, Itachi turned his head.
When he saw the person standing at the doorway, his sharp shout tore through the night.
It was piercing enough to hurt one's eardrums—
Yet within the Uchiha compound, very few people heard it.
"Why wouldn't I come back? This is my home."
Jin casually grabbed the wooden door and walked inside.
As for the clansmen outside?
Let them enjoy themselves a little longer.
Tsukuyomi lasted seventy-two hours.
Even a certain famous Konoha "massage technician" had to lie obediently in the hospital for a full week after getting hit by it.
The Uchiha clansmen would fare even worse.
He plopped himself down in front of Fugaku, picked up the freshly poured tea, and downed it in one gulp.
"Peh."
Smacking his lips, he spat out a tea leaf and said with disgust,
"Man, Old Fugaku, your tea-brewing skills have really gone downhill. You didn't even steep it properly!"
Fugaku: "..."
Itachi: "..."
Both of their mouths twitched.
Yes.
This was very Jin.
The heavy, suffocating atmosphere of patricide and tragedy vanished instantly.
Fugaku frowned, glanced at Itachi, then urged,
"Jin, go back to your room. No matter what happens tonight, don't come out."
"Yes, Jin, go back first, alright?" Itachi said in a low voice, forcing himself to rein in some killing intent.
"Tomorrow, I'll tell you everything you want to know."
But the hand gripping his blade unconsciously tightened.
He didn't know when it started, but every time he saw Jin's fearless, carefree demeanor, a creeping numbness crawled up his scalp.
"No… no, that's not right!"
"I'm the big brother!"
Taking a deep breath, Itachi lowered his voice and barked,
"Jin! Go back to your room, or else—"
"Or else what? You'll cut me down too? Tch."
Jin spat out another bitter tea leaf and looked at the man opposite him with interest.
This thirteen-year-old man.
In his previous life, he'd probably still be grinding away for a high school entrance exam.
And now he was about to carry out a mission of extermination.
Did Jin feel sorry for him?
Tch.
Feeling sorry for him was worse than feeling sorry for a stray dog.
At least dogs knew better than to bite their owners.
"You… huff… since you already know… then… sorry, Jin. Go to sleep for a bit. When you wake up, everything will be over."
Hearing Jin's words, Itachi closed his eyes and took two deep breaths.
When he opened them again, only crimson remained.
Tsukuyomi—activate!
Bzzzz—
In an instant, invisible ripples spread through the entire ancestral hall.
Flash.
Three tomoe appeared in Jin's eyes.
"So it really is three-tomoe," Itachi said with a hint of admiration, glancing at him.
"You hid it well."
"I don't know when you awakened your Sharingan, but—three tomoe alone can't block your big brother's genjutsu."
As he spoke, his left eye bulged further.
Blood vessels crawled across the sclera like a spiderweb.
The power of Tsukuyomi—the strongest genjutsu of this era—fully unfurled.
Then, without even looking at Jin, Itachi raised his blade again and turned toward Fugaku, apologetic:
"Sorry, Father. You're a target the village must eliminate. I—"
"Itachi."
This time, Fugaku didn't close his eyes to await death.
His expression was… strange.
Strange?
Something was wrong.
Itachi clearly sensed that something had slipped beyond his control.
But… what?
He frowned instinctively, listening closely.
Fugaku's tone was calm, like casual father–son conversation.
"Do you know when Jin awakened his eyes…?"
That relaxed tone unsettled Itachi.
Impatience crept in, his voice quickening.
"When… he awakened them?"
"How would I know? Six years ago, all he did was sunbathe, chatter nonstop, and tease Sasuke. How could he have awakened—"
His voice cut off abruptly.
His crimson pupils shrank violently.
A sharp cry escaped him again:
"Don't tell me—!"
"That's right," Fugaku said calmly.
"Jin awakened his Sharingan six years ago. The same year you did."
"H–How… how is that possible…"
Gulp.
Itachi's Adam's apple bobbed painfully, the tear troughs on his face standing out starkly.
He knew his second brother was talented—but only in training.
But—
Awakening at two and a half years old?!
Even the gods of the Uchiha couldn't do that.
After a long moment of emotional turmoil, he took another deep breath and looked at Fugaku.
"Huff… even if he awakened that early, Father, you of all people should know—"
"Only a Mangekyō can resist Mangekyō techniques."
"Three tomoe are still just three tomoe."
As he spoke, his hands tightened once more around the blade.
The cold steel steadied him, if only a little.
"…Over there."
Fugaku merely tilted his chin toward the opposite side.
Confused, Itachi followed his gaze to the left.
Jin was chewing on tea leaves, looking at him with obvious amusement.
"Hm? He didn't fall into the illusion?" Itachi was even more baffled.
"Did Tsukuyomi fail because I used it on such a large scale earlier?"
Subconsciously, he pushed more power into his left Mangekyō, strengthening Tsukuyomi.
But what intensified wasn't the genjutsu—
It was the mockery at the corner of Jin's mouth.
Like a crack spreading across porcelain, it rapidly crept over his entire face.
Most striking of all—
Those eyes.
Those eyes—
Enlarged three-tomoe.
Enlarged?
Three tomoe?!
Itachi narrowed his eyes and instantly understood.
His breathing faltered.
Step. Step. Step.
He staggered back several steps, stopping only at the doorway as he cried out in disbelief:
"You… you're a Mangekyō too?!"
"But… when? When did it happen?!"
His brows knitted tight, his usually composed face completely losing control.
Only now did Itachi realize—
Something was no longer within his grasp.
Jin.
His second brother.
The one who loved sunbathing and teasing Sasuke.
Had awakened the Mangekyō without anyone noticing.
Huff.
Huff.
Itachi's breathing grew heavy like a bellows.
Both hands slowly raised the blade, holding it horizontally before him.
"You see?" Jin shook his head.
"I told you so many times—one-versus-seven."
"And you still picked wrong at a moment like this."
He stood up, spitting out the last tea leaf.
His forehead pressed lightly against the blade's edge.
Clatter—
Just as he was about to speak again, the door suddenly flew open.
"What are you all doing in the middle of the night?!"
Uchiha Mikoto walked in, rubbing her sleepy eyes, irritation in her voice.
But the moment she saw the scene in the ancestral hall, she froze.
Her eldest son was holding a blade against her second son's head.
Beside them—
Her husband, Uchiha Fugaku, was calmly drinking tea like he was watching a play.
Fury.
Uncontainable fury.
In an instant, morning rage mixed with maternal wrath, obliterating her reason.
She strode straight up to Itachi.
Though shorter, the aura she radiated was as ferocious as a tiger.
"Uchiha Itachi—what do you think you're doing?!"
Smack!
A resounding slap landed—
And shattered everything.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 60 chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/CanonBreaker