"But... your brother, Uchiha Itachi, he knew very well..."
"The Uchiha Clan's coup d'état could never succeed."
"However, once a civil war broke out, Konoha would surely suffer heavy losses, and its strength would be greatly diminished. At that time, other great nations watching with greedy eyes would never miss this opportunity..."
"The Fourth Great Ninja War would likely break out because of it!"
The Masked Man's voice carried a coldness that saw through everything:
"In Itachi's eyes, on one side was a clan destined to fail that would drag the Village into the flames of war;"
"On the other side was the overall 'peace' and the 'stability' of the Village..."
"Guess how he... or rather, how the Konoha Leadership who forced him to make a choice, would decide?"
In the real Ninja World, there was a massive uproar!
Uchiha Shisui was killed by the Konoha Leadership?
The Uchiha were forced into a coup?
Uchiha Itachi massacred the clan to prevent war?
Every single piece of information overturned their inherent perception of Konoha and Uchiha Itachi!
In the Hokage Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face had turned as pale as paper. He knew that the most core part had been exposed.
In the Ninja Academy, Sasuke listened blankly. The target of his hatred began to blur, and a greater, suffocating sense of conspiracy enveloped him.
The Masked Man's sentence, "Uchiha Shisui died at the hands of the Konoha Leadership, and one of his Mangekyo Sharingan was gouged out," was like a clap of thunder, not only exploding throughout the Ninja World but also detonating a silent nuclear bomb within the Hokage Office!
"Shisui... was also killed by you?"
Tsunade's voice was colder than ever before, as if it contained the freezing winds of the far north.
She slowly turned her head. Those beautiful eyes, which were usually either irritable or lazy, were now as sharp as knives, pinned firmly on Hiruzen Sarutobi.
In that gaze, for the first time, there was even a clearly discernible trace of... killing intent toward this teacher!
Uchiha Shisui!
That name was not unfamiliar to her.
He was an outstanding Ninja who truly loved the Village and was exceptionally gifted!
Even Tsunade had heard of his reputation and knew of his contributions and sincerity toward Konoha.
Such a person... was actually killed by the leadership of his own Village?
And had his eye gouged out while he was still alive?
How cruel, how filthy!
The cynicism on Jiraiya's face also completely vanished, replaced by deep heartache and incomprehensible disappointment.
He looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, his voice heavy:
"Old Man... Shisui, that child, I've met him."
"He was a very good, pure Uchiha who truly loved Konoha! Can you... not even tolerate such a child?"
His questioning carried suppressed anger and sorrow:
"If you can't even tolerate Shisui, who truly practiced the will of fire... then... who exactly can you tolerate?"
Facing the interrogation of his two disciples' gazes, which felt almost physical, Hiruzen Sarutobi opened his mouth, but his throat was too dry to make any sound.
He wanted to defend himself, to say that it was Danzo's solo action and that he only found out after the fact.
But... if he said those words, even he wouldn't believe them.
As the Hokage, as the actual supreme wielder of power in Konoha at the time, how could Danzo's actions have been completely outside his control and acquiescence?
At the very least, it was a form of indulgence!
Pushing all the responsibility onto Danzo was nothing more than self-deception!
Hiruzen Sarutobi slumped powerlessly into his chair, as if all his energy and spirit had been drained away in an instant, leaving him without even the strength to defend himself.
The air in the office seemed to freeze. The trust between master and disciples, which had been solid even despite their differences, now developed a deep, almost irreparable crack.
And in the heavenly screen, the Masked Man's voice, like a Demons Whisper, continued, revealing the even more cruel truth step by step:
"Faced with the choice given by the Konoha Leadership... Uchiha Itachi, he finally... made his decision."
"He made a deal with the Konoha Leadership..."
"He himself would become a Rogue Ninja bearing all the sins..."
"And personally... wipe out the Uchiha Clan..."
"In exchange, the Konoha Leadership would be responsible for... raising you..."
"And then... you... would kill him..."
"Ultimately, you... would return to Konoha..."
"And restore the Uchiha Clan."
Every word from the Masked Man was like a heavy hammer, smashing ruthlessly into Sasuke's heart.
Smashing all his perceptions, all his hatred, and all his emotions into pieces!
"In this way..."
"Konoha gained a brand new, obedient Uchiha Clan without suffering any impact from a coup..."
"And you... his most beloved younger brother... could... survive."
This last sentence was like the straw that broke the camel's back.
"Uh... ah..."
Sasuke's throat made raspy, tuneless sounds.
He opened his mouth, but felt as if all the air had been sucked out, and he couldn't say a single word.
He stumbled backward until his back hit the cold wall hard, barely supporting himself from collapsing.
His mind was blank, only to be immediately filled with countless chaotic, sharp fragments.
The blood-red color of that night... the sorrowful eyes of his parents... the feeling of Itachi's cold fingers touching his forehead... the years he spent tormented by hatred day after day... the heavy rain at the Valley of the End... and... the hollow emptiness he felt just now when he "killed" Itachi... So... so all of this... all this pain, struggle, hatred, and killing... was actually... all... arranged?
It was... a deal?
Was it for the sake of... letting him live?
"No... impossible... You're lying to me... You're lying to me!!!"
Sasuke suddenly grabbed his head and let out a heart-wrenching roar, trying to use anger to dispel the truth that was enough to make him mentally collapse.
However, his logic was frantically telling him that the reasoning behind all this... was airtight!
It perfectly explained all the previously incomprehensible loopholes!
Why could Itachi massacre the clan alone? — Because he had the acquiescence or even cooperation of the Konoha Leadership!
Why was Konoha completely unaware? — Because this was originally a filthy purge!
Why didn't the clansmen run away? — Because they might have been restricted, or surrounded by the Konoha Leadership!
Why did Itachi die so easily at his hands? — Because he wanted to die! It was to fulfill his younger brother's purpose!
In the real Ninja World, there was a deathly silence.
Everyone was shocked into speechlessness by this subversive, cruel-to-the-extreme truth.
For the sake of the Village's "stability," they acquiesced to or even planned the massacre of a founding clan that helped create the Village?
Forcing a thirteen-year-old boy to personally slaughter his own parents and his entire clan, bearing eternal infamy?
Pushing all the guilt onto one person, and then carefully planning a drama of brothers killing each other to cultivate a "clean" Bloodline Limit heir?
Is... is this the Konoha that claims to have inherited the "will of fire"?