" Ren?! Why are you back?!"
At the sound of the voice, Itachi turned around—then froze when he saw who stood at the doorway.
His sharp shout tore through the night, piercing enough to hurt the ears.
And yet inside the Uchiha compound, almost no one heard it.
"Why wouldn't I come back? This is my home."
Ren casually grabbed the wooden door and stepped inside.
As for the people outside?
Let them be happy a bit longer.
Tsukuyomi could last seventy-two hours.
Even a certain "famous Konoha masseur" would end up lying in the hospital for a full week after getting hit with it.
The clan members would be even worse off.
Then Ren plopped himself down right in front of Fugaku, picked up the freshly poured tea, and drained it in one gulp.
"Pfft."
He smacked his lips, spat out a tea leaf, and said in disgust,
"Old Fu, your tea-brewing skills have dropped—this isn't even steeped properly!"
Fugaku: "…"
Itachi: "…"
Both of them twitched at the corners of their mouths.
Yep. That was Ren.
The thick, suffocating tragedy of father and son about to kill each other—
was instantly blown away.
Fugaku frowned, glanced at Itachi, then urged,
" Ren. Go back to your room. No matter what happens tonight, don't come out."
"Yes," Itachi added, his killing intent slightly reined in. " Ren, go back, alright? Tomorrow, I'll tell you everything you want to know."
But the way his fingers tightened around the sword—almost unconsciously—gave him away.
At some point, every time he saw Ren's fearless attitude, it made his scalp prickle.
"N-No… that's not right!"
"I'm the older brother!"
He took a hard breath and barked, forcing his voice low and firm:
" Ren! Go back to your room, or else—"
"Or else you'll cut me too? Tch."
Ren spat out another bitter tea leaf and looked at the thirteen-year-old man across from him with amused interest.
Thirteen.
In Ren's old world, a kid that age would be grinding for high school entrance exams.
Here, he was carrying out a clan extermination.
Feel sorry for him?
Tch.
He'd rather feel sorry for a stray dog on the roadside.
At least dogs know not to bite their owner.
"You…" Itachi exhaled slowly, twice. "Fine… if you already know, then… I'm sorry, Ren."
"Sleep for a while."
"Once you wake up… everything will be over."
His eyes opened again.
Only crimson remained.
Tsukuyomi—activate!
Vrrrrm—
In an instant, a formless ripple filled the ancestral hall.
Shhk.
Ren's pupils—three tomoe.
"Three-tomoe, huh? You really did hide it deep," Itachi said, almost approving.
"Still… a three-tomoe Sharingan can't resist your big brother's genjutsu."
His left eye bulged slightly.
Blood vessels spiderwebbed around the eyeball, dense and ugly.
The famed "strongest genjutsu" of this era—Tsukuyomi—fully bared its fangs.
Then Itachi didn't even look at Ren anymore.
He raised the blade again toward Fugaku, voice heavy with apology.
"I'm sorry, Father. You're a target the village must remove. I—"
"Itachi."
This time, Fugaku didn't close his eyes and wait.
His expression was… strange.
Strange?
Itachi felt it immediately—something was wrong.
Something outside his control was about to happen.
He frowned, listening.
Fugaku's tone stayed mild, like a normal father talking to his son.
"Do you know when Ren awakened his eyes?"
That casual tone shook Itachi's emotions.
He grew impatient, voice tightening.
"When…?"
"How would I know?" Itachi snapped reflexively. "Six years ago, he was either sunbathing, talking nonstop, or messing with Sasuke all day. How could he awaken—"
He cut off mid-sentence.
His crimson pupils shrank violently.
And that sharp scream burst out again:
"Don't tell me…!"
"That's right," Fugaku said calmly. " Ren awakened six years ago—same year you did."
"H-How… how is that possible…"
Gulp.
Itachi's throat bobbed hard.
He knew Ren was talented—but he thought it was just training.
But awakening at two and a half?
Even an Uchiha "god" shouldn't be able to do that.
After struggling through the storm inside his chest, Itachi forced himself to breathe again and looked at Fugaku.
"Even if he awakened at two and a half… Father, you know this."
"A Mangekyō technique can only be resisted by another Mangekyō."
"Three tomoe… is still just three tomoe."
His hands tightened around the blade again.
That cold steel gave him a sliver of comfort.
"Look."
Fugaku simply tipped his chin toward the left.
Itachi followed the gesture—and saw Ren chewing tea leaves, watching him with lazy amusement.
"Hm? He didn't get caught?" Itachi's confusion deepened.
"Did Tsukuyomi fail because I used it on too many people earlier?"
Instinctively, he pushed more power into his left Mangekyō, trying to increase Tsukuyomi's pressure.
But what increased wasn't Tsukuyomi.
It was the curve of Ren's mocking smile—spreading like a crack across his whole face.
And most striking of all—
Those eyes.
Those enlarged three tomoe.
Enlarged… three tomoe?
Itachi narrowed his gaze—and understood instantly.
His breathing broke.
Step—step—step.
He staggered backward until his spine nearly hit the doorway, then blurted:
"You… you have a Mangekyō too?!"
"But—when?!"
His brows twisted tight.
The calm, controlled mask on his face shattered completely.
Only now did Itachi truly realize:
Things were no longer in his hands.
Ren.
His little brother.
That kid who only liked sunbathing and teasing Sasuke—
had silently awakened the Mangekyō.
Huff.
Huff.
Itachi's breaths sounded like a bull's.
The sword rose higher in both hands, held crosswise in front of him.
"You see?" Ren sighed, standing up after spitting out the last tea leaf.
"I told you how many times already—don't pick 'one versus seven.'"
"So why did you still pick wrong when it mattered?"
He stepped forward.
His forehead pressed against the blade's edge like it was nothing.
He was about to speak—
Creaaak—!
The door swung open again.
"What are you all doing in the middle of the night?!"
Uchiha Mikoto walked in, rubbing sleep from her eyes, her voice annoyed.
Then she saw the scene—and froze.
Her eldest son had a sword pressed against her second son's head.
And beside them—
Her husband, Uchiha Fugaku, was just sitting there holding tea like he was watching a show.
Rage.
Pure, blazing rage.
In an instant, the combination of waking up angry and seeing this pushed her straight past reason.
She crossed the room in two steps and stopped in front of Itachi.
She was clearly shorter than him.
But the pressure she gave off hit like a tiger.
"Uchiha Itachi."
"What do you think you're doing?"
SMACK!
A single, heavy slap—
and it landed cleanly.
Want More? Get up to +60 Extra Chapters on Patreon!
➤ https://www.patreon.com/MythArcStudio
➤ +300 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter Drop!
Thanks for the support!