The deepest reaches of Root.
Danzō sat upon a throne carved from black stone, his figure almost merging with the boundless darkness.
"Come."
A Root ninja wearing a blank mask knelt before Danzō without a sound.
"Deliver this scroll to the snake's den."
Danzō drew a scroll from his sleeve, its surface marked with a serpent biting its own tail, drawn in special ink.
"Once the deed is done, those eyes are his."
The Root ninja silently received the scroll and vanished like a fleeting shadow.
Uchiha Shinsuke was a monster.
Then, to deal with a monster, one needed to summon another monster with no reverence for life whatsoever.
Orochimaru was, without question, the best choice.
But that alone was not enough.
Although Orochimaru was a seasoned Kage-level powerhouse, relying on him alone would not necessarily be enough to bring down Shinsuke.
To be safe, another powerful fighter had to be found to act alongside Orochimaru.
"Go to the exchange house and find that living dead man who answers only to money."
"Tell him the price I'm offering for this mission."
Danzō extended five fingers, a gesture that represented an astronomical sum capable of stopping any bounty hunter's heart cold.
"I want him to wipe the Uchiha Clan clean for me."
The second Root ninja received his orders just the same and vanished from the spot in an instant.
Danzō's gaze slowly turned to his remaining confidants, Yamanaka Fū and Aburame Torune.
"Both of you, assemble every elite within Root."
A killing intent so dense it nearly solidified filled the air.
"Three days from now, when the slaughter begins, your task is not to participate."
"It is to wait."
Yamanaka Fū's body trembled ever so slightly, beyond his control.
"If Itachi, along with the two allies I have hired, holds the absolute upper hand, you will join at once and exterminate the Uchiha utterly, as if stamping out the last embers of a fire."
"Remember, leave no one alive."
"Every Sharingan must be brought back intact."
"Understood."
"But if..."
"If circumstances shift and the power of the one called Uchiha Shinsuke exceeds projections..."
"Your task is to retreat immediately and preserve Root's remaining strength."
"As for Itachi, and that snake, and that living dead man, pay them no mind."
"Understood, Lord Danzō."
A hidden underground cave.
A strange smell hung thick in the air.
Enormous glass culture vessels lined the space, each one submerged with grotesquely twisted biological tissue, murky and viscous bubbles rising at intervals through the green liquid.
Orochimaru stood in a white research coat, his golden serpentine eyes observing the culture vessels with keen interest.
At that moment, a subordinate entered, escorting the Root ninja inside.
The Root ninja dropped to one knee and presented the scroll bearing the image of the serpent biting its tail with both hands.
Orochimaru did not turn around.
A small purple snake slipped out from his sleeve, curled its tongue around the scroll, and delivered it reverently to Orochimaru's hand.
He slowly unrolled the scroll.
At the very end of the scroll was the reward Danzō had offered.
[Uchiha Fugaku's Mangekyō Sharingan]
"Heh heh... heh heh heh heh heh..."
Orochimaru began to laugh, his laughter growing louder and louder, like a man gone mad.
"The Mangekyō... just what manner of power, what manner of truth, is hidden within those eyes..."
"Danzō, this deal of yours is one I cannot refuse."
"Tell your master."
"Three days from now, I will arrive on time."
"I very much look forward to plucking those perfect eyes with my own hands."
The underground exchange house.
This was the most corrupt and, at the same time, the most honest place in the entire shinobi world.
No nations, no principles, only cold money and everything that money could buy, including lives.
A Root ninja wearing a sedge hat moved through the loud and chaotic crowd and entered the innermost private room, open only to top-tier clients.
At the center of the room sat a towering figure.
His face was covered by a forehead protector and a black mask, leaving only a pair of eyes flickering with an eerie green light visible.
Kakuzu.
Rumored to have once crossed blades with the First Hokage, the mightiest bounty hunter in the shinobi world.
"Speak. What's the mission, and how much."
The Root ninja dispensed with pleasantries and shoved a heavy box directly in front of Kakuzu.
The box opened.
Inside were not banknotes but an entire case of high-purity gold bars stacked in neat rows.
The golden radiance instantly lit up the greedy eyes behind Kakuzu's mask.
"The target is Konoha, the Uchiha Clan."
The Root ninja was brief and to the point.
Kakuzu's movements paused for a moment.
The Uchiha.
This was no ordinary assignment but a major operation carried out at the very heart of Konoha, one capable of sending shockwaves across the entire shinobi world.
The risk was extreme.
But...
Kakuzu's gaze could not pull itself away from that case of dazzling gold.
"Not enough."
Kakuzu spat out two cold words.
The Root ninja appeared to have anticipated this and placed a scroll on top of the gold case.
"This is the deposit."
"Once it's done, four times this amount follows."
Kakuzu extended a hand wrapped in stitching lines and picked up the scroll.
"Heh heh..."
Kakuzu let out a laugh that was deeply unpleasant to hear.
"Very well."
"For this price, never mind a single Uchiha."
"I could play around with all five great villages if I had to."
Kakuzu slowly rose, his massive frame casting a shadow of overwhelming pressure.
"Tell your employer."
"I will arrive on time!"
Night fell.
Lanterns lit one by one along the streets of the Uchiha district, tracing the warm outlines of every home.
Uchiha Sasuke sat hugging his knees on the front steps of his family's house, his small face puffed up with displeasure.
He had been waiting there for a very long time.
A figure finally appeared at the far end of the street, its shadow stretched long and thin by the dim amber light.
"Brother!"
Sasuke leaped to his feet at once, every trace of his unhappiness dissolving in an instant.
He sprinted toward that figure.
Uchiha Itachi stopped walking and quietly watched his little brother rushing toward him.
"You're so late again."
Sasuke ran up to Itachi and tilted his head back, his tone full of childlike complaint.
Itachi did not brush him off as usual; instead, he reached out and gently ruffled Sasuke's hair.
The gesture made Sasuke freeze for a moment.
Brother seemed a little different today.
"Spar with me on shuriken throwing, right now!"
Sasuke grabbed Itachi's sleeve and shook it hard, trying to drag his brother toward the training ground.
Itachi did not budge an inch.
He slowly withdrew his hand.
"Sasuke."
Itachi's voice was quiet yet carried an unmistakable calm.
"Do you hate me?"
The question came out of nowhere and left Sasuke completely at a loss.
"Hah? What kind of stupid thing is that to say? You're the person I admire most!"
"One day I'm going to become a shinobi as incredible as my brother."
Sasuke puffed out his small chest, his face full of pride and longing.
Itachi looked at him, and a sorrow that defied words flickered through his eyes.
"Is that so."
He seemed to have asked it as nothing more than a passing remark.
"Of course! So hurry up, let's go train!"
Sasuke reached out again to pull Itachi along.
This time, Itachi raised two fingers.
Sasuke instinctively closed his eyes, bracing for that familiar, faintly stinging flick to his forehead.
Yet the expected tap never came.
He opened his eyes in puzzlement.
He saw Itachi's fingers hovering before his forehead, neither falling nor pulling back.
Moonlight fell across Itachi's face, his expression buried in shadow, impossible to read clearly.
"Brother?"
Sasuke asked in a small voice.
Itachi's fingers descended at last, but not as a flick.
It was a gentle touch.
His fingertips were ice-cold, carrying a tremor so faint it was almost imperceptible.
"Forgive me, Sasuke."
Itachi's voice was so soft it nearly dissolved into the wind.
Sasuke stared at him in bewilderment, with no idea what those words meant.
The next instant, Itachi withdrew his hand, and the phrase Sasuke had heard countless times rang out once more.
"Next time."
With that, Itachi turned away and did not look at Sasuke again.
"Again with next time!"
Sasuke shouted at his retreating back, his voice brimming with grievance and frustration.
"You say that every single time!"
Itachi's footsteps did not slow in the slightest.
His figure dissolved resolutely into the boundless darkness, leaving only Sasuke standing in place, rubbing his forehead with an aggrieved scowl.