The night was like a song, with a blood-red moon hanging high in the sky.
It was an inexplicably quiet night, so much so that the residents of Konoha had gone to bed early. Some ninja seemed to sense something amiss, but the lockdown orders within the village left them without reason to dwell on it.
The village was still in a time of war. Even though the Hokage had led an elite force to the Land of Rain, until the threat of Akatsuki was completely eliminated, for Konoha—still haunted by the Nine-Tails' rampage and the fox demon's disaster—no amount of heightened security was excessive.
Within the Uchiha compound, silence reigned.
Since Fugaku had become Hokage, the Uchiha clan members had been fully mobilized — some assigned to the ANBU, others left in the Police Force.
To ensure Akatsuki could be decisively destroyed this time, Fugaku had also taken more than a dozen of the clan's top fighters with him, lleaving the compound unusually desolate, as silent as a graveyard.
In the forest outside the Uchiha compound, countless masked ninjas appeared, hiding in the dark corners, their gazes grim as they looked at the entire Uchiha compound.
They were numerous, positioned in several directions to covertly encircle the compound. Several ANBU had come out to negotiate, but Danzo had suppressed them with brute authority.
"Root files were stolen, a ninja was killed, and the suspect fled into the Uchiha clan's compound."
In the dark forest, Danzo, who was leaning on a cane, slowly appeared. With a firm and stern tone, he said to the Uchiha Anbu member.
"That is crucial top-secret intelligence. It cannot be lost. However, the Uchiha compound is the Hokage's compound, so we will not enter rashly. But I ask Elder Setsuna to search the compound as soon as possible and find the suspect!"
"I understand."
The Uchiha ANBU member gave Danzo a deep look, then quickly returned to the compound to report to Uchiha Setsuna.
"Did that guy, Danzo, really say that?"
Inside the elder's residence, Setsuna frowned.
Fugaku had taken nearly half of Konoha's elites, so it wasn't strange for a thief to cause trouble during this time. From anyone's perspective, this was a great opportunity.
But the fact that the person, after stealing the items, didn't run out of the village but instead ran into the Uchiha clan's compound was a little suspicious.
"The Root members have surrounded the Uchiha compound, and Danzo is waiting for you outside."
"Hmph, just because Fugaku is not in the village, he dares to be so disrespectful to my Uchiha clan. He doesn't know his place!" Kagami Setsuna snorted coldly: "In my opinion, the clan head is too soft on that old geezer. He even let him keep the Root. He should have just turned him into the same state as Hiruzen Sarutobi!"
"Elder, you are right. But we..."
"Since he wants us to search for him, then let's search... Huh?!"
Setsuna's words stopped mid-sentence. He sniffed the air, his old face turning grim.
The Uchiha jōnin next to him also noticed something, and his expression changed slightly: "Why is there the smell of blood? And it's so strong. Could it be..."
Setsuna's heart sank. He sensed that something was wrong.
Such a strong smell of blood would never appear in the compound. Most importantly, this smell of blood was human blood, not from livestock!
"Pay attention to the safety of the women and children. Oyama, go and call Inabi over," Setsuna Uchiha stood up and said in a deep voice: "The rest of you, follow me to assess the situation."
"Yes, sir!"
...
In the dim night, most clan members were already asleep when Uchiha Itachi stepped into the compound, slowly making his way deeper inside.
As the strongest clan in Konoha, the Uchiha's power was beyond doubt. Even with Fugaku taking over a dozen of their best fighters and assigning many more to important positions across the village, there were still many strong ninja in the compound.
It didn't take long before, in the shadows ahead, three Uchiha chūnin on sentry duty caught sight of him.
Recognizing Itachi, they made no sound, even looking at him with respect.
Being the Hokage's son and heir apparent to the clan head, Itachi returning late at night was nothing unusual.
Genius was always the union of talent and effort. The fact that Itachi had awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan at such a young age already proved his prodigious gift. Coupled with his tireless training, they believed without doubt that he would one day succeed Fugaku — perhaps even becoming Konoha's Sixth Hokage.
But tonight was different.
Instead of heading deeper inside, Itachi walked straight toward them. The three sentries felt a flicker of surprise at this uncharacteristic behavior.
"Itachi, you—"
The one in front got only two words out before his voice died.
His blood-red Two-Tomoe stared in disbelief at the short blade that had pierced his heart. Blood flowed down the blade, dripping down, and all the words he wanted to say were stuck in his throat, unable to make any sound.
With his heart destroyed, his life ended instantly. He collapsed, still wearing a look of shock.
The other two hadn't reacted at all until their comrade hit the ground with a thud. Then, as if waking from a dream, they glared at Itachi in rage.
"Do you know what you're doing, Itachi?!"
"Damn it! How could you attack us? We're—"
Shhk!
The sheer authority gap kept them from attacking immediately — instead, they questioned him. That hesitation sealed their fate.
Not that their two-tomoe Sharingan would have been any match for him.
Before they could finish speaking, Itachi moved past them in a blur. Both fell with identical slashes across their necks, blood slowly seeping out as their bodies went limp.
Expressionless, Itachi continued deeper into the compound. Behind him, the air rippled.
Obito stepped out of the distortion, glancing at the three corpses with a cold chuckle. He bent down, plucked their Sharingan from their sockets, and dropped them into jars of prepared nutrient fluid.
After doing all this, Obito continued to follow in Itachi's footsteps.
The slaughter had begun.
"Itachi…"
The short blade sank into another target — giving no chance for a second word — and another life ended.
Fugaku's son, the clan's most brilliant prodigy, the one upon whom the Uchiha pinned their hopes, had turned his identity into the sharpest weapon in this night's massacre.
Obito's work was even easier.
With Kamui, he could slip past any barrier. A "helpful" clansman who once guided the elderly across the street now slipped into homes without a sound, killing sleeping Uchihas, gouging out their eyes, and storing them into his Kamui dimension.
For convenience in mowing down his victims, he even brought out the chain-blade weapon he'd once used against Minato Namikaze.
The slaughter unfolded.
The most powerful ninja clan in Konoha — perhaps in the entire ninja world — met its twilight at the height of its strength.
Under the blood-red moon, two figures moved like Shinigami harvesting souls, leaving only death in their wake. The smell of blood grew strong enough that the Uchiha high council finally realized something was wrong.
When Uchiha Setsuna arrived with the remaining fighters, Itachi's blade was already cutting down women and children.
Clang!
Setsuna blocked the strike, and when he saw the attacker's face — and the three-tomoe Sharingan in his eyes — his weathered features froze in stunned disbelief.
"Itachi! What in the world are you doing?! How can it be you?!"
"What?! It's Itachi?!"
"Impossible—this—"
Itachi Uchiha didn't say a word. The moment the short blade in his hand was blocked, he leaped backward, and at the same time, he quickly formed hand signs.
Setsuna's Sharingan spun, his hands mirroring Itachi's. Both unleashed roaring fire dragons from their mouths.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Jutsu!"
"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Jutsu!"
The roaring dragons collided mid-air, their light igniting the night sky and waking every remaining clan member.
The clash ended in mutual annihilation. That one so young could match him in ninjutsu stunned Setsuna— but now wasn't the time to marvel at the heir's genius. He had to understand what had driven Itachi to this, to the slaughter of his own clan!
As the fireball's light burst, Setsuna's aged body became a black blur. His hands flashed through seals.
"Fire Release: Ash Concealment!"
A thick cloud of scorching ash billowed from his mouth, surging toward Itachi.
The dense smoke obscured all vision—even the three-tomoe Sharingan couldn't pierce through it.
Seizing the moment, Setsuna activated the Body Flicker Technique at full power, appearing instantly before Itachi. A kunai flashed in his grip, executing an Uchiha-style sword strike aimed straight for Itachi's throat.
Uchiha Setsuna was an elder of the clan, older even than Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō. He had witnessed—and experienced—the brutal combat of the Warring States era firsthand.
Though his body had aged, his battle instincts had long been refined to their purest form.
But the moment Uchiha Setuna's attack landed, Itachi, completely ignoring his own life, gripped the short blade in his hand and stabbed it towards Kagami's throat!
"What?!"
Kagami Setuna's heart was pounding. He had originally intended to use this move to force Itachi to change his attack and subdue him, but the the boy actually completely disregarded his own life and still tried to attack him.
Wait a minute...
In the clash of hand and blade, Setsuna saw confusion in Itachi's eyes — and sensed a heavy Yin Release chakra about him. In that moment, he understood.
Shhk!
Blood sprayed. An arm flew through the air. Clutching the bleeding stump of his right arm, Setsuna retreated rapidly.
"Elder Setsuna!"
"Setsuna-sama!"
"Damn it, Itachi! That's Elder Setsuna!"
The surrounding clan members were enraged, and they roared at Itachi. But Itachi acted as if he hadn't heard anything. He looked at them with an expressionless face and took on a fighting stance.
How arrogant! How disrespectful!
Even if he was the clan head's son, he couldn't make such a treacherous and rebellious move!
Three Uchiha jōnin instantly took on a fighting stance, but Uchiha Setsuna roared in a low voice: "Don't kill him. Something is wrong with Itachi. It's a genjutsu!"
"What?!"
The three of them were shocked.
The power of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan was that it could easily make an ordinary ninja reach the strength level of a jōnin. Among its outstanding and comprehensive abilities, genjutsu and resistance to genjutsu were the Sharingan's most remarkable powers.
Itachi had awakened his Three-Tomoe Sharingan long ago, with exceptionally strong ocular power. Controlling him with genjutsu was something no ordinary person could achieve.
In Konoha currently, only Itachi's father, Uchiha Fugaku with his Mangekyo Sharingan, or someone from the Kurama clan—specialized in genjutsu with awakened kekkei genkai—could accomplish this.
But Fugaku wasn't in Konoha, and the Kurama clan's sole kekkei genkai prodigy was only a few years old, far from capable of controlling Itachi.
So who was the person who had made a move?
Their minds reeled, but now wasn't the time for speculation. As long as they subdued Itachi, they could follow the clues to uncover the truth!
The three Uchiha jonin exchanged glances and attacked simultaneously, while Uchiha Setsuna retrieved a signal flare from his robes, preparing to ignite it.
After Fugaku took office, the situation of the Uchiha clan had changed greatly. The elites of the clan had already taken on positions in various institutions of Konoha. They only needed a signal, and they would come to provide support and stabilize the situation.
But the moment the flare was ignited, Uchiha Setsuna was shocked to see a ripple appear in the sky. The flare was swallowed by that spatial ripple before it even had a chance to explode.
Seeing this, how could Kagami Uchiha not understand what was happening?
"It's you, you bastard who dares to impersonate our ancestor Madara!"
Nearly grinding his teeth, Setsuna spat these words as space before him twisted again, revealing the smirking figure of Uchiha Obito.
"Even though your body is old, your sense of smell is as sharp as ever, Uchiha Setsuna."
"You bastard, do you really think you can wipe out the Uchiha clan? Once Fugaku-sama returns, the Uchiha will remain the Uchiha!" Uchiha Setsuna growled, forming hand seals with one hand before spewing a torrent of scorching flames from his mouth.
But such an attack meant nothing to Obito, who casually walked through the inferno as if taking a leisurely stroll.
Setsuna strained his ocular powers to their absolute limit, veins bulging around his eyes as he unleashed his genjutsu upon Obito. Yet in an instant, his full-powered illusion was effortlessly reflected back.
"You think three tomoe can challenge the Mangekyō?"
With a swing of his chain-blade, Uchiha Obito cleanly severed Setsuna's head, then plucked the three-tomoe eyes from their sockets.
"Overestimating yourself."