The normally quiet academy campus was now brightly lit.
Iruka, along with several colleagues, was organizing a nighttime emergency evacuation drill for the students.
The children, sleepy-eyed and confused, with traces of anxiety on their faces, formed lines under their teachers' guidance.
"Maintain the line! No pushing!" Iruka's voice echoed in the night air as he tried to maintain order, but his own heart was filled with unease.
This sudden drill felt inexplicable, as if he had been transported back to that terrifying night of the Nine-Tails.
Just then-
Boom!!!
A deafening explosion sounded from the direction of the Uchiha Clan's compound, followed by even more dense explosions and faint shouts and clashes.
The ground shook violently, causing the school's windows to rattle noisily.
"Eek!"
"What's happening?"
"Sensei, I'm scared!"
The students immediately panicked. Several of the younger children started crying outright.
Iruka's heart clenched. His ominous premonition had come true.
"Calm down! Everyone, don't panic!" Iruka forced himself to appear calm, but his voice trembled involuntarily.
A dark figure flickered to the edge of the playground. It was an Anbu wearing an animal mask.
"Iruka-sensei!" The Anbu's voice was urgent and cold. "Emergency orders from the Hokage! An unknown force is attacking the village! Immediately lead all students to Shelter One beneath the Hokage Rock!"
Iruka's face turned pale. "An attack? From which direction?"
The Anbu was silent for a moment before replying in a low voice, "Primarily the Uchiha Clan's compound, but there's unrest elsewhere too. Move quickly!"
Iruka instantly grasped the severity of the situation. He turned and shouted, "Everyone! Change of route! Destination is Shelter One! Double time!"
The Konoha's Ninja Academy was located in the village's core district, not far from the Hokage Rock. Soon, the massive underground shelter was packed with terrified students, joined by more and more villagers pouring in.
The flickering light of oil lamps cast uneasy shadows on people's faces. The air was thick with suppressed sobs and whispers.
"Choji, how can you still be eating? Aren't you scared?" Naruto asked, looking at his friend who was still munching on potato chips. His own palms were sweaty with nerves, and something inside him seemed to be stirring, making him even more restless.
Choji swallowed his mouthful of chips, his voice slightly muffled. "I am scared... That's why I need to eat more to calm my nerves..."
Shikamaru nearby had lost his usual lazy demeanor. His brow was furrowed, hands in his pockets, his gaze sharp as he looked out through a ventilation shaft at the firelight. 'That direction... it's the Uchiha Clan's district. With this much commotion, it's probably not just ordinary unrest.'
Hinata hid timidly within the crowd, her small hand tightly clutching the hem of Menma's clothes nearby.
Of course, the Menma here was just a shadow clone, and his real body had long since departed.
Sensing Hinata's fear, Menma gently squeezed her small hand in return, offering comfort.
"Hey... Where's Sasuke?" Kiba suddenly noticed someone was missing.
"Yeah, where's Sasuke-kun?" Sakura also realized, her face showing worry.
Shikamaru's heart sank, 'This is bad. Knowing Sasuke's personality and his attachment to his clan, if he heard the commotion from the Uchiha Clan's district, he probably...'
Menma's shadow clone also frowned slightly.
'Should I take Sasuke and Naruto away now?'
The thought flashed through his mind.
But after careful consideration, he dismissed the idea. The Nine-Tails inside Naruto and the Indra's Chakra within Sasuke… these two forces were too dangerous.
His last trip to the moon, when he asked Otsutsuki Hamura to relay a message to the Sage of the Six Paths, had yielded no response so far.
This meant Hagoromo either didn't approve of him or had deeper schemes.
If he forcibly took these two away but couldn't resolve the influence of the millennia-old Chakra entangled deep within their souls, it could bring huge trouble to the Land of Stars.
For example, if, under the instigation of the 'old man Six Paths', and 'to save the Ninja World from destruction', they decided to hit him with a Chibaku Tensei, just like Kaguya got... that would be just great.
So, until he reached the Six Paths-level, it was better to be cautious.
Menma also recalled the madness of Kaguya creating the White Zetsu army, and the vast number of souls in the Pure Land managed by the Sage of the Six Paths.
The waters behind all this were too deep.
After weighing the options, Menma made a decision.
Through the seal on the back of his hand, he quietly contacted another shadow clone monitoring from further away: 'Find Uchiha Sasuke. Ensure his safety. If necessary, extract him from the battlefield, but do not insist on bringing him back.'
Just then, Iruka finished taking a headcount. Discovering that only Sasuke was missing, his face turned deathly pale.
"Mizuki-sensei, I leave this to you! I have to go find Sasuke!" Iruka said to his colleague, his voice frantic.
Mizuki grabbed his arm. "Hey! Iruka! It's too dangerous out there! Judging by the noise, it's definitely no smaller than the Nine-Tails Attack! We're just Chunin, going out there is suicide!"
"But I'm his teacher!" Iruka broke free from Mizuki's grip, his eyes determined. "I can't abandon any of my students!"
With that, he rushed out of the shelter without looking back.
Mizuki watched his retreating back, a complex look in his eyes, which finally turned into a sigh.
By the banks of the Naka River.
Sasuke ran desperately along the familiar path towards the Uchiha Clan's compound. His heart pounded wildly, a sense of foreboding gripping him.
The distant explosions, the soaring flames, the faint, terrifying Chakra Fluctuations… all made him frantic with worry.
The closer he got to the clan grounds, the thicker the smell of blood in the air became.
Sasuke's heart sank to the pit of his stomach. The sense of foreboding grew stronger and stronger.
When he finally broke through the trees and reached the riverbank, the scene before him struck him like a thunderbolt, freezing him in place!
In the direction of the clan district, three colossal, colored giants, radiating suffocating pressure, were fighting madly!
A green Susanoo wielded a massive Chakra Spiral Sword. A dark red Susanoo brandished a blazing great sword. And a blue Susanoo flickered in and out of view in the distance.
Their every clash shook the earth, the roars echoing through the heavens.
"Wha… what are those?!" Sasuke's pupils contracted, his mind blank.
The sight before him completely exceeded his understanding, but a certain resonance deep within his bloodline told him these terrifying entities were all connected to the Uchiha.
Just then, a familiar figure emerged slowly from the smoke and chaos ahead, walking towards him.
"N-Nii-san?" Sasuke recognized the person, the tense string in his heart relaxing slightly.
He rushed forward. "Nii-san! What's happening to the clan?! What are those giant things?! Where are Dad and Mom?!"
Itachi's face was stained with blood and soot, his expression one of an unprecedented coldness and exhaustion. Especially his eyes… the blood flowing down from them traced stark lines on his pale cheeks, appearing eerily sinister.
Itachi didn't answer Sasuke's rapid-fire questions. He just slowly raised his hand, two fingers extended as usual, and gently poked Sasuke's forehead.
His movement even held a trace of strange tenderness.
"Forgive me, Sasuke-" Itachi's voice was low and hoarse, carrying an indescribable pain and resolve.
Before the words fully faded, Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan spun wildly!
"Tsukuyomi!"
Sasuke felt the world spin violently around him. All sights and sounds rapidly faded and distorted!
The next moment, he found himself dragged into an endless dark world with only a blood-red moon hanging in the sky!
In this world, time lost all meaning.
He watched, over and over again, as his beloved brother, Uchiha Itachi, transformed into a cold-blooded executioner, holding a blood-dripping sword, expressionlessly slaughtering one familiar clansman after another!
He saw his neighbor uncle fall in a pool of blood.
He saw his training partners die with eyes wide open.
He saw the aunts and uncles who watched him grow up meet gruesome deaths under the blade-
Finally, the scene froze in his familiar home. His father, Uchiha Fugaku, and his mother, Uchiha Mikoto, lay in their own blood. And Itachi's blade was pulling out from his mother's chest-
"No… Stop!" Sasuke's spirit screamed in the Tsukuyomi Space, immense pain and despair instantly swallowing him whole!
In reality, his body stiffened abruptly, his eyes completely losing focus, before he fell straight backward.
Itachi reached out and caught his unconscious younger brother, carefully laying him down on the grass by the riverbank.
He looked at Sasuke's pale, pained face, a flicker of extremely complex emotion passing through his eyes, but it was quickly covered by ice.
"Forgive me, Sasuke-" Itachi murmured, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible. "Only this way... only this way can you gain enough power-"
Just then…
"Let him go! Uchiha Itachi!"
An angry shout came from the side!
Iruka had arrived, panting heavily. He had clearly witnessed Itachi casting a Genjutsu on Sasuke.
Although he didn't know the specifics, Itachi's bleeding eyes and Sasuke's unconscious state were enough for him to judge the extreme danger!
"Iruka-sensei..." Itachi slowly stood up, facing this teacher who, despite only having Chunin strength, dared to confront him directly. His tone was flat. "You shouldn't have come."
"What did you do to Sasuke?!" Iruka demanded sharply, a kunai pointed directly at Itachi. "Let him go!"
"Just a... small Genjutsu to help him recognize reality." Itachi said lightly, the three tomoes in his eyes instantly appearing and spinning!
"Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique!"
Iruka didn't even have time to react. His vision blurred, and the surroundings instantly transformed!
It was as if he had returned to that nightmarish evening.
The Nine-Tails rampaged through the village, its massive claws crushing houses. And his parents… dying before his eyes-
"No... stop..." Iruka screamed, clutching his head as he collapsed to his knees, his body trembling violently.
The endless pain and despair swallowed him once more. He was completely trapped in the infinite loop of painful illusions woven by Itachi.
Having easily dealt with Iruka, Itachi's gaze returned to Sasuke.
He took a deep breath, preparing for the next step of his plan.
However, just then-
Clap... Clap... Clap...
A clear, slow series of claps sounded abruptly from the shadows of a large tree nearby.
Itachi's body stiffened. He whirled around!
His Sharingan instantly locked onto the source of the sound!
He hadn't detected anyone there at all!
Under the moonlight and the glow of the distant battle, a figure wearing a white three-eyed fox mask and a black robe stepped slowly out of the shadows.
His posture was leisurely, as if he weren't on the bloody edge of a battlefield, but strolling in his own backyard.
"Marvelous... truly a magnificent performance, Uchiha Itachi."
The voice from behind the mask carried a hint of amusement and icy appreciation, clearly reaching Itachi's ears.
"Personally annihilating your clan, then implanting endless hatred and pain into the heart of your beloved younger brother, all to shape his future power… such resolve, such 'capacity'... it's truly... utterly repulsive!" The figure, Shura, tilted his head slightly. The white three-eyed fox mask appeared especially eerie under the flickering light of the distant battlefires.
The newcomer tilted his head slightly, his gaze seeming to pierce through the mask and land on Itachi's blood-tear-streaked eyes.
"This theatrical play named 'Clan Annihilation'... the script I prepared for you... are you satisfied with it?" He asked softly, as if chatting with an old friend.
"Shura..." Itachi's voice was icy, the kunai in his hand ready to strike.
His Mangekyo Sharingan contracted violently, spinning madly, trying to see through this mysterious person's true nature.
But to his shock, he found his Ocular Power seemed to vanish without a trace, completely unable to penetrate the other party's mask. He couldn't even sense the other party's Chakra!
In the distance, the roars of the three Susanoo and the sounds of slaughter from the clan compound served as the background music for this confrontation.
Itachi's mind raced, assessing the situation.
The other party could approach silently and articulate his most secret intentions. His strength was unfathomable, far beyond what Itachi, in his current state of massive Chakra Consumption, physical and mental exhaustion, could hope to match.
He had to be extremely cautious.
To avoid exposing the almost paranoid protection he held for Sasuke deep in his heart, Itachi forced himself to relax, even deliberately letting a tone of casual mockery enter his voice, trying to divert the other's attention elsewhere: "Shura of the Land of Stars... what skillful methods. Seizing the chaos to intervene and reap the spoils. You want the Uchiha Clan to serve you? Then congratulations, your goal seems to have been achieved."
His gaze swept over the three giants in the distance, implying that Fugaku, Shisui, and the entire Uchiha Clan had already sided with the other party.
Menma, upon hearing this, slowly shook his head.
His gaze lowered, falling upon the unconscious Sasuke on the grass.
This subtle action made Itachi's heart constrict violently. He almost lost control and lunged forward, but he suppressed the impulse with astonishing willpower.
"Use? Service?" Menma's voice came through the mask, carrying a sense of detached scrutiny. "Uchiha Itachi, those who play with fate will ultimately be devoured by it. This blood-soaked path you have chosen, all these sacrifices... are they truly worth it?"
'Worth it?'
These words were like a poisoned kunai, precisely striking the most vulnerable part of Itachi's heart.
Images of his clansmen falling flashed before his eyes: Shisui's disappointed, resolute gaze, his father's complex and disappointed eyes.
He knew what Shura was asking, especially after his brief but intense clash with Shisui, where he learned of Danzo's despicable actions… ambushing a fellow villager, stealing Kekkei Genkai, spewing lies.
The foundation of the 'justice' he had personally carried out had long been eroded by rot.
But he couldn't regret it. Once he regretted, all the sacrifices would lose their meaning, and he would fall into the abyss completely.
He could only attribute it all to fate, to the inescapable destiny of each individual.
"Everyone has their own path and choices. Worthiness is irrelevant." Itachi's voice was low and hoarse, deliberately avoiding the core of the question, trying to maintain a facade of calm. "These are just necessary costs."
He quickly changed the subject, directing the spearhead towards the strongest combatant in the other's camp: "As for you, Shura. You seem quite interested in the Uchiha's power. Uchiha Hikari's strength is indeed astonishing, capable of fighting against many of Konoha's elites simultaneously... but she is still far from the legendary Uchiha Madara."
"Whether it's her or Shisui, their Mangekyo Sharingan are ultimately just ordinary, possessing fatal flaws. Uchiha Madara's power had long surpassed the ordinary Mangekyo."
He stared intently at the masked man, trying to find a trace of desire or curiosity for 'greater power' in the other party.
This was the bait he was casting, attempting to grasp a shred of initiative in the conversation.
However, the response he received was a disdainful sneer from behind the mask.
"Heh." Menma seemed to have heard something extremely ridiculous.
"Should I play along and ask with feigned surprise: 'Oh? A stronger Mangekyo? What is it? Could it be related to you slaughtering your entire clan yet sparing only your brother?'"
Itachi's pupils contracted sharply!
Menma's voice suddenly turned cold, laced with unconcealed sarcasm: "Save it, Uchiha Itachi. Don't treat everyone like fooled idiots. Do you think the [Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan] is some ultimate secret? Even the stone tablet your Uchiha Clan has guarded for generations, enshrined as a treasure, inscribed with the so-called 'ultimate secret' beneath the Naka Shrine-"
He deliberately paused, savoring the look of shattered composure on Itachi's face, before slowly uttering words enough to overturn Itachi's understanding:
"-was tampered with long ago by a certain individual, used as bait to deliberately guide your Uchiha Clan towards hatred, paranoia, and mutual slaughter."
"What?!"
It was like a thunderclap exploding in his mind. The cold mask Itachi had struggled to maintain instantly shattered!
The color drained from his face, replaced by utter disbelief.
The stone tablet beneath the Naka Shrine!
'That was an absolute secret known only to a very few high-ranking members of the Uchiha Clan!'
'Even the Mangekyo Sharingan couldn't see the tablet's full contents!'
'How could this outsider possibly know?!'
'And...'
'Tampered with?'
'Bait?'
He originally thought the other party was merely coveting the Uchiha's power or had a grudge against Konoha. He never expected to hear such outrageous statements about his clan's most core secret from the other's mouth!
"You… just who are you?!" Itachi's voice held a trace of imperceptible tremor for the first time.
The kunai in his hand tightened its grip. His Sharingan spun wildly, trying to see through the white mask, but he only felt the other's presence was like a bottomless abyss.
"How do you know about the tablet?! What do you mean by 'tampered with'?!"
'If even the contents of the tablet, if even the method to awaken the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan had been altered... had the entire Uchiha Clan been played for fools for centuries?!'
Menma stood there quietly, like an ancient iceberg, unmoved by Itachi's shock and questioning.
The white three-eyed fox mask seemed to emit an even more mysterious and unpredictable aura under the flickering light of the distant battlefires.
"For me, the Ninja World holds no secrets." Menma's voice was calm and even, yet carried a heart-palpitating pressure. "For example, the one who gave you the order to exterminate the clan was Shimura Danzo. And the person you sought for help… who was he?"
Another bombshell was dropped!
Itachi's body swayed almost imperceptibly.
This matter was something he decided on the spur of the moment. The details were known only to the two people involved, not even Danzo knew...
"Just what are you trying to say?!" Itachi shouted sternly, attempting to use forcefulness to cover the storm raging inside him.
His Sharingan was locked tightly on Shura. His Chakra began to fluctuate violently, clearly on the verge of eruption.
Every word from the other party was impacting his beliefs and understanding. He felt he was standing on the edge of a giant conspiracy, with an abyss beneath his feet.
Menma seemed to feel the foreshadowing was sufficient. He took a slight step forward.
Just this minor step made Itachi react as if facing a great enemy, instantly crossing his kunai in front of him, assuming a perfect defensive and offensive stance.
"What I want to say," Menma's voice remained flat, yet carried the weight of a final judgment, "is that the 'correctness' you believe in has been guided and distorted from its very root. The 'sins' you have committed perhaps satisfy the deeper schemes of certain individuals. And the 'path of revenge for your brother' that you pin your hopes on for the future-"
His gaze swept over the unconscious Sasuke once more.
"-from the very beginning, might be an arranged path leading to even deeper despair."
"Shut up!!!" Itachi could no longer maintain his composure!
The massive impact of the information and the other party's 'curse' upon Sasuke's fate pushed his strained nerves to the limit!
He could not allow anyone to tarnish the 'plan' for which he had sacrificed everything. He absolutely could not allow anyone to threaten Sasuke!