"You look like a mess, Madara."
As space distorted, Obito Uchiha appeared before Zetsu and Itachi Uchiha, covered in blood.
The moment he appeared, White Zetsu couldn't help but make a snide remark.
"Save the unnecessary chatter. It's over."
"We need to go."
Obito Uchiha looked at the two before him, steadying his slightly rapid breathing as he spoke.
Itachi Uchiha thoughtfully studied the rather wretched-looking Obito Uchiha in front of him. Despite Obito's words, Itachi made no move to follow him.
"What do you mean?"
Sensing that something was wrong with Itachi, Obito looked at him and spoke in a cold voice.
"I've changed my mind. Since the matter is already concluded..."
"I don't want to go with you."
?
Hearing this guy's words, Obito Uchiha's eyes suddenly became dangerous.
"Who gave you the courage to defy me?"
He hadn't expected that this kid, Itachi, would actually go back on his word.
"The facts are simple. I never planned to ask for your help; you were the one who approached me. Considering your strength, I agreed to your request."
"But looking at it now, your strength does not match your identity."
"If you were truly Madara Uchiha, you wouldn't have let yourself get this messed up."
Itachi glanced at the injuries on the other's body and spoke unhurriedly.
"You brat..."
Obito's gaze turned dark and sinister.
"If you don't leave now, it will be too late."
Itachi did not shrink back from the killing intent Obito displayed. Instead, he looked at the man before him with a calm gaze.
Hearing this, Obito was startled and subconsciously looked toward the foot of the mountain not far away.
He saw a streak of fierce purple lightning charging toward them at extreme speed.
That lingering bastard!
Obito cursed inwardly. He glanced at Zetsu, who was standing by indifferently as if watching a play, and said:
"Zetsu, let's go."
Then, he looked at Itachi and said coldly:
"You will regret this, Itachi."
With that, Obito Uchiha vanished from the spot accompanied by a wave of distorted spatial fluctuations.
Zetsu also slowly sank into the ground, chuckling as he spoke:
"What a good show, Madara..."
Watching the two leave, Itachi let out a sigh of relief and awaited Kakashi's arrival.
"Are you alright, Itachi?"
In less than thirty seconds, Kakashi had already appeared beside Itachi.
"I'm fine, Lord Hokage."
"...Is it all over?"
Itachi looked at Kakashi before him.
"Yeah, it's all over."
As he spoke, Kakashi took out the storage scroll containing Fugaku Uchiha's Sharingan.
"This is..."
Itachi looked at Kakashi's actions with some confusion.
"Fugaku's eyes. Before he committed suicide, he asked me to give them to you."
Hearing Kakashi's words, Itachi lowered his head in silence, staring at the storage scroll.
He did not reach out to take the scroll. Instead, he asked softly:
"Was it... suicide?"
Hearing this, Kakashi stepped forward, patted Itachi on the shoulder, and spoke:
"Don't put too much psychological pressure on yourself. Both Fugaku and Lady Mikoto hoped, in their final moments, that you and Sasuke could live on safely."
"They were willing to give everything for you and Sasuke."
"This pair of eyes is the last thing your father could do for you."
Kakashi held the scroll out in front of Itachi.
"Lord Hokage... I..."
Itachi's voice carried an indescribable emotion, and his body couldn't help but tremble slightly.
Crystal-clear tears, mixed with stinging blood, flowed down his cheeks.
The sky was just beginning to brighten, and the early morning sunlight shone upon the thirteen-year-old boy.
With tears of blood on his face, he raised his head to look at the man before him and forced out a smile.
Kakashi looked at the boy, a trace of pity flashing through his eyes.
"Itachi..."
He wanted to say something, but he didn't know what to say.
"This isn't Lord Hokage's fault. Everyone is the same."
"Living in this cruel world, we are forced to make even crueler choices."
"All we can do is choose the option with the least cost."
Three black tomoe distorted and merged in the boy's eyes, finally transforming into a pair of eyes resembling a sunflower.
The moment he learned of his parents' suicide, the pain in his heart caused the Yin Release chakra within his body to grow explosively. The floodgates leading from the three-tomoe to the Mangekyō were burst open by the flood-like Yin chakra.
A Mangekyō Sharingan different from the original...
"Lord Hokage, I want to leave Father's legacy to Sasuke."
"I am not qualified to use these eyes."
Shocking news!
The current patriarch of the Uchiha Clan, dissatisfied with current conditions, intended to launch a coup d'état.
Fortunately, Lord Hokage had made arrangements in advance and executed the many rebels led by Fugaku Uchiha!
With this announcement, the entire Hidden Leaf fell into a strange atmosphere.
Clearly, the Hokage had long anticipated the Uchiha Clan's rebellion.
In fact, regarding the Uchiha's rebellion, many people weren't even that surprised when they found out.
After all, there had been precedents before.
But the previous Uchiha rebellion didn't meet with such a tragic ending as this one.
When Setsuna Uchiha rebelled in the past, the ringleader was merely imprisoned for twenty years.
But now...
A great clan of two thousand people was now left with only half, and almost all the able-bodied men within the clan had been killed clean.
Such a tragic price was truly heart-stopping.
It made them feel as if they were getting to know this newly appointed Fifth Hokage all over again.
However, well-informed ninja were not surprised by this. Instead, they approved of the Fifth Hokage's methods.
After all, regarding the Kaguya Clan's coup in the Hidden Mist Village, the current Fourth Mizukage had killed the entire clan down to the last person. The Uchiha's outcome could be considered relatively good.
If the Uchiha had truly fought their way out of the clan compound, half of the Hidden Leaf would have been engulfed in the flames of war.
The losses then would have been incalculable. If the Hidden Leaf, which had just struggled out of the quagmire of war, were to undergo such internal strife again, it would likely suffer severe damage to its foundation.
In short, no matter how one looked at it, this Uchiha coup had thoroughly nailed the clan to the pillar of shame.
However, considering that Madara Uchiha had once controlled the Nine-Tails in an attempt to destroy the Hidden Leaf, it was amazing that the clan hadn't been exterminated despite two consecutive coup attempts.
At this moment, Kakashi didn't have the time to care about the villagers' discussions. Just as he returned to his office intending to catch his breath...
Danzō Shimura, bringing along Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, stormed aggressively into his office.
"Kakashi!"
"You've been in office as the Fifth Hokage for less than a month and you've already forced the Uchiha Clan into a coup. Shouldn't you explain yourself?!"
The current Danzō Shimura was full of smug satisfaction. This was the perfect time to take down this Fifth Hokage!
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