[Danzo: "Well? Will you accept this mission? If you're the one who wipes out the Uchiha clan, at least I can tolerate letting your younger brother live."]
"!!!!"
"!!!"
"!!"
[Itachi: "Are you threatening me?"]
[In the image, Uchiha Itachi stood in his ANBU uniform. The moment his brother's life was used as leverage, the atmosphere around him sank into darkness.]
[Konoha held all his loyalty. But Sasuke was the last line of his humanity. In the world of shinobi, those two things rarely coexist peacefully.]
[Danzo: "Then tell me. What will you choose?"]
[Itachi: "..."]
[The Itachi in the vision said nothing. The scene shifted. He went to find someone... someone he asked for help.]
"!!"
"Isn't that the guy"
"...the one in the orange tiger-striped mask who killed Itachi's teammate..."
"Judging by his build, he's a teenager just about to enter adulthood. Around the same age you were back then, Kakashi."
Kakashi: "..."
His heart suddenly started beating faster.
What am I thinking?
That photo flashed through his mind again. The one of the Uchiha who looked so much like Obito.
[The man in the orange tiger-striped mask appeared out of thin air in front of the Uchiha Police Force headquarters in Konoha, using the power of his right eye.]
[He walked normally, yet his figure moved like a phantom. Less like a person... more like a ghost. In the blink of an eye, he pushed open the doors of the police headquarters.]
[It was the night of a full moon. Yet the sky glowed red like blood. Everything felt wrong.]
["Who are you?!"]
["Aaaah!"]
["You...! Splurt!"]
A massacre unfolded before the screen.
The genin watching felt their hearts pound violently.
Tobirama's face twisted with anger. "Danzo, that bastard!"
Using Sasuke to threaten Itachi... to Tobirama, that was no different from threatening Madara with Izuna's life.
Nearby, Sasuke had already covered his mouth, gasping for breath.
Uzumaki Mito immediately stepped forward and used the Mystical Palm Technique to calm the chaotic flow of chakra inside him.
["Splurt!" "Shhk!" "Aaah!" "Thud!"]
[The masked man handled the Uchiha stationed at the police force headquarters. Meanwhile, Itachi accepted Danzo's mission... and began slaughtering his own clan.]
Sasuke's condition was clearly getting worse.
Even with Mito stabilizing his chakra, cold sweat continued pouring down his face.
A rough hand suddenly covered his eyes.
Naruto said quietly, "If you don't want to watch... then don't."
Sasuke had never backed down in front of Naruto. Being comforted by him only sparked anger.
He yanked Naruto's arm away.
"Move. Out of my way, you dead last!"
"Tch..."
Naruto clicked his tongue. Already in a bad mood himself, he had no interest in arguing.
He turned back to the image.
[The scene shifted to a street inside the Uchiha district. Uchiha Fugaku stood there, as if he had been waiting for Itachi.]
Sasuke gasped.
"Father?!"
"Those eyes..."
"That's...!!"
[No wonder Sasuke was shocked.]
[Until this moment, no one had known... that Uchiha Fugaku possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan as well.]
[Uchiha Fugaku: "Itachi! What lies at the end of this slaughter? I showed you the future of our clan... yet you show me a different ending?"]
His voice carried accusation and doubt.
But beneath it was the grief and disappointment of a father.
Watching the scene again, years later, Itachi's chest tightened with pain.
"...Father."
[In the vision, the younger Itachi replied calmly.]
["Yes. This is what I saw. The future of the village... and the future of the clan."]
["I see..."]
Fugaku said nothing more.
He simply closed his Sharingan.
Disappointment and resignation settled across his face.
["Is it for Sasuke...?"]
Fugaku's inner thoughts echoed in the image.
A moment later, he vanished with a puff of smoke.
It was only a Shadow Clone.
Sasuke's voice cracked.
"...Me?!"
Itachi's eyes widened.
Father knew...?!
Seven years had passed since that night.
Watching it again, regret surged through Itachi's chest.
He had tried to communicate with many people.
But strangely...
He had never truly trusted his father.
In front of Fugaku, Itachi had always acted like the perfect son. Intelligent. Obedient. Never causing trouble.
He thought his father only saw that false side of him.
Yet watching the image now, Itachi finally realized something.
His father...
The head of the Uchiha clan...
Understood him far more deeply than he ever imagined.
The crow perched nearby showed no reaction.
But far away, the real Itachi silently shed a single tear of blood from the corner of his eye.
And yet back then...
[Inside his mind, the Itachi of that night thought:]
["Father is undoubtedly my greatest enemy."]
["This will be a battle between two shinobi who both possess the Mangekyo Sharingan. I must be extremely careful."]
[But what awaited him was something he never expected.]
[The empty Uchiha estate. A single orange lamp glowing.]
[His parents had already made their decision.]
[They were waiting for their son to come home.]
["There are no traps here. Come in."]
Fugaku's voice sounded relaxed.
It was a tone Itachi had rarely heard before.
Only now could the present-day Itachi understand.
That night, his father had not only laid down the pressure he placed on his son.
He had also set aside the burden of being the clan leader.
[The sorrowful music made it impossible not to feel moved.]
["Father! Mother!"]
The Itachi in the vision cried out in disbelief.
His voice trembled with pain.
[His parents sat kneeling in the empty room, their backs turned toward him.]
[They had already prepared themselves to die.]
["I don't want to kill my own son..."]
Fugaku spoke quietly.
["So you've chosen their side..."]
Facing the truth laid bare before him, Sasuke no longer even understood what sadness was.
His black eyes were empty.
No expression.
No tears left to fall.
He simply stared blankly at the image.
Around him, the people of Konoha watched in silence.
Many of the younger women were already crying uncontrollably.
Even some of the shinobi could only click their tongues, forcing down the pain in their hearts.
Perhaps there was no greater sorrow in the world than this.
But what could anyone say now?
The S-rank criminal they once condemned...
Had slaughtered his entire clan to save them.
Even his own parents.
Who was right?
Who was wrong?
At this point, who could possibly judge?
Once, they blamed Uchiha Itachi.
Blamed him for weakening Konoha by destroying the Uchiha clan.
But now...
Who should they blame?
Themselves and the village leadership for isolating the Uchiha?
The Nine-Tails disaster?
Or perhaps...
If Uchiha Madara had never attacked Konoha with the Nine-Tails all those years ago...
Would any of this have happened?
Hatred between villages passed from generation to generation.
Who is the cause?
Who is the result?
Suddenly someone remembered a question Itachi had asked when he was still a child.
A question far too deep for his age.
"What is the meaning of life?"
"Life is born."
"Life dies."
"And life struggles."
...
[In the image, the hand gripping the blade trembled.]
["Father... Mother... I..."]
["We understand, Itachi."]
His mother, Uchiha Mikoto, spoke gently.
["You're a kind child. This must be painful for you as well, isn't it?"]
"...Mother..."
His voice choked.
Suddenly, Fugaku spoke in a deep voice.
["Itachi. Promise me one last thing."]
He wore a calm expression to hide the sorrow in his heart.
At that moment, he finally cast aside the identity of clan leader.
And spoke only as a father.
["Take care of Sasuke for us."]
Sasuke's eyes widened.
But the dark pupils held no focus at all.