The three tomoe in Itachi's eyes shifted abruptly.
Mangekyō Sharingan, activated.
A cold and overwhelming ocular pressure bore down on Fugaku.
The grief in Fugaku's eyes faded away.
The three-bladed pinwheel pattern in his eyes spun furiously, meeting his own son's ocular power head-on and clashing violently with it in the air.
Orochimaru watched the scene with keen interest, a morbidly excited gleam flickering in his golden serpentine eyes.
"What a splendid family drama, father and son turning on each other, and with Uchiha Mangekyō no less."
"It seems your mission has run into a little trouble, Itachi."
Kakuzu, on the other hand, looked somewhat impatient.
"Enough talk."
"The heads of Uchiha Shinsuke and Uchiha Fugaku are both worth a considerable sum."
Kakuzu's gaze locked hard onto Shinsuke, who stood to the side.
In Kakuzu's estimation, this new head of the Uchiha Clan was the biggest variable of the entire night.
Faced with the undisguised killing intent of two S-rank rogue ninja, Shinsuke did not retreat a single step.
He released his own presence, letting it collide with the auras of Orochimaru and Kakuzu.
Shinsuke swept a glance at Uchiha Fugaku and Itachi, then spoke to the two of them.
"This place is not suited to be our stage."
"Oh?"
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, and the smile on his face grew even more amused.
"Little brat, are you talking to us?"
The killing intent radiating from Kakuzu had already solidified into something almost tangible.
"Looks like you're in quite a hurry to die."
Shinsuke paid no attention to Kakuzu's provocation and continued speaking.
"This place, leave it to the two of them."
"After all, this is a family matter between father and son."
"As for you two..."
A look of contempt crossed Shinsuke's face.
"If you want to die, let's find somewhere a little more spacious."
"I'm afraid the commotion might be too loud and disturb them."
Outrageous!
Absolutely outrageous!
The smile had completely vanished from Orochimaru's face, replaced by an intense and icy killing intent.
Kakuzu was burning with rage.
A young upstart actually dared to provoke the two of them simultaneously!
Atop the Guard headquarters building, the swirl-masked Madara also turned his full attention onto Shinsuke.
This new head of the Uchiha Clan was far more interesting than Madara had anticipated.
Just as Orochimaru and Kakuzu were about to erupt into action, Shinsuke activated his Mangekyō Sharingan with a thunderous surge and unleashed his ocular power directly at Orochimaru and Kakuzu in open provocation.
Both Orochimaru and Kakuzu seized up for a moment.
"Keep up."
Shinsuke let those two words fall with calm indifference.
Without sparing Orochimaru or Kakuzu another glance, he turned his back on them entirely and leaped away toward the clan's training grounds.
Shinsuke had left his back completely exposed and unguarded before two S-rank rogue ninja.
What absolute confidence that took.
Orochimaru stared hard at Shinsuke's retreating figure, and a faint bead of cold sweat had actually appeared on his brow.
"Heh heh... how interesting."
Orochimaru extended his tongue again and licked his lips, but this time the look in his eyes was no longer greed; it was the excitement of meeting a worthy opponent.
"I want to see just what kind of monster you really are."
Kakuzu let out a cold snort as well.
"Brat, far too arrogant."
The two of them hesitated no longer, and in a flash their forms dissolved into two afterimages as they fell in step behind Shinsuke.
In an instant, the street that had been thick with tension a moment before was left with only Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Itachi, father and son, and atop the building, the masked man who had sunk into quiet thought.
Madara pondered briefly, then activated Kamui and moved off in the direction Shinsuke had gone.
"Shinsuke..."
Fugaku watched the retreating silhouette of Shinsuke's back.
Only now did he understand that not a single word Shinsuke had said before was an exaggeration.
He truly possessed absolute confidence in his ability to handle Orochimaru, Kakuzu, and the one who had instigated the Nine-Tails attack.
Then he himself could no longer afford to drag him down.
Fugaku withdrew his gaze and looked back at his son, a cold killing intent rising within him.
"Itachi!"
"Let us, father and son, settle everything with these cursed eyes of ours!"
"Susano'o!"
At the Root base, Shimura Danzō sat upright on his stone seat.
"What is the situation?"
Danzō's voice rang out.
"Reporting to Lord Danzō."
"All the bait have lost contact."
Danzō's left eye narrowed slightly.
"All of them?"
"Yes."
More than twenty A-rank rogue ninja, wiped out just like that.
"Shinsuke's doing?"
"Yes."
The Root ninja confirmed again.
"According to the observations of our embedded operatives, Shinsuke alone dealt with the majority within three minutes, and the remainder were handled by Uchiha Fugaku using Susano'o."
"And Orochimaru's group?"
"They have made contact with Shinsuke as planned."
"Itachi has also engaged Uchiha Fugaku."
Danzō gave a slow nod.
Good.
Orochimaru, Kakuzu, and Itachi with his Mangekyō.
Now that was the real main course.
Deep within the Uchiha clan grounds, inside a vast underground shelter, the Uchiha clan members had gathered there, their faces written with fear and unease.
"The... the ground is shaking!"
"Is it an earthquake?"
"No... it's not an earthquake, it's the shockwaves from battle!"
"Silence!"
A steady, commanding voice suppressed all the noise.
Uchiha Hachidai and Uchiha En spoke to calm the clan members.
"What are you panicking for!"
"Have you forgotten what the clan head said?"
"Tonight, no matter what you hear or see, do not panic and do not go outside!"
"The clan head will handle everything!"
"But Elder..."
"Can Shinsuke really manage...?"
"Trust Shinsuke and Fugaku; the eyes they possess are the divine power of the Uchiha Clan!"
The battlefield had been divided into two separate arenas.
Uchiha Fugaku's Susano'o loomed like an ancient demon god that had crawled up from the depths of hell, the enormous skeletal frame radiating immense power.
An equally colossal Susano'o rose up behind Itachi, facing Fugaku's demon god from a distance.
"Itachi!"
Fugaku's voice rang out from within the ribcage of his Susano'o.
"Are you truly going to go this far!"
The chakra blade in Uchiha Fugaku's hand hummed and vibrated, yet he could not bring himself to swing it down.
That hesitation, belonging to a father, was a fatal opening on the battlefield.
Itachi's answer was a completely merciless slash.
His Susano'o's arm swung with sudden force, and the massive Totsuka Blade ripped through the air and came crashing straight down onto Fugaku's Susano'o.
A deafening clang of metal rang out and echoed through the night sky.
The fierce battle had begun.