In the forests outside the Land of Fire, in a remote corner near Konoha Village…
Uchiha Itachi stood in silence, waiting.
He knew that man would come.
It didn't take long before the air rippled, like concentric waves spreading out. Then—
A figure wearing a tiger-striped mask quietly appeared out of thin air.
It was the mysterious man who called himself "Uchiha Madara."
"Uchiha Itachi, have you finally made up your mind?"
He asked straightaway.
Itachi did not answer directly.
"Uchiha Madara, I can work with you to wipe out the entire Uchiha clan, but… I have a few conditions."
The masked man gave a cold snort.
Itachi spoke in a low voice:
"First, no matter what happens, you must not harm my little brother… Uchiha Sasuke. That is the precondition for everything."
The masked man felt a ripple of interest.
"So your younger brother is truly your weakness… But I can understand. My own younger brother, Izuna, was killed by Tobirama Senju as well!
"Fine, I can accept this first demand. However…"
"You must know, if the entire clan is slaughtered, leaving only him alive, he'll likely witness his beloved brother killing all the clansmen, friends, relatives, even your…father and mother! That might be a fate worse than death, no?"
Itachi lapsed into silence.
"I know. But… As long as he's alive, there's still hope."
The masked man felt a trace of emotion. "You want him to hold a terrible hatred toward you, so that his Sharingan powers grow quickly, so that one day he'll kill you for revenge over his father, mother, and the entire clan?
So that's the destiny you've set for yourself?"
Itachi did not hide it.
"Truly a twisted fellow…"
Even the masked man could not help mocking him, as though even a twisted mind found this too extreme.
Itachi ignored that and continued:
"My second condition… After the clan is annihilated, I will bear the entire sin, become a heinous criminal and a missing-nin from Konoha. I need you to arrange a place for me to go."
"Place to go?" The masked man asked. "That's simple."
"I can introduce you to the Akatsuki organization."
"Yes. For you, that couldn't be more suitable."
Though Itachi did not know much about Akatsuki, from the masked man's tone he figured it was some terrifying group of villains and Missing-nin. But it made no difference to him now.
"And the last condition…"
"You are not allowed to strike at Konoha Village."
The masked man frowned.
"Even now, you're trying to protect Konoha…? You truly are impressive in your own way."
"No matter how the world sees me, I am a Konoha shinobi."
The masked man secretly sneered, but did not show it:
"All right, I can promise you that. At least… While you're with Akatsuki, while you're still alive, I won't move against Konoha. But if you die, or betray me, that's another story."
"Good. Then we're settled…
All you have to do is deal with one particular person. I'll handle the rest."
The masked man replied,
The masked man gave a cold laugh:
"You underestimate me too much. Uchiha Chiyu, the entire police force—just leave them all to me.
You only need to take care of Uchiha Fugaku, and the old guard of the Uchiha clan."
Hearing his father's name, Itachi's expression wavered a moment before returning to calm.
He knew that in today's Uchiha clan, there were two major factions: the Police Force under Chiyu, and his father Fugaku's older faction. The masked man wanted each of them to handle one side.
Since Chiyu led the Police Force, the masked man would deal with them, while Itachi would handle those under Fugaku, including…
"You truly are frightening,"
the masked man said, "hearing you talk about slaughtering your own relatives—your own father and mother—without hesitation…
Itachi's eyes betrayed no emotion, only numbness, emptiness, a hollow void:
"For the sake of the village, the sake of the shinobi world, for the sake of peace, for the Will of Fire… This is the only choice. And the only choice…is the best choice."
The masked man sneered in his mind but said nothing more.
"Very well. Then that's that…
Tomorrow night, under the full moon, we carry out the annihilation. Until then."
With those words, his figure blended into empty space once more and vanished.
Itachi looked up at the night sky. The moon, crimson as blood, was nearly at its fullest, casting an eerie, baleful glow upon the entire Konoha…
The entire Konoha village was rife with dark currents, an oppressive atmosphere blanketing everyone. Although nothing had visibly occurred yet, all the shinobi and villagers sensed a stifling tension in the air.
The Hyūga clan, the Ino–Shika–Chō triad, the Aburame, and the other factions all hid their energies, waiting quietly for the upcoming conflict.
As dusk fell, in the Hokage's office…
Itachi met with Hiruzen Sarutobi and his two advisors for what would be the final time. There, he revealed the arrangement he had made with the masked man.
Sarutobi and the advisors, though half-skeptical about the masked man's trustworthiness, heard Itachi's reasoning: that man might be evil, but he probably wouldn't break the pact. One way or another, there was no turning back now.
All that remained was to risk it all.
Itachi concluded by reaffirming the one condition he set for Hiruzen:
He must ensure Uchiha Sasuke's safety.
Hiruzen said gravely:
"Itachi, in order to preserve the village and its peace, you've chosen to sacrifice yourself—shouldering all sins, to become the great villain who slaughters the clan.
Yet in my eyes, and in the eyes of anyone who knows the truth… You'll always be a true hero. You are Konoha's…
Shadow without a crown!
"So your request, I promise I'll do everything in my power to fulfill.
I'll keep Sasuke safe!"
"Thank you, Lord Hokage.
Watching Itachi's resolute back, Hiruzen, Koharu, and Homura exchanged a look.
"Hiruzen, can we really trust him?"
Sarutobi's face was icy:
"Yes. His naïveté, his extremism, his obsession with self-sacrifice are precisely what we can exploit.
Uchiha Itachi… That type of man, burdened by so-called love and hatred, finds meaning in blaming himself and taking on all the darkness.
For him, destroying his own clan is a kind of honor."
"Indeed—compared to him, Shisui is nothing."
"But still, we must be fully prepared.
I'll have the Anbu follow at a distance. If something goes awry, they'll step in and clean it up."
"As for the two of us, we'll station the Sarutobi and Shimura families' forces around the Uchiha district near the police force, ready to act if needed."
"Yes. But whether Anbu or our families, we mustn't make a move unless there's no other option. After all, we can't afford to shoulder the blame for destroying a whole clan."
"Yes, let that filthy sin fall onto those two Uchiha themselves."
That evening, beyond the Hokage's office window, up in the sky…
A blood-red full moon rose quietly, draping the entire Konoha village in a chillingly gorgeous, ominous glow.
The final showdown was coming! Updates are released by novel fire.net
Would descend this very night!
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