Blood‑red moonlight covered the sky.
Yet it was not bright at all. On the contrary, it radiated a dark, oppressive feeling.
Uchiha Itachi strode toward the Uchiha Clan district. In his heart, there was no emotion— or rather, he was forcing himself not to feel anything, suppressing all sentiment. Right now, he needed no emotion. Only coldness, only slaughter.
Still, Itachi was not reckless. He knew that tonight's plan to annihilate the clan did not hinge on him alone.
The biggest linchpin was actually that mysterious masked man…
Of course, even more critical was, in fact, not him either.
The question was: Could that man who called himself Madara kill Uchiha Chiyu?
He did not even need to kill him—just defeat him, or hold him off, stall him. That alone would be enough…
As long as Chiyu was pinned down, Itachi would have time to slaughter the rest of the Uchiha clan. Then, even if the police force was full of elites, they'd still become a tree with no roots, water without a source—nothing more than a shell.
And as for Chiyu, it was the same. As soon as Itachi finished killing the clan, he could rendezvous with "Madara," and together, at least in theory, they ought to be able to bring Chiyu down! Even if not, Itachi knew that as Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen definitely had further backup plans. One lone Uchiha Chiyu would not remain a threat!
Uchiha Itachi soon received Anbu intel:
Uchiha Chiyu was right at the Police Force headquarters.
And at the same time, Itachi got the signal from "Uchiha Madara" that he had already slipped into the Police Force headquarters. In other words…
Uchiha Madara had at least pinned down Uchiha Chiyu!
Taking a deep breath, Itachi decided to move first on his own home. From the intel, he knew that tonight his father—Uchiha Fugaku, the clan head—had not gone to the Naka Shrine and was still at home.
Itachi planned to begin with his mother and father!
Once he killed them, those parents who gave birth to him, it would be no major leap to wipe out the other relatives and friends. This was how he steeled himself to be utterly merciless.
Besides, he also wanted his younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke, to witness him killing their parents with his own eyes!
Right now Sasuke was only four or five…even younger than at the time of the original "Clan Downfall." But for Sasuke to hate him, to open his eyes, to gain power—and someday kill him in return…
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At the Uchiha residential district, in the clan leader's home:
Uchiha Mikoto was cooking. Young Sasuke was outside training, practicing the shuriken skills that his brother Itachi had taught him, as well as Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique that his father had instructed him in.
Uchiha Fugaku stood at the window, gazing out at Sasuke with a complicated expression. He had received orders from Chiyu. Earlier, Fugaku had already entrusted all decisions to Chiyu, so now he was simply carrying them out…
Still, deep down, he found it hard to believe that everything would truly happen as predicted.
"Sasuke, time to eat!"
"Really, that child…so young and yet so determined,"
Uchiha Mikoto murmured anxiously as she walked to the window.
But Sasuke shook his head and answered breathlessly, "Mom, you and Dad go ahead. I want to train a bit more."
"You can train later. You have to eat first, or you'll wear yourself out."
Sasuke shook his head:
"I want to catch up to Brother as fast as I can. He's considered a genius by everyone, but I can't lose to him…"
"He's my idol, and my goal!"
Mikoto paused—these days, her older son Itachi had been so enigmatic and withdrawn. She felt worried, uneasy. Though Fugaku said nothing, she sensed that something big was coming, and probably involved Itachi.
Still, no matter what the different stances…they were, after all, family…
Surely there'd be some resolution in the end, right…?
Just then, Sasuke suddenly called out excitedly from outside.
Fugaku and Mikoto glanced out the window and saw their older son stepping in. It was Uchiha Itachi!
Yet the look on his face was cold and numb, like a sculpted stone.
He did not, as usual, greet Sasuke warmly. He did not even glance his way.
Caught off guard, Sasuke asked,
"Brother…what's wrong?"
Itachi marched swiftly inside, eyes fixed on his parents by the window.
Mikoto noticed the killing intent on his face and was startled.
"Itachi, you…what happened?"
Fugaku felt his heart jolt!
Had everything Chiyu warned him of turned out to be true?
But seeing Itachi before him, any faint illusions shattered in a moment.
In that instant, it was as if Fugaku's entire world had collapsed.
"Itachi…you've really betrayed the Uchiha clan?!"
"Become a lapdog of those Konoha higher-ups?!"
Fugaku raged in heartbreak, resentment erupting beyond words.
Itachi's blood-red Mangekyō Sharingan stared coldly at his father.
"This isn't betrayal," he said.
"Raising a blade against your own kin, your own parents—this is your so-called 'protection'?!"
Itachi's tone was raspy and emotionless.
"Father, you only see a single tree, but not the entire forest. Your outlook remains bound by our narrow clan. I've learned to stand higher, to see with a broader vision…"
"To protect the village, protect the shinobi world, protect peace, protect the Will of Fire."
Nearby, Sasuke and Mikoto were already stunned, stricken speechless. This level of shock was not something a normal person could even process. Their own son—her own son, Sasuke's own brother—intended to kill them!
Fugaku, half in anger and half in despair, laughed grimly:
Never thought that I, Uchiha Fugaku, would raise such a beast of a son—
A true betrayer, a worthless scoundrel, an utter monster!"
Itachi merely shook his head.
"Even to protect the clan, I'm protecting not the clan itself…
The Uchiha clan must not go down in history as a wicked clan of traitors.
I'd rather destroy it with my own hands.
That way, the disgrace, guilt, darkness, and bloodshed will weigh on me alone, Uchiha Itachi—and the clan's honor can live on."
Fugaku was utterly stunned.
He never imagined Itachi had become so distorted and extreme!
Itachi, showing the spinning Mangekyō Sharingan, raised his sword toward Fugaku!
Mikoto and Sasuke both shrieked in horror.
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