Sorrow of the Uchiha

Hot.

Scorching hot.

It was as though he had been thrown onto a grill. Blazing flames burned Naruto's body, jolting him awake from his sleep in a cold sweat.

Naruto checked his body and found that the source of the heat was the Sealing Jutsu on his stomach. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and entered his mindscape.

"Nine-Tails, what's wrong?"

The moment Naruto entered the space within his body, he felt a wave of heat. Even the water beneath his feet was beginning to bubble from the heat. Every strand of the Nine-Tails' fur stood on end, and its tails lashed wildly like whips. Minato was desperately trying to calm it down, but to no avail.

"I sensed it—that ominous Chakra, the power of that cursed clan!"

The Nine-Tails gritted its teeth, suppressing the beastly nature within it. That power was far too familiar—the powerful Sharingan capable of controlling even Tailed Beasts. Now, for some unknown reason, countless Sharingan had awakened. The turbulent Chakra in the air filled the Nine-Tails with inexplicable rage.

"What are you talking about?"

"Brat, get up and go to the Uchiha Clan compound right now."

"Is Sasuke in danger?"

Naruto obediently jumped out the window, dashed across several streets, and arrived at the Uchiha Clan's residence.

"Strange. It's way too quiet."

Naruto looked at the Uchiha Clan's imposing gates. As Konoha's foremost noble clan, there should naturally have been guards keeping watch through the night. Yet there was no one at the entrance. Uneasy, Naruto pushed open the gate bearing the fan emblem.

"What... happened here...?"

Naruto was stunned by the sight before him. The usually clean and orderly Uchiha Clan grounds were littered with broken bricks and shattered tiles. Weapons and armor lay smashed across the ground, and traces of battle were everywhere. Corpses covered the ground, their scarlet eyes still wide open in death, as if accusing their murderer of unspeakable evil.

"Damn it! Sasuke! Sasuke!"

It was Naruto's first time witnessing such a hellish scene in person. After forcing himself to calm down, he ran desperately toward Sasuke's home.

Sasuke's house was intact, with no signs of a fight. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. When his calls for Sasuke went unanswered, he climbed in through a window from the courtyard. Pressing down his wildly pounding heart, he pushed open the paper door to the living room.

"Sasuke, you're okay. Thank goodness."

The first thing Naruto saw was Sasuke slumped in the corner. His scarlet Sharingan were open—he had clearly awakened his Bloodline Limit. But before Naruto could celebrate for him, he saw the two corpses on the floor, and his heart sank to the depths.

"Damn it! What the hell happened?!"

Naruto checked and found that Sasuke's parents were no longer breathing. No matter how he called to Sasuke, there was no response. Knowing it was dangerous to stay any longer, Naruto immediately grabbed Sasuke's arm, slung him over his shoulder, and carried him away.

"Is anyone there? Somebody, please help!"

Naruto carried Sasuke's limp body out of the Uchiha Clan compound and cried for help in the empty streets. But no matter how loudly he shouted, the desolate streets gave no reply.

"Stop shouting. No one will hear you."

A cold voice rang out. Naruto looked up in shock and saw Itachi standing atop a utility pole. He looked down at Naruto, his emotionless Sharingan seeming to pierce into his heart and freeze his legs in place.

"Brother Itachi, where did you go? The Uchiha Clan members, Uncle Fugaku and Aunt Mikoto, they..."

"They're dead. I know, because I did it all."

Naruto had not even finished speaking before Itachi brutally cut him off. Itachi glanced at Sasuke over Naruto's shoulder, and the last trace of warmth in his eyes vanished, replaced by piercing coldness.

"You're... joking, right? This isn't funny at all..."

Naruto's expression stiffened, then he kept shaking his head, refusing to believe Itachi's words.

"Everything you saw was an illusion. I did it all to test the Uchiha Clan's capacity. You saw it too—they were killed without any resistance. The Uchiha Clan's power is so insignificant."

Itachi leaped down from the utility pole and landed lightly on the ground before Naruto, speaking to him with indifference.

"Ah! Aaaahhh!!!"

Some light returned to Sasuke's eyes. The moment he saw Itachi, he roared and charged at him. But before his small body could even touch Itachi's clothes, Itachi grabbed him by the throat with one hand and lifted him into the air.

"My foolish little brother, hate me. Only hatred can make you stronger."

"Stop! Stop it!"

Seeing his best friend threatened, Naruto flew into a rage. He snatched the limp Sasuke from Itachi's hand and shielded him behind himself.

"The Nine-Tails' power, huh? Naruto, your hatred isn't enough. That's why your power is so weak."

"I don't believe it! I don't believe that kind Brother Itachi would do something like that! There has to be some mistake. Do you have some hidden reason? Tell me..."

Naruto desperately used his own Chakra to suppress the Tailed Beast cloak trying to surge from his body. His pupils shifted constantly between blue and red as he spoke in pain.

"And what could you do if I told you?"

"I..."

"It's all just your delusion. The Uchiha are a cursed clan. They would kill their own kin without hesitation for power. Do you see these eyes? This is a power that only awakens when the person you love most dies."

Itachi stared at Naruto. The three tomoe in his Sharingan spun rapidly, slowly merging together and becoming a pinwheel that turned within his eyes.

"You're still just a brat."

Itachi walked up to Naruto, who could no longer move. Even the Nine-Tails could not resist the Mangekyō Sharingan, much less a mere child. After pushing Naruto aside, there was no one left in front of Sasuke to shield him from harm. Looking at his older brother, drenched in the blood of their clan, what could those young Sharingan possibly have been thinking?

"Let go of Sasuke!"

The wind howled behind him. Itachi shifted one shoulder and dodged Naruto's attack. A wound had been torn across Naruto's arm by sharp claws, and that pain had brought him back to his senses a little.

"Naruto, why are you willing to go this far for Sasuke?"

"He's my friend!"

"Still too weak."

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Itachi's lips before swiftly disappearing. Itachi, who had thought he would never smile again in this life, was moved by Naruto's words. He gave his last smile in Konoha, then punched Naruto in the stomach.

"Forget it. Feelings like this will bring you no good."

Before Naruto lost consciousness, Itachi's eyes met his once more, rewriting all of Naruto's memories connected to the Uchiha Clan. It was the only thing Itachi could do for his younger brother's friend. Sasuke's hatred for him had already taken root. Driven by that hatred, Sasuke might one day hurt Naruto in his pursuit of power. Then Itachi altered Sasuke's memories of Naruto as well, turning them into the belief that his best friend had already been killed by him.

But Itachi was still too young. Even after losing their memories, the bond between the two was not severed. Years later, they would meet again.

"Huh? Why did I fall asleep outside my house... Did I train for too long?"

When Naruto woke up again, he found himself lying outside his front door. Being thick-nerved, he did not think much of it. He opened the door, climbed into bed, and went back to sleep.

The next day, news of the Uchiha Clan massacre spread throughout Konoha. Naruto, who was eating at the Hyuga Clan home, froze for a long while upon hearing the news. His chopsticks slipped from his hand and fell to the floor.

"Naruto-kun, what's wrong? Did you know someone from the Uchiha Clan?"

Hinata picked up Naruto's chopsticks, wiped them with her handkerchief, and asked worriedly.

"No, how could I possibly know anyone from that clan? I just feel a little sad."

Naruto scratched his head and took back the chopsticks from Hinata. For an instant just now, it had felt as though someone had gripped his heart, but the feeling quickly disappeared. He figured it must have been an illusion.

"Yeah. Such a large clan disappeared overnight. I hope the dead can rest in peace."

Hinata clasped her hands together and prayed for those who had died. Seeing her do so, Naruto followed her example.

"Hinata really is kind."

"Oh, right, Naruto-kun. We're old enough to start school now. Do you want to go to the Ninja Academy together?"

"Of course! The Ninja Academy is the first step toward becoming Hokage, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Let's work hard together."

"I wonder what kind of people we'll meet at the Ninja Academy."

Naruto spoke expectantly. Suddenly, the image of a black-haired boy appeared in his mind, only to vanish in an instant.

A little aside: if Itachi and Shisui had not been so kind-hearted, Konoha would have vanished long ago. The Uchiha Clan's rebellion actually had a high chance of succeeding. Fugaku Uchiha had also awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. If Shisui had not tried to use Kotoamatsukami to stop the rebellion, Danzo would not have stolen his eye. That would have given the Uchiha Clan three Mangekyō Sharingan users. Ignore all the ordinary people—at that point, how many people in Konoha could have stopped three Susanoo?

And that is not even counting the fact that the Mangekyō Sharingan can control the Nine-Tails. In Itachi Shinden, Fugaku Uchiha imagined capturing Naruto, opening the seal, and controlling the Nine-Tails. A Nine-Tails Susanoo would have been more than enough to destroy Konoha. But such a deadly battle would also have left Konoha devastated, and even if the Uchiha seized power, they would likely have been immediately wiped out by the four great nations.

Kneeling in tribute to Itachi-kami, the hero who bore infamy.

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