Clan Annihilation Night

After parting ways with Naruto, Sasuke headed home with a smile on his face.

Because the training ground had been packed today, their training had been delayed.

By the time they finished training and ate dinner, the sun had long set, and night had become Konoha's dominant melody.

"Training was a little tough today. Nii-san seems like he'll be back in the next few days, so I'll show him the Housenka no Jutsu I just learned." Sasuke walked down the path, in such high spirits that he even began humming a tune.

"Naruto's Kido is really amazing. It'd be great if I could learn it too. Nii-san said cultivation should avoid spreading yourself too thin; focusing on ninjutsu and my eyes is what suits me best." Sasuke sighed.

He really wanted to learn those insanely cool incantations Naruto used.

He arrived at the entrance to the Uchiha residence.

The gates stood wide open, but there was no one outside.

"Huh? Why is no one here?" He looked into the residence and saw only darkness.

Sasuke felt a little uneasy, but he still gathered his courage and stepped inside.

As one of the great clans, the Uchiha had guards stationed at the entrance and patrolling the clan grounds around the clock.

Yet for some reason, there was no one around today.

Sasuke did not think much of it and headed toward his home.

"Click."

Crisp footsteps echoed through the house.

Itachi Uchiha entered with a blood-dripping sword in hand, his expression numb.

Blood slid down the blade, leaving chilling traces across the floor.

Itachi's steps weighed as heavily as a thousand catties, each one slow and deliberate.

Inside the main hall.

Mikoto and Fugaku sat quietly at the table, saying nothing, as though waiting for something.

The hall was silent, filled only with Itachi's approaching footsteps.

"Is this your choice?" Fugaku Uchiha asked softly.

Itachi halted, his face covered in blood and tears.

"Your decision will push the Uchiha into the abyss." Itachi murmured, slowly raising his sword.

"For Sasuke. For Konoha."

"This is my choice."

Fugaku slowly turned around and looked at his son, covered in blood.

The once gentle youth now had the blood of his own clan on his hands.

Fugaku's lips moved as though he had much to say, but in the end, a thousand words became one sentence. "Itachi, take care of yourself. Do it."

He then wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders and closed his eyes to face death.

The impassive expression on Itachi's face finally flickered. "Goodbye, Father. Mother."

The blade fell, and blood blossomed.

The hall fell silent, broken only by ragged breathing and the sound of dripping blood.

"I'm home." Sasuke's cheerful voice rang out from the entrance, followed by the door opening.

Sasuke could not believe what he saw.

The once exquisitely decorated living room had been stained with blood. His parents lay on the floor, blood flowing continuously beneath them.

And his most beloved brother stood in the living room, sword in hand and bathed in blood, flashing him a terrifying smile. "Welcome home, Sasuke."

"An enemy? Is this Genjutsu?" Sasuke's expression changed drastically as he instinctively pulled out a Kunai.

Under Naruto's training, he had become rational and calm, and had learned to assess situations.

The brother who loved him would never hurt their parents, and his parents were both top-tier experts. There were not even any signs of a fight in the living room, so they could not possibly have been silently killed like this.

It had to be Genjutsu!

"Who are you? How dare you trespass into our Uchiha residence?" he shouted.

Facing such a terrifying enemy for the first time, even the hand gripping his Kunai trembled slightly.

Then the person with Itachi's exact appearance said:

"My foolish little brother, you are too weak. Do you not even trust your own eyes? How pitifully foolish."

This was the first time Sasuke had seen his beloved brother wear such an expression.

Disgust, pity, even mockery.

"Don't make such an ugly expression with my Nii-san's face!!" The rage in Sasuke's chest churned violently as he roared.

A single black tomoe suddenly appeared in Sasuke's eyes, slowly revolving within his scarlet irises.

"Buzz." Explosive power surged through his legs, propelling him across the distance between himself and Itachi in an instant as he viciously thrust his Kunai forward.

But then he was sent flying backward at an even faster speed, smashing through the gate and only stopping when he crashed into a large tree.

"Whoosh." Several Shuriken sliced past his face and embedded themselves in the trunk.

Several bloody cuts appeared on Sasuke's face as well.

"My foolish little brother, nothing you saw or heard was an illusion. They're dead. I, Itachi Uchiha, killed them."

Like a ghost, Itachi appeared before Sasuke. A cold smile rested on his lips as he casually wiped the blood from his blade.

"Next is you, my foolish little brother."

What surprised Itachi was—

The expected look of terror did not appear on Sasuke's face.

Instead, he even let out a cold laugh.

"Though I don't know how you did it, my brother would never be that kind of person. So shut your mouth."

Supporting himself against the tree, Sasuke slowly rose to his feet, his eyes brimming with killing intent as he began removing his weights.

"Though I don't know how you deceived the clan and entered the residence."

"Or how you dragged me into an illusion."

"But congratulations. You've successfully angered me." Sasuke raised his little face, fury written all over it.

"I'll use my full strength."

"To kill you."

Bang. The weights hit the ground with a dull thud.

Itachi's mouth twitched uncontrollably.

How had his little brother ended up like this after being influenced by Naruto?

Couldn't he see the situation clearly?

He was still trying to act cool at a time like this.

What did he even have to fight me with?

"Let me show you the results of my training!" As soon as he spoke, Sasuke vanished from Itachi's sight. The next instant, he sprinted toward the entrance of the residence at high speed, the tomoe in his Sharingan spinning rapidly.

Sasuke remembered Naruto's advice during training.

Properly assess the environment you're in, then respond accordingly.

Never fight head-on.

This "Itachi" before him was clearly not someone he could handle.

Rushing into battle with him would be reckless.

Although Uchiha pride would not allow him to flee in such a miserable state.

However—

It would allow even less for him to lose so foolishly.

Once I, Sasuke Uchiha, withdraw from the battlefield, rest for a while, and train diligently in seclusion—

One day, I will return and slay you beneath these eyes of mine.

The honor of the Uchiha will be protected by me.

Itachi: ???

Itachi was already on the verge of falling apart, and he could barely maintain the expression on his face.

He reacted quickly and chased after Sasuke.

Bang. Without any surprise, Sasuke was caught. He was then sent flying back into the residence at even greater speed, crashing into the tree again and clutching his stomach as he howled in pain.

"There's no time." Itachi could sense several approaching Chakra signatures, and his heart sank. He grabbed Sasuke by the throat and lifted him up as his Mangekyō Sharingan spun wildly.

"My foolish little brother, now I'll show you the truth."

Tsukuyomi.

Within the endless Tsukuyomi space, Sasuke watched again and again as the demon-like Itachi harvested the lives of their clansmen, before finally turning his butcher's blade toward their parents.

"No! Don't!" Sasuke let out a heart-wrenching roar, clutching his head in agony.

Sasuke could not believe that the brother who had always been the gentlest and loved him most could commit such a deranged atrocity.

"Impossible. This must be fake. It's all fake." Unable to accept this reality, he dropped to his knees while holding his head.

"The sky is actually colorless. It's only your eyes that deceive you." Sasuke suddenly recalled something Naruto had once said.

But before he could think further, a tremendous force struck him. Sasuke was helplessly kicked to the ground, and a cold shoe stepped on the side of his face. All he could see was Itachi's indifferent gaze.

"My foolish little brother, you're already so weak that you don't even qualify to be killed by me."

"If you want to kill me, then run. Run with hatred. Find somewhere to barely survive until you gain eyes like mine. Then appear before me again."

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