Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar...
Sasuke stood atop the platform, his hands continuously weaving signs before his chest.
As he looked at Uchiha Itachi kneeling before him, his vision blurred. He saw the days they had spent together, the happy image of their family of four—only for it to be filled with blood in the blink of an eye.
The Uchiha's punishment for Uchiha Itachi was to let him slowly turn to ashes within the flames of the Great Fireball Technique.
"Wait!"
Just as Sasuke was about to form the final hand sign, a soft cry interrupted him.
Sasuke tilted his head up slightly, forcing back his tears before turning toward the person who had spoken.
Uchiha Izumi.
Yet the Uchiha Izumi before him now felt worlds apart from the one Sasuke remembered.
The gentle smile that had always graced the girl's face had become a pool of stagnant water. Her former liveliness and cheerfulness could no longer be seen.
"Sister Izumi, is there something else?"
"Sasuke, Senior Inabi, I have one last question for Itachi. May I ask it?"
Uchiha Izumi's dead-water eyes turned toward them, leaving Sasuke and Uchiha Inabi unable to bring themselves to object. They both silently nodded.
Every Uchiha present had lost family. Izumi had not suffered much more than the others, yet she was also different from them.
Only twelve years old and already possessing the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, she was more likely than anyone to walk down an extreme path.
Uchiha Izumi slowly stepped onto the platform and finally came to a stop beside Sasuke, facing Uchiha Itachi.
"Uchiha Itachi, did you kill my mother?"
As the words fell, scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan emerged in her eyes.
She knew there was no point in asking this question now. After all, Uchiha Itachi had not even intended to spare his