I Shadow You Regret

The moonlight pressed down like solidified mercury, heavy on the eaves of the Hokage Building.

The Third Hokage had been standing before the office's floor-to-ceiling window for a long time. The flickering firelight in his pipe cast constantly shifting shadows on his deeply lined old face beneath his Hokage kasa.

He gazed into the distance in the deep night. The Uchiha District was still deathly silent.

This was good, indicating everything was under control and no accidents had occurred.

But he still didn't dare to let his guard down, fearing that the next moment would bring violent explosions and blinding flames piercing the sky from that direction.

In the shadows behind him, figures of Anbu were hidden, silent and still like deathly silent sculptures.

But he knew very well that with a single command from him, these loyal guards could be deployed as a reserve force at any moment to suppress any potential rebellion.

"Sigh!"

The Third Hokage sighed heavily, his heart filled with helplessness and pain.

This isn't what I wanted!

Why did things have to turn out this way!

What a shame. Itachi, a ninja with Hokage potential, who loved Konohagakure and was incredibly loyal to the village, will now have to live as a rogue ninja.

He took several more puffs from his pipe with force, his heart growing more troubled.

Time ticked by, the moon rising slowly from the east and setting slowly towards the west. The entire Konohagakure remained peaceful and serene.

"Swish!"

An Anbu suddenly appeared, kneeling on one knee to report:

"Hokage-sama, the Uchiha Clan has been wiped out."

"Hoo..." Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. The heavy atmosphere that had permeated the air was immediately broken, and the mood in the office became much livelier.

The Third Hokage's worried heart finally relaxed. He sighed heavily, tapped the pipe in his hand, and frowned, asking:

"Confirmed?"

"Uh..." The Anbu hesitated for a moment, but still reported truthfully: "After counting the corpses, apart from Uchiha An's family, all known members of the Uchiha Clan have been confirmed dead."

"However, in Uchiha An's home, blood belonging to four people was found. Judging by the blood loss, these four people should also be dead, but someone took their corpses away."

"Someone took the corpses away?" The Third Hokage was taken aback and asked curiously, "Was it Itachi?"

"It cannot be determined at this time. Also..." The Anbu quickly glanced up at the Third Hokage, "Uchiha Sasuke is also dead."

"Nani?" This time the Third Hokage was so shocked he couldn't even hold his pipe, "How is that possible! How could Itachi kill his beloved younger brother?"

"What's impossible about it?" A gloomy voice sounded from outside the door. "He's also an evil Uchiha! He could kill his parents and entire clan, what's one more younger brother?"

When the Third Hokage turned his head, he saw Danzo, clad in bandage attire and leaning on a cane, walk in with a frown.

Tonight was a crucial moment for the annihilation of the Uchiha, so he naturally had to be present to prevent any escapees. Now, he had returned.

"Hmph!" Fire burned in the Third Hokage's eyes as he looked at this reckless Konoha elder, feeling increasingly unhappy.

Things hadn't escalated to this point with the Uchiha clan originally. It was this scoundrel who had sown discord, leading to this outcome.

If not for their years of relationship, and the fact that he and Root were still useful, he would have been cut into a thousand pieces long ago for the things he had done!

"Sasuke is just a child, he doesn't know anything. Why must you kill him?"

"Itachi is obsessed with this younger brother, afraid that after he leaves, Sasuke will be bullied in the village."

"I personally promised Itachi that after he left, I would take good care of his younger brother."

"Sasuke is Itachi's bond in the village for the future. Now that you've killed Sasuke, how will Itachi not hate you in the future? How can you make Itachi continue to be loyal to Konohagakure?"

"Sasuke wasn't killed by me!" Danzo roared, his face gloomy.

Facing his old friend's unreasonable accusation, Danzo's one eye was filled with anger.

"When we arrived there, Sasuke was already dead!"

"It was clearly Itachi himself who did it, to completely sever ties with Konohagakure and avoid leaving a weakness in the village!"

"What do you mean obsessed with his younger brother?"

"We were all manipulated by him!"

"He was clearly pretending to deceive us!"

Thinking that he had always believed he was manipulating Itachi, only to discover now that he was the one being manipulated, Danzo felt extremely ashamed and angry, trembling all over.

"Impossible!" The Third Hokage knew very well about Danzo's habitual shirk responsibility. Seeing his irresponsibility again, he became even more enraged.

He forcefully struck the table with his pipe, roaring:

"Danzo, don't think that just because you monopolize power in Root, no one knows about the things you've done!"

"I know best what kind of child Itachi is!"

"He would absolutely not do such a thing!"

"Itachi is loyal to Konohagakure, beyond doubt!"

"What's beyond doubt?" Danzo said, his eyes full of disappointment. "He's an evil Uchiha, untrustworthy!"

"If he were truly loyal, he should have left Sasuke behind as a hostage for the village!"

"If he were truly loyal, he shouldn't have taken Fugaku's eyes!"

"Those evil eyes are most likely to evolve under life-and-death stimulus!"

"Now that his entire family has been wiped out, Fugaku's eyes may have also evolved into the legendary Mangekyo!"

"You've also seen the village intelligence, you should know what it means for Itachi to take those eyes away!"

"Fugaku's eyes?" This new intelligence made the Third Hokage pause, subconsciously glancing at the Anbu member reporting the news.

The Anbu member gave a wry smile, "Before I had a chance to report, Elder Danzo arrived."

This silenced the Third Hokage, and the Political creature mindset's part of the Hokage took the upper hand in his thoughts.

He silently stuffed the pipe into his mouth, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.

After a long time, he slowly spoke:

"Fugaku's eyes are just one possibility. After all, in so many years, we haven't seen many people able to activate the Mangekyo."

"Furthermore, the disappearance of Uchiha An's family's corpses is also very suspicious."

"Perhaps they are not dead, but were rescued."

"Issue a wanted notice, declare Uchiha An a rogue ninja, the charge is... killing a village comrade, Uchiha Sasuke!"

Having known the Third Hokage's methods for years, Danzo immediately understood that the Third Hokage still suspected him of killing Sasuke. However, to prevent Uchiha Itachi, who was away, from becoming estranged, he deliberately framed the fate unknown Uchiha An.

"Hmph!"

"What we need to do now is not to care about the life or death of minor figures like Uchiha An, but to seize the time and apprehend Uchiha Itachi before he digests Uchiha Fugaku's eyes, and get Fugaku's eyes back!"

Just thinking about possessing a pair of Mangekyo himself, and the Wood Release brought by the First Hokage's Cells balanced by the Mangekyo's Yin Release, Danzo's body couldn't help but tremble with excitement. He kept inciting the Third Hokage, wanting to persuade him to give the order.

But the Third Hokage showed no leniency. He just shook his head and refused. When Danzo became annoyed by his persistence, he slapped the table, using his tried and true method of dealing with things.

"Danzo!"

"I am the Hokage!"

"I forbid you to make a move on Uchiha Itachi!"

Seeing the duck almost fly from his grasp, Danzo trembled with anger.

"Hiruzen, you will definitely regret this!"

He forcefully struck the ground with his cane, turned indignantly, and slammed the door as he left.