Time passed, and before long, that day arrived.
"Goodbye, Ino!"
Josuke waved goodbye to Ino.
Then he and Sasuke headed home together.
For some reason, unease gradually welled up inside Josuke. He felt that the moment was drawing near...
On the way, Sasuke noticed that Josuke hadn't said a word.
"Big brother, what's wrong? You seem down today."
Josuke snapped back to attention and smiled. "Nothing. I was just thinking about some things." He made up an excuse to brush Sasuke off. Of course, he wasn't going to say anything about the Uchiha Clan Downfall...
"Oh."
Neither of them knew that someone was watching them intently.
At sunset, darkness gradually enveloped all of Konoha.
An eerie atmosphere hung over the Uchiha Clan compound.
At that moment, on the roof of the Hokage building, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi stood with his hands clasped behind his back. Behind him, Uchiha Itachi knelt on one knee, dressed in Anbu attire.
"Itachi, have you made your decision?" Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi asked gravely, his back turned to Itachi.
At the Hokage's words, Itachi kept his head bowed, but his eyes blazed with a resolve unlike any he had shown before.
"Yes, Hokage."
"I only ask that you grant me one final request..."
Itachi knew all too well that after tonight, he would bear the sin of slaughtering his clan. In return, Konoha had to protect his younger brothers, Sasuke Uchiha and Uchiha Josuke.
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi drew a deep breath and replied solemnly.
"Don't worry. As long as I'm here, no one in Konoha will be able to harm your brothers..."
Itachi arrived outside the clan compound.
The enraged child (Obito, here for the massacre) had been waiting there for a long time.
"You're here?" Obito said coolly. To him, this was no more than an ordinary task.
After all, Rin was dead. Nothing mattered more than Rin.
All that remained in this world was endless despair and darkness.
Itachi nodded.
"Yeah. Let's proceed as planned."
Obito then headed to the Konoha Military Police Force and began slaughtering everyone there, taking all their Sharingan as well.
Meanwhile, Itachi entered the clan compound.
With a long sword in hand, he was like a blood-soaked demon from hell, killing everyone he came across. One clansman after another died beneath his blade. Itachi seemed numb, doing nothing but reaping the lives that had once been so vibrant.
Everywhere he went, blood sprayed. None survived.
Suddenly,
Itachi saw Fugaku standing straight ahead, his eyes holding the sinister, alluring Mangekyō Sharingan.
Itachi was shocked.
He tightened his grip on his sword.
Fugaku asked gravely,
"Itachi, what will come of this slaughter?"
Itachi walked up to him without a word.
He activated his Sharingan and showed Fugaku the village, along with the future of the Uchiha Clan.
After seeing the vision of the future, Fugaku froze. A moment later, his body vanished. Itachi couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath. Was this the power of the Mangekyō? Even a clone had been this powerful.
Itachi didn't linger. He continued killing every surviving clan member. Then...
He leaped onto a rooftop, activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and stared intently at the two boys returning from school.
After waiting for a while,
he went home.
His Three-Tomoe Sharingan fully activated, he watched the surroundings, trying to spot any traps or hidden weapons.
Fugaku heard him from inside and calmly said, "There are no traps. Come in."
Itachi deactivated his Sharingan and entered the house.
"It feels like it's been a long time since we last had a proper talk, doesn't it?"
Fugaku looked at Itachi, the crimson glow of his Mangekyō the most striking color in the darkness.
"Itachi, after I die, keep these eyes. You can take them, or give them to your brothers. We've seen the future in the Sharingan..."
Fugaku smiled faintly again and clasped his beloved wife's hand.
Mikoto was also in tears.
"Itachi, I have one thing to ask of you. Take care of your brothers, will you? I'm counting on you."
Mikoto's words pierced Itachi's heart once more.
Fugaku continued,
"I failed to keep the clan in line. This is all Father's fault. I brought about this tragedy. Our pain means nothing. Compared to your suffering, ours will last only an instant. Though we don't share the same views, you're still our pride. Come."
The first head of the Uchiha Clan faced his death calmly, waiting for eternal sleep hand in hand with his wife.
Itachi was now weeping uncontrollably, the blade in his hand trembling.
But then he sensed the two boys approaching...
He swung the blade. His Three-Tomoe Sharingan numbed him for the moment, and blood welled in his eyes. Amid his grief, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan transformed into the pinwheel-shaped Mangekyō Sharingan!!!! (He didn't awaken it by killing his parents. It awakened when Shisui died, but because he was so overcome with grief, it activated uncontrollably.)
When the two boys returned, they saw bodies strewn everywhere. Josuke already knew what had happened, but Sasuke didn't. They hurried home and saw Itachi after he had killed their parents.
!!
They also saw a glass bottle in Itachi's hand, holding a pair of eyes!!!
Sasuke couldn't believe what he was seeing. Was this really his gentle, kind older brother?
No!!
This couldn't be real!
"Foolish little brother, hate me, despise me!"
Itachi activated his Mangekyō ability!
Tsukuyomi.
It made Josuke and Sasuke witness the entire Uchiha Clan Downfall exactly as it had happened.
Overwhelming grief flooded Josuke's mind. His eyes turned crimson, and a single tomoe appeared in each.
After awakening his One-Tomoe Sharingan, Josuke succumbed to his intense sorrow and fell unconscious.
Only then did Itachi speak slowly.
"This is my reward for killing the entire clan: these eyes!!"
Then he slowly walked toward Sasuke.
Terrified, Sasuke fled in a panic. Itachi walked over to Josuke, glanced down at him, then rose and left resolutely.
Sasuke hadn't gone far before Itachi caught up with him. He began telling that clumsy lie again.
"Foolish little brother, I was only acting all along, playing the part of your supposedly kind older brother. Come, hate me, despise me! Foolish little brother, hate me, despise me! Come kill me. Oh, I forgot to tell you: the condition for awakening the Mangekyō is killing someone close to you.
"Only then will you become worthy enough for me to test in the future!"
The endless pain also awakened Sasuke's One-Tomoe Sharingan...
His intense hatred made him forget his fear. He hurled a Shuriken and Kunai at Itachi.
By chance, they knocked Itachi's Forehead Protector off.
Itachi hurriedly picked it up and put it back on. Looking at his youngest brother, he couldn't stop his tears from falling. Then his Mangekyō appeared, and a powerful pressure made Sasuke collapse on the spot...
(Poor Itachi. Why was he pitiful? We grieve for his misfortune and resent his failure to fight back. That's what "pitiful" means.
That was my intention, but I got flamed for it. Being an author is hard.
In short, I got flamed because I kept catering to the haters. If you haven't read Lu Xun's essays, go learn what it means to grieve for someone's misfortune and resent their failure to fight back.
You people attack anything you see, like a pack of rabid dogs. What a bunch of lunatics.)
Before you continue