Because of My Own Weakness

"Hokage-sama, please, I beg you—take care of my two younger brothers." Itachi knelt on one knee, pleading.

The Third Hokage smoked in silence, his back to Itachi, his expression deeply conflicted.

"Itachi, I will. Rest assured."

Hearing this, Itachi continued.

"I'll go undercover in the Akatsuki Organization. Please have no worries, Third Hokage-sama."

The Third Hokage nodded.

Only then did Itachi leave, reassured.

GOOGLE SEARCH TWKAN

On the other side

Kakashi, clad in Anbu attire, arrived at Josuke's home and saw two corpses on the floor.

The male's eyes were missing.

Stepping past the bodies, he reached Josuke, hoisted him up, and carried him away. On a nearby rooftop, a crow stared fixedly.

At Danzo's location, his subordinate hoisted the unconscious Sasuke onto his shoulder.

Danzo seemed lost in thought.

Just then, the subordinate suddenly stared hard at Danzo.

"Danzo, if you dare harm my brother, I'll expose Konoha's dirty secrets to the world!"

With that, he dissolved into a flock of crows and vanished.

Not far off, Itachi removed his forehead protector, caressed it one last time, then slashed it fiercely with his kunai. The Leaf symbol split in two—Itachi had become a rogue ninja.

And so Itachi left Konoha, living the rest of his life in agony...

The Uchiha Clan, famed throughout Konoha, was annihilated by its own clan head's eldest son, Uchiha Itachi. The massacre shook the village, and Itachi was branded an S-rank rogue ninja.

A few days later

Inside Konoha Hospital

Josuke, who had been unconscious, jolted awake, gasping heavily.

"Itachi...!"

His heart ached with grief—his beloved brother... his parents.

Josuke clutched his chest. Though he knew this was inevitable, the helplessness still crushed him.

Wasn't it all because he was too weak?

Josuke gripped the bedsheet tightly, his pupils shifting as the Sharingan activated.

Suddenly, everything around him seemed clearer, but his Chakra drained steadily.

"Brother..."

The voice pulled Josuke back from his rage.

He turned and saw Sasuke beside him.

Sasuke seemed to have grown already; the childishness on his face had been replaced by hatred.

Bitterness filled Josuke's heart.

"Mom... Dad..."

At the mention of his parents, Sasuke erupted in fury!

"It's all because of that man—he deserves to die!"

"I swear I'll kill him! I'll avenge our parents!"

Josuke said nothing, only listened quietly.

A few days passed, and both were discharged from the hospital.

Back home, the bloodstains had been washed clean.

The marks of battle had been erased, as if nothing had ever happened. But when they opened the door, they no longer heard their mother Mikoto's voice of concern...

Outside, there was no more laughter or play from the clan's children.

The house was desolate.

Just then, an Anbu ninja who had been waiting for some time appeared in a flash.

He handed each of them a wallet.

"This is your living allowance for one month—ten thousand ryo each. That's all you get. The Uchiha assets are temporarily under Konoha's management. When you come of age, go to the Hokage to claim them."

With that, the Anbu ninja vanished in an instant.

Only the two of them and the silent house remained.

Josuke took the money.

He returned to his own room.

...(People always have to look forward, always have to face life.)

Josuke and Sasuke went back to their class.

Compared to his former liveliness, Josuke now seemed to have lost his soul, wearing a look of disappointment all day long.

He finally understood Sasuke's feelings now. Even knowing the plot, it was still like this, let alone his younger brother—growing up in revenge, living in pain...

"Josuke... are you okay?"

Seeing Josuke downcast for days, Ino cast a concerned glance his way.

Josuke gave a faint smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Ino..."

Before he could finish, Josuke didn't feel like saying more.

The Single Tomoe Sharingan was already under Josuke's control. Though it was pretty useless now, it was better than nothing, right?

The two brothers, Josuke and Sasuke, were no longer like before. When they got home, each trained separately. Since all the forbidden techniques and high-level scrolls of the Uchiha Clan had been confiscated by Konoha.

Josuke could only learn C-rank Ninjutsu for now.

But what he didn't expect was that his careless actions a few days ago would bring him an unexpected gain.

That day after school.

"Josuke! Josuke!!! Wait for me!"

Josuke, about to head home and practice Chakra Extraction, turned around.

Rock Lee was calling out urgently.

So Josuke asked, puzzled.

"What's up, Rock Lee?"

Rock Lee came up to Josuke and whispered in his ear, "My teacher wants to see you!"

Josuke then remembered the two boasts they'd made at the start of the school year.

He hadn't expected Rock Lee to still remember them.

Rock Lee continued, "My teacher was on a mission before and just got back to the village. The day before yesterday, I went to see him and told him about you. He got so excited he told me to bring you over right away!!!"

Josuke was a bit moved. As expected of my bro Lee.

Without any extra words, Josuke nodded and followed Rock Lee to the Konoha Ninja Training Ground.

At that moment, a man in a Konoha flak jacket with a mushroom head was already waiting there!

Seeing his teacher, Rock Lee shouted excitedly, "Teacher, we're here! Let's burn our youth together today!!!!!"

Tch, so passionate.

The man turned around and saw Josuke arriving with him.

He noticed the Uchiha emblem but didn't think much of it.

Showing a confident smile, he did a backflip and landed in front of the two.

Rock Lee looked at him with utter admiration!

The man pointed at himself and introduced.

"Young man, I am the Blue Beast of Konoha! Taijutsu ninja Might Guy, at your service!"

With that, he gave Josuke a thumbs up.

It was Josuke's first time seeing Emperor Gai in person, and he was excited inside.

So this was the Gai who almost kicked his way to a finale? Truly youthful enough.

Josuke looked at Gai and asked, "Teacher, I was brought here by Rock Lee. He said you're really strong."

After speaking, Josuke glanced toward Rock Lee, making him a bit embarrassed.

Might Guy grinned.

"Young man, what I teach requires hard work and endurance. It's nothing simple. If you want to gain something, you have to persevere!"

"Rock Lee has only learned the basics so far. Can you stick with it?"

Josuke nodded.

"I want to learn from you, Teacher, to protect the people I care about. Maybe I can't learn everything from you like Rock Lee, but I hope to grasp some essence and combine it with other Ninjutsu and Taijutsu."

Hearing Josuke's words, Gai suddenly saw a shadow of his father.

As a Konoha elite jonin, he naturally knew Josuke's identity. But if someone wanted to learn the Eight Inner Gates, he was happy about it—even if they couldn't reach the final stage like him.

At least they'd achieve something, right?