Brother Sasuke!!!

As time passed, night completely engulfed the Uchiha clan's compound. The cries of battle gradually died away, marking the end of one of Konoha's two founding clans—and the loss of one of Konoha's pillars.

A little boy ran through the Uchiha compound. Confusion, helplessness, and fear filled his eyes.

Hidden nearby were Konoha shinobi, carrying out a sweep to make sure no members of the Uchiha clan slipped through the net. The boy running past them, however, wasn't one of their targets.

Sasuke Uchiha was someone they had to ensure survived. It was the concession Konoha had made to Uchiha Itachi: leaving the Uchiha clan a seed of "hope."

Sasuke didn't dare look at the horrific scenes around him. All he wanted was to get home and find his parents and his brother.

Without all the so-called "protagonist aura," Sasuke was only an eight-year-old boy. What could he possibly do in the face of such a terrifying scene?

Sasuke stumbled several times on the way home. At last, he saw his house, but then his pace slowed.

He was afraid.

Afraid that inside, he would find the same scene as outside.

Sasuke staggered toward home. He also saw a child from the Uchiha clan lying face-down on the ground, not far from his house. A pool of blood beneath the child had begun to congeal.

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke went around the body and headed for home, keeping his eyes fixed ahead so he wouldn't have to look down at it.

But just then, a hand suddenly grabbed his foot.

"Help me!"

A weak cry for help reached Sasuke's ears.

Sasuke looked down. The child he'd thought was dead had reached out and grabbed his ankle. He could even see the boy's blood-smeared face, raised slightly off the ground.

But Sasuke's first thought wasn't to save him. He yanked at his foot, trying to shake the boy off.

Yu's grip was too tight, though, and Sasuke couldn't break free.

Yu still had no idea what had happened to him, but he knew he was alive. The danger hadn't passed yet.

Just as he was about to sneak away and hide again, he spotted Sasuke running toward him. Sasuke didn't look exactly like he did in the anime, but the memories from this body let Yu recognize the frightened little boy at once.

Without hesitation, he decided to cling to Sasuke. It was his only chance of survival. Maybe Itachi would spare him for Sasuke's sake.

He remembered a blade piercing his chest earlier, but now he felt no pain or discomfort. His mind was perfectly clear.

He could have gotten up off the ground right then, but he didn't. He needed to cling to Sasuke's "leg"—his only hope of getting through this safely. In his current state, he was also more likely to earn Sasuke's sympathy.

But Sasuke was just a terrified child himself. He could hardly bring himself to think about saving someone else.

Sasuke pulled hard at his leg, desperate to get away and reach home, where his parents and brother were waiting.

Seeing Sasuke try to "abandon" him, Yu grew frantic. Sasuke was the only "leg" he had to cling to—his lifeline!

"Brother, help me!"

Yu suddenly came up with an idea and called out to Sasuke.

The word "brother" reached Sasuke's ears, and he froze, stopping in his tracks.

His brother was the person Sasuke loved most in the world. His brother meant even more to him than his parents.

He had called out "Brother" countless times, but this was the first time anyone else had called him that.

That one word changed Sasuke's mind.

Seeing that his trick had worked, Yu immediately called out again. "Brother, help me!"

He lowered his voice to a whisper. With the blood smeared across his tender face and the pleading hope in his eyes, anyone who wasn't utterly heartless would feel pity for him.

Seeing Yu's pitiful state, Sasuke couldn't bring himself to leave him behind. Most of all, Yu's calling him "Brother" had broken through his defenses.

Sasuke crouched and took Yu's hand. "I'll help you," he said softly.

His voice still trembled, but his eyes were resolute.

It's only right for a big brother to help his little brother, no matter what. That was what Sasuke thought.

As a member of the Uchiha clan, eight-year-old Sasuke had already begun ninja training and was in very good shape. He wasn't as strong as the shinobi of the war era, who had already gained formidable abilities by the age of seven or eight.

The current Ninja Academy placed great emphasis on building a strong foundation, so shinobi could achieve more. It also helped instill a love of the village in the next generation.

There was nothing wrong with Yu calling Sasuke "Brother." Sasuke was indeed older than him, going by their bodies' ages. Calling him brother cost him nothing.

And in a situation like this, Yu would have been willing to call him "Dad," let alone "Brother"!

Sasuke helped Yu up from the ground. Seeing the pool of blood and Yu's clothes, slashed open by a blade, he was extremely careful as he lifted him.

Yu's injuries should have been fatal to an ordinary person, but he truly wasn't hurt at all. Still, he had to pretend otherwise and make himself look as pitiful as possible. Ideally, he'd appear to have only one breath left. Only by seeming utterly helpless and weak could he get the "big shots" to let him go.

"Th-thank you, B-brother!"

Yu let his eyelids droop and breathed heavily, putting on the appearance of someone gravely wounded and near death. He leaned against Sasuke.

Sasuke looked at Yu, and the resolve in his eyes grew stronger.

"Don't worry. I'll save you."

Sasuke looked at the house not far away but didn't keep going. The half-open door and the two Uchiha shinobi lying dead just inside told him what he needed to know. His home was probably just the same.

Sasuke gritted his teeth, hoisted Yu onto his back, and ran in the direction he'd come from. Now, alongside the fear in his expression, there was a sense of responsibility.

The wings of Yu, that little butterfly, had begun to beat. Sasuke didn't go home. Instead, he ran toward the edge of the Uchiha compound.

Uchiha Itachi, who was at home, fully prepared and enduring an agonizing wait, still hadn't realized the plan had changed. His little brother wasn't coming home.

Konoha's forces had begun cleaning up the battlefield. But when they spotted Sasuke, they immediately hid. According to Konoha's agreement with Uchiha Itachi, Konoha hadn't taken part in the battle, and Itachi would bear the blame alone. They couldn't show themselves, and so they had no way to deal with Yu, who was on Sasuke's back.

"Lord Danzo, Sasuke didn't take the route home as planned. He's carrying a child from the Uchiha clan and leaving the compound," a Root member reported, appearing beside Danzo.

Root members wore masks, too, but theirs were more varied than those worn by the Hokage's personal Anbu. They weren't limited to animal masks.

Danzo stood with his hands behind his back on the branch of a towering tree, watching the Uchiha compound blaze in the distance, his expression unreadable.

As the leader of Konoha's Root, Shimura Danzō had wanted to wipe out every member of the Uchiha clan. But he knew Uchiha Itachi's power was immense. A clash with him would have disastrous consequences for Konoha.

"Send someone to notify Uchiha Itachi. We'll proceed with the plan as agreed," Danzo said after a moment of silence. In the end, he chose to honor the "agreement."

"Yes, Lord Danzo."

The Root member bowed, then vanished in a flash.

Danzo remained where he was. At some point, an old man with white hair had appeared on a nearby branch.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Konoha's Third Hokage, could freely use all seven chakra natures and had mastered every jutsu in Konoha. Known as the "Professor of Ninjutsu," he was one of the most powerful shinobi in the entire Shinobi World.

"Third, you shouldn't be here," Danzo said, gazing ahead.

"I failed to protect what the First Hokage and Second left behind," Hiruzen said hoarsely. His aged face showed his grief.

Danzo's face, by contrast, was utterly cold.

"Everything we're doing is for the village. Once we remove the Uchiha menace, the village will be able to prosper," Danzo said coldly.

Hiruzen turned to look at Danzo.

"Once the bodies have been recovered, Root is not to interfere in what happens to the Uchiha."

It was an order from Konoha's Hokage.

Danzo nodded. Being allowed to recover the Uchiha bodies was already the greatest concession Konoha's council had made.

He was quite satisfied.