The Third Chapter: Brother, Run!

Sasuke carried Yu and raced through the alleys of the Uchiha district.

The Uchiha district was enormous, with countless narrow lanes and side streets. Sasuke knew that taking the main road might expose them to the enemy, so he chose the backstreets.

"We just have to reach the village streets."

Sasuke thought that after such a terrible incident had happened to the Uchiha clan, Konoha must have noticed. Once the villagers arrived, they would be saved.

"The village will protect us."

Sasuke said this to Yu as he ran.

Students at the Ninja Academy had a strong sense of belonging to the village. After all, every Konoha Ninja had to study the Will of Fire in depth. So in this situation, Sasuke pinned his hopes on the village.

Yu, of course, didn't think that way at all. He knew the Uchiha Clan Massacre had been a decision made by the entire Konoha High Command. Sasuke had survived because he had a powerful older brother to protect him, but Yu was merely a remnant of the Uchiha clan. Konoha wouldn't let him go. He might be as weak as an ant right now, but Konoha certainly wouldn't want to leave any unpredictable factors behind. After all, the Uchiha bloodline was extremely powerful.

Still, staying by Sasuke's side would keep him safe in the short term and give him time to figure out what had happened to him.

The first thing Yu thought of was naturally the Beast God Crystal, his cheat—and the only thing that could save him. The Beast God Crystal had appeared in his hand when he arrived in this world, and he could summon it at any time. But this time, it didn't appear as before.

Instead, a message appeared in his mind:

"Acquired [Low-Rank Monster Bloodline—Slime]."

That was the message from the Beast God Crystal. It meant he now had a Slime Bloodline—or perhaps he was a slime. The Beast God Crystal had perfectly fused him with the slime bloodline, giving him both human and slime blood.

He could now be called a Slime Person, a very unusual species.

Slimes were low-level monsters found in many different worlds. They looked like jelly or semi-liquid blobs, with opaque or translucent bodies that could change shape, split apart, or merge. They were extremely weak, though; even a child could easily defeat one.

But slimes also had extraordinarily strong vitality and could live in all kinds of environments. Even the most ordinary slime possessed near-invincible resistance to physical attacks, making it something of a bug in the system.

Information about slimes appeared in Yu's mind.

Thank goodness I got the Slime Bloodline. Otherwise, I'd be done for. Yu felt a lingering fear. He wasn't saddened by how low-ranked the bloodline was; he was genuinely glad.

Physical damage immunity? That's a bug-level ability. To me, the Slime Bloodline is practically a god-tier power. My cheat was worth it! Yu thought. The Slime Bloodline couldn't have been more suitable for him right now.

Danzo's Root should be in charge of collecting the Uchiha clan's bodies. But I'm just an ordinary Uchiha, and I haven't awakened the Sharingan, so I'm not much use to Danzo. Couldn't I use the slime's properties to play dead, then wait for a chance to escape?

Yu thought it over and decided the plan was highly feasible. Besides Sasuke, he now had another way to save his life.

"Haah... haah, haah... haah!"

Sasuke's breathing grew heavier. His stamina was nearly spent, but he didn't slow down. His eyes remained fixed ahead. He had to make it out.

Sasuke had already reached the edge of the Uchiha district. Konoha's natural environment was excellent; anywhere without buildings was thick with vegetation.

Just as Sasuke crossed a clearing in the woods, a figure suddenly appeared in his path.

Sasuke hurriedly stopped. The sudden halt nearly sent Yu flying off his back, but Yu tightened his legs around Sasuke's waist just in time to avoid it.

Once Sasuke had steadied himself, the figure stepped out of the darkness. Sasuke had been on high alert, but when he saw who it was, relief appeared on his face. Much of his fear vanished, as if he had found shelter from the storm.

"Big brother."

Sasuke called out excitedly.

But Uchiha Itachi's face was cold and emotionless. The blade in his hand was already stained with blood.

"Big brother!"

Sasuke seemed to sense that something was wrong with his brother, but he trusted him without question.

He hurriedly said, "Big brother, enemies attacked the Uchiha clan. Many of our people have been killed. What should we do now?"

Sasuke asked his brother, certain that he would come up with a solution.

But Itachi didn't answer right away. He only watched Sasuke in silence. When he noticed Yu on Sasuke's back, a trace of confusion crossed Itachi's face, but he quickly dismissed it. He had more important things to do.

"My foolish little brother!"

Itachi spoke his line, and his eyes changed. The red, windmill-shaped pupils marked the Uchiha's peerless power—the Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Tsukuyomi!" Activated.

In an environment that felt utterly real, Sasuke witnessed the entire Uchiha clan being slaughtered—and the killer was his own brother.

Under Tsukuyomi, one of the most powerful Genjutsu, time, space, and even mass were all under Itachi's control. He made Sasuke experience everything he had created, planting the seeds of hatred in his young brother's heart while taking all the blame upon himself.

Itachi had originally planned to say more, but there wasn't time. He needed to finish everything as quickly as possible.

In just a few seconds, Sasuke had "experienced" hell firsthand. When the Tsukuyomi ended, all the light had gone from his eyes, as if his soul had been torn away. He collapsed to the ground.

Yu, of course, slid off Sasuke's back and fell to the ground too.

But Itachi still wasn't going to let Sasuke go. He had done all this to give Sasuke a heart bent on revenge. Hatred could make Sasuke stronger. It didn't matter whether Sasuke could bear this pain—Itachi wouldn't hesitate.

"You're not even worthy of being killed by me right now. Don't you hate me? Remember that hatred. Become stronger, then come and take your revenge!" Itachi said to Sasuke. At the same time, he used the power of his Sharingan to influence Sasuke, restoring his mind and engraving the belief that he must "hate himself" deep in Sasuke's thoughts.

"Why?"

Sasuke raised his head and looked at Itachi.

"For power. The power of the Uchiha clan."

Itachi answered.

The two brothers fell silent for a while.

Yu, who had fallen beside Sasuke, wondered what he should do. He had never thought Itachi would spare him. In the eyes of this brother-obsessed fanatic, nobody else mattered.

"You're the last one."

Itachi looked down at Yu.

Damn it. If I'm going to die, so be it!

Yu made up his mind and leaped at Itachi. He didn't try to attack him; that would be even more useless than throwing an egg at a rock. His goal was to restrain Itachi for a moment—and to reach the long blade in his hand.

At the same time, Yu shouted to Sasuke, "Big brother, run!"

Thwack! The sound of a blade piercing flesh rang out again.

Itachi's long blade pierced Yu's body once more. Bright red blood immediately spilled from the wound and dripped onto the ground.

But Yu didn't feel much. He could feel the blade piercing his body and sense its cold edge, but there was no pain.

The only thing he felt was a little dizzy. That was probably a side effect of blood loss. Even he had to obey the law of conservation of energy, and blood was an important form of energy.

Slimes are the best!

Yu shouted inwardly.

But Itachi and Sasuke were both stunned by what Yu had done. Itachi had never imagined that someone would risk his life to save his little brother.

As Itachi looked at Yu, the image of someone appeared in his mind: Shisui Uchiha.

"No!"

Sasuke cried out. His eyes changed, becoming like Itachi's. This was the Uchiha clan's Kekkei Genkai—the Sharingan.

Three black Tomoe spun in Sasuke's eyes. He had awakened the strongest Sharingan form an ordinary Uchiha Ninja could possess on his very first activation, showing just how talented he was.

But Sasuke's Three-Tomoe Sharingan still posed no threat to Itachi.

"Wind Release: Impact!"

Itachi formed Hand Seals with one hand in an instant.

A C-rank Ninjutsu struck Sasuke, shattering the power he had just unleashed. Under the crushing difference in strength, Sasuke had no way to overcome him.

"Use the power of your hatred to grow stronger! Once you have eyes like mine, come and take your revenge. I'll be waiting for you, Sasuke," Itachi said.

Then he disappeared, leaving only Yu's body and the badly injured Sasuke behind.

"I'm sorry."

Itachi appeared on a distant tree branch, looking at Sasuke and Yu lying in a pool of blood.

"It's finally over."

Yu, lying on the ground and pretending to be dead, said this. He had already stopped his bodily functions, including his heartbeat and breathing. As a Slime Person, neither was necessary.

He also had to control his body's healing ability. The wounds on his body had to remain visible, or he'd give himself away.

All he had to do now was wait for someone to come and bury him.

When they bury me, they absolutely can't bury me too deep. It'll be hard to climb back out.

Oh, right. Konoha doesn't cremate people, does it?

Yu wasn't afraid of physical attacks, but elemental attacks could still hurt him badly. If Konoha cremated him, he'd really be dead.

Please, don't let that happen!

For now, all he could do was pray.