"Hahahahaha! I laugh at Danzo for his lack of cunning and the Third Hokage for his lack of wisdom. If they'd ambushed me with a squad of Anbu here, I'd be as good as dead! Hahahaha..."
Uchiha Jie's wild laughter echoed through the primeval forest on the outskirts of Konoha. Today was a special day for him—and for the entire village of Konoha.
Only, for one of them, it was a fine day to stride toward a bright future. For the other, it was the day shit hit the fan.
"A month ago, Root's surveillance around the Uchiha Clan Compound grew even more intense."
"Half a month ago, the Third Hokage suspended my squad's missions and sent me back to the clan to focus on training and prepare for promotion to Special Jonin."
"A week ago, even the Anbu directly under the Hokage appeared near the compound."
Uchiha Jie stopped beneath a towering tree. He gazed toward the center of the village as he muttered about recent events.
"Tonight is the Night of the Uchiha Clan Extermination. Anbu and Root have deployed almost all their personnel to surround the compound. And the Hyuga Clan ninja who sided with Danzo are taking shifts day and night, keeping watch with their Byakugan."
"When the sun sets and the killing begins, the Barrier Team will be reassigned to the compound. That'll be when Konoha's sensory barrier is at its weakest—and the best time to leave the village."
"The last Anbu patrol before sunset has already left. All that's left to do now is wait. Hahaha."
As he muttered, Uchiha Jie broke into laughter again. Anyone on the verge of gaining their freedom would find it hard not to laugh with abandon.
"It's been a while since I've seen you laugh so happily, Jie."
"Uchiha Itachi..."
The unexpected voice came from nearby. Uchiha Jie didn't need to turn around to know who it was. He knew him far too well.
"Shouldn't you be the star of tonight's bloodbath? What are you doing patrolling the edge of the barrier?" Uchiha Jie asked, astonished.
Tonight was the Night of the Uchiha Clan Extermination, and Uchiha Itachi was its main character. Jie had already made thorough preparations. Once the moment came, he'd be free to soar as high as the sky and swim as far as the sea.
But Itachi had appeared here.
"Lord Hokage is still waiting to present you with your Special Jonin certificate. Why would you want to leave Konoha?" Uchiha Itachi didn't answer directly. He fixed his gaze on the figure with his back to him, staring at the Gunbai embroidered on the black robe as he spoke, each word deliberate.
"Hmph. Is he planning to put that Special Jonin certificate on my grave?" Uchiha Jie gave a dry laugh. His hands, hidden beneath his robe, clenched tightly.
He didn't want to turn around. He didn't dare. Uchiha Jie knew his own limits: in a face-to-face fight, he was no match for his younger cousin. He had never been good at direct combat, and facing those Mangekyō Sharingan was out of the question.
"Uchiha Jie! Are you going to become a rogue ninja?!"
Itachi's voice suddenly rose. He had already made up his mind, but before he'd even stood before his parents, simply looking at his Chunin cousin's back was enough to make him struggle to contain his emotions.
Uchiha Jie was the most popular Uchiha in the village. He was gentle, courteous, and elegant, and treated ninja and civilians alike with the warmth of a spring breeze.
He also loved to laugh—sometimes bursting into hearty laughter, sometimes chuckling softly, his eyes narrowing into slits as he made everyone around him laugh, too.
"Hahahaha." Uchiha Jie chuckled under his breath. "There's only one person who'll become a rogue ninja, and that's you, Uchiha Itachi."
"You'll become the most vicious, most terrifying rogue ninja in Konoha's history. You'll slaughter your entire clan, from the elderly to the infants, from your lover to your parents."
"Oh, right. You don't have a lover," he continued. "You'll wear a mask, stand perfectly straight, and tell Hiruzen Sarutobi in your loudest voice that your mission is complete."
"Then you'll lightly score your Forehead Protector with a Kunai. With tears in your eyes and a new mission to carry out, you'll take one last look at Kage Rock in the sunlight and bid farewell to the village."
Feeling the scorching gaze behind him, Uchiha Jie remained utterly still and calmly finished what he had to say.
"Then you'll hide in a dark corner, clutching Konoha's wanted poster for you, an S-rank Rogue Ninja, while pressing your cold Forehead Protector tightly against your chest, filled with pride."
"You!"
"How noble. The arrogant clan and the village were bound to clash, and you stopped it all from happening. But..."
"Uchiha Itachi, what was the price?"
"Hahahahahaha!"
The Tomoe in Uchiha Itachi's eyes spun wildly, and his Mangekyō Sharingan emerged. Only then did he realize Uchiha Jie was no longer there. A pitiful recording device sat among a stack of scrolls, playing that final laugh as it melted into a wisp of smoke in Amaterasu's black flames.
"You're exactly like your father—cowardly and pathetic. Hahahahahaha!"
It was only a simple illusion, not enough to delay Uchiha Itachi for long, let alone let Uchiha Jie get far. Jie's Body Flicker Technique was still unpracticed, allowing him only to dodge short distances. As for the Flying Thunder God Technique, the pinnacle of such techniques, he was an Uchiha—so this forbidden Ninjutsu, recorded in the Scroll of Seals, was one he couldn't even touch.
By contrast, Uchiha Itachi was much faster. As a close friend of Body Flicker Shisui, his Body Flicker Technique was second to none. He only had to chase along Konoha's barrier for a short while before catching up again.
This time, they faced each other head-on, and Itachi finally saw Uchiha Jie's scarlet Sharingan.
Usually, an Uchiha's two eyes awakened to roughly the same degree. But Uchiha Jie was different. A gold-rimmed monocle sat in front of his left eye, which had a Single Tomoe, making him look like a refined scoundrel. In his other eye, the Three Tomoe turned slowly.
Though Uchiha Itachi possessed the powerful Mangekyō Sharingan, he still didn't dare underestimate his cousin. Itachi had already been fooled once, and without realizing it, his emotions had reached the brink of an outburst.
The light filtering through the trees had taken on a golden hue. Night was falling, and he had to end this quickly.
"What was that black flame just now...?"
Uchiha Jie had been about to prattle on, hoping to buy himself some time, when he suddenly realized the surroundings had changed without his noticing. He was hanging from a foul-smelling wooden cross, with a graveyard all around him.
The dim light cast the surroundings in red, and the oppressive atmosphere left him struggling to breathe.
"Mm, I've never seen this place before, either." He struggled, but couldn't move at all.
"Still, it looks just like a burial ground belonging solely to the Uchiha..."
This was Tsukuyomi Space. Itachi looked at Uchiha Jie's mouth but had no interest in explaining. He simply took out a Kunai and shuriken and silently subjected him to three days and three nights of torture.