Night of the Uchiha Massacre

Year 59 of Konoha, night.

A full moon hung high in the sky, cold and serene.

On the outskirts of Konoha's ninja village, the Uchiha Clan compound was unusually quiet tonight. During the day, every clan member had been notified and orderly brought to gather at Naka Shrine.

Creak~

Pushing open the doors of the most luxurious building in the Uchiha compound, Uchiha Yoru stepped inside.

"Yoru, what exactly have you been doing today? Why did you suddenly order the entire clan to gather? Why was even your mother taken there?"

Fugaku Uchiha sat upright in the center of the room, his expression stern as he looked at the current head of the Uchiha Clan—his eldest son, Uchiha Yoru.

Ever since his eldest son had stripped him of the position of clan head half a year ago, he had rarely taken the initiative to speak.

"Has Itachi not returned today?"

Rather than answer Fugaku's question, Uchiha Yoru asked one of his own.

"He has still been carrying out Anbu missions lately. He hasn't returned yet."

"Then it should be within the next couple of days."

Yoru nodded.

By his calculations, the night of the clan massacre that had filled him with dread for over a decade was finally about to arrive!

Ever since he had been sent into this world by a large truck sixteen years ago, Uchiha Yoru had always felt that none of this was real.

Was this really the Naruto he had watched? Why did Fugaku Uchiha have three sons, and why had he somehow become Itachi's older brother?

He awakened his Sharingan at ten and became a chunin at thirteen. Even among the genius-filled Uchiha Clan, Yoru had been an undisputed talent. Yet compared to his younger brother Itachi's gifts, he still seemed somewhat mediocre.

So Yoru had wanted to move Itachi with love and cultivate their bond from an early age.

But ever since Fugaku had taken him to the battlefield at the age of four, the once lively and cheerful Itachi had slowly stopped smiling, wearing a grave expression every day.

"Brother, why do lives fight?"

Uchiha Yoru had been unable to answer that question. From that moment on, though, he knew that Itachi was still the same Itachi from the story. He had not changed any of his brother's beliefs.

As the night of the clan massacre drew closer, Yoru had wanted to flee. Yet he could not abandon his mother, abandon Sasuke, or leave the innocent clansmen around him to escape alone. They had done nothing wrong.

He bore no hatred toward Itachi either, only the pain of being unable to save his younger brother and having to watch him walk further and further down the wrong path.

Amid the unprecedented despair of the coming night of the clan massacre and his grand desire to lead the entire clan to survival—

Uchiha Yoru finally awakened the clan's ultimate power.

The Mangekyō Sharingan.

After sensing the new power within his eyes, Yoru finally found the most suitable way to break the deadlock for the Uchiha Clan.

"Father, have you awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?"

Seated on the tatami, Uchiha Yoru looked at Fugaku across from him and suddenly spoke.

"What are you talking about? Are you trying to flaunt your new power?"

Fugaku frowned slightly, looking at his eldest son with faint dissatisfaction. His eyes were filled with sorrow.

Half a year ago, Uchiha Shisui, the Uchiha Clan's genius, had disappeared. Many clan members suspected he had been murdered by Konoha's Anbu. At a time of turmoil within the clan, Uchiha Yoru had revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan before everyone.

Those were the same eyes Uchiha Madara had possessed back then.

With those eyes, Uchiha Yoru had instantly won the support of every radical faction member and pulled the ever-indecisive Fugaku down from the position of clan head.

"The war has only just ended. Do not cause trouble. Peace was hard-won. Though it may be brief, we must still strive to preserve it. That is the Uchiha Clan's responsibility. Konoha is not as simple as you think."

Fugaku tried to persuade him with heartfelt anguish.

Looking at Fugaku's flawless expression, Yoru realized that trying to determine whether Fugaku possessed the Mangekyō through a sudden question was indeed too naive.

"Itachi has awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan as well," Yoru suddenly revealed.

"What?"

Upon hearing those words, Fugaku could no longer maintain his composure. Itachi was only thirteen this year—had he also awakened the Uchiha Clan's ultimate power?

"I know Konoha is not easy to deal with. Even if I have awakened the Mangekyō, I am most likely no match for the Third Generation. Not to mention Danzo, Might Guy, Kakashi, Jiraiya, and the others in the village. Itachi is on their side too. I will not lead the Uchiha Clan to its own destruction."

"Yoru, then why did you..."

Fugaku was truly shocked this time. He had always believed that Yoru had seized his position as clan head at the gathering and promised the radicals a coup because power had clouded his mind.

"I lied to them."

Uchiha Yoru suddenly smiled, as happily as he had when he was a child.

"You cannot reason with them. Nor do I have enough time to persuade them. Just like this time, I deceived them by saying we were preparing for a formal coup, making them send every man, woman, elder, and child in the clan to hide at Naka Shrine.

"But I never intended to stage a coup. I used the Mangekyō to place new power within Naka Shrine. Everyone who goes there will be sent out of Konoha by me. Konoha no longer has a place for us."

"Yoru, you are too naive. Where can we flee to in the Ninja World? Besides, Konoha is where we have lived for generations. The Third Generation will not exterminate us all. As long as we..."

Fugaku was truly moved. Looking at his eldest son before him, he felt as though he had never understood him.

"That is why I had to become clan head, Father. You are too indecisive. The Third Generation is not as merciful as you think, and Konoha has never been where we lived for generations. Konoha was founded only a few decades ago. Since there is no place for us here, why not leave?"

"Must it really come to this?"

Fugaku closed his eyes, still seeming somewhat reluctant.

Uchiha Yoru merely smiled and did not answer.

Only after a long while did he speak again.

"There have been many hidden rats around the outskirts of the Uchiha compound these past two days. That is why I guessed they would act tonight. Aside from Konoha, someone else has also set their sights on the Uchiha Clan—a very powerful enemy.

"I cannot bear to leave Itachi alone in Konoha, but I also fear that I cannot take him away with my strength alone.

"So, Father, I need you. Have you awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?"

Yoru asked the question once more.

By now, under his arrangements, the Uchiha Clan's thousand-odd members had successfully left Konoha. Only he and Fugaku Uchiha remained in the entire compound.

At this point, Fugaku could no longer stop his decision.

If Fugaku had not awakened the Mangekyō, then Yoru would send him out of Konoha.

If Fugaku truly had awakened the Mangekyō, then Yoru would need to rely on Fugaku's formidable strength to face the enemies who were about to arrive.

"Though there are still many things I do not understand, I trust you. Go ahead and do what you must, Yoru."

Fugaku Uchiha stared at Yoru. In an instant, his black pupils turned crimson. Three black tomoe spun wildly within them, their shapes beginning to twist and stretch...

The intricate pattern in Fugaku's eyes was the unmistakable mark of the Mangekyō.