Fugaku Uchiha regretted it.
To accommodate the will of the clan, he had grown increasingly dissatisfied with Itachi's actions. That dissatisfaction had been the final push behind his approval of this spar.
"Advanced Explosive Tags!"
Feeling the increasingly intense energy fluctuations, he instantly identified the grade of the Explosive Tags hanging beneath the Kunai.
Even a taijutsu-specialist jonin would not dare claim he could emerge unscathed from the blast of three Advanced Explosive Tags, much less Itachi, who had already exhausted his chakra.
At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to take his beloved son's place and bear this sneak attack himself!
Izumi's face turned deathly pale.
Her paper-white lips were stained crimson.
She had never imagined that Arata would throw Explosive Tags at Itachi, who was likewise out of fighting strength, at the very last moment! He was clearly trying to take Itachi's life!
Suddenly, Izumi recalled the night before last.
Arata's words: "Sorry."
They seemed to carry a deeper meaning, but she had failed to notice it.
The furious rebukes of the surrounding clansmen nearly tore the sky apart. Some hotheads had already rushed toward where Arata had fallen.
The Uchiha were a clan that worshipped strength.
The earlier direct confrontation had already earned Arata everyone's recognition.
For an eight-year-old to force Itachi, the clan head's son, into such a state was nothing short of a miracle!
But that final Explosive Tag had provoked public outrage. Even Inabi and Tekka, who had always been at odds with Itachi, could not help frowning, believing Arata had gone too far.
A spar within the clan should be fair and open.
A win was a win, a loss was a loss. What did a sneak attack from behind count for?
The only person who could vaguely guess the truth was Yashiro Uchiha.
That day, the child had said:
"Itachi is no longer suited to remain in the Anbu, and I would be more suitable than him."
"I am Arata of the Uchiha!"
So that was it.
So his dissatisfaction over having his name ranked beneath Itachi's had all been a lie.
Arata truly wanted to eliminate this unstable factor for the clan, exactly like the killing intent he had revealed when he wanted to enter the Anbu!
"Foolish child."
Yashiro Uchiha stared blankly at the boy who had exhausted every last ounce of strength, willing to drag his own reputation through the mud just to eliminate a threat to the clan. His heart twisted in pain.
At that moment, Itachi was the most helpless of all.
He had truly underestimated Arata's determination to kill him.
In the mental world Arata had constructed, he had mercilessly stabbed him a full 243 times with a Katana over the course of an hour!
Even a professionally trained ninja would suffer a mental breakdown under such torture.
What kind of obsession could make him so determined to kill him? What sort of will had that Masked Man instilled in him? Otherwise, how could a mere eight-year-old boy have persisted until now?
He did not believe it.
Even he himself, at that age, did not think he could have done this much.
"Am I going to die?"
Watching the Explosive Tags, sparks dancing across them as they drew closer and closer, Itachi instead felt an overwhelming calm.
He truly had no strength left. He still had a little chakra, but his numb left arm could not be moved in the slightest. He had never expected eight-year-old Arata to possess stamina and chakra nearly equal to his own.
At this final moment, Itachi wanted more than anything to see his little brother one last time.
Sasuke, who chased after him every day, calling him "Nii-san."
"Sorry. I always used missions as an excuse to turn down your requests."
"Sorry."
But.
Just as Itachi calmly accepted his fate.
A familiar presence suddenly descended at his side.
At the same time, an exceptionally familiar whisper reached his ears.
"Yo, giving up already?"
"That isn't the Itachi I know."
The owner of that voice was!
It was!
Despair filled Arata's eyes.
Bone-deep despair!
He had given up everything to drag that ungrateful wretch down to hell with him. Success had been within arm's reach, but!
"Cough."
A mouthful of blood spilled from his lips.
In his gradually blurring vision, a dark green giant stood before Itachi.
And the violent energy unleashed by those three Explosive Tags could not shake it in the slightest!
"Shisui!"
"Body Flicker Shisui!"
After all his calculations, he had overlooked the man who had only just returned!
Boom.
Thunder exploded across the darkened sky, and torrential rain poured down in sheets.
What had begun as a grand event for the clan, a day meant to witness two geniuses, ended like a farce.
Itachi, the clan head's son, had nearly been killed in a sneak attack; Arata, the clan's pride, had been branded despicable. All the cheers and goodwill he had earned earlier shattered in that instant.
"Clan Head, how should we deal with him?"
Two Police Force members tossed the unconscious Arata onto the grass, their words laden with disdain.
So what if he had two Kekkei Genkai? So what if he had created his own swordsmanship?
For the sake of his own reputation, he had resorted to such despicable methods. The proud Uchiha did not need clansmen who attacked from behind!
"Yashiro, what do you think?"
Seeing that his beloved son was unharmed, Fugaku Uchiha's mood eased somewhat. He immediately threw the question to the clan elder beside him.
Yashiro had been the one teaching Arata all this time, and he had also been the one who raised Arata's request for a spar.
Watching the blood at the corner of Arata's mouth, Yashiro Uchiha felt worse and worse. He wanted nothing more than to pick him up at once and rush him to Konoha Hospital for treatment.
But given the current situation, he could only force those feelings down.
"Arata is my student. I bear responsibility for this situation, and I am willing to accept the clan's punishment alongside him."
Yashiro's words were resolute.
In the entire clan, only he, and he alone, could understand the boy's intentions.
Though such actions were too extreme, they also made one thing clear: Arata had acted for the sake of the entire clan!
Fugaku Uchiha was not surprised by Yashiro's answer, but he was not satisfied in the slightest.
His beloved son had nearly died.
And now the other man was taking all the responsibility onto himself. Did he think that would so easily wash away Arata's crimes?
Any ninja village had absolutely zero tolerance for the attempted murder of comrades.
Much less a clan with even stronger cohesion.
"But."
"During those three minutes, we have no idea what Itachi did with his Sharingan!"
At that moment, Yashiro Uchiha abruptly changed the subject and directly turned the spearhead toward Itachi.
"His ocular power was completely exhausted in just three minutes. We do not know what kind of suggestion or torment Itachi inflicted upon Arata!"
His voice grew ever more forceful.
The Sharingan was also known as the Eye of Hypnosis. It could easily draw out the most despairing memories of its target and inflict direct mental torture!
"I am not trying to defend Arata. He will naturally bear every last bit of responsibility for his crimes."
"But before that, we must ask what Itachi did to Arata during those three minutes before deciding who is at fault!"
This was the first time Yashiro Uchiha had confronted the clan head head-on. In the past, he had been Fugaku's right-hand man and his staunchest supporter.
"Arata is an Uchiha orphan."
"He is Arata of the Uchiha!"
Staring into Fugaku's eyes, Yashiro added each word with deliberate emphasis.
Before you continue