Despair-Inducing Susanoo

Fugaku Uchiha felt regret.

To cater to the will of the clan, he had grown increasingly dissatisfied with Itachi's behavior, and this dissatisfaction was the final push that led him to approve this sparring match.

"High-grade Explosive Tags!"

Feeling the increasingly intense energy fluctuations, he instantly identified the grade of the explosive tags attached to the kunai.

Even a Jonin skilled in taijutsu would not dare claim they could remain unscathed under the blast of three high-grade explosive tags, let alone Itachi, who had already exhausted his chakra?

At this moment, how he wished he could take his beloved son's place and endure this sneak attack!

Izumi's face turned pale.

Her paper-white lips were stained with a flush of crimson.

She could never have imagined that Arata would throw explosive tags at Itachi—who was also devoid of combat power—at the very last moment! This was nothing short of an attempt on his life!

Suddenly, Izumi recalled the night before last.

Arata's "sorry."

It seemed to have a deeper meaning, one she had failed to perceive.

All around, the angry shouts of the clansmen were enough to overturn the sky, and some radicals were already rushing toward the spot where Arata had collapsed.

The Uchiha were a clan that believed in strength.

The head-on confrontation earlier had already earned Arata everyone's recognition.

To force the clan leader's son, Itachi, to such a state at only eight years old was nothing short of a miracle!

However, this final move with the explosive tags had incited public outrage; even Inabi and Tekka, who were always at odds with Itachi, furrowed their brows, feeling that Arata's actions were truly excessive.

Sparring within the clan should be upright and honorable.

A win is a win, a loss is a loss; what was the point of a sneak attack from behind?

The only one who could vaguely guess the inside story was Yashiro Uchiha.

That day, the boy had said:

"Itachi is no longer suitable to stay in the Anbu, and I will be more suitable than him."

"I am Arata of the Uchiha!"

So that was it.

So, the dissatisfaction about his name being listed after Itachi's was all a lie.

Arata truly wanted to eliminate this unstable factor for the clan, just like the killing intent he had revealed when he wanted to enter the Anbu!

"Silly child."

Yashiro Uchiha stared blankly at the boy who had exhausted his last ounce of strength, willing to drag his own reputation through the mud just to remove a threat to the clan, his heart aching with pain.

At this moment, the most helpless person was Itachi.

He had truly underestimated Arata's determination to eliminate him.

One had to know that in the mental world he had constructed, he had mercilessly stabbed him with a katana exactly 243 times, lasting for an entire hour!

Even a ninja who had undergone professional training would suffer a mental breakdown when faced with such torture.

What kind of obsession could make him so persistent in wanting to kill him? What kind of will had that masked man instilled in him? Otherwise, how could a mere eight-year-old boy hold on until now?

He didn't believe it.

Even he himself, at the same age, asked if he could have reached such a level.

"Am I going to die?"

Watching the sparks dancing on the rapidly approaching explosive tags, Itachi felt a sense of peace in his heart.

He truly had no strength left; he had a sliver of chakra, but his numb left arm could not mobilize a single bit of sensation. He really hadn't expected that the eight-year-old Arata would possess physical strength and chakra on par with his own.

In this final moment, how Itachi wished he could see his younger brother one more time.

That 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."

However.

Just as Itachi was calmly accepting his fate.

A familiar presence suddenly descended by his side.

At the same time, a whisper that was exceptionally familiar reached his ears.

"Yo, giving up so soon?"

"That's not the Itachi I know."

The owner of this voice was!

It was!

Despair flooded Arata's eyes.

Bone-chilling despair!

He had abandoned everything to drag that white-eyed wolf down to hell with him, and he had been mere inches away from success, but!

"Cough."

A mouthful of heart-blood spewed from his mouth.

In his gradually blurring vision, a dark green giant stood horizontally before Itachi.

And the violent energy unleashed by those three explosive tags could not even shake it in the slightest!

"Shisui!"

"Body Flicker Shisui!"

He had calculated everything, yet he had overlooked this person who had just returned!

"Boom."

A thunderclap exploded in the dim sky, and a torrential downpour of bean-sized raindrops began to fall.

What was supposed to be a grand event for the clan, a day to witness two geniuses, had ended up like a farce.

The clan leader's son, Itachi, had nearly been assassinated by a sneak attack; the clan's pride, Arata, had been branded with the label of "despicable," and all the previous cheers and goodwill had disintegrated in this very instant.

"Lord Clan Leader, how shall we deal with him?"

Two members of the Police Force dumped the unconscious Arata onto the grass, their words laced with disdain.

So what if he had a Kekkei Genkai? So what if he created his own swordsmanship?

To protect his own reputation, he had resorted to such underhanded tactics; the proud Uchiha did not need a clansman who would launch a sneak attack from behind!

"Yashiro, what is your take?"

Seeing that his beloved son was unharmed, Fugaku Uchiha's mood eased slightly, and he immediately tossed the question to the clan elder at his side.

He was the one who had always mentored Arata, and he was the one who had proposed Arata's desire for a spar.

Watching the smear of blood at the corner of Arata's mouth, Yashiro Uchiha's mood grew increasingly worse; he wished he could immediately pick the boy up and rush him to Konoha Hospital for treatment.

But hindered by the current situation, he could only suppress these feelings.

"Arata is the student I taught. Since such a situation has occurred, I bear responsibility, and I am willing to accept the clan's punishment alongside him."

Yashiro's words were firm.

In the entire clan, only he—and he alone—could understand the boy's intentions.

Although such methods were far too radical, they also served to clarify one point: Arata had done it 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 lost his life.

Now, the other party was taking all the responsibility upon himself; did he think that would be enough to easily wash away the crime?

Any ninja village had an absolute zero-tolerance policy for the wanton killing of comrades.

Not to mention a clan with even stronger cohesion.

"However."

"In those three minutes, we have no idea what Itachi did using his Sharingan!"

At that very moment, Yashiro Uchiha shifted his tone, pushing the spearhead directly toward Itachi.

"He exhausted all his ocular power in just three minutes; we have no idea what kind of suggestions or what kind of torture Itachi inflicted upon Arata!"

His voice grew increasingly high-pitched.

The Sharingan was also known as the Eye of Hypnosis; it could easily conjure the most desperate visions for the target, and it could also inflict the most direct mental torture!

"I am not trying to make excuses for Arata; he must naturally bear the full weight of the crimes he has committed."

"But before that, we must also ask what Itachi did to Arata during those three minutes before we determine the punishment!"

This was the first time Yashiro Uchiha had stood in direct opposition to the clan leader; in the past, he had been the man's right-hand man and his most steadfast supporter.

"Arata is an Uchiha orphan."

"He is the Uchiha's Arata!"

Staring into Fugaku's eyes, Yashiro added, word by word.