"Lord Hokage! We have a problem!" At that moment, an Anbu's voice came from nearby, drawing closer.
Sarutobi Hiruzen froze, a sense of dread rising in his heart. He knew something major must have happened again.
Outside Konoha.
Just as in the original story, after Uchiha Itachi dealt with the two Root Division elites sent to intercept him,
he arrived at the meeting place where he was to meet Obito.
"Finally. How did it go? Is everything arranged?" Obito asked Uchiha Itachi, leaning against a giant tree with his arms folded.
A gentle breeze stirred, scattering leaves in every direction as Obito and Itachi's long hair fluttered in the wind.
"Yeah. Let's go." Uchiha Itachi didn't ask about Sarutobi Shinnosuke's death, much less the disappearance of the Uchiha clan members' bodies.
He and Obito had made a deal, and one of its terms was that he would turn a blind eye to Obito's actions that night.
In exchange, Obito would spare his younger brother
and guarantee that he wouldn't attack Konoha for as long as Itachi lived.
"No. We still need to wait for someone," Obito said, shaking his head.
"Who?" Uchiha Itachi froze. He hadn't expected a third person besides himself and Obito to be involved in the Uchiha Clan Massacre.
"A new member of Akatsuki." Obito replied coolly, then fell silent and waited.
Before long, a figure came flying toward them. With each step, he seemed to teleport dozens of meters. In the blink of an eye, he stood before them.
"Finally. How come that young woman didn't come with you?"
Obito rose and spoke to the figure in the darkness.
"As for Izumi, I already sent her out of the village using the Reverse Summoning Technique. Once she reaches a safe place, I can summon her back whenever I want."
Chiya casually offered an excuse and slowly emerged from the darkness. Under the bright moonlight, his youthful, fair-skinned face came into view.
"Fujiwara Chiya? How could it be you..." Uchiha Itachi cried out in shock, unable to believe his eyes.
"Why couldn't it be me?" Chiya retorted, a faintly amused smile on his face.
Itachi glanced at Obito. "What's going on?"
"As you can see, Chiya is also a member of Akatsuki now. Just as you joined Akatsuki after wiping out the Uchiha Clan to protect your younger brother, he chose the same path to protect that Uchiha girl. As for the Chiya and the Uchiha girl you killed, they were merely doubles created by Chiya using a special method," Obito explained.
Chiya walked over to Obito and, despite the other man's deeply annoyed look, slung an arm around his shoulders. He turned to Uchiha Itachi and said, "Well, Uchiha Itachi, the man who killed his own parents. Surprised? Impressed? Your precious Mangekyo doesn't seem to be able to do a thing to me."
"Of course, you could try using the ocular technique in your other eye against me. But the price of attacking me a second time might be more than you can afford."
Uchiha Itachi looked from Chiya to Obito. From the look in Obito's eyes, he could tell the man was wary of Chiya. After thinking it over, Itachi replied calmly, "I'm no longer a shinobi of Konoha. Since you've joined Akatsuki too, I naturally won't attack you again."
"But I'm curious. Madara just said you made the same choice I did. Can I take that to mean you wiped out a clan in Konoha too?"
"Of course." Chiya smiled calmly.
As the two spoke, Obito had already lost patience. He pushed Chiya's arm away. "All right, save it for the road. We need to get going."
With that, Obito used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished. Chiya followed right behind him.
Uchiha Itachi hurried after them and asked, "Which clan did you wipe out?"
"Danzo used Izumi as leverage to order me to help you wipe out the Uchiha Clan. At the same time, he ordered you to kill Izumi and me, and Sarutobi Hiruzen chose to let it happen. I've always believed in paying people back for what they do to me. Which clan do you think I wiped out?"
Chiya glanced at Uchiha Itachi and smiled teasingly.
"The Sarutobi and Shimura Clans?" Uchiha Itachi realized.
He looked back at Konoha once more. Bewilderment, shock, and worry flashed in his eyes, along with a hint of unnoticeable delight.
In the end, all that escaped him was a long sigh. He followed Chiya and Obito, and the three vanished into the darkness.
He sighed inwardly. It seemed Konoha really was about to change.
Elsewhere, the Konoha Anbu had just finished gathering the Uchiha clan members' bodies. Before they could even catch their breath, they were once again placed on the highest alert
and urgently assembled.
Their target was none other than
the Sarutobi Clan Compound.
Corpses lay everywhere. Blood stained the earth and buildings, and the dead had met horrific ends.
Even Kakashi and the others, who had seen the devastation at the Uchiha Clan Compound, couldn't help but sigh. Just how deep did the hatred run for someone to commit such an atrocity?
They hadn't even spared the chickens and dogs.
At that moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt dizzy and was on the verge of going mad with rage.
He had only just pulled out the thorn in his side that was the Uchiha Clan when he received news of his eldest son's death.
And before he'd had time to recover, another piece of terrible news arrived.
His youngest son had been mutilated below the waist and suffered severe chest injuries. Three of his ribs were broken. Dragging himself out of the Sarutobi Clan Compound with his grievous injuries, he finally collapsed in the street from blood loss. Anbu on patrol found him and took him to the Medical Department.
Following a trail of blood into the Sarutobi Clan Compound, the Anbu found a scene every bit as shocking as the one at the Uchiha Clan Compound.
The entire clan had been wiped out. Corpses lay everywhere, and almost no one had survived.
Looking at the bodies of his clansmen scattered across the ground, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt his heart bleed.
His family's guiding principle had always been to prosper quietly without attracting attention.
The Sarutobi Clan had grown from an obscure little family into a great clan rivaling the Uchiha. It was all the result of his painstaking efforts and careful management.
It was the foundation he had relied on throughout his career as Hokage.
It was the last thing he could count on.
He had thought that once the Uchiha Clan was wiped out, the Sarutobi Clan would face no more threats in Konoha. They would dominate the village and become the undisputed number one clan.
The Hokage Position, too, would remain in the hands of the Sarutobi Clan for generations.
But instead—damn it!
They'd all been wiped out overnight.
The only ones left alive, his youngest son and grandson, had both been castrated.
He himself was old.
His wife had died years ago.
Even if she hadn't,
he couldn't get it up anymore.
The Sarutobi Clan had become extinct.
How could he stay calm?
How could he remain composed?
The more Sarutobi Hiruzen thought about it, the angrier, sadder, and more furious he became. His vision went black. Unable to catch his breath, he fainted on the spot.
Before you continue