Shatter, Illusion!

"Arashi?!"

Uchiha Izumi stared at the familiar yet unfamiliar figure before her, her eyes widening little by little.

Why was it Arashi? How could it be Arashi?

Uchiha Arashi was her little brother—or rather, that was what he had always called himself. Izumi had never acknowledged it, but deep down, she did think of Uchiha Arashi as a younger brother.

They were close in age, with Uchiha Arashi a year younger than her.

Arashi had lost his parents early, so for the first few years, he was nominally raised by the clan. In reality, most of the people who looked after his daily needs were clan members who lived nearby, including Uchiha Izumi.

In Izumi's mind, Arashi had always been a little brother, and the sort of honest person who had neither much strength nor ambition.

He spent all day tinkering with writing novels, and over the years had managed to finish a few books. Yet even though he had graduated several years ago, he still hadn't awakened his Sharingan. He didn't go on missions, and rarely took part in clan activities. He was someone with an extremely faint presence.

And yet this very person was now standing firmly in front of her, shielding her from a fatal attack.

"Oh? I didn't expect anyone else to come help. It seems Itachi's not killing people efficiently enough."

Looking at the youth standing in his way, Obito's lips curled beneath his mask, forming a cold smile.

"Arashi, run! You're no match for him! Go find Itachi..."

"What for? So he can kill you with his own hands?"

Before Izumi could finish, Uchiha Arashi cut her off.

"You... What did you say...?"

Izumi froze.

She had, of course, heard Itachi's name from Obito, and she knew Itachi was slaughtering the clan. But she still couldn't and wouldn't believe it. She thought the Masked Man was deliberately framing Itachi.

"Itachi's gone mad. He's slaughtering people throughout the clan compound. He's killed all the clan members. Izumi, stop clinging to false hopes. Uchiha Itachi is the culprit," Arashi said quietly.

Then he abruptly thrust out both hands, shoving Obito away. With a swift slash, he cut through the chains and rescued Izumi from Obito's grasp.

"I can answer any questions you have later. But for now, you should get somewhere safe."

As he spoke, he held his right hand level, and black matter welled up from his palm, merging with the shadow beneath his feet.

The next moment, the shadow beneath Izumi surged upward, enveloping her whole body. Then it contracted, and Uchiha Izumi vanished inside it.

"?!"

The sight made Obito instantly wary.

What kind of power was this?

"Who are you?"

He demanded sharply, lunging toward Uchiha Arashi at the same time.

"Who I am doesn't matter... Everything you've done to the Uchiha, I'll repay one day. Until then, you'd better stay alive. Don't go dying at someone else's hands first."

Uchiha Arashi's expression was cold as shadows enveloped him too.

Before Obito's attack could reach him, he moved first, transferring himself into Shadow Space.

Obito's attack missed. He immediately pushed his Sharingan to its limits, hoping to find the other man's whereabouts.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find even the slightest useful trace.

"Could it be a Mangekyo ability...?"

The ability was clearly related to space-time, and Obito knew better than anyone how troublesome such techniques could be.

"I never imagined someone like this was still hiding within the Uchiha. You were lucky to get away this time. Next time, I won't let you escape."

Inside Shadow Space, Uchiha Arashi personally helped Izumi out of her chains.

A group of little children hurried over to her. Some knew her, while others didn't, but at that moment they all instinctively saw her as an adult they could rely on.

"Little Brother Arashi, just now you said... You said Itachi..."

Uchiha Izumi still hadn't fully recovered. Her thoughts were stuck on what had happened just seconds earlier.

"Yeah. He's the one who slaughtered the clan. These children's parents were all killed by him. If you don't believe me, you can ask them."

As Uchiha Arashi spoke, he straightened up.

Izumi looked at the children gathered around her. Though she didn't want to accept it, she was gradually beginning to believe Arashi.

"But why would he... Wait, where are you going?"

When she looked up at Uchiha Arashi again, black shadows had already begun to surge around him.

"There's something else I need to do."

Shadows spread over Arashi. "As for why Itachi did this, I'm sorry, I don't know either. If you really want to know, maybe you'll get a chance to ask him someday. For now, please help me take care of them... like you took care of me back then."

A gentle smile appeared on his face, and then he vanished into the shadows.

Uchiha Izumi looked at the pairs of eyes around her, filled with confusion and fear, and at the little faces streaked with tears. She could only force herself to set these questions aside for now and focus on comforting her younger clan members.

At the clan head's residence, Itachi had already killed his parents and was waiting for his younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha.

He intended to plant the seeds of hatred and revenge in his younger brother's heart.

Uchiha Arashi glanced at them from far away, then turned and headed in another direction.

He had been waiting for this day for a long time. Once he realized he couldn't change the course of history, he began making preparations, intending to build up more resources for himself.

The long blade in his hand and Shadow Space were both the results of his efforts over the years.

As for tonight's spoils, promising young talents were only one part. The other part was the clan members' eyes.

They were dead anyway. It made no difference who got their eyes. Rather than let Obito and Danzo benefit, he might as well take them for himself.

"If I take them, I can help you get revenge. Even if you were alive, you'd agree, wouldn't you?"

It didn't matter if they disagreed. They couldn't refuse him anymore anyway.

Collecting eyes along the way, Uchiha Arashi soon reached the edge of the clan compound.

Ahead lay a riverbank. He stepped onto the surface of the river and walked toward the opposite bank.

Farther away stood a small grove, where he had hidden his greatest prize of the night.

In the dense forest, a group of shinobi stood silently in place.

Suddenly, a dark figure dropped from the sky and landed in front of the group.

"My lord, the Uchiha Clan has been completely wiped out."

"Are you certain there are no survivors?"

Danzo slowly opened his left eye.

"Yes, we've confirmed it," the Root shinobi replied in a low voice.

"Good. Then prepare to move. Bring me all of the Uchiha's eyes... Who are you?!"

Danzo suddenly looked into the distance and shouted sharply.

The shinobi around him all drew their blades.

In the distance, Uchiha Arashi stepped out of the shadows, his body gradually illuminated by the moonlight.

He said nothing, simply raising the long blade in his hand.

"Shatter, Illusion!"