Putting on an Act, Fugaku Wakes Up

After knocking his parents unconscious with two blunt weapons, Itachi pulled out a specially made kunai and infused it with chakra.

Whoosh!

A handsome blond, blue-eyed man in a white cloak appeared in front of Itachi.

It was the Fourth Hokage, now the deputy leader of the Revolution Base, Minato Namikaze.

"Is everything done? Were there any slip-ups?"

Minato's expression was serious.

After all, this was a major event concerning the future of the Uchiha Clan. Any slip-up could expose Minato and the revolutionary cause.

"Don't worry, Lord Fourth. Everything's going according to plan. My master is handling the cleanup."

"Good! I believe the Uchiha Clan will be reborn and prosper even more. I promise you that! Go on and continue your mission. Leave the rest of the Uchiha Clan to me."

Minato placed a hand on Itachi's shoulder and smiled reassuringly.

After all, they were fellow clan members. If circumstances had allowed, Itachi wouldn't have wanted them to die either. But they'd chosen the dead end despite all the paths open to them, so Itachi could only strike first to prevent an even greater conflict.

"Thank you, Lord Fourth."

"Ha, no need to thank me. Your Aunt Kushina is friends with your mother, and your father and I are on good terms, too. I couldn't just stand by when something like this happened."

Minato scratched his head.

"Oh, right. Tell Fei Shi that I've delivered the Uchiha children he asked me to bring to his house. Well, I should be off, too."

With that, Minato left with Uchiha Fugaku and his wife.

"Now I just have to follow the script. Wait for Sasuke, find the Third Hokage, then send Danzo a letter and go see my master."

When Sasuke returned from school and saw the clan grounds on fire, panic seized him.

Where were the clan members? Why wasn't anyone putting out the fire? His father should have organized people to help.

Could it be...? No, impossible! It couldn't be!

Sasuke ran home. In the streets, he saw many bloodied bodies burning in the flames. His panic grew with every step. When he rushed into the house, he froze.

He saw something he couldn't believe.

His brother... had pulled the blade away from their mother's throat. A figure lay beside her. It was his father. His beloved older brother... had killed their parents. Killed them. Killed them.

"Oh~ Sasuke, you're back."

Itachi looked at Sasuke with a cold expression, as if he were looking at trash.

In reality, Itachi's mouth twitched uncontrollably. Fei Shi and Shisui sat off to the side, watching the show and barely holding back their laughter, but Sasuke was trapped in an illusion and didn't notice.

"Why? Why! Why did you do this?!"

Sasuke covered both hands in Armament Haki and charged forward, only to be sent flying by an even faster strike.

He charged. He was instantly defeated. He came right back down.

Itachi activated Tsukuyomi with his Mangekyō Sharingan, making Sasuke experience the night of the massacre.

Seeing his clan members—those elderly men and women he'd greeted that morning before going to school—cruelly murdered by Itachi, then stabbed repeatedly even after they were dead, Sasuke flew into a rage... and then passed out, unable to take any more.

"Follow the script. Take care, Itachi."

"Thank you, Master."

"Take care, Itachi."

"You too, Shisui."

After leaving, Itachi went to see the Third Hokage. Once the Third Hokage had made a series of promises, Itachi left him a letter and headed to Fei Shi Manor.

Naruto, Neji, and Hinata had been awakened by all the commotion Fei Shi had made.

"You've got some nerve, Itachi. Killing your father and mother! You really did it! Do you know how badly I want to kill you right now?!"

"Of all my five students, I had the highest hopes for you! And what happened? After everything I taught you, you killed your parents for the sake of power!"

"I really want to kill you right now! Kill you!"

Fei Shi roared without stopping, while the little ones huddled by the door, secretly listening to this shocking news.

"Master..."

"Don't call me that!"

Fei Shi rushed over and kicked Itachi away.

Itachi flew backward and crashed through several trees before finally coming to a stop.

"Ugh!"

Itachi spat out a mouthful of blood.

"You!... Sigh!... Leave. From now on, I have no student by that name... If we meet again, I'll personally purge the clan of you. Get out!"

Itachi slowly got to his feet, leaped into the trees, and vanished after a few quick bounds.

"Sigh. What a disgraceful student."

Fei Shi wore a troubled expression and lay back in his recliner. He took a bottle from the System Space and gulped it down.

One bottle, two bottles, three bottles...

Naruto, Neji, and Hinata kept peeking, trying to figure out what had happened.

Crash!

Fei Shi smashed a bottle on the ground.

"Damn it! What a mess!"

"Senior, what's wrong?"

"Ah, hehe, it's nothing, nothing. Sorry for disturbing you."

Yugao shook her head.

"You must have run into something troubling, Senior."

"You... Forget it! I'll worry about it tomorrow."

He swept Yugao into his arms and carried her toward the house.

"Come on, let's go to bed. Hehe."

"Ah! No~"

"I'm not going to eat you..."

"Ow! My head hurts! Where am I?"

Uchiha Fugaku lifted his head in confusion and looked around.

"Hahahaha! Clan Head Fugaku, you're awake?"

Newly awakened, Fugaku looked toward the laughter and saw a familiar figure.

"Minato Namikaze?!"

"Th-this... Is this the Underworld? That's right, Itachi killed me, so I must have come to the Underworld. But..."

Fugaku looked out the window at the sunlight. The sun felt so warm.

"Big Brother Fugaku, you're fine. Don't overthink it. This is a letter Itachi wrote to you."

Then Minato called toward the door:

"Shisui, come in."

"Shisui? Didn't he die two years ago?"

Click!

The door opened, and a young man walked in. Fugaku was shocked to see Uchiha Shisui, who, as far as he knew, had died two years earlier.

"Clan Head Fugaku, it's been a long time."

"Shisui! You—you—you're alive?!"

"I should have died, but someone saved me. Let me clear up your confusion."

Over the next half hour, Fugaku learned the whole story.

He fell into deep thought.

His son had killed nearly half the clan. Even if it was for the good of the clan as a whole, some of the surviving clan members were still their friends and family.

As a father, he was glad his son had such resolve. But as the clan head, he couldn't bring himself to be happy.

"Show me that Red Ideology of yours. It might help me settle my mood."

"Clan Head Fugaku, please take a look."

Shisui handed Fugaku a book and opened one for himself. As Fugaku read, Shisui explained its contents and meaning.

"Remarkable, truly remarkable. Fei Shi is a monster—a powerful one, with ideas far ahead of his time. I should thank him properly. Without his help, the Uchiha... would probably have been wiped out."