What!?
Hearing Uchiha Itachi's words, Sasuke's tears stopped instantly. He stared at his brother in utter shock, his pupils contracting sharply. His head spun, the world seemed to tilt around him, and with a thump, he fell to the ground.
Sasuke looked at the familiar face of his brother. His mind gradually went blank, and he kept murmuring:
"No, no way. How could you have killed Mom and Dad? You're lying..."
"Lying? Heh."
The eerie Sharingan in Uchiha Itachi's eyes lit up as he looked at Sasuke coldly.
In the next instant, Uchiha Itachi used his Sharingan to force Sasuke to relive everything that had just happened.
In the scene, Uchiha Itachi mercilessly swung his Ninja Blade, and one familiar figure after another fell.
At last, Uchiha Itachi rushed into their home. His Ninja Blade cut through the air in a merciless flash of white, and their parents fell into a pool of blood.
Sasuke's eyes widened as he gritted his teeth and watched the scene. His fear had turned into terror, and now into overwhelming fury.
The endless rage drove out every trace of fear. Sasuke was no longer afraid. He wanted to kill the man standing before him.
Uchiha Itachi sensed the fierce killing intent radiating from Sasuke and felt his heart twitch slightly.
Sasuke glared at Uchiha Itachi and screamed in anguish:
"Why? Why did this happen? Why did you kill our clan members and our parents?"
"Why?"
Uchiha Itachi looked at Sasuke cruelly and said calmly:
"Sasuke, you probably don't understand our clan very well. Do you know the history of the Uchiha Clan?"
"What history?"
"Our Uchiha Clan is called an evil clan. The truth is, it has to do with these eyes of ours."
Uchiha Itachi pointed to his Sharingan:
"The power of these eyes far exceeds anything you can imagine. To awaken the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan, you have to kill someone closest to you. I merely did what I was meant to do."
Uchiha Itachi's cruel words made Sasuke stumble back two steps. He couldn't believe that the person saying them was the same brother who had always doted on him.
After a moment, Sasuke looked at Uchiha Itachi, unwilling to accept it:
"Then why didn't you kill me?"
"You weren't worth killing. You're too weak. Why are you so weak? Because your hatred isn't deep enough."
"My foolish little brother, if you want to kill me, then hate me. Despise me, and cling to life. Keep running away, keep running away, doing nothing but surviving. Then, when you have the same eyes as me, come back and face me. Only then will your existence have meaning."
Uchiha Itachi raised a hand and tapped Sasuke on the forehead with a faint laugh. Just as he was about to leave, an unexpected change occurred.
A strange blood-red light suddenly shone in Sasuke's black pupils. Consumed by boundless fury, Sasuke awakened the Two-Tomoe Sharingan right then and there.
"Bastard! I'll kill you!"
Sasuke roared and instinctively pulled Shuriken and Kunai from behind him, hurling them with pinpoint accuracy at Itachi.
"Hmm?"
Itachi heard the air whistle behind him and instinctively dodged to the side.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
What Uchiha Itachi hadn't expected was that, after he dodged, the Kunai and Shuriken struck one another, changing their trajectories. Some of the Shuriken continued after him.
Itachi narrowed his eyes, raised his Ninja Blade, and casually deflected a few attacks, easily blocking Sasuke's assault.
"Your throwing skills are pretty good, but—"
Before Uchiha Itachi could finish speaking, a shout rang out:
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
What? Sasuke could use ninjutsu already? Where had he gotten so much chakra?
Uchiha Itachi stared in shock as a ball of fire over a meter in diameter shot toward him. At the last possible moment, he burst through the door and narrowly evaded Sasuke's ninjutsu.
This kid's got some skill!
Uchiha Itachi couldn't help but marvel. Then, as though he'd seen it coming, he turned and blocked Sasuke's whipping kick with his right hand.
Next, moving with overwhelming speed, Uchiha Itachi dodged Sasuke's punch and struck him with a palm, sending him flying.
He truly hadn't held back much with that blow. Sasuke spat out a mouthful of blood midair, and his consciousness began to fade.
The next moment, Sasuke hit the ground hard and skidded more than ten meters before coming to a stop.
Sasuke looked at Uchiha Itachi through blurred eyes and used the last of his strength to murmur:
"I'll definitely kill you, Uchiha Itachi!"
Then Sasuke's head lolled to the side, and he passed out completely.
Uchiha Itachi looked at Sasuke lying in the distance, a tempest raging in his heart.
He had never imagined that Sasuke, who was only a little over seven years old, would already be this strong. If his own strength hadn't completely outclassed Sasuke's, dealing with him would have been a real problem.
Uchiha Itachi's feelings were tangled beyond measure. At last, they gave way to a sigh full of meaning, and he prepared to leave.
But just then, an overwhelming killing intent enveloped him completely. It was almost tangible, and for a moment, Uchiha Itachi couldn't move.
A voice devoid of emotion suddenly rang out from the darkness:
"Uchiha Itachi, how does it feel to bully the weak..."