The Mist Village forces withdrew.
Root returned to Konoha.
By the time they discovered Danzo's corpse,
the wolves in the forest had devoured all but his head.
The Uchiha Shrine.
Sasuke was trapped in Tsukuyomi.
Inside Tsukuyomi.
His clan members were slaughtered.
His parents died horribly.
The endless cycle nearly became too much for him to bear.
Whether he could endure it
was up to him.
After all, Sasuke was still very young.
His heart was too fragile.
At Konoha's border,
Itachi stood atop a rock, gazing out at Konoha.
"I really don't understand why you slaughtered the Hyuga Clan."
"Wasn't it the Uchiha who made you lose hope?"
Beside him,
Obito said coolly.
Even beneath his mask, he had never understood Itachi's actions.
Although Itachi had agreed to leave Konoha and join the Akatsuki,
Obito didn't entirely trust him.
So, to make Itachi's promise more secure,
he had specifically captured a girl from the Uchiha Clan...
"But seriously..."
"Itachi..."
"Do you really like her?"
"I have to say, her eyes seem to have a pretty good ability, too..."
Obito snapped his fingers.
Soon,
inside a nearby cave,
the vines binding Izumi Uchiha came loose.
She ran out in fear.
But she didn't see Itachi or Obito.
She kept glancing around instead.
Perhaps she was simply too frightened.
She stumbled countless times as she ran.
Itachi didn't react.
There wasn't a trace of emotion on his face.
Obito stared intently at Itachi's expression.
He wished more than anything that he had some leverage over Itachi.
"You kidnapped a member of the Uchiha Clan just to threaten me?"
"Madara..."
"That's really not very friendly of you..."
Itachi pulled out several shuriken and aimed them at Izumi Uchiha.
Without pausing,
without hesitation,
he hurled the shuriken.
Hearing the shuriken fly toward her from behind,
Izumi's tears spilled down her cheeks.
She stopped running.
She had already accepted that she would die.
Suddenly, a kunai flew toward Izumi from behind.
In that instant, Chuanyu appeared in a flash of golden light.
He caught the kunai and swung it swiftly.
The shuriken were all deflected and clattered to the ground.
"Itachi..."
"You really went through with it!"
Hatred filled Chuanyu's eyes as he stared at Itachi's face.
From the moment Itachi had thrown the shuriken at Izumi,
Chuanyu had accepted that Itachi had betrayed them.
Now, he was his enemy.
He was no longer the kind, gentle big brother Itachi had once been...
"Chuanyu..."
"I'm different from you..."
"And from Shisui, too..."
"Konoha no longer means anything to me."
"Instead, I seek greater power."
"It was because of you that I didn't strike against the Uchiha."
"You should be glad."
"And Sasuke, that useless, weak little brother of mine... How ridiculous..."
"I'll wait for him to grow up, then take his Sharingan with my own hands..."
Itachi replied coolly.
Obito glanced at Itachi, feeling somewhat frustrated.
"I didn't expect you to be so ruthless."
"Let's go..."
"We don't have much time."
Itachi nodded.
Then the two turned and left.
As for Izumi Uchiha,
Itachi hadn't looked at her even once.
He hadn't said a single word to her, either.
Numbly, she knelt on the ground.
Izumi clutched her chest in anguish.
Chuanyu slowly walked over to her.
Then he helped her to her feet.
"Sister Izumi..."
"Let's go back..."
The Uchiha, who should have been wiped out, had survived.
The night passed.
Itachi had exterminated the Hyuga Clan and defected from Konoha.
Only Neji and Hinata were left.
Danzo's body was nowhere to be found.
Root was temporarily paralyzed.
Konoha's leadership was shocked.
All because Uchiha Chuanyu had suddenly appeared.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's hair turned completely white.
Now that things had come to this,
the Uchiha had the chance to negotiate again.
Fortunately, Chuanyu was now able to keep the Uchiha Clan in check.
Fugaku didn't want things to end in bloodshed, either.
So,
at the Hokage Building,
Fugaku went to Hiruzen Sarutobi in person and proposed negotiations.
His demand was that the Uchiha regain the rights that had originally belonged to them.
He also demanded control of Root.
Hiruzen Sarutobi showed no reaction when he heard Fugaku's demands.
The main issue was the Uchiha's exclusive control.
If they couldn't be called upon,
then naturally they couldn't be coordinated with.
But Fugaku made it clear:
if Hiruzen Sarutobi could meet his demands,
the Uchiha would continue to support Konoha.
They would also agree to let Konoha call upon the Uchiha Clan.
In light of Fugaku's promise,
Hiruzen Sarutobi finally gave in.
Danzo was dead.
The leadership naturally silenced everyone who knew about the Clan Annihilation Plan.
After all, the Uchiha had won.
As time passed, the related matters faded away.
The Uchiha returned to their former way of life.
Their income,
their status,
and even their benefits all improved greatly.
The Uchiha also took charge of Root.
Talented Uchiha clan members were selected to join early.
Peace had finally arrived.
A few days later,
Sasuke woke from Tsukuyomi.
Scarlet filled his vision.
He didn't know how many times he had watched his clan members being killed by Itachi with his own hands in that world.
At last,
he awakened a One-Tomoe...
But from that day on,
Sasuke never saw Chuanyu smile again.
It was as if he had become a stranger.
Even when teaching him ninjutsu,
Chuanyu had become extremely stern.
Year 63 of Konoha
By the stream in the Uchiha compound,
Sasuke was knocked flat by a punch from Chuanyu.
He sadly rubbed his head.
Sasuke gave Chuanyu a hurt look.
"Don't look at me with those pitiful eyes of yours..."
"You're the most useless Uchiha I've ever seen..."
"Getting stronger isn't something you can achieve just by talking about it."
"It won't be long before you're completely useless."
Chuan Yu's eyes held a merciless, mocking look.
His words were even more cutting.
Hearing his second older brother describe him that way,
Sasuke clenched his fists in anguish.
"Eight years!"
"You haven't smiled once since Itachi left!"
"I don't know what he did to you!"
"But you don't have to take all your anger out on me!"
"I've been through the same things you have!"
"I really have been trying my best..."
As he spoke, Sasuke couldn't help bursting into tears.
Chuan Yu remained unmoved.
Yet deep down, his heart ached.
With his back to Sasuke,
he let out a helpless sigh.
"You're about to graduate."
"Starting tomorrow..."
"Stand on your own..."
He waved his hand.
Chuan Yu didn't turn around to comfort Sasuke.
Instead, he simply said a few words and left.
Ever since Itachi left,
Sasuke had always believed it was because he was too weak
that he hadn't been able to make him stay.
And so,
as the desire for power took root,
his heart gradually grew darker...
Before you continue