The Night of the Clan Massacre

Abin's beady eyes lit up with pure excitement at the prospect of a show: "Sounds like something's going down tonight. All right, I'm on it. Two pairs of Three-Tomoe Sharingan, right?"

"Right." Qianyu nodded. "Bring them back as soon as you get them and hide them in the usual spot."

"Got it!" Abin grinned, then sank into the floor and vanished.

Qianyu stood where he was, taking several deep breaths to steady his pounding heart. He washed his face and looked at his slightly pale reflection in the mirror, trying to arrange his features so he looked like an ordinary student with a stomachache.

By the time he left the bathroom, the moon had risen beyond the hallway windows.

It was a faintly red moon, like a giant bloodshot eye, gazing coldly down at Konoha.

Qianyu hurried back to the classroom. When he opened the door, Iruka-sensei glanced at him. "Are you all right?"

"Much better," Qianyu replied softly, returning to his seat.

For the rest of the exam, he couldn't focus on the questions. His mind was filled with images: blood in the Uchiha Clan Compound, Sasuke's anguished cries, Itachi's cold gaze, Danzo's arm of Sharingan hidden beneath its bandages...

He forced himself to look down and pretend to work, but the hand holding his pen trembled slightly.

In the row ahead, Sasuke had already finished his exam and was checking his answers. The proud young Uchiha had no idea what awaited him.

The Uchiha Clan Compound.

Abin poked half its head out of the ground, its beady eyes darting around as it surveyed the area.

A faint smell of blood hung in the air. A few brief screams sounded in the distance, then abruptly stopped.

Several Uchiha bodies lay in the street, their blood staining the clan crest red.

"Whoa..." Abin muttered. "What a mess."

It sank back underground and sped through the soil using the Mayfly Technique. It didn't know its way around the Uchiha Clan Compound, but the Konoha Military Police Force building stood out. It was the tallest structure in the center of the compound.

As Abin neared the Konoha Military Police Force building, it heard the sounds of a fight. It cautiously peered out from the shadow of a wall and saw two figures facing off.

One was a shinobi in the uniform of the Konoha Military Police Force. The other... Abin's beady eyes lit up. That long hair and those tear troughs beneath his eyes matched the Uchiha Itachi Qianyu had described.

"Why, young master?"

Itachi didn't answer. He moved like a phantom, his Shuriken and Kunai turning into a deadly dance in his hands. The Anbu Ninja managed to fend him off for a few moves before Itachi slashed his throat. He fell to the ground and didn't move again.

"Damn, he's efficient," Abin thought. It watched as Itachi crouched and plucked a pair of blood-red eyes from his kinsman's sockets. Three Tomoe gleamed in each pupil.

The Sharingan.

Itachi put the eyes in a small container, turned, and disappeared into the night.

Abin waited a few seconds to make sure no one was around, then quickly emerged from the ground and slipped into the Konoha Military Police Force building. The place was a wreck, papers scattered everywhere and several Uchiha bodies sprawled across the floor.

That was terrifyingly efficient, Abin thought. No wonder old Madara had once taken an interest in him.

The air was thick with the stench of blood. Bodies littered the streets, their blood gleaming dark red in the moonlight. Nearby, an Uchiha corpse lay with its eyes still open. Three Tomoe continued to turn slowly in its pupils, even in death.

That one would do.

After making sure no one was nearby, Abin quickly emerged from the ground. It pried open the corpse's eyelids with its twisted fingers and inspected the eyes. They were indeed Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and the body had died only recently. The eyes were still viable.

"Sorry about this, Uchiha," Abin muttered, then jabbed its fingers into the eye sockets. "I'll be borrowing your eyes."

Its movements were frighteningly practiced. After all, Madara had taught it how to handle Sharingan. It hooked its fingers and scooped out the pair of blood-red eyeballs intact. Abin quickly stowed them away.

It put the eyeballs in a bottle and filled it with a special nutrient solution. They floated inside as the three Tomoe in each eye slowly rotated, as if they were still alive.

"One pair." Abin stuffed the bottle inside its body. It could temporarily store items inside itself—that was one of its innate abilities.

It continued searching the pile of bodies for a suitable target. The second corpse was a female Uchiha, and her eyes were Three-Tomoe Sharingan as well. Abin did the same as before, removing the eyeballs and placing them in a second glass bottle.

"Two pairs. That's everything." Abin happily stuffed the second bottle inside itself, too.

Just then, it heard footsteps in the distance. Abin immediately sank back underground, leaving only a pair of eyes above the surface to watch.

It was Uchiha Itachi. He was coming out of a building, a bloodied Kunai in his hand. The building behind him was silent—everyone inside had clearly been killed.

Itachi seemed to sense something and turned to look in Abin's direction. His eyes... those weren't ordinary Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Complex patterns swirled in his pupils, shining with an eerie light.

The Mangekyō Sharingan.

Abin froze completely. It melded itself into the earth, not daring to let out even the slightest trace of chakra.

Itachi watched for several seconds, frowning slightly, but ultimately didn't investigate. He turned and headed deeper into the compound, where more Uchiha awaited their slaughter.

Only after Itachi had gone far away did Abin emerge from the ground. It glanced in the direction he'd gone and blinked its beady eyes.

"What a ruthless guy. But... what's that got to do with me? Mission accomplished. I'm out!"

Its body sank into the earth, and it sped through the soil using the Mayfly Technique.

It passed beyond the Uchiha Clan Compound, crossed several streets, and soon reached the depths beneath Konoha. A naturally formed cave lay hidden there, its entrance concealed by a genjutsu. It was the perfect place to hide.

Abin crawled into the cave and carefully placed the two glass bottles on a stone platform. In the faint glow of the luminous mushrooms, the Sharingan inside the bottles shone an eerie red. The three Tomoe in each eye slowly turned in the nutrient solution, as if watching something.

"Perfect." Abin clapped its hands. "Now, I'm going back to report to Little Dried Fish."

It sank underground again and headed toward Qianyu's little house.

At the Ninja Academy, Qianyu finally packed his bag and left the classroom.

Parents from the various ninja clans had come in person to pick up their children.

Ino came back and forth with Inoichi to say goodbye to him. Inoichi eventually reminded him, "Don't go out tonight."

Silence—an uneasy stillness more unsettling than any sound.

Qianyu walked out of the school gates. The streets were almost empty. At this time of day, there were usually a few people out and shops still open, but tonight nearly every store had closed early, and only a handful of windows still glowed with light.

It seemed people had sensed something and chosen to stay inside.

Qianyu quickened his pace toward his secluded little house. The night breeze carried a chill and... the faintest trace of blood.

He returned to the house and pushed open the door. It was pitch-black inside; he hadn't lit a lamp.

"Mission accomplished!"

Abin's voice came from a corner, accompanied by a rustling sound as it climbed out of the floor.

Qianyu turned and saw Abin's twisted white body emerge from the shadows. Its beady eyes gleamed with excitement as it pulled two glass bottles from its body and held them out to him like prized treasures.

"Look! Two pairs of Three-Tomoe Sharingan! I just dug them out of Uchiha who'd barely died. Fresh as can be!"

Qianyu took the glass bottles. The eyeballs inside glowed an eerie red in the dim light, their three Tomoe slowly turning in the nutrient solution as if they were still alive.

His fingers felt slightly cold. It was his first time getting this close to Sharingan that had just been dug out—especially eyes freshly taken from corpses.

"So this is the Shinobi World's hot-swappable hardware."

"You weren't spotted, were you?" Qianyu asked.

"Of course not!" Abin puffed out its chest. "You can count on me! Uchiha Itachi almost found me, but I slipped away fast. He didn't even get a glimpse of me!"

Qianyu nodded and carefully set the glass bottles on the table. He turned on the light, filling the little house with a dim yellow glow.

Qianyu fell silent for a while, his gaze fixed on the Sharingan. They were the symbol of the Uchiha Clan's power—and the source of their tragedy.

After tonight, these eyes would become priceless, because the bloodline that produced them was all but extinct.

"What's happening at the Uchiha Clan Compound now?" he finally asked.

Abin's beady eyes turned. "There's blood everywhere. Uchiha Itachi was ruthless. He barely left anyone alive. I also saw other White Zetsu moving around. They seemed to be working for that Obito guy. They were collecting Sharingan, too."

Qianyu's heart sank. Obito really was involved. The pawn Madara had thoroughly manipulated was now faithfully carrying out the early preparations for the Eye of the Moon Plan.

"What about Sasuke?" he asked. "Did you see Sasuke?"

"I wasn't paying attention," Abin said with a shrug. "I was busy digging out eyes. But judging by Itachi's style, he'd spare his little brother, wouldn't he? Otherwise, there'd be no one left to watch the show."

Qianyu didn't respond. He knew Sasuke would survive, but the price of survival was witnessing his entire clan's slaughter and being tortured with Tsukuyomi by the brother he loved most, before plunging into an abyss of hatred.

Sasuke's monster-hunting story had officially begun.

Qianyu said nothing. He walked to the window, opened it, and looked toward the Uchiha Clan Compound. The blood moon still hung high in the night sky, coldly illuminating the tragedy below.

He remembered Fugaku's complicated, heavy gaze at the barbecue restaurant. He remembered his own veiled warning: "You could try hiding some of the children before it happens."

Had Fugaku understood? Had he taken action? How many Uchiha children would survive the night?

He didn't know. The only thing Qianyu did know was that there was nothing he could change. He was a seven-year-old orphan with no power, no standing, and no control over even his own fate. How could he possibly save anyone else?

All he could do was seize every chance to grow stronger in this cruel world. Strong enough to protect himself, strong enough to... at least control his own destiny.

Qianyu closed the window and returned to the table. He picked up one of the glass bottles containing Sharingan and examined it by candlelight. The eyeballs inside glowed an eerie red, their three Tomoe slowly turning as if telling the tale of the Uchiha Clan's thousand years of pride and tragedy.

"Abin," Qianyu said, his voice frighteningly calm. "Konoha will be in chaos for a while. The ANBU will increase their patrols, and Root will become more active. We need to keep a low profile. An extremely low profile."

"Understood." Abin nodded. "I'll keep out of sight for a while."

"No." Qianyu shook his head. "I want you to keep a close watch on the Uchiha Clan Compound. In particular... see if there are any other Uchiha survivors besides Sasuke."

Abin's beady eyes lit up. "You think old man Fugaku really did hide some children?"

"I don't know," Qianyu said. "But I need to find out. If there are survivors... they might come in handy someday."

"Got it." Abin grinned. "Surveillance is what I do best."

It sank into the floor and disappeared.

Qianyu sat alone in the little house, the candlelight casting wavering shadows across his face. He looked once more at the Sharingan in the glass bottle. The blood-red eyes seemed to come alive in the light and stare back at him.

It had begun. Or perhaps it was already over.