Repeated Torment

Before he knew it, six years had quietly slipped by.

How wonderful!

Sitting in the Hokage's office chair, Itachi looked at the blue sky and white clouds beyond the window and sighed sincerely.

Knock, knock, knock!

There came a light knock at the door.

Itachi quickly straightened up, picked up a document and pen, and put on the appearance of someone diligently working.

"Ahem!"

After clearing his throat, he spoke in a gentle voice.

"Come in!"

Creak!

A young ninja with a pineapple-shaped hairstyle pushed open the door and entered.

"What is it, Shikamaru?"

Itachi asked with a smile.

As he looked at the young man before him, his eyes held admiration.

Nara Shikamaru had inherited the exceptional genes of his father, Nara Shikaku.

Highly intelligent, he had served as the Hokage's secretary for six years, handling every matter in an orderly fashion. His abilities were outstanding.

His only flaw was that he was rather lazy.

However, compared to his exceptional capabilities, that minor flaw was hardly worth mentioning.

In short, he was an outstanding Konoha ninja, and Itachi thought very highly of him.

"Lord Hokage, the Chunin Exams begin tomorrow. Will the examination content be the same as in previous years?"

Nara Shikamaru looked at Itachi with immense respect.

"Oh, time really flies. It's time for the Chunin Exams again already!"

Itachi, seated in the Hokage's office chair, raised his head and could not help sighing.

"Keep the examination content the same as previous years. There's no need to change anything."

"By the way, your boy is participating in this year's Chunin Exams too, isn't he?"

Itachi smiled at Shikamaru.

"Sigh... My kid is just average. He's only entering the Chunin Exams to make up the numbers. He'll probably have trouble even passing the second round."

Nara Shikamaru rubbed his brow in frustration, then looked at Itachi with envy.

"Lord Hokage, your two children are the true genius ninjas. They'll definitely shine brilliantly in these Chunin Exams."

"You think too highly of them. This time, the four major ninja villages, as well as the smaller ones, have sent many talented ninja to take the exam. I'll be very satisfied as long as Long and Yue advance smoothly."

Itachi modestly shook his head.

Then, he pushed a thick stack of documents toward Shikamaru.

"Here, Shikamaru, help me out and share some of the burden. I want to head home early to encourage the kids. Please! I'll treat you to a huge meal later!"

Itachi spoke with complete sincerity.

"Sigh... All right!"

Shikamaru helplessly scratched his head.

In order to help his two children perform better tomorrow, Itachi made a special trip to the commercial district on his way home and bought a pile of ingredients.

He planned to cook personally tonight and make the children a good meal.

At that moment, Itachi was walking down the street carrying several large bags. The villagers along the way greeted him one after another, and he smiled in response to each of them.

Soon, he entered the Uchiha compound and arrived at the door of his home.

"I'm home!"

Itachi pushed open the door. However, the house was dim and unlit, utterly empty, with no one inside.

Whenever he returned home early in the past, Uchiha Long would eagerly run over and ask him to teach him ninjutsu. Yet today, there was no sign of that.

"Izumi, I'm home. Are you all here?"

Itachi entered the living room, switched on the lights, and called out loudly.

His voice echoed through the house, but no one answered.

"Is anyone here? Long, Yue, are you there?"

There was still no response.

Itachi's heart sank. It was nearly dinnertime, and Izumi and the others would never go out at this hour.

A terrible premonition suddenly arose in his heart.

Bang!!

The master bedroom door flew open. This was the room he shared with Izumi, but it too was empty.

Bang! Bang!

Long and Yue's bedroom doors were opened in turn. Both rooms were empty!

At this point, only one room in the house remained unopened: the storage room.

Itachi came before the storage room, took a deep breath, and with a bang, violently flung open the wooden door.

Rumble!!!

The sky outside suddenly darkened. Then, a thick bolt of lightning tore through the darkness, bringing a brief flash of light to the world.

It also illuminated the scene within the storage room.

Buzz!!!

The sight before him instantly blanked Itachi's mind. His entire body turned ice-cold, as though he had fallen into an icy abyss.

Izumi's eyes were wide with terror as a long sword pinned her to a long table. Blood had pooled all over the floor.

Uchiha Long's body had been split in half, his lifeless gray eyes staring as he lay in a pool of blood.

The thick stench of blood assaulted his nose.

"Yo, you're back, Itachi. So, are you satisfied with the gift I prepared for you?"

Sasuke wore white, carrying a ninja sword over a meter long on his shoulder. Someone was skewered on the blade—it was Itachi's daughter, Uchiha Yue.

"Aaaah!!!"

Itachi let out a shrill roar, his face twisting into that of a vicious demon!

"I'LL KILL YOU!!!"

His Mangekyō Sharingan activated instantly. Like a crazed beast, Itachi charged at Sasuke without a care for anything else.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!!

Five Black Rods abruptly shot out from behind Sasuke.

Puff, puff, puff, puff, puff!!!

All five Black Rods struck the charging Itachi, piercing his limbs and pinning him to the wall.

One more Black Rod was embedded in his chest.

Itachi struggled wildly and roared without pause, but it was futile. The special energy within the Black Rods sealed his chakra.

"Why? Why would you do something like this, Sasuke?!"

Unable to break free, he could only demand an answer from Sasuke in a fierce voice.

"Hehe! I'll tell you the answer after I finish off this little one!"

Plop!

Sasuke flung the girl skewered on his blade to the ground.

The girl weakly opened her eyes and saw Itachi.

Then, she struggled to reach one small hand, stained red with blood, toward him.

Her little face was filled with agony, and a hoarse voice squeezed from her throat.

"Dad... Dad, save... save me!"

Behind her, Sasuke raised his foot and aimed it at the girl's head.

"Stop! Stop! Stop right now!!"

At the sight, blood vessels filled Itachi's eyes. His entire face twisted as he roared madly.

Sasuke ignored him. His face remained utterly cold as he stomped down.

Bang!!!

A beautiful head burst apart like a watermelon, red and white splattering everywhere.

"Aaaah!!! I'll kill you! I'll definitely kill you!!!"

Itachi went completely mad, violently twisting his body and causing even more blood to flow from his wounds.

Yet at that moment, he could no longer feel the pain in his body, because the pain in his heart was ten thousand times worse.

At that moment, Sasuke's eyes began to change. His pupils became a complex six-pointed star pattern—the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

He looked at Itachi and slowly spoke. There was not the slightest trace of emotion in his voice, only coldness.

"Foolish brother."

"If you want to kill me, then hate me. Curse me!"

"Then live on in ugly desperation!"

"Keep running, running, only to stay alive!"

"Then one day, when you possess the same eyes as me, come before me!"

"Then you can properly become a qualified vessel in my hands!"

However, Itachi could no longer hear any of it. There was only one thought in his mind: kill his younger brother, Sasuke.

Just as his agony reached its limit, the scene before his eyes shattered with a crash!

Huff, huff, huff!!!

Itachi stood at the entrance to his home, carrying his bags as he gasped for breath.

"What was that just now? An illusion?!"

His face was drenched in sweat, and he had yet to recover from the agonizing scene he had just witnessed.

I hope that was all just an illusion!

After praying silently, Itachi pushed open the door.

Plop!!

The bags in his hands fell to the floor!

The bloody scene appeared in the living room once more.

His wife and daughter were pinned to the wall, their blood staining the formerly white wall red.

"Yo, you're back. Look at the gift I prepared for you. What do you think? Do you like it?"

Dressed in white, Sasuke sat on the sofa with his hands crossed over the hilt of his ninja sword, its tip resting on the floor. His chin rested upon the backs of his hands, while his left foot pressed down on the barely breathing Uchiha Long. He smiled at Itachi, who had just entered.

"Aaaah!!!"

Itachi went mad once more. Just as before, he charged forward without a thought.

Then, as expected, he was once again pinned to the wall by Black Rods.

This time, Sasuke killed his son before Itachi's eyes, then delivered another round of those classic lines.

When the pain reached its peak, the scene shattered, and another new scene began—an endless cycle!

His wife being killed, his son being killed, his daughter being killed... scenes of all kinds of loved ones being slaughtered kept looping through Itachi's mind, wave after wave of agony assaulting his brain!

"Aaaah!!! Stop! Stop! Make it stop!"

Itachi clutched his head and screamed in collapse.

After an unknown number of cycles, all the agonizing scenes pieced themselves together in his mind into a single image.

Crash!!!

Accompanied by the sound of shattering glass, the scene abruptly broke apart, and Itachi was finally pulled free from the endless torment.