Danzō! I Said No!

The year is 55 of the Konoha era. A blood-red moon hangs in the sky, and a murderous aura permeates the entire Uchiha Clan District, yet no one notices.

Uchiha Itachi puts on his gear and sheathes his short blade.

He reaches out his right hand, gently stroking the Konoha forehead protector he is so proud of, his gaze becoming incredibly firm.

The location of the foolish Jade Foot Matrix, at thirteen years old, I am so lonely, so tired.

Uchiha Itachi mutters to himself.

The first household is Uchiha Kentai's home.

Kentai is a middle-ranking member of the clan with a gentle personality. Every time he sees Itachi, he greets him warmly. Itachi sneaks into the courtyard in silence.

Through the paper door, he sees Kentai kneeling before a low table, grading student assignments.

He teaches at the Ninja Academy. Yo's Sharingan glows with an eerie red light in the darkness.

The Three-Tomoe spin slowly. He sees the chakra pathways flowing within the static body and the most vulnerable artery in the neck.

The paper door is pulled open silently. Kentai looks up, a gentle smile still on his face.

Itachi-kun, so late?

A flash of steel passes. Warm blood sprays from Kentai's throat.

His eyes widen, looking in disbelief at the young clan leader he once took such pride in.

The assignment book is soaked in blood. The name of the student being graded, Uchiha Sasuke, is gradually stained red.

He sees his wife rush out from the kitchen, still holding the late-night snack she prepared for her husband.

Kentai, what is— Her question remains stuck in her throat forever.

Itachi's blade pierces her heart. The bowl and chopsticks shatter on the floor, and the miso soup spills everywhere.

The sound of a child crying comes from upstairs.

Itachi walks up the stairs, his footsteps as light as a cat's.

Four-year-old Uchiha Shota stands in the hallway, clutching a doll and rubbing his eyes.

Dad? Mom? A cold light flashes. The head of the doll and the head of the boy fall to the floor at the same time. Inside, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Supreme Danzo are having their daily bickering.

The cane in Supreme Danzo's hand slams into the floor with a sharp bang.

Hiruzen, Itachi is about to make his move. We must go to assist.

I have already assembled the Anbu members. I know your Anbu members have long been assembled as well.

Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly takes a puff of his five-million-ryō-per-bag tobacco.

No, we cannot lay a hand on our comrades in the village!

Supreme Danzo's single eye widens. He glares at Hiruzen, then at Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane.

Koharu, while sipping her three-million-ryō-per-pack Imperial Police Tea, looks left and right, her gaze rotating between the two bickering old friends.

A cloud of smoke is exhaled from the Third Hokage's mouth. He paces back and forth in the room anxiously.

There must be another way.

The Uchiha are our comrades of several decades!

Supreme Danzo snorts coldly. Suit yourself. I am going to act!

For the safety of Konoha, I must go and surround them first!

With that, Danzo prepares to turn and walk outside.

Hiruzen Sarutobi speaks sternly.

Danzo, you may only surround them! Do not do anything unnecessary!

Supreme Danzo turns back abruptly. What did you say?

If the Uchiha react, do you know how many people will die?

The Anbu must act!

No, for the sake of Konoha, I must act!

Danzo, I said no! Hiruzen, I am the Hokage!

Hmph, you will regret this!

After speaking, Danzo slams the door and leaves. Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado look at each other, then speak up. Hiruzen, Danzo's tone may be harsh, but what he says is not without reason!

Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi continues to puff on his pipe, his old eyes filled with sorrow.

It is all my fault for not finding a better way to handle the Uchiha situation.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who has been trying to squeeze out tears for a long time to no avail, continues.

There are spies in the northeast of the village, disguised as our village's ninjas. Command the Anbu to blockade that area and kill anyone on sight. Within the Uchiha Clan District, a black shadow rushes into a courtyard. A ninety-year-old man watching the stars in front of his door has his throat slit by a blade before he can even make a sound.

The black shadow rushes into the house, slaughtering a couple and their two nursing infants. With a flash, he heads to the next house. The entire process takes less than ten seconds.

Every time the black shadow moves, it means another household has been wiped out.

Having just ended the lives of a pregnant woman and her unborn child, the man of the house rushed out.

He was a jonin of the Uchiha Clan, possessing the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. After blocking a strike from the dark shadow, the man roared, attempting to alert his clansmen and call for help, yet his voice was blocked by an invisible barrier and could not escape.

The man stared at the killer's waist, where a peculiar chakra formation sat; it was an Anbu Mobile Barrier Stone.

The dark shadow moved with extreme speed, arriving before the man in the blink of an eye and piercing his heart with a single blade.

At such close range, the man finally saw the face of the shadow. He spoke with fury and resentment, "Itachi, why?"

This was not just a gap in strength, but a gap in power!

Uchiha Itachi did not look at the fallen man again. Turning to head to the next house, his footsteps suddenly paused. He glanced at the corpses on the ground and muttered to himself, "I remember there were five people in the Uchiha family, not counting the unborn one."

Uchiha Itachi scanned the area with his Sharingan and quickly determined the location. He walked up to a wardrobe, opened the door, reached out to grab the fair ankle of a three-year-old girl, and yanked her out.

The little girl's chubby hands desperately gripped the wardrobe as she cried out in broken, childish speech, "Yo, brother, yo, brother, don't kill me, please don't!"

With a swift stroke of the blade, the tear- and snot-streaked head rolled away. Blood sprayed across the floor, and the chubby little hands continued to scratch at the wardrobe, the muscles seemingly unaware that their owner had already perished.

Uchiha Itachi did not delay for even a second, flashing away to slaughter the next household.

A young mother, who was telling her child a story about the First Hokage to lull them to sleep, suddenly felt a chill on her neck. The next second, blood sprayed onto her child's face.

Even so, the young woman, not yet dead, instinctively threw herself over her child, trying to protect them.

However, with a squelch, the blade precisely pierced through the woman's body and stabbed into the heart of the child who had just been startled awake.

A blood-red moon hung high as the demon flickered, and life after life in house after house continued to fade away.

In truth, there were many strong individuals among the Uchiha Clan, but they were facing the clan's top combat power, the Mangekyo Sharingan. Not only was their pride and joy, the Sharingan, completely useless and countered in every way, but more importantly, everyone was at home in their most relaxed state, while the killer was fully armed!