Susanoo

Konoha, outskirts of the Uchiha Clan Grounds. A dense mass of Root operatives waited in silence.

Within the shadows at the very center of the formation, Shimura Danzō leaned on his cane, his lone eye as cold and venomous as a serpent's.

He stared fixedly at the Uchiha Clan Grounds, shrouded beneath a massive Sound-Dampening Barrier and unnaturally silent.

"Siwu, have you found anything?"

He asked the sensory ninja beside him.

With his eyes closed, Siwu could vaguely sense the violent fluctuations of Chakra within, as well as the unsettling, unique pressure belonging to the Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Lord Danzo, there is a special ocular-power pressure within the Uchiha Clan Grounds, but I cannot determine whose it is."

Was it Fugaku? Or Itachi?

Danzo silently repeated those two names. His wrinkled face remained expressionless, but the veins on the back of the hand gripping his cane bulged slightly.

He had never truly trusted that so-called Uchiha genius.

Anyone who could raise a butcher's blade against his entire clan for the sake of so-called "greater good" already had blurred boundaries within his heart.

As for Fugaku, he had fought less often in recent years. No one knew how strong he truly was now.

Danzo was not worried that Itachi would be unable to go through with it. He was worried that, at the final moment, Itachi might waver because of those ridiculous "feelings," or that something unforeseen might go wrong during the operation.

Or perhaps Fugaku had also awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan and easily suppressed Itachi?

Or was this a trap?

Suspicion flickered in Danzo's lone eye.

He had stationed Root around the perimeter. On the surface, it was to prevent any Uchiha from slipping through the net, but secretly, was he not also guarding against Itachi Uchiha?

If Itachi turned against them at the last moment or showed any sign of becoming uncontrollable, Danzo would not hesitate to dispose of this "tool" along with the rest.

"The Sharingan... Uchiha power must either be controlled or sealed away completely."

Danzo touched his bandage-wrapped right eye and arm. The faint throbbing from beneath the bandages made him even more anxious about the situation within the clan grounds.

He longed for more of the power held by those forbidden eyes, yet he also understood the dangers lurking within the Uchiha Clan Grounds.

He waited for a result, for an opportunity to move in at the right moment and seize the greatest spoils.

Meanwhile, in the Hokage Office.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had not gone to sleep. He stood before the enormous window, the ember in his pipe flickering in the darkness and casting light over his weary, complicated face.

His gaze was likewise directed toward the Uchiha Clan Grounds. The night sky there seemed deeper than usual.

As Hokage, how could he possibly be unaware of the Uchiha Clan's recent movements?

And how could he not know about Danzo and Root's secret arrangements?

Even Itachi Uchiha's desperate "choice" was not entirely unknown to him.

He took a deep draw from his pipe, allowing the acrid smoke to circulate through his lungs, as though it could suppress the heaviness in his heart.

"Uchiha... has it truly come to this..."

He sighed inwardly. He had tried to communicate, tried to ease the tension, but the resentment ran too deep. Like rotten wood, it could not be restored.

He did not wholly approve of Danzo's radical methods, but in a certain sense.

This seemed to be the most efficient and thorough way of resolving the festering tumor that had plagued Konoha for decades.

He had tacitly allowed it, while maintaining the appearance of ignorance.

Let Danzo be the villain.

Deep in the Third Hokage's eyes flashed the calmness and helplessness of a politician.

He knew Danzo's ambitions, and he understood that this would further swell Root's influence.

But that was fine. Afterward, he could step in as Hokage, clean up the aftermath, soothe the people, and display his benevolent rule.

He would be the "light" that offered shelter to the innocent victim, Sasuke, after the tragedy.

Danzo and his Root, stained with the blood of their own clan, would bear all the darkness and condemnation.

He had even already considered how to use this opportunity to weaken Danzo's overt power afterward.

It was a filthy transaction: the blood of the entire Uchiha Clan in exchange for Konoha's superficial stability and the delicate political balance beneath his authority as Hokage.

He extinguished his pipe, turned, sat back in his chair, and closed his eyes.

He waited for the slaughter to end, waited for dawn to arrive, and only then would he "belatedly" appear.

With a grief-stricken yet forgiving demeanor, he would accept the fruits of this tragedy and, incidentally... trim Danzo's overly expanded forces.

Yet neither Danzo, waiting coldly in the shadows, nor the Third Hokage, sitting securely above the fray, anticipated at this moment.

That within the Uchiha Clan Grounds, the path of fate had already been diverted by the arrival of an "unexpected" variable.

At the edge of the clan grounds, Itachi Uchiha was in complete turmoil, unsure of what to do.

Just then, footsteps came from behind him. Fugaku caught up!

"Father, you..."

Itachi stared at Fugaku in shock, but he had no desire to fight his father at all.

He even felt that being killed by his father would be a good thing.

But Fugaku had no intention of fighting him.

"Itachi, there's no time to explain!"

Fugaku cut him off, his eyes filled with unprecedented resolve.

"Come with me and fight our way out! For the Uchiha's survival, for Sasuke's true safety! This is the only path!"

Itachi looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar Mangekyō Sharingan in his father's eyes, as well as the unquestionable will within them.

After the shock of Shisui's "revival" and his own extreme inner struggle, he was already utterly lost.

Almost instinctively, he chose to listen to Fugaku.

"...All right!"

"There are a lot of people outside. I don't know whether it's ANBU or Root."

"We need to break open an escape route as quickly as possible."

"Use Susanoo!"

After witnessing Shisui's "revival," Fugaku was more decisive than he had ever been in his life.

Itachi nodded. Father and son said no more. Once they were ready, they leaped out of the Uchiha Clan Grounds together!

From the surrounding shadows, hundreds of Root ninja wearing animal masks emerged without a sound, encircling them completely.

"So it really is Root...!"

Fugaku and Itachi exchanged a glance, each seeing the chill in the other's eyes.

"Susanoo!"

"Susanoo!"

Almost simultaneously, two unimaginably massive surges of Chakra shot into the sky!

Fugaku's violet-black Susanoo and Itachi's orange-red Susanoo appeared with overwhelming force.

They charged toward the Root operatives with unstoppable momentum!

"Th-That's!?"

"What is that!?"

The Root operatives stared wide-eyed. Susanoo, which had not appeared in the ninja world for many years, displayed its might to the ninja world for the first time!

"Boom! Crack!!"

With a simple sweep, a Root ninja was sent flying.

His chest caved in and blood sprayed from his mouth. It was clear he would not survive.

"Aaargh...!"

Screams rose one after another!

Root's formation was torn apart like paper beneath the brutal charge of the two Susanoo!

Kunai and ninjutsu struck Susanoo's Chakra armor, producing only faint ripples.

Yet with nothing more than simple punches, they shattered Root's bones and tore their tendons apart!