The Truth of the Massacre Revealed! Mangekyo Evolution, Intercepting Madara's Wooden Coffin!
The wind and snow continued to howl. The Kusanagi Sword clattered to the ground.
Sasuke stared intently at Itachi, tears mingling with blood dripping from his eyes onto the snow. He was waiting for an answer, an answer that could prove he hadn't been living a joke for the past ten years.
Itachi did not retreat, nor did he dodge that murderous gaze. He looked at those Six-Pointed Star Mangekyo Sharingan that were exactly like his own, and the long-unbreakable, cold exterior finally cracked a little.
"You have indeed grown up," Itachi said softly, his tone tinged with relief.
Before he finished speaking, his pair of scarlet Mangekyo Sharingan suddenly began to spin faster.
Genjutsu Space, Tsukuyomi.
The surrounding wind and snow instantly froze. The world turned into a deathly, blood-red expanse. Sasuke back to reality and found himself standing in the cold, dark underground chamber of the Naka Shrine. This was not an illusion; it was Itachi's most vivid memory, sealed deep within his mind.
The Kakkō flickered violently. Dozens of elite Uchiha knelt on the ground, their emotions running high.
"Clan leader! Haven't we given way enough? They won't even let us into the central town of Hidden Leaf! What do they take the Uchiha for? Watchdogs chained up on the edge of the village?!" An elder with Three-Tomoe Sharingan slammed his fist on the tatami mat, his voice hoarse.
"While the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is still young, immediately use the Sharingan to control him! As long as we have the Nine-Tails- Tails, we'll raze the Hokage Building tonight and make Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo, those old codgers, relinquish their power!"
Fugaku Uchiha sat in the main seat, his face hidden in the shadows where the Kakkō couldn't reach. After a long while, he closed his eyes and nodded heavily.
Sasuke felt a chill run through him, as if he had fallen into an ice cave. He turned his head sharply and saw Itachi in the corner. Ten years ago, Itachi was only thirteen years old, wearing Anbu uniform, leaning against the cold stone wall. There was no murderous intent in his eyes, only a suffocating despair.
The image shattered and then reformed.
At the Root the Hidden Leaf, an underground base where the sun never shines.
"Who do you think you are? A peerless genius?" Danzo's single eye coldly stared at Itachi, who was kneeling on one knee. His tone was calm but carried a deadly venom. "In the face of the state apparatus, can a genius's sword cut through a torrent of hundreds of thousands of people?"
Danzo forward and dropped a short sword, standard dagger for the Anbu, its blade striking the stone slab with a sharp, piercing sound.
"Once the Uchiha make their move, Hidden Leaf will inevitably erupt into civil war. The neighboring Lands of Land of Lightning and Land of Earth, like packs of hungry wolves, will pounce immediately. At that point, it won't just be your Uchiha Clan that dies; the entire Land of Fire will be reduced to scorched earth."
"Choose, Itachi. Will you be wiped out along with these foolish clansmen, or will you personally eliminate this threat to Hidden Leaf...?" Danzo, a cruel calculation flashing in his single eye. "In exchange, I'll spare your brother's life."
Standing in the Genjutsu space, Sasuke looked Danzo Danzo's repulsive face and listened to this relentless coercion, feeling a wave of nausea wash over him. He wanted to draw his sword and shatter the illusion, but his wrist was firmly bound by invisible rules, leaving him no choice but to watch.
The scene changes again.
A blood moon hangs in the sky; the Night of the Massacre.
Itachi gripped the dripping dagger and pushed open the familiar paper door. Fugaku and Mikoto knelt quietly with their backs to him. They didn't draw their swords or activate their Sharingan; they were as calm as if they were waiting for a long-overdue downpour.
"Is that so... You've sided with them." Fugaku's voice was calm, without anger, only deep sorrow.
"Dad, Mom... I..."
Within the Genjutsu, Itachi's hands trembled so much he could barely hold his sword. Tears washed away the blood on his face as he gritted his teeth, refusing to cry out.
"Don't be afraid." Mikoto's back was to her son, her voice as gentle as if she were soothing him to sleep. "This is the path you've chosen. Compared to the pain you'll bear later, our pain is only momentary."
Itachi could no longer hold on and collapsed to his knees, tears streaming down his face.
"Itachi, promise me one last thing." Fugaku closed his eyes, his tone resolute, "Take care of Sasuke."
The blade rose, then swung down heavily. Blood splattered across the pristine white paper door.
"No!!" Sasuke screamed in agony within the Genjutsu. He rushed forward like a madman, trying to block the sword, but his hands passed straight through the phantom images of his parents, leaving nothing behind.
Amidst the pool of blood, the scene shifts to its final moment.
Young Sasuke slept soundly inside the house, completely unaware that the outside world was a living hell.
Itachi stood outside the door, his back against the wooden door. He covered his mouth, his body sliding down the door panel little by little until he knelt heavily in the corridor. This demon who had just slaughtered his entire clan was now crying like a child who couldn't find his home. He buried his head deep in his knees, his shoulders convulsing violently.
For a very, very long time.
The night wind in the corridor dried the bloodstains. Itachi slowly stood up and put on his Anbu mask. The moment he Opening Gate, his brother, who could cry and feel pain, was already dead. Walking in was a cold-blooded murderer.
The Genjutsu dissipated with a bang.
The real-world wind and snow pounded heavily on my face.
Sasuke collapsed onto the snow, gasping for breath. He vomited stomach acid mixed with undigested food onto the snow. He gripped the frozen earth tightly with both hands, his nails cracking and bleeding, and a dying, animalistic howl escaped his throat.
"Liar..." Sasuke slammed his fist heavily on the stone slab, sending shards of stone flying. "You complete and utter liar!"
Itachi didn't help him up, letting him vent his anger.
"That's the whole truth." Itachi's voice was filled with extreme exhaustion. "I chose the cruelest method, which I also believed would be the most effective in quelling the war. I thought that by turning you into a vengeful monster and feeding you with hatred, you could survive in this cruel world. But I was wrong."
Sasuke looked up, his face covered in mud and tears. "Why didn't you tell me? Why did you take away my right to choose! Is it fun to turn me into an idiot who knows nothing?!"
"Because I didn't dare to gamble." Itachi looked at him calmly. "You were too weak back then. If you knew the truth, you would either rush to kill Danzo and be wiped out by Root, or you would be brainwashed and manipulated by someone like Obito with ulterior motives."
"And now!" Sasuke roared through gritted teeth, "How dare you gamble now!"
Because of him.
Itachi lowered his eyes, glanced at the Sharingan on the ground, and a faint smile appeared on his lips. His gaze seemed to pierce through the wind and snow, landing on the raging young man with Hokage Haori and wearing a divine robe.
"That guy named Naruto Uzumaki killed Danzo for you." Itachi's voice carried a rare hint of respect. "He not only killed Hidden Leaf's darkest cancer, but also smashed the corrupt rules that drove the Uchiha to their deaths in the most domineering way."
Sasuke in shock.
"Naruto gave you a Hidden Leaf that doesn't have to be bound by the old system." Itachi looked directly into Sasuke's eyes. "You have the Mangekyo Sharingan, the ability to survive on your own, and more importantly, comrades you can trust with your back."
Itachi turned around, his long black robe with red clouds fluttering in the wind and snow.
"Obito's army of 100,000 White Zetsu is just bait. His real targets are the Eight-Tails of Lightning Cloud Gorge and the Nine-Tails of Hidden Leaf." Itachi tilted his head slightly. "He's a madman. Don't let him ruin your life."
A few hoarse caws echoed in the courtyard.
Itachi's body began to become transparent, and large patches of black feathers peeled off his body.
"Itachi!" Sasuke suddenly stood up, stumbled over, and reached out to grab him.
Her fingertips grasped only a handful of cold snowflakes. The black feather vanished instantly in the gale. In the empty shrine, only a very soft, very faint whisper remained.
"You don't need to forgive me. But from now on, don't live for me anymore, Sasuke."
Dead silence.
Sasuke stood alone in the center of the courtyard. The wind and snow gradually stopped, a crack appeared in the dark clouds, and the pale moonlight shone on him.
He looked down at his blood-soaked hands, then at the Kusanagi Sword stuck in the snow. He bent down, gripped the hilt inch by inch, and pulled hard.
Clang!
The sword emitted a clear, resonant dragon's roar. Sasuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the icy air. When he opened his eyes again, the Six-Pointed Star Mangekyo Sharingan in his left eye erupted with an unprecedentedly dazzling light. Not only that, the originally ordinary Mangekyo Sharingan pattern in his right eye also began to violently distort and recombine. The two extreme eye powers collided and merged wildly in their eye sockets, and the violent Chakra within his body instantly evaporated the snow within a ten-meter radius.
A chilling aura of destruction surged into the sky.
"Danzo has paid the debt Danzo the old Hidden Leaf." Sasuke's voice was cold and flat, yet it carried a murderous intent that could cut through everything. "Obito, it's your turn to pay the price for the Uchiha's lives."
Just then, an extremely sharp whooshing sound came from the pine forest outside the shrine.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Tenzō landed on the snow in a triangular formation, surrounding Sasuke. Shikamaru glanced at the charred marks on the ground, his brow twitching as he keenly sensed a qualitative change in Sasuke's Chakra.
Kakashi's gaze fell on Sasuke's terrifyingly imposing eyes, his right hand subtly pressing down on his ninja tool pouch. "Sasuke, are you done on your end?"
"Let's get down to business." Sasuke swiftly and decisively sheathed his Kusanagi Sword.
Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief, his tone instantly sinking to rock bottom.
"Something went wrong at the meeting. Obito himself showed up and, in front of the Five Kage, formally declared war on the Fourth Shinobi World War."
Sasuke's pupils contracted sharply, and two arcs Chakra Lightning Release uncontrollably exploded on his body.
"But that's not the worst part." Kakashi pulled a top-secret scroll covered in golden sealing runes from his pocket and tossed it to Sasuke. "It's an urgent message from Naruto at the meeting. Karin sensed Leyline disturbance on the border of the Land of Fire."
Sasuke caught the scroll, unfolded it, and saw only one line of text, the handwriting conveying an unquestionable tone of command:
"There is a wooden coffin with the word 'spot' engraved on it, and it is being dragged into the main battlefield by a mysterious person using psychic skills. Go to Leiyun Gorge to stop them."
Sasuke stared intently at the character "Madara," his fingers clenching tightly, his knuckles cracking.
"Return to Lightning Cloud Gorge," Sasuke coldly uttered four words.
Thunder roared through the snowy night, and four afterimages tore through the wind and snow, rushing headlong towards Lightning Cloud Gorge. The game of the Shinobi World had been completely overturned.