Night of the Massacre, an Uncertain Road Ahead

"Mother, I'll take good care of Sasuke..."

Li You's mind echoed with Itachi's low, sorrowful words. Then the scene shifted, and he saw Fugaku and Mikoto lying in pools of blood.

Before Li You could even feel horror or disgust, he only felt as though his head had been struck heavily as waves of memories crazily flooded into his mind.

From childhood to adolescence, from Shisui's suicide to Mikoto, on the verge of death, murmuring as she exhausted every last ounce of strength to reach out and touch his cheek.

"My poor child, Sasuke is in your hands..."

At some unknown point, two scorching streams of tears ran down Li You's cheeks and dripped onto the ground.

"Mother, I'll take good care of Sasuke..."

He murmured softly.

His voice was sorrowful and low.

The overwhelming immersion brought by those grief-filled memories dragged Li You into endless sadness.

A moment later, Li You wiped away his tears and approached Fugaku and Mikoto's corpses, determination flashing through his eyes.

Suppressing his instinctive discomfort and the resistance buried deep within him, he reached out with two fingers and removed Fugaku's eyes.

He then placed them in a container, took out a kunai, cut off locks of Mikoto's and Fugaku's hair, and solemnly preserved them.

"From now on, I am Itachi Uchiha. I will take care of Sasuke. I will bring you back to life..."

Itachi Uchiha solemnly looked at their bodies, knelt on the ground, and bowed deeply as he made that vow in his heart.

Then he turned and left.

Once outside the room, Itachi Uchiha felt a wave of sorrow and looked deeply once more at the corpses on the ground.

Blown by the cold wind carrying the stench of blood, Itachi Uchiha regained some clarity. Confusion and reluctance to leave his former world also surged through him in waves.

Fortunately, he had been an orphan in that world. After barely clearing the six-year elementary school and three-year middle school instances, he had dropped out to work.

His life was not exactly a complete mess; he could barely keep himself fed and clothed. His only hobby had been watching anime.

Back in his former world, he had longed for the worlds within anime. But now that he had truly arrived in the world of Naruto, he was afraid.

Knowing the plot, he knew that twelve-year-old Itachi Uchiha would soon become a rogue ninja.

The storm was about to descend.

"Itachi, are you finished?"

A vortex appeared in the air, and a masked man stepped out of it.

Itachi stared deeply at the masked man.

Uchiha Obito...

Itachi silently repeated the name in his heart.

To a certain extent, Uchiha Itachi's awakening of the Sharingan had been part of Obito's script.

On the night of the massacre, Obito's collusion with Danzo had also played no small part.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Itachi knew it was not yet time to turn against him.

"It's done..."

Itachi Uchiha answered flatly, expressionless.

Other than a faint ripple deep in his eyes, nothing changed.

"Itachi, I never expected you to be so cold-blooded."

Seeing Itachi's calmness, Obito narrowed his eyes beneath the mask and committed this outstanding genius junior to memory.

Of course, he was still merely a pawn.

Itachi Uchiha said nothing more and simply stared blankly at the sky.

Breathing in the nauseating, blood-soaked air.

Seeing that this Uchiha was so dull, Obito summoned a vortex beside himself and disappeared.

Compared with that boring junior, harvesting Sharingan was far more interesting.

"What a fruitful season... Pitiful Uchiha Clan..."

Obito appeared again behind a figure and easily took the life of this Uchiha clansman.

Obito's conflicted muttering rang through the silent night of blood, first filled with delight, then tinged with faint melancholy.

Outside the Uchiha Clan Grounds, ANBU and Root members stood ready.

They would kill any fish that slipped through the net.

Atop a towering building in the distance.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked conflicted, a pipe clenched between his lips as he puffed away at tobacco.

Beside him stood Danzo, half his face and one arm wrapped in white bandages.

His gaze shifted between the Uchiha Clan Grounds and Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He feared that this cowardly old man would lose his nerve at the critical moment, which was why he had come here to keep watch.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly softened at the crucial moment, he could stop him.

The two stood here now so they could provide support and suppress any disturbance at any time.

After all, the Uchiha Clan was one of Konoha's great Lineages, with deep foundations.

Especially Uchiha Fugaku, who was unfathomable.

At last, after the one-sided slaughter, the wails and screams gradually grew scarce.

Hiruzen Sarutobi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It was done.

Then they only had to follow the plan and announce that Itachi Uchiha had massacred his Lineage and defected.

If there had been too much commotion and everyone learned of it, this matter would have been difficult to smooth over.

Although most Lineages understood the deeper implications.

The villagers did not, and it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble. There was no need to leave everyone in panic.

It was best to be like this: silently and effortlessly cutting away the Uchiha, that poisonous tumor plotting rebellion.

Sensing the gaze behind him, Itachi Uchiha forcefully suppressed the nausea in his heart and slit an Uchiha clansman's carotid artery with one stroke.

He knew this person from his memories.

But they had not been close.

For one thing, he needed to reduce Obito's suspicions. A sick man like that was deeply paranoid and trusted no one.

Although twelve-year-old Itachi already possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan, he was still no match for Obito.

And the current Itachi was Li You. Even with the memories in his mind, his strength had been greatly diminished.

He still had to defect next. Even if he claimed he was going to work as a spy, plenty of people would hunt him down afterward, so he needed to get some practice...

That was the other reason.

For now, he only wanted to gain control over this body's strength. As for the future, he would worry about it after surviving.

As warm blood sprayed onto him, Itachi's thoughts became exceptionally clear.

In this deadly situation, fraught with danger at every turn, he had to proceed carefully.

If he died by accident, there would be no restart.

"I'm leaving first. Meet at the usual place outside the village."

Obito's elusive voice sounded from behind Itachi.

It nearly made the tense Itachi flinch as he swung his short sword behind him.

Fortunately, Itachi, still unaccustomed to the battlefield and half a beat slow to react, did not reveal anything suspicious.

Otherwise, his cold-blooded, steady persona would have fallen apart, exposing a flaw.

"Fine."

A cold voice came from Itachi's mouth.

Then he froze.

His memories gradually became clearer.

Sasuke should be returning soon.

What was he supposed to do then?

Itachi sank into thought.

Clearly, what Itachi had done in the original story had been wrong.

Taking Sasuke away from Konoha would not be appropriate either. He was not in a position to bring along dead weight right now. If things went wrong, he would be finished...

Then another crucial problem arose. If Sasuke did not believe them and did not hate him, what if Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi grew suspicious and secretly dealt with him under the mindset of killing rather than risking a mistake?

Remembering his promise to protect Sasuke, Itachi felt his head throb.

The first point of choice had arrived...