The Truth of the Uchiha Clan's Destruction

The next day, Naruto met up with Sasuke Uchiha and Haruno Sakura, looking rather guilty, and they set off on another round of D-rank missions.

During the missions, though, the way Sasuke stole glances at Naruto had changed. Even when Naruto did something foolish, Sasuke no longer mocked him as he once had.

Watching the three of them get along, Kakashi Hatake felt reassured. Bonds, after all, were the true source of a Ninja's strength.

The so-called Will of Fire was built on bonds with the village, too.

A month passed like this. Team 7 completed more than a dozen D-rank missions and two C-rank missions, and Naruto, Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura all made great strides in combat.

During that month, apart from occasionally talking with the Nine-Tails at night, Naruto never again used the Sheep Talisman to enter anyone else's dreams.

Sasuke's Nightmare had left its mark on him, too.

One month later, the Canopy Screen appeared again, right on time.

A glow flowed across its surface, slowly gathering into enormous letters made of Light—

"Secrets of the Uchiha: A Clan of Good and Evil"

Sasuke Uchiha's heart jolted at the sight. He clenched his fists and fixed his eyes on the Canopy Screen.

He had to learn exactly what had happened back then. Then he would find those who had pulled the strings and avenge the Uchiha dead, one culprit at a time.

[The scene showed a secret meeting place, where a large group of Uchiha were locked in a heated discussion.]

A line of small text appeared in the middle of the Canopy Screen.

[The underground meeting hall of Uchiha Naka Shrine, several years after the Nine-Tails Incident.]

[In the scene, Fugaku Uchiha announced the start of the meeting.]

[The room erupted like a volcano that had been held back too long. Uchiha voices rose in angry shouts.]

["How much longer are we supposed to endure this?" A scar-faced Uchiha Jonin sprang to his feet, his voice hoarse with emotion.]

["After the Nine-Tails Incident, we were driven to the edge of the village like trash! Even ordinary villagers look at us like we're Monster!"]

["Exactly!" another voice answered at once. It belonged to a young mother, her eyes burning with humiliation.]

["My child is shunned at school just because his surname is Uchiha! And what has the Konoha Leadership done? They've allowed this insult to continue!"]

[Once she spoke up, accusations poured out like floodwaters through a broken dam.]

["The Military Police Force has had its authority cut again and again. They call it 'reform,' but they're stripping the Uchiha of our power!"]

["Root operatives linger outside our clan compound every day. That isn't a patrol—it's surveillance! An open threat!"]

["I saw the Third Hokage's ANBU handle a dispute between us and some villagers. They clearly took the other side! They've been unhappy with the Uchiha for a long time!"]

[At the front of the meeting hall sat the Uchiha clan's four elders. Their faces had long since turned grim.]

[The First Elder, Setsuna Uchiha, was an imposing old man with burn scars on the right side of his face. He struck the floor hard with his cane.]

[His voice was aged but forceful. "Konoha has forgotten who founded it alongside the Senju Clan! Are we, the descendants of its founders, to endure suspicion and exclusion? The Sharingan is our pride, not a sin!"]

[The Second Elder, Sanbi Uchiha, added coldly, his face dark. "Compromise will earn us no respect. It will only make them demand more."]

["Danzo's ambitions could not be clearer. He wants to wipe out the Uchiha clan, root and branch!"]

[The Third Elder, Hoshimi Uchiha, spoke with bitter grief. "The White Fang of Konoha once abandoned a mission to save his comrades. He was condemned so fiercely that he took his own life."]

["Does Konoha now have room only for ninjas who obey? Were the Uchiha wrong to voice our concerns?"]

[The Fourth Elder, Futo Uchiha, sounded resolute. "When justice cannot be sought through proper channels, when peaceful appeals are taken for weakness, our clan must consider every possible choice to preserve our lives and dignity!"]

["Coup!" Someone shouted the word first, and it spread like wildfire, igniting the despair and fury in nearly every heart in the hall.]

["Coup! Coup! Coup!" The chant grew louder, threatening to lift the roof off the Shrine.]

[Just as the crowd was about to lose all control, the clan leader, Fugaku Uchiha, rose. His face was as composed as ever.]

[He did not shout. He merely raised a hand and pressed it downward, and the force of his presence quieted much of the uproar.]

["Calm yourselves!" Fugaku Uchiha's voice was steady, but it carried unquestionable authority. "I share your anger."]

["The wrongs you have suffered are a disgrace to our clan. As its leader, how could I not know?"]

[He looked around, his gaze passing over every agitated face. "But anger blinds us. Shouting will solve nothing."]

["A coup? It would mean raising our blades against former comrades. It would drag Konoha into civil war and give the enemy nations watching us an opening!"]

["Win or lose, the Uchiha would be branded Konoha's villains! Is that the future we want?"]

[Then Shisui Uchiha stood. As a recognized genius of the clan, he was held in high regard.]

[His eyes were gentle but firm. "The clan leader is right."]

[Shisui's clear voice carried an assurance that made people listen. "Please trust the clan leader and me. We are working to speak with the Konoha Leadership and find a peaceful solution."]

["Violence would only play into certain people's hands and give them an excuse to punish us even more brutally. Please give us a little more time. A little more trust."]

[In a corner of the crowd, Itachi Uchiha leaned against a cold stone wall, as if he were in another world.]

[His dark eyes passed calmly over his furious clansmen, the worried elders, and his father and Shisui, who were struggling to keep the fragile connection between the clan and the village from breaking.]

[No one knew how fiercely Itachi Uchiha struggled beneath that utterly composed face.]

The Canopy Screen's scene ended there.

In an inn in the Land of Water, Itachi Uchiha walked alone to the window. His fingertips brushed the deep slash across his forehead protector.

The scene on the Canopy Screen drew his memory back to that night.

Looking at his silent self in the scene, Itachi Uchiha thought, I was silent because I could see farther than any of them.

I saw more than my clan's anger. I saw the future that would follow once it caught fire: Konoha reduced to ashes.