Izumi Uchiha

The next day, the canopy screen began broadcasting as usual.

[In the library of the Uchiha Compound, the lingering rays of the setting sun pierced through the windows at this moment, cutting several dim yellow pillars of light among the dust-covered bookshelves.]

[A woman was kneeling in an inconspicuous corner of a room, with several extremely ancient scrolls scattered around her.]

[The canopy screen provided subtitles—Izumi Uchiha.]

[Izumi Uchiha was not a radical within the clan. She merely sensed the increasingly tense and oppressive atmosphere within the clan lately, as well as that lingering heaviness between Itachi's brows, both of which vaguely made her uneasy.]

[She hoped to find a clue from these scrolls recording the clan's ancient history to understand the current situation, or perhaps an interesting little story she could tell the next time they met, if only to make Itachi smooth his brow slightly.]

[Her fingers carefully brushed across the surface of an animal-skin scroll; the handwriting on it was written in an ancient ink, and some of the characters had already become very blurry.]

[Therefore she could only patiently decipher them, as most of what the scrolls recorded was about ritual procedures and clan regulations.]

[Yet just as she was about to close the scroll, a short paragraph at the end marked in special cinnabar, with exceptionally scribbled handwriting, caught her attention.]

[The great scourge of the clan is not an external enemy, but an inner demon born from within.]

[Its name is Naraka, formless and shapeless, feeding on the resentment, suspicion, and fear of human hearts, growing and spreading, confusing minds, even leading to our kinsmen killing each other and our bloodline withering!]

[Seeing this, Izumi Uchiha's breathing hitched slightly.]

[However, the seal is not everlasting. Later generations must remain vigilant, remembering the characteristics of this demon. If unexplained clan strife suddenly erupts, the seal must be inspected immediately to prevent it from breaking and bewitching people's hearts.]

["Huh?"]

[Izumi Uchiha saw that the middle section regarding how to seal the demon was damaged, likely due to the passage of time.]

["Naraka!" Izumi Uchiha unconsciously muttered the name, feeling a chill crawl up her spine.]

[The characteristics described on the scroll—such as "feeding on resentment and suspicion," "confusing minds," and "kinsmen killing each other"—acted like a cold key that violently opened a certain lock within her heart.]

[Could the recent abnormal confrontation and restlessness in the clan, those baseless rumors and suddenly intensified conflicts, be... ?]

[Izumi Uchiha began frantically searching for relevant records about Naraka, and finally, she found some relevant clues in a personal biography named Teng Uchiha.]

[In the distant Warring States Period, a demon named Naraka suddenly appeared in this world from an unknown time.]

[He spread miasma, turning humans into puppets of monsters, attempting to build a monster kingdom.]

[Teng Uchiha, the head of the Uchiha clan who had not yet established a village at that time, became the main force in fighting Naraka with his Mangekyō Sharingan and Amaterasu Black Flames, which could see through falsehoods and burn away evil spirits.]

[After a fierce and tragic battle, the Teng Uchiha of that time used the price of blinding one eye to shatter Naraka's core, the Demon Jewel, with Amaterasu, and sealed it within the Uchiha Compound, stipulating that the power of the Sharingan must be used to reinforce the seal from generation to generation.]

[Seeing this, Izumi Uchiha abruptly closed the scroll, her heart pounding.]

[Now she had to tell Itachi immediately! He was so smart, he would definitely understand the connection that might exist here!]

[So she immediately ran out of the library, clutching the ancient scroll to her chest, hoping to find Itachi at the training ground or the riverbank they often frequented.]

[Fortunately, not long after walking out of the shrine, she saw that familiar figure on a quiet path.]

["Itachi!" Izumi Uchiha hurriedly called out to him, running forward quickly with an eagerness on her face from discovering an important clue.]

[Hearing the voice, Itachi Uchiha immediately stopped in his tracks and turned around.]

[Although he still maintained that refined appearance, Izumi Uchiha immediately noticed that he was more tense than usual, and a heavy worry that she could not fully understand settled in the depths of his eyes.]

["Izumi," he responded softly, his tone gentle yet carrying a clear sense of detachment.]

[Itachi Uchiha's gaze did not even fully focus on her, as if he were piercing right through her, looking toward some distant and grim future.]

["Itachi, I've discovered something very important!" Izumi Uchiha eagerly handed over the scroll, wanting to point out that passage regarding Naraka, "Look at this, about the demon sealed by the clan, it—"]

["Sorry, Izumi." Itachi interrupted her gently but firmly, not even lowering his head to look at the scroll.]

"I have a very important matter right now and must go discuss it with Brother Shisui immediately. After all, matters within the clan are very complicated."

[At this moment, his gaze finally landed on her face, but that look was as if he were looking at her, yet also as if he were looking through her at something else, filled with a complexity that Izumi Uchiha could not read at all.]

["Next time. Let's hear you talk about it next time, alright?" His voice was low, yet it seemed to carry a trace of an imperceptible plea.]

[With that, he didn't even wait for Izumi's response, simply nodding slightly before quickly turning around. The Body Flicker Technique activated, and his figure instantly vanished at the end of the path, leaving behind only a few spinning and falling leaves.]

[Izumi Uchiha's outstretched hand remained frozen in mid-air, and the ancient scroll in her arms suddenly seemed to become exceptionally heavy.]

[She looked in the direction where Itachi had vanished, the eager enthusiasm in her heart sparked by the discovery of a secret instantly replaced by the disappointment caused by Itachi's cold attitude.]

[He didn't even finish listening to my sentence... Have things in the clan really become this severe? To the point that even Itachi showed that kind of nearly despairing look?]

[A strong premonition gripped her: the matter Itachi and Shisui were going to discuss must be related to the potential impact Naraka could cause!]

[She lowered her head to look at the heavy scroll in her arms, then looked up toward the direction Itachi had left, and finally, her gaze turned firm.]

[At a time like this, she could not simply wait; she also had to contribute her own strength for Itachi and for the Uchiha clan.]

[Izumi Uchiha hugged the scroll tightly, turned around, but did not go home.]

[Instead, she walked toward the path leading deep into the Naka Shrine, heading down to the underground sealing stone chamber.]

[She was going to see for herself whether the seal recorded in the texts was still intact.]

[In the scene, the setting sun had completely sunk below the horizon by this time, and the dusk gradually swallowed her back, plunging her alone into the deepening darkness.]

In reality, Itachi Uchiha stood alone under the veranda, where cold threads of rain streaked across his expressionless face at this moment.

The canopy screen's imagery stirred his memories—what he had said to Izumi about "next time."

Looking back now, that word carried such cruel irony.

Ever since that brief meeting ended, they never had a so-called "next time."

He never expected that hasty conversation, unilaterally cut off by him, would turn out to be a permanent farewell.

The rain continued to fall, wetting his Akatsuki Cloak. Itachi Uchiha slowly closed his eyes, forcing his surging emotions back down into the bottomless depths of his inner self.

This memory would not change any established past. It was merely another heavy weight added to the scale of his sins, which was already far too burdensome to bear.

Yet he would still walk down this path he had chosen, all the way to the end.