Estranged by All

"Bullshit!"

Shimura Danzō stepped forward and slammed his cane into the ground with a dull thud.

"Uchiha Itachi, you've gone mad!"

He fixed Itachi with a stare, his voice icy.

"You slaughtered your own clan, killed your own brother, and colluded with outsiders to massacre Konoha's shinobi clans."

"Those crimes deserve death!"

"And now you dare spout lies to smear Konoha High Command!"

Danzō's voice echoed through the rubble. Every word drove into the ears of those present like a nail.

The Uchiha Survivors joined in.

"Elder Danzō is right!"

"You killed Sasuke yourself, and now you're trying to pin it on someone else?!"

"Uchiha Itachi! You deserve a horrible death!"

Their curses surged toward him like a tide.

Uchiha Itachi stood in the middle of the wreckage, expressionless.

Dried tracks of bloody tears still marked his face. His crimson Sharingan gleamed eerily in the dark.

He did not argue.

He offered no explanation.

He simply watched Danzō, an unreadable look in his eyes.

Just then, hurried footsteps approached from beyond the crowd.

"Move aside!"

"The elders are here!"

The crowd parted.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu hurried in.

Neither looked pleased.

They had rushed over from their homes after hearing what had happened that night: the Uchiha Clan Massacre, the attack on the Sarutobi Clan, and the slaughter of the Shimura Clan.

Any one of those events would have shaken Konoha.

Now, standing amid the wreckage of the Uchiha Clan Compound and seeing the carnage for themselves, their faces turned grim.

"Uchiha Itachi, you've got some nerve!"

Mitokado Homura's voice shook with barely contained fury.

"We looked after you, and this is how you repay us? By falsely accusing us!"

"You ungrateful wretch!"

Utatane Koharu's face was cold, her gaze cutting into Itachi like a knife.

"First you slaughtered your clan, then you colluded with outsiders. Now you want to lay the blame on us?"

"Uchiha Itachi, do you think that will absolve you?"

Uchiha Itachi did not look at them.

His eyes remained on Sasuke's body, cradled in Fugaku's arms and growing colder by the moment.

"Absolve me?"

At last he spoke, his voice a hoarse rasp dragged from deep in his throat.

"I never thought I could be absolved."

He raised his head and looked at Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.

"I'm only stating the facts."

"The facts?!"

Mitokado Homura's beard trembled with anger.

"You call those facts?!"

"Uchiha Itachi, you've lost your mind!"

Uchiha Itachi said nothing more.

He knew nothing he said would matter now.

Sasuke was dead.

Masked Man had betrayed him.

And he, Uchiha Itachi, had become an enemy of all Konoha.

The Uchiha Survivors had no intention of letting him go, either.

"Uchiha Itachi! You monster!"

A middle-aged man burst from the crowd and jabbed a finger at Itachi's face, cursing him.

"You killed my wife! You killed my child!"

"How dare you stand there and speak?!"

His voice shook, and tears ran down his cheeks.

"You demon! You deserve a horrible death!"

The other Uchiha Survivors joined in.

"You even killed your own little brother! You're worse than an animal!"

"How did the Uchiha Clan produce scum like you?"

"Kill him! Avenge our clan!"

The crowd seethed with rage.

If others had not held them back, some would already have charged Itachi to fight him to the death.

Uchiha Itachi stood amid the wreckage and met every accusation and curse with silence.

His gaze was empty, as though his soul had left his body.

"Enough."

A voice came from the crowd.

Everyone turned.

Uchiha Fugaku walked slowly forward, carrying Sasuke's body.

His steps were steady and his face showed little emotion. But his eyes, once steady as mountains, were now as lifeless as stagnant water.

He stopped before Uchiha Itachi.

"Itachi."

His voice was calm.

"I'll ask you one last time."

"Who told you to do this?"

Uchiha Itachi raised his head and met his father's eyes.

They were filled with profound grief.

"I've already told you."

Itachi spoke softly.

"It was Konoha High Command."

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu."

Each name struck everyone present like a hammerblow.

Mitokado Homura's face went deathly pale.

Utatane Koharu's lips trembled.

Shimura Danzō narrowed his eyes, killing intent filling his gaze.

"Uchiha Fugaku."

Danzō's voice was cold.

"Are you going to betray the village too?"

Fugaku did not turn around.

He only looked at Itachi and remained silent for a long time.

Then he slowly turned to face Danzō, the Third Hokage, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu.

His gaze swept over the shinobi of the other clans.

"Members of Konoha High Command..."

He did not speak loudly, yet everyone heard him clearly.

"Are you planning to silence the witnesses in front of every clan here?"

A deathly hush fell over the crowd.

The scouts from the other shinobi clans exchanged looks.

When they looked at Konoha High Command again, doubt had entered their eyes.

"Silence the witnesses?"

"What does he mean?"

"Could Uchiha Itachi be telling the truth?"

"Did Konoha High Command really plan the Uchiha Clan Massacre?"

Whispers spread through the crowd.

Mitokado Homura's expression grew darker.

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

Utatane Koharu clenched her fists but said nothing.

Danzō's expression turned terrifyingly grim.

He said nothing, merely fixed Uchiha Fugaku with a murderous stare.

But Fugaku refused to yield.

He stood between Itachi and Konoha High Command like a mountain.

"Clan Head Fugaku..."

The Third Hokage finally spoke, his voice hoarse.

"We will investigate this thoroughly..."

"Investigate?"

Fugaku cut him off, his voice frighteningly calm.

"Lord Hokage, my youngest son is dead."

"Your people drove my eldest son to the brink."

"More than half my clan has been slaughtered."

"And now you tell me you'll investigate?"

The Third Hokage fell silent.

He lowered his head, unable to meet Fugaku's eyes.

But the Uchiha Survivors showed no gratitude for Fugaku's words.

Instead, they turned on him.

"Uchiha Fugaku!"

A young Uchiha clansman rushed out and pointed at Fugaku, cursing him.

"You have the nerve to say that?!"

"If you weren't so incompetent, would the Uchiha Clan have fallen this far?!"

"You're the clan head! You watched that monster Itachi slaughter our people. What did you do?!"

"Nothing!"

"You don't deserve to be clan head!"

Fugaku said nothing.

He stood there holding Sasuke's body, motionless.

"That's right! He doesn't deserve to be clan head!"

"He's the one who brought the Uchiha Clan to this!"

"If he weren't so weak and useless, who would dare trample us like this?!"

"Get out of the Uchiha Clan! You don't deserve to lead us!"

Their curses battered Fugaku like a downpour.

He did not defend himself.

He only lowered his head and looked at Sasuke in his arms.

Mikoto stood behind him, tears slipping silently down her cheeks.

She reached out and gripped Fugaku's arm tightly.

Fugaku raised his head and glanced at his wife.

Then he closed his eyes.

In the shadows.

Uchiha En crouched on a branch of a large tree, watching everything in the wreckage through gaps in the leaves.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

"Well, well..."

He murmured under his breath, his tone full of amusement.

"This is going even more smoothly than I expected."

He had thought it would take more work to push Itachi and Fugaku this far.

He hadn't expected them to start putting on a show all by themselves.

"Uchiha Itachi has become everyone's target, and his own clan is cursing Uchiha Fugaku..."

Uchiha En counted on his fingers.

"The other clans are suspicious of the Konoha High Command, and those two old fossils, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, have been dragged into it too..."

His eyes narrowed with delight.

"One move, several birds."

"Heh. The rewards are going to be enormous."

Uchiha En rubbed his hands together, his eyes gleaming.

"Once tonight is over, I can take stock of everything I've gained."

He looked back into the ruins.

Uchiha Fugaku and the Konoha High Command were still facing off there.

The tension was ready to snap.

Just then...

In the middle of the ruins...

Space suddenly warped.

A figure appeared out of thin air beside Uchiha Itachi.

He wore a black robe patterned with red clouds and a tiger-striped spiral mask.

Beneath the mask, a crimson Sharingan slowly turned.

"Well, well."

He spoke with a teasing lilt.

"Quite the party you've got here."

"I'm not too late, am I?"

Obito Uchiha had arrived.