First, Wipe Out the Shimura Clan

On Konoha's Hokage Rock.

Uchiha En glanced down at the Akatsuki cloak he wore, then touched the Tiger-Skin Mask on his face.

"Well, well. It fits pretty nicely."

He grinned, the corners of his mouth lifting beneath the mask.

The night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre? Heh. Then let's make this fire burn even brighter.

"The Shimura Clan... the Sarutobi Clan..."

Uchiha En's gaze settled on the compounds of the Shimura and Sarutobi clans.

"Who should I start with?"

Uchiha En rubbed his chin, as though deciding what to eat first tonight.

The Shimura Clan compound.

Night had fallen deep.

The Shimura Clan's compound was much smaller than the Uchiha's. After all, the Shimura Clan was not one of Konoha's great clans.

But Shimura Danzō was a Konoha elder and the founder of Root.

So the Shimura Clan compound had no shortage of guards.

Two Shimura Clan Chunin stood chatting at the entrance.

"Did you hear? The Anbu have a big operation tonight."

"Sounds like it's about the Uchiha... They're finally making their move."

"Tch. They should've been wiped out ages ago, those stuck-up bastards."

One of the Chunin spat, his face full of contempt.

The next second, his smile froze.

A dark figure appeared soundlessly behind them.

"Hey, what were you just saying... about the Uchiha?"

A man in a Tiger-Skin Mask tilted his head, speaking as casually as if he were chatting with friends.

The two Chunin spun around, both reaching for the kunai at their waists.

But before their hands touched their weapons, their bodies went rigid.

Beneath the mask, a pair of scarlet Sharingan slowly turned.

"Genjutsu: Sharingan."

The two Chunin's eyes went blank. They stood there like puppets.

Uchiha En walked between them and patted one on the shoulder.

"Stand straight. Don't fall over."

He strode into the Shimura Clan compound.

Tonight, this place would not be peaceful.

The central Shimura Clan residence.

Shimura Danzō was not home. He was at the Hokage's office, waiting for news of the Uchiha Clan Massacre.

But the other core members of the Shimura Clan were there.

Shimura Danzō's nephew, Shimura Yūichi, sat drinking tea in the living room.

He was the Shimura Clan's acting head and a squad leader in Root.

Knock, knock, knock.

Shimura Yūichi set down his teacup.

"Who is it?"

No one answered.

Frowning, he rose, went to the entrance, and pulled open the door.

Outside stood a man in an Akatsuki cloak and a Tiger-Skin Mask.

Shimura Yūichi's pupils contracted.

"Who are you?!"

His reaction was swift. His right hand instantly began forming hand seals, while Fire Release chakra gathered in his mouth.

But his opponent was faster.

"Shh..."

A finger emerged from beneath the mask and rose to the man's lips.

Shimura Yūichi's eyes met the scarlet pair beneath the mask.

The next second, his consciousness plunged into endless darkness.

Uchiha En looked away. As Shimura Yūichi toppled backward, he reached out and caught him.

"Careful. Don't hit your head."

He gently laid Shimura Yūichi across the threshold and drove a kunai into his chest.

Then he raised his head and looked deeper into the residence.

"Now, who's next?"

The Uchiha Clan Compound.

Uchiha Itachi walked through alley after alley, his face expressionless.

Blood dripped from his sword.

Behind him lay corpse after corpse.

He had lost count of how many people he had killed.

Thirteen? Or twenty?

It no longer mattered.

His Sharingan turned quietly, recording every person's fear, despair, and confusion in the moments before death.

Uchiha Fugaku's followers.

The hardliners of the Konoha Military Police Force.

Those who supported the coup.

One by one, they fell beneath his blade.

"Itachi... why..."

A middle-aged woman lay in a pool of blood. With the last of her strength, she raised her head and looked at the boy she had once watched grow up.

Uchiha Itachi did not answer.

He turned and walked toward the next house.

Behind him, the woman's hand fell limp.

As he passed an alley, Uchiha Itachi paused.

His Sharingan caught sight of a child hiding behind a trash can.

The child was about seven or eight, dressed in Uchiha Clan clothing. His face was streaked with tears, and he clamped a hand over his mouth to keep from making a sound.

Uchiha Itachi glanced at him.

The child trembled all over, his eyes filled with terror.

Uchiha Itachi looked away and kept walking.

The child watched him go, and some of the fear left his eyes.

The next second, a kunai flew out of the darkness and pierced the child's throat.

Uchiha Itachi did not look back.

Not a flicker of emotion showed in his eyes.

Tonight, apart from Sasuke, there would be no survivors.

The Konoha Military Police Force headquarters.

Obito Uchiha stood on the roof, watching the chaos below.

The officers had realized something was wrong. The screams coming from the clan compound rang especially clear in the night.

"Someone's attacking the compound!"

"Quick! Tell the clan head!"

"Everyone, assemble!"

The officers rushed out of the building and headed toward the clan compound.

Obito Uchiha slowly raised a hand.

"Don't leave so soon."

His Sharingan began to spin.

Kamui.

Space twisted.

The first few officers charging forward were instantly sucked into another dimension, without even time to scream.

The officers behind them stopped short, staring in terror at the vortex ahead.

"We're under attack!"

Someone shouted.

Obito Uchiha leaped from the roof and landed among them.

"It's been a while since I stretched my legs."

He grinned. The single Sharingan beneath his mask gleamed with an eerie light.

The Shimura Clan compound.

Screams rose one after another.

Uchiha En slaughtered his way through the compound.

Danzō had sent most of the Shimura Clan's capable ninja on Root missions. Those left behind were mostly the elderly, women, children, and ordinary Chunin.

Against an enemy with the Mangekyō Sharingan, they were helpless.

"Monster! You're a monster!"

A young Shimura Clan ninja gripped a kunai, his hands shaking.

Before him, the man in the Tiger-Skin Mask strolled closer with his hands in his pockets, paying him no mind at all.

"Come on, is this what passes for a Shimura Clan ninja?"

Uchiha En sounded thoroughly disappointed.

"I thought you'd be tougher. Elder Danzō is Konoha's 'Root,' after all."

The young ninja clenched his teeth and hurled his kunai.

Uchiha En tilted his head. The kunai skimmed past his mask.

"Terrible aim."

He took one step.

The next instant, he stood before the young ninja.

He reached out and pressed a hand against his head.

"Next life, pick a better family to be born into."

Crack.

Bone snapped with a sharp sound.

The young ninja crumpled to the ground.

"Next up, the Sarutobi Clan..."