Dog-Eat-Dog

Faced with Uchiha Fugaku's question, Hiruzen Sarutobi opened his mouth, but his throat felt blocked.

He couldn't tell the truth.

He couldn't say they had sent Uchiha Itachi to wipe out his clan.

If he did, what would the other clans think of him, the Third Hokage?

What would they think of the Konoha High Command?

Nothing like the extermination of an entire clan had ever happened in Konoha's history. One shinobi clan wiping out another belonged to the Warring States era. This was Konoha Year 56, an age of great villages and peace maintained by the Five Great Nations.

If the other shinobi clans learned that the Hokage and Danzo had plotted the Uchiha Clan's destruction—

The consequences...

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't dare imagine them.

He took a deep breath and was about to speak.

"Hmph."

A cold snort came from beside him.

Shimura Danzō stepped forward, leaning on his cane.

"Explain? What's there to explain?"

His voice was icy, his gaze cutting toward Uchiha Fugaku like a blade.

"Your eldest son went mad and tried to kill your entire clan. You should be asking him."

Silence fell over the crowd.

Uchiha Fugaku's pupils narrowed slightly.

He said nothing. He only stared at Danzo.

Danzo stared right back.

"Uchiha Itachi slaughtered the Uchiha Clan. That's a fact," Danzo said flatly. "He even killed his own little brother. Whose fault do you think that is? It's your Uchiha Clan's fault."

"You!"

One of the Uchiha Survivors tried to charge forward, but the people beside him held him back.

"Elder Danzo is right!"

"That monster Uchiha Itachi did it!"

"He even killed Sasuke! What wouldn't he do?"

The Uchiha Survivors joined in one after another.

They no longer cared about the truth. They had seen Itachi slaughter their clansmen. Itachi had killed Sasuke. Itachi had gone mad. Why he had gone mad, why he had killed his own people—they didn't want to think about it.

"Enough, Danzo."

Hiruzen Sarutobi finally spoke, his voice tight with suppressed anger.

He turned a stern gaze on Danzo.

"This isn't the time to argue."

Danzo narrowed his eyes and snorted, but said nothing more.

Hiruzen Sarutobi turned to Uchiha Fugaku, his tone softening. "Clan Head Fugaku, we will investigate this thoroughly."

He paused and looked over everyone present.

"Your clan wasn't the only one attacked. The Sarutobi Clan and the Shimura Clan were attacked as well."

An uproar swept through the crowd.

"What?!"

"The Sarutobi Clan and the Shimura Clan were attacked too?"

"Three shinobi clans attacked on the same night?"

"Has the Fourth Shinobi World War begun?"

The scouts sent by the other shinobi clans broke into shocked discussion.

Shikaku Nara stood in the crowd, his brow deeply furrowed.

"Sarutobi, Shimura, Uchiha..." he murmured. "Three shinobi clans attacked at once. This is no coincidence."

A Hyuga Clan scout stood on a distant rooftop, watching everything with his Byakugan before quickly relaying the news to the Hyuga compound.

A Yamanaka Clan shinobi also used a secret technique to record the scene.

The same question arose in everyone's mind: what exactly had happened in Konoha tonight?

As the crowd continued to argue, a voice rang out.

Cold.

Utterly cold.

"Lord Third. Lord Danzo."

Uchiha Itachi slowly rose from the rubble.

Blood tears still streaked his face, but his gaze was no longer hollow. His crimson Sharingan fixed on the Third Hokage and Shimura Danzō.

"I just want to ask one thing."

His voice was hoarse, yet it carried a chill that ran down everyone's spine.

"Wasn't Sasuke... supposed to be at the Ninja Academy?"

"Why was he here?"

Everyone froze.

The air itself seemed to solidify.

"What does he mean?"

"Is there more to this?"

"Didn't Itachi kill Sasuke? Unless..."

The crowd began murmuring again.

But when the Uchiha Survivors heard Itachi, they erupted in curses.

"Uchiha Itachi! You killed him, and now you're making excuses?!"

"You killed Sasuke yourself! Who are you trying to blame?!"

"You demon! You deserve to die!"

Uchiha Itachi ignored their abuse.

He kept his eyes fixed on the Third Hokage and Shimura Danzō.

He wanted only one answer.

Why had Sasuke been here?

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Hiruzen Sarutobi's forehead.

He didn't know how to answer.

He wanted to know, too. Why had Sasuke been in this civilian's room?

Could it have been the Masked Man?

A thought flashed through Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind.

"Uchiha Itachi," he asked gravely, "was there a Masked Man working with you?"

"He wore a black robe with red clouds and a tiger-striped, one-eyed mask."

Uchiha Itachi's pupils narrowed slightly.

He nodded.

"I hired him to help me."

Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could respond, Shimura Danzō's expression darkened.

"So that's how it is, Uchiha Itachi."

His voice shook with fury.

"I thought you were loyal to Konoha. I never imagined you'd gone this far off the deep end."

He stepped forward and drove his cane hard into the ground.

"You colluded with an outsider to massacre Konoha's shinobi clans."

"You won't leave Konoha alive today."

After speaking, he shot Hiruzen Sarutobi a look.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was silent for several seconds.

His heart sank as well.

It seemed Uchiha Itachi... wasn't who he had appeared to be.

He had shown one face in public and another behind their backs.

He spoke slowly, his voice low. "Uchiha Itachi, why did you have the Masked Man slaughter the Shimura Clan and the Sarutobi Clan?"

Even Uchiha Itachi, lost in grief, was stunned by the question.

When had he told the Masked Man to slaughter the Shimura Clan and the Sarutobi Clan?

His plan had involved only the Uchiha Clan.

The Masked Man's only task had been to intercept reinforcements from the Konoha Military Police Force.

Nothing more.

Uchiha Itachi's Sharingan spun wildly.

Had the Masked Man betrayed him too?

Or...

Had the Masked Man put Sasuke in that room?

At the thought, Uchiha Itachi's pupils contracted sharply.

Countless images flashed through his mind.

The Sharingan visible through the Masked Man's mask.

The faint amusement in the Masked Man's voice.

What if the Masked Man had never intended to follow the plan?

What if he had another objective?

What if he had deliberately placed Sasuke in that room?

"Uchiha Itachi!"

Danzo's voice cut through his thoughts.

"What do you have to say for yourself?"

Uchiha Itachi raised his head, his gaze cold.

"I never told the Masked Man to slaughter the Shimura Clan or the Sarutobi Clan."

His voice was calm. Frighteningly calm.

"My only target was the Uchiha Clan."

"As for the Sarutobi and Shimura Clans, the Masked Man acted on his own."

Danzo sneered.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"You expect anyone here to believe it?"

Uchiha Itachi said nothing.

He knew nothing he said would matter now.

His plan had spun completely out of control.

Sasuke was dead.

The Masked Man had betrayed him.

The Shimura Clan and the Sarutobi Clan had been slaughtered.

And he, Uchiha Itachi, had become everyone's target.

"Enough."

A voice came from the crowd.

Everyone turned.

Uchiha Fugaku slowly stepped forward.

Holding Sasuke's body, he walked toward Uchiha Itachi, one step at a time.

Mikoto followed behind him, her face streaked with tears.

"Itachi."

Fugaku's voice was hoarse.

"Tell me."

"Who told you to do this?"

Uchiha Itachi looked into his father's eyes.

There was no anger in them, no hatred. Only profound sorrow.

Uchiha Itachi opened his mouth. Sasuke was dead; he had no reason to hesitate anymore.

His gaze swept over the Third Hokage, Shimura Danzō, and every person present.

"It was..."

His voice was cold.

"The Konoha High Command. Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu."

His words left the crowd deathly silent.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's face went deathly pale.

A flash of murderous intent crossed Shimura Danzō's eyes.

The scouts from the other shinobi clans stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what they had heard.

Shikaku Nara closed his eyes.

"It's over," he murmured. "Now it's really over."