At dawn, a crow flew into the office in the Hokage Building.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had stayed awake all night, held a pipe between his teeth. Even bowl after bowl of tobacco had failed to ease his overwhelming exhaustion.
"Caw, caw!"
Yet those two somewhat grating cries actually helped Hiruzen Sarutobi feel more awake.
"Finally. I knew Itachi was a staunch supporter of the will of fire. If anything unexpected happened, he would certainly tell me."
As he spoke, he eagerly beckoned the crow onto his desk.
Poof!
With a muffled pop, the crow burst apart, turning into a letter.
Hiruzen Sarutobi unfolded the letter and began to read.
In it, Itachi had recorded everything that had happened the previous night.
First, he wrote that he had slaughtered everyone in the Uchiha Clan. Then he described Shisui Uchiha returning from the dead, followed by their battle. Despite having lost both eyes, Shisui had awakened his Mangekyō again. In the end, Itachi had been defeated and fled Konoha.
He had recorded the entire sequence in great detail. Combined with the two different Susanoo Hiruzen had seen in the Uchiha Clan Compound the day before, it all but confirmed the letter's authenticity.
At least he had received one piece of good news: those members of the Uchiha Clan were indeed dead, rather than having defected as a clan.
This was undoubtedly the best news he had received so far. If the entire Uchiha Clan had defected, Konoha would have been in trouble once they settled down elsewhere.
They would have faced retaliation from an immensely powerful clan.
Konoha might have had many shinobi clans, but those clans were not united with the village. Or rather, they were not united with him, their Hokage.
If the Uchiha Clan announced that their revenge was