Mikoto knelt miserably on the ground, her eye sockets empty. Unable to see who was passing, she could only direct her desperate pleas blindly toward every set of footsteps.
Tobirama bore no ill will toward this woman dragged down by her husband and son. He merely thought her unfortunate and pitiable, but Izuna's face was shrouded entirely in shadow.
He took one glance, then walked straight past.
"Please wait! Sasuke is innocent!"
Mikoto's pleading suddenly turned into a scream. After the crimes Itachi had committed, she could not imagine what kind of hell her younger son would have to live in.
Living in another world where none of this had happened was Sasuke's only lifeline. She pounded the ground in despair, her bloody tears mingling with the dust.
"Please, take him with you! Please!"
Her screams gradually became grief-stricken wails, wrenching the hearts of everyone who heard them.
In the deepest underground chamber, Izuna finally saw the true face of the infamous Uchiha Itachi.
He was indeed in a wretched state, but what concerned Izuna more was how completely he had shut himself away, indifferent to everything around him, like a walking corpse.
Before seeing Itachi in person, Izuna had imagined countless cruel ways to slowly torment this sinner who had betrayed his clan.
But when he actually saw Uchiha Itachi, his first reaction was not anger, but a sense of absurdity.
Even though the two research fanatics had left barely a patch of intact skin on his body, Izuna could still make out his childish frame-
Thirteen years old, about the same age as Shingetsu.
Two thirteen-year-old Uchiha children: one had brought sweeping reforms and boundless glory to the Uchiha and the shinobi world, while the other had sought to slaughter his own clansmen with his own hands.
Standing