Torches flared to life outside one Uchiha household after another.
Itachi stood in the middle of the street, blood behind him and his clansmen before him.
An old man who had watched him grow up gripped his cane, his voice trembling.
"Itachi, I held you in my arms when you were little."
"Tell me, did you kill Kenta and his family?"
Itachi did not deny it.
He looked at the old man, then at Sasuke.
"I had no choice."
Sasuke stood at the back of the crowd, still holding the recording scroll.
"No choice?"
"Did someone else shove that blade into your hand?"
"Did someone else walk your feet into the clan compound?"
"Did someone else choose the people you were going to kill?"
Itachi's breathing faltered for half a beat.
"Sasuke, the Uchiha Clan is already on the edge of a cliff."
Sasuke scoffed.
"So you gave us a shove?"
Barely contained curses rose around them.
"You monster!"
"He really wants to kill us all!"
"Take him down!"
Itachi raised his hands to form hand seals.
A ninja from the Konoha Military Police Force immediately shouted.
"Watch out for genjutsu!"
But Sasuke spoke first.
"Don't look into his eyes."
"Block the roads with wire, drive him back with Fire Release, and don't give him a chance to lecture you."
Itachi looked at Sasuke.
"Why have you become like this?"
Sasuke stared at him.
"Because I don't want to be a prop in your script."
"You want me alive, so I have to live according to your plans."
"You want me to hate you, so I have to hate you."
"You want me to kill you, and I have to play along to complete your grand sacrifice."
Sasuke took half a step forward.
"Uchiha Itachi, you think far too highly of yourself."
Those words slammed into the crowd.
Several young clansmen's eyes reddened on the spot.
"Well said!"
"Who gave him the right to decide whether the entire clan lives or dies?"
Itachi's expression grew uglier by the moment.
He had thought he would leave tonight bearing the blame.
But that blame was not supposed to surface now.
Not in front of his living clansmen.
And certainly not be exposed by Sasuke himself.
A young Uchiha charged forward, slashing a short blade at Itachi's shoulder.
Itachi sidestepped the blow but did not strike to kill.
More wires shot down from the rooftops, sealing off both sides.
Heat surged toward him from a Fire Release attack.
Itachi had no choice but to leap onto a wall.
Another wave of curses rose from below.
"Don't let him escape!"
"Murderer!"
"Traitor!"
Sasuke did not pursue him.
Watching Itachi being forced onto the wall, he asked.
"Aren't you a genius?"
"An ANBU elite?"
"How come you can't even come up with a single sentence to shut your clansmen up?"
Itachi stared at Sasuke.
"You'll destroy Konoha."
Sasuke laughed aloud.
"You're the one killing people, you're the one colluding with Danzo, and now I'm the one destroying Konoha?"
"That mouth of yours really makes the perfect sheath for the higher-ups' blade."
Someone in the crowd could not hold back a curse.
"Pah!"
"He still has the nerve to bring up Konoha!"
"If this is how Konoha treats us, why should we be loyal?"
The civilian district outside the clan compound had also been jolted awake.
People stood at alley entrances with clothes draped over their shoulders, asking in hushed voices.
"What's going on over at the Uchiha compound?"
"I heard Itachi killed people, and Danzo is involved too."
"Danzo? The Hokage's aide?"
"I heard it just now too. Something about wiping out the Uchiha and collecting their Sharingan."
More and more voices joined the discussion.
A woman holding a vegetable basket stood at the edge of the crowd, her face filled with terror.
"If this is true, can we still trust the Konoha High Command?"
Sasuke heard her.
This was exactly what he wanted.
Exposure was an assassination's worst enemy.
Public opinion was the higher-ups' greatest fear.
Tonight, Itachi was no longer a genius who had come to kill.
He had become the first vermin in the village to be put on display for everyone to gawk at.
A captain from the Konoha Military Police Force ran up to Sasuke.
"Young Master Sasuke, Lord Fugaku is still gathering people."
Sasuke asked.
"How many casualties?"
"We've found two households murdered so far. We haven't checked the other areas yet."
Sasuke nodded.
"Have people protect the elderly and the children."
"Preserve every body. Blade marks, footprints, bloodstains-don't touch any of it."
The captain paused in surprise.
"We're gathering evidence now?"
Sasuke looked at him.
"If we don't, should we wait for the higher-ups to say we staged the scene?"
The captain gritted his teeth.
"Understood!"
Hearing those words from atop the wall, Itachi's expression darkened further.
Sasuke was not just making a scene.
He was turning every step into a chain of evidence.
This was not something an eight-year-old child should have thought of.
Itachi spoke.
"Sasuke, who's backing you?"
Sasuke lifted his eyes.
"Only the dead need someone behind them to hold them up."
"I stand on my own."
Just as Itachi was about to speak again, footsteps sounded in the distance.
A squad of ANBU arrived across the rooftops, their leader wearing a mask.
The Uchiha clansmen immediately went on guard.
"The ANBU are here!"
"Are they here to help Itachi?"
"Don't let them get close!"
The ANBU leader raised a hand.
"We are here on Lord Hokage's orders to bring the situation under control."
Sasuke looked over.
"Bring whom under control?"
The leader fell silent for a moment.
"Everyone, put down your weapons."
Sasuke raised the recording scroll.
"Have you listened to the whole thing?"
"Listen first, then tell everyone to put down their weapons."
The scroll played again.
Danzo's voice rang through the street.
"Once the operation is complete, Root will collect the Sharingan."
Someone in the ANBU squad caught their breath.
The leader said nothing.
Sasuke stared at him.
"You ANBU got here awfully fast tonight."
"But where were you when Itachi was killing people?"
"Where were you when Danzo gave the order?"
"Now that the clansmen are awake, here you are."
A young ANBU could not help speaking up.
"We only received orders from the Hokage."
Sasuke immediately replied.
"Then ask the Hokage to come out and explain."
"Don't send masks out to take the blows for him."
The ANBU leader was left speechless.
The civilians around them grew even louder.
"The boy's right."
"The higher-ups have to explain."
"No matter how bad the Uchiha are, you can't just wipe them out, can you?"
The Hokage Building.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood before the Crystal Ball, his pipe having rolled to the edge of the desk.
Every word Sasuke spoke in the image reached his ears.
Mitokado Homura spoke urgently.
"Hiruzen, we can't let him keep making trouble!"
Utatane Koharu's expression was grim.
"Have the ANBU suppress this immediately!"
The Third Hokage picked up his pipe but did not light it.
"How?"
"In front of all those civilians and Uchiha?"
"The recording is already out."
Mitokado Homura gritted his teeth.
"Then say it's a fake!"
The Third Hokage looked at him.
"Danzo's voice, Itachi's voice, the details of the operation-it all matches."
"Do you think the Uchiha will believe that?"
Utatane Koharu grew anxious.
"We still can't let some brat control the narrative!"
The Third Hokage stared at the Crystal Ball.
In the image, Sasuke was mobilizing his clansmen, assigning some to secure the scene, others to surround Itachi, and still others to reassure the civilians.
This wasn't a child's foolishness.
This was a power grab.
The Third Hokage finally spoke.
"Summon the ANBU."
"Notify the heads of every clan."
"I'll go myself."
Mitokado Homura's expression changed.
"Hiruzen, you're going to show yourself?"
The Third Hokage spoke gravely.
"If I don't, rumors will tear Konoha apart tonight."
Utatane Koharu asked.
"What about Danzo?"
The Third Hokage fell silent for a moment.
"Tell him not to make another move."
But just as he finished speaking, an urgent birdcall sounded outside the window.
An ANBU member landed by the window.
"Lord Hokage, members of Root have left their underground base."
The Third Hokage's expression finally changed.
"Where are they headed?"
The ANBU member lowered their head.
"The main street leading from the Uchiha compound to the Hokage Tower."
In the Crystal Ball, Sasuke had already turned and left the clan compound.
He didn't look at Itachi again.
Nor did he wait for Fugaku.
With a group of Uchiha behind him, he headed straight toward the Hokage Tower.
On every street he passed, he shouted.
"Konoha High Command conspired with Uchiha Itachi to wipe out our clan!"
"Danzo wants to harvest the Sharingan!"
"The Hokage owes the entire village an explanation!"
Drawn by the shouts, more and more civilians came out of their homes.
Itachi stood atop the wall, watching Sasuke's retreating figure. For the first time, he felt that his plan had shattered beyond repair.
Sasuke didn't look back.
Because in his mind, he could already sense malice closing in from both sides of the street.
Root had arrived.
He looked down at his own small, stubby fingers and murmured.
"Danzo, you've finally lost your nerve."
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