"Let's follow the plan."
"With this much commotion, that old man Sarutobi will be here soon."
Haruma spoke softly, then turned and vanished.
Fugaku gazed out the window, let out a quiet sigh, and stepped outside.
The collapsed secret chamber and the dozens of bodies buried beneath its rubble gave off a scorched smell.
Dressed in a black robe patterned with red clouds, Haruma busied himself collecting Sharingan.
Several fairly intact bodies lay at his feet.
They were the Hawk Faction members who had happened to escape after Setsuna went berserk.
Haruma had spent an extra ten seconds dragging them all back.
And he had granted them painless deaths.
After rearranging the scene, Haruma sat leisurely on a pile of broken stones nearby.
His hands slowly formed hand seals, activating his Sensory Ninjutsu, Mayfly!
A terrifying amount of chakra abruptly gathered. Tiny points of light invisible to the naked eye instantly enveloped the entire Uchiha Clan compound.
With his eyes closed, Haruma could now clearly sense everything around him.
Though he could see no images, there were the shapes of living creatures, the flow of chakra, and the traces left by the passing breeze.
It conveyed information in greater detail than the naked eye could.
Haruma clearly sensed a group of ninja rapidly approaching from not far outside the compound.
Their leader was rather thin and small, yet his chakra surged the strongest.
Chakra of all five attributes spread throughout his body.
In Konoha, only the Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, possessed such characteristics.
Next were the several Anbu Captains beside him.
One of the Anbu had a chakra signature in his eye that did not match his body.
Haruma recognized him as well: Kakashi Hatake.
He turned his attention to the battlefield.
Fugaku was about to arrive head-on.
Setsuna had already gone mad!
And Uchiha Itachi, who had been blasted underground, had a somewhat weakened presence.
Strangely,
the Itachi Haruma sensed kept his head lowered amid the rubble, the katana in his hand trembling so slightly that the naked eye could barely detect it.
In an instant, a vast, cold chakra flooded into Itachi's eyes.
The corners of Haruma's mouth lifted slightly as he murmured, "Looks like I've gained another benefit."
"Today really is a fine day to kill several birds with one stone."
Having changed into combat gear, Fugaku frowned at Setsuna nearby and sighed heavily inwardly.
His task now was to help Itachi kill Setsuna before the Third arrived.
Then he would stall until Sarutobi reached the scene and act as though he intended to punish Itachi severely.
Having made up his mind, Fugaku suddenly stopped, his pupils trembling violently as he looked at the battlefield ahead.
The katana in his hand had been stained red with his clansmen's blood.
His cold expression made it seem as though he cared about nothing.
Yet his heart held endless sorrow and indescribable pain.
The evolution of his Sharingan was the best proof!
The mitsudomoe in his eyes spun rapidly, and a bloody tear slid down his cheek!
His swelling chakra erupted outward!
Fiery red chakra instantly enveloped Itachi's body!
Armor seemingly forged from flames rapidly grew and expanded!
Bzz! Bzz! Bzz!
The earth trembled!
A flicker of clarity crossed Setsuna's eyes amid his rampage!
Even without Sensory Ninjutsu, he could sense the terrifying chakra below!
"Uchiha Itachi!!!"
Without waiting for Itachi to emerge, the furious Setsuna struck first again.
A low shout! The seals were complete!
"Fire Style: Inferno Great Burial!!!"
With Itachi at its center, the scorching earth turned into churning magma, flowing rapidly to surround him!
Heat waves rolled out one after another as endless streams of molten rock poured into the crater where Itachi stood!
Even the air across the battlefield was filled with searing heat!
Setsuna panted heavily, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the blazing cage before him!
Endless heat rose from the sealed, square cage!
Trapped inside, Itachi showed no panic at all.
The armor around him blocked every drop of falling magma.
The rapidly growing armor seemed to change form.
Within mere seconds, fiery red bones appeared inside it, forming a giant's upper body!
Crack! Crack!
Web-like fractures spread across the cage's exterior!
Then came a tremendous crash!
Boom!!
Under Setsuna's incredulous gaze, the enormous fiery red skeleton burst the entire cage apart!
Its upper body alone stood twenty meters tall, looking down at him from above!
Itachi stepped out expressionlessly, and the giant close around him moved with him.
"Susanoo!!!"
Setsuna's pupils trembled violently. He recognized the giant at a glance.
"Mangekyō!"
Gritting his teeth, Setsuna stared into Itachi's eyes and said in a low voice, each word distinct, "You truly deserve your name! The peerless genius of our Uchiha Clan!"
"I'm sorry..."
A faint trace of sorrow passed through Itachi's eyes.
While Setsuna was looking straight at him, he quietly activated Tsukuyomi.
The battlefield fell silent for a moment.
Outside the battlefield, Fugaku stared at the fiery red giant in shock.
His feelings were just as complicated.
No one knew better than he did how intense an emotional stimulus was needed to evolve from mitsudomoe to Mangekyō.
Though that boy always wore an indifferent expression, as if he cared about nothing,
just as Haruma had said, Itachi had an extremely gentle, sensitive heart.
The Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, led the Anbu past the Uchiha Clan ninja at the compound entrance, ignoring them outright.
They headed straight for Setsuna's residence!
The instant the giant appeared, Sarutobi's expression grew even graver.
He, too, recognized at a glance the ultimate Ninjutsu housed within the Mangekyō Sharingan...
And this newly appeared Susanoo was different from Fugaku's.
What exactly had happened when Itachi went to Setsuna's banquet?
Another ninja with a pair of Mangekyō eyes had appeared in the Uchiha Clan.
What concerned Sarutobi most now was whose eyes had awakened!
If it was the Hawk Faction's leader, Uchiha Setsuna...
Then he would not merely be here to gather intelligence today.
On the battlefield.
The two had met each other's eyes for no more than two seconds.
Thin trails of crimson dripped continuously from the corners of Setsuna's mouth onto the ground, sending up wisps of smoke.
The instant Setsuna regained his senses, his face twisted hideously, he stumbled and nearly fell.
Already grievously wounded, he forced himself to stay upright and gasped for breath.
Having regained his reason, the grand elder ignored Itachi before him and surveyed his ruined residence.
And the bodies of his clansmen nearby... all killed with a single blow.
Several incomplete bodies among them had been destroyed during his own furious rampage.
Setsuna turned to Itachi, his eyes filled with sorrow.
Even now, he still did not know what Itachi's purpose truly was.
But those newly evolved eyes already said far too much.
"You really do live an exhausting life, Itachi," Setsuna remarked hoarsely as he looked at the boy before him.
"I'm sorry..."
The giant dissipated, and Itachi lowered his head again, softly repeating, "I'm sorry..."
Then he slowly walked toward Setsuna.
Yet Setsuna, who had kept taking the offensive, simply abandoned all resistance.
Perhaps it was because he could no longer defeat Itachi as he was now.
Or perhaps, faced with the Hawk Faction's end, he no longer wished to fight his clansmen.
Setsuna raised his head toward the blue sky and white clouds, his face taking on a reminiscent look.
"The Uchiha Clan... won't be destroyed, will it..."
Itachi's steps faltered slightly, then he continued forward.
"Yes. The Uchiha Clan won't be destroyed."