“Father…”
When Uchiha Itachi returned home, he found his father sitting quietly on the tatami floor, sipping tea.
“Weren’t you out on a mission tonight?
Why are you back so early?”
Uchiha Fugaku looked at his son in confusion.
He also noticed the faint scent of blood clinging to Itachi.
“I’m sorry, Father.”
Instead of answering, Itachi dropped to his knees before Fugaku.
He then recounted everything that had happened that night.
“I see…
You’ve been through a lot, Itachi.”
Fugaku wasn’t surprised that the village had finally moved against the Uchiha Clan.
He had long suspected that Danzo had been secretly collecting Sharingan, but what truly shocked him was that the Third Hokage had silently approved the operation.
Ever since the Nine-Tails Incident, Konoha had been steadily pushing the Uchiha Clan to the margins.
As for those stubborn elders advocating a coup…
There was a good chance Danzo had been manipulating them from the shadows as well.
At first, Fugaku had still clung to a sliver of hope.
He believed that if he suppressed the radicals within the clan and handed those elders over to the village, Konoha would let the matter rest.
He had never imagined that Hiruzen and Danzo intended to exterminate the entire Uchiha Clan…
…and even ordered his own son to carry it out.
Hiruzen Sarutobi…
you bastard!
“I’ll go notify the clan.”
“As for those elders…
leave them to you.”
Fugaku’s faith in Konoha had completely crumbled.
A cold, ruthless light appeared in his eyes.
“Yes, Father.”
Just then, footsteps sounded outside.
“Dad!
Mom!
I’m home!”
The young Sasuke pushed open the door and immediately saw both his father and his older brother inside.
“Big Brother!
When did you get back?”
Itachi glanced at Sasuke before exchanging a look with Fugaku.
Fugaku gave a slight nod.
Smack.
“Forgive me, Sasuke.”
The delighted Sasuke had barely walked up to his brother when a sharp pain struck the back of his neck.
His vision instantly went dark.
“Itachi, come back as soon as you can.
I’ll take your mother and Sasuke to notify the rest of the clan.”
“…Alright.”
After father and son left, they deliberately set fire to part of the house to mislead the village.
Meanwhile…
Just as the villagers finished dinner and settled into the quiet of the evening—
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
The peaceful night was shattered by deafening explosions.
“W-What is that monster?!”
“Is another hidden village attacking us?!”
Standing atop the Hokage Monument, the Third Hokage silently took a drag from his pipe.
“That…
is Susanoo…?”
His face was filled with disbelief as he stared at the enormous black chakra warrior towering over the village.
He had once heard his teacher—the Second Hokage—speak of this legendary Uchiha technique.
The last person known to have wielded it…
…was Uchiha Madara.
He had never imagined that the Uchiha still possessed someone capable of using such a power.
“All ANBU and all available Jonin!”
“Move immediately!
Stop that black giant!”
“We cannot allow it to continue destroying the village!”
“Yes, sir!”
The gathered shinobi immediately rushed out of the Hokage’s office toward the towering black figure.
But…
Danzo had already arrived ten minutes earlier with his Root forces.
“Heh…
Uchiha Seigen!”
“So it was you who possessed that Mangekyo Sharingan during the Nine-Tails Incident!”
“Men!”
“Capture this traitor!”
Whether Seigen had actually been the mysterious person from that night no longer mattered.
Brat…
those eyes are mine.
Hearing Danzo casually pin such an absurd accusation on him, Seigen was speechless.
Was this old man insulting everyone else’s intelligence…
…or his?
Come on.
During the Nine-Tails Incident, this body had only been five years old.
He hadn’t even transmigrated yet.
Who would believe a five-year-old had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan?
Seeing Seigen standing motionless despite being surrounded, Danzo drew a kunai and charged.
He intended to seize the boy’s eyes before he had a chance to react.
A mischievous grin spread across Seigen’s face.
He gently touched his left eye.
His spatial ability activated.
Right before everyone’s stunned eyes…
His body dissolved into drifting ash and scattered into the wind.
“A clone…?
No…
Wait—AAAGH!”
While everyone focused on the place where Seigen had vanished…
A flash of cold steel swept through the air.
Danzo’s right arm was severed cleanly from his body.
Standing behind him…
…was Seigen, who had disappeared only a moment earlier.
The unbearable pain nearly robbed Danzo of his senses.
He bit down hard on his tongue to stay conscious while desperately trying to stop the blood pouring from his shoulder.
Seigen calmly picked up Danzo’s severed arm.
Then, one layer at a time, he unwound the bandages wrapped around it.
“Oh?”
” Danzo…”
“You’ve got quite a collection of Sharingan on this arm.”
“Hm…”
“There’s even a Mangekyo.”
“The Nine-Tails Incident…”
“That wasn’t your doing, was it?”
Seigen remembered that Danzo possessed one of Shisui’s eyes.
Kotoamatsukami was an ability he’d rather not deal with.
There was no reason to waste time probing or exchanging fancy techniques.
Cutting off Danzo’s arm first was the safest option.
Sorry.
He wasn’t interested in flashy anime battles.
One-hit kills were the true king.
Danzo’s face darkened after Seigen exposed him.
Ignoring the horrified gazes around him, he immediately ordered his subordinates to attack once more.
At this moment, nothing mattered more than reclaiming his arm.
“You little brat!”
“You’re courting death!”
“Alright.”
“I’m done playing with you.”
An overwhelming surge of ocular power erupted from Seigen’s eyes.
Black chakra exploded outward.
A gigantic skeletal warrior rapidly materialized around him.
“What?!”
“Susanoo?!”
Danzo’s expression changed dramatically.
He had assumed this Uchiha brat had only recently awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.
He never expected Seigen to have already mastered this technique.
Danzo knew Susanoo all too well.
Back when Root stole one of Shisui’s eyes, Shisui had also used this very technique.
Had Shisui not already been completely exhausted, capturing him would never have been so easy.
Over the years, after transplanting Shisui’s eye into himself, Danzo had repeatedly tried to learn Susanoo.
Every attempt had ended in failure.
And now…
He was seeing it once again.