Naruto looked around at the gathered Uchiha clan members and said firmly, his tone sharp like a blade:
"What you just said is correct. You are indeed all dead!"
"The Uchiha clan was wiped out more than ten years ago!"
The moment those words left Naruto's lips, the atmosphere shifted violently. Murmurs, gasps, and shocked cries erupted among the gathered Uchiha. Confusion mixed with disbelief, their voices layering over one another like a rising storm.
Uchiha Fugaku was the first to react. As the former clan head and captain of the Konoha Police Force, his memory was razor sharp. He remembered clearly—entrusting Sasuke to Itachi's care… then dying alongside his wife, Mikoto, by the hand of his own son. That night of blood and betrayal was etched into his very soul. And yet, here he stood again, alive.
The realization hit him immediately. Someone had brought them back.
His sharp eyes flickered toward Orochimaru, and in an instant, he understood.
Of course—it had to be him. The snake sannin, the madman who reveled in forbidden experiments. Fugaku clenched his fists. This man had undoubtedly used the Second Hokage's forbidden technique—Edo Tensei, the Impure World Reincarnation—to summon them back into existence.
Turning his gaze to Itachi, Fugaku asked coldly, "Itachi… it was Orochimaru, wasn't it? He resurrected us using Edo Tensei."
Itachi, silent until then, finally gave a small nod.
Fugaku's eyes narrowed. His voice boomed with anger:
"Bakayarō! That jutsu is a forbidden technique. To bring us back, countless sacrifices must have been offered—innocent lives thrown away just for this mockery of resurrection. Look at what you've done, Itachi!"
Before Itachi could respond, Sasuke suddenly broke free from Mikoto's protective hold. His dark eyes blazed as he stepped forward.
"Father—it wasn't Itachi! It has nothing to do with him. I was the one who resurrected you!" Sasuke's voice trembled slightly, but his conviction was unshakable. "I even resurrected Itachi. He's already dead too."
The declaration froze Fugaku in place. His stern expression faltered as he turned to his eldest son. Itachi, still silent, lowered his eyes, bearing the weight of his father's gaze.
The rest of the Uchiha, however, erupted. Especially the three men who had previously confronted Itachi. They immediately leapt to their feet, voices venomous with hatred.
"Itachi deserved his death! That traitor betrayed his clan, slaughtered his own blood, and sided with the village over us!"
"That's right! He's nothing but a disgrace to the Uchiha name!"
"A monster! A devil who could kill his own family—his own parents! How can you even stand before us?"
"He is scum. A stain upon the clan!"
"Disgrace! Disgrace!"
The chorus of insults and condemnation grew louder, each word cutting like a knife, but Itachi remained motionless, silent as a stone, bearing their hatred without protest.
Finally—
"Enough!"
The furious voice belonged to Shisui Uchiha. His normally calm demeanor cracked with righteous anger. He stepped forward, his eyes blazing.
"You fools. You keep spitting out the word 'clan' as if it means something sacred. But tell me—have any of you truly thought about the clan beyond your pride and hunger for power?"
Itachi turned, eyes widening slightly at his cousin's defense. "Shisui…"
Shisui glanced at him briefly, then returned his gaze to the clan, his voice cutting through the air like a blade.
"If you hadn't been obsessed with rebellion every single day, if you hadn't pushed our captain again and again to seize power from the village… the Uchiha clan would never have been destroyed in the first place!"
His words struck hard, but one of the older men shot back immediately, his voice shaking with fury:
"Shisui! I never thought you, the clan's greatest genjutsu prodigy, would betray us too! Do you forget how the village leadership treated us? They pushed us to the edge, surveilled us, branded us with suspicion. What choice did we have but resistance?"
"That's right!" another shouted. "We are one of the founding clans of Konoha! Yet we were treated like outcasts!"
"Exactly! If we had followed through with our plan, if Captain Fugaku had led us and Itachi hadn't betrayed us, we could have taken down the Hokage's advisors in one decisive strike! We could have seized control of the village with minimal bloodshed!"
"What a pity Itachi ruined everything!"
Their voices rose again, bitter with resentment.
"Enough!"
This time Shisui's roar was accompanied by power. His Mangekyō Sharingan flared to life, its intricate tomoe spinning as crimson light filled his eyes. The pressure was suffocating, and the gathered Uchiha fell silent in an instant.
"It's the Mangekyō!" one of them whispered, fear lacing his tone.
"Shisui's eyes… the strongest genjutsu."
"If only he had sided with us during the coup attempt, we could have—"
Shisui sneered, his disappointment palpable. Even now, they thought only of rebellion. He finally understood why Itachi had made the impossible choice to slaughter them all instead of reforming or leading them away.
Turning to Fugaku, Shisui's voice softened. "Captain… you know what would have happened if the Uchiha clan had staged that coup."
Fugaku was silent. Of course he knew. That was why, on the night of his death, he had chosen to entrust everything to Itachi.
Itachi met his father's eyes, memory flashing. He remembered standing before the clan's stone monument, when his father revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan for the first time. He had shown Itachi visions—rehearsals of reality, the ability of his unique eyes. Visions of the Uchiha seizing control of the Nine Tails, visions of civil war tearing Konoha apart.
Itachi had been stunned, horrified. And when the night came, sword raised, Fugaku had already seen countless endings. In the end, as both a shinobi of Konoha and as Sasuke's father, he had chosen to submit, to trust Itachi.
Now, Shisui stepped forward again. "Captain… look into my eyes."
Fugaku raised his gaze. Shisui's Mangekyō met his own, and the ability activated. Fugaku's Mangekyō spun, projecting the rehearsals of fate he had once seen.
Then, using his genjutsu mastery, Shisui reflected it, forcing the entire clan to share the vision.
The Uchiha gasped as the images poured into their minds.
They saw themselves launching the coup, Fugaku at the lead. They saw Konoha's entire military might rally in response—every clan, every shinobi. The village engulfed in flames of civil war.
They saw their own annihilation, the Uchiha reduced to corpses, while other clans suffered catastrophic losses. Konoha's defense shattered, leaving the Fire Country vulnerable.
They saw foreign villages sending armies across the borders, carving up Fire's land, crushing Konoha piece by piece.
At the end, the village lay in ruins, aflame. A single child sat alone amid the rubble, crying, surrounded by death.
The vision faded, and silence fell.
The Uchiha were pale, shaken. For the first time, doubt flickered in their eyes.
But denial quickly followed. One man shouted desperately, "No! That's a lie! That was just Shisui's genjutsu!"
"Yes!" another added. "It's an illusion! Nothing more!"
Shisui's voice cut through their delusion, cold and merciless.
"Fools. Sharingan reflects the truth of the heart. Do you really think I would lie about this?"
Silence. Heavy, suffocating silence.
At last, Naruto stepped forward. His eyes were sharp, his voice unwavering.
"Itachi chose the village. He carried the burden you all refused to face. He spared Sasuke, left him in Konoha, and joined Akatsuki only to keep Danzo in check—to ensure his brother's safety. At the same time, he acted as a spy, keeping Konoha safe from Akatsuki's worst intentions.
He lived in the shadows, hunted by the very village he protected, hated by the brother he loved most. He bore all of your sins alone, so that you could keep your illusions of pride. From beginning to end, he did only one thing: protect Konoha."
Itachi's head lifted slightly, his eyes shining though no tears fell. He exhaled a long breath, trying to steady his heart.
If Kisame had been there, he would have said it aloud—how often he found Itachi standing alone in the rain, silent, letting the cold water soak through his frail body. How he knew the rain was bad for his health, but chose it anyway, because he deserved the punishment.
Because that was who Itachi Uchiha was.
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