A fire broke out late at night in the Uchiha district and burned almost everything, destroying most of the evidence.
Neither the Anbu nor the Root operatives were able to figure out who started the fire.
Judging by the bodies, it looked like Itachi used Fire Release to burn the district after wiping out the clan.
In the center of the fire, many of the bodies were burned down to the bone. The exact number of deaths couldn't be confirmed.
Uchiha Sasuke was found unconscious near the area. He was taken to a nearby hospital as the only known survivor.
Although the fire didn't last very long, the flames were intense, and many people saw the thick smoke.
With just a few rumors spreading, the Uchiha Itachi clan massacre was widely known before sunrise.
By the time Sarutobi Hiruzen found out about the fire, Itachi was already long gone without a trace.
But even if Itachi hadn't left, there wouldn't be much Hiruzen could say to him.
That kid had already done more than enough for the village by wiping out his own clan.
"List Uchiha Itachi as an S-class missing-nin and begin the search."
"As for everything else, just leave it be. Let this whole thing slowly fade away."
There weren't many people left from the Uchiha clan. If no one brought it up, people would eventually forget.
This little wave of trouble that's just started—let it pass for now.
"Yes."
The masked Anbu disappeared after replying.
...
Danzo sat in his chair looking grim. He had barely slept at all last night.
Now that the Uchiha clan's eyes were basically all gone, the two people who went after Itachi didn't make it back alive either.
Still, Danzo wasn't too surprised. Sending those two after Itachi was more out of anger—just to annoy him a little.
But a genius who could destroy his whole clan? Those two never stood a chance.
The one they really needed to watch out for was that strange guy with the mask.
Sasuke, who stayed in the village, was now the perfect weak point to threaten Itachi.
Unless something unexpected happened, Itachi wouldn't be a danger to the village anytime soon.
But that masked guy—if they didn't find out who he was, there might be more problems down the line.
"We found the bodies of the two who chased Itachi."
"But… judging by the way they died, it looks like the work of that masked man."
"The bodies were overlapping, part of them fused into a tree, and there was a kunai nailed between them."
But it looked more like a sloppy attempt to cover something up.
The Root member didn't dare say the last part out loud. Danzo's face already looked dark enough—saying more might just get them scolded.
But no matter how they looked at it, the masked man didn't seem afraid of being exposed. When they saw him before, he was just as bold.
Danzo took a deep breath. From the sound of it, these two troublesome people were probably working together now.
But after last night, both he and Root had clearly taken a heavy blow.
Not a single Anbu acted during the whole thing—Hiruzen really managed to stay completely uninvolved.
"Go find any leads on Itachi. Watch where he goes. If anything seems off, report back to me immediately."
Now wasn't the time to recklessly hunt those two down. He needed time to recover first.
Danzo quietly made a mental note of everything.
...
The Uchiha clan, being such a big name, getting wiped out by one of their own—that naturally became a hot topic for gossip.
Doctors and nurses passing through the hospital would now and then peek at Sasuke through the window on his door.
When Sasuke opened his eyes, he was already lying in a hospital bed, the sharp smell of disinfectant stinging his nose.
Machines were hooked up around him, beeping steadily and evenly.
Sasuke turned his head to look to the side, but his neck ached sharply with every move.
He figured there was probably a big bruise back there.
Frowning, Sasuke slowly sat up. His bones cracked and popped as he moved.
He remembered Shisui and Itachi talking to him just before everything went black from the pain in his neck. And now he was here.
Even without thinking too hard, Sasuke could guess that Hatake Satoru probably showed up out of nowhere and knocked him out with a single chop.
Besides him, no one else could make a move so quietly.
"That guy."
Sasuke clenched his teeth.
Hatake Satoru had knocked him out so suddenly that he didn't even get to say goodbye to his brother and Shisui.
Who knows when he'll get to see them again.
Visiting his parents would have to wait—first, he needed to get stronger. Then, he was going to punch Hatake Satoru in the face!
Sasuke didn't have any major injuries. The Genjutsu Itachi used had only worn him out mentally.
After a good night's rest, he was mostly fine.
He pulled out the tubes connected to him and hopped off the hospital bed.
He didn't want to attract attention—the more people got curious and asked questions, the higher the risk of getting exposed.
It was rare for Itachi to trust him with something this important. He couldn't afford to mess it up.
Using his small size to his advantage, Sasuke quietly slipped past the nurses.
Whispers still reached his ears, whether he wanted to hear them or not.
"An entire family gone overnight… That Uchiha kid really is cold-hearted."
"Yeah, he didn't even spare his own parents. I heard his younger brother only survived because he got home late from school."
"But a kid that young… who knows what kind of trauma he's carrying?"
Sasuke frowned and let out a quiet "Tch."
All of this was just his brother's setup, and yet these people were chatting like they knew everything. What a bunch of idiots.
…
After sending Itachi to meet Obito, Hatake Satoru dragged Shisui back to the Hatake house to catch up on sleep.
On the way, he tossed the cat-face mask into a random trash bin. Whether it was better to destroy it or bury it, nothing beat being random.
The people investigating them were all ninja—if they found even a small clue, they'd cling to it like leeches.
The two of them slept until the next afternoon. When they woke up, Hatake Satoru pulled a map from the bookshelf and spread it out on the table.
Shisui was supposed to be dead, but they could still disguise him.
But habits are hard to change, and staying here too long might get them noticed.
Still, that wasn't the biggest issue.
The real problem was that Hatake Satoru realized there wasn't much point in staying here anymore. There were only so many talented kids in this village, and the rest were still too young.
They couldn't keep hanging around the same place. It was time to think bigger.
He and Shisui spent the whole day going over the map, and finally picked Kirigakure Village—now in complete chaos—as their destination.
The messier the village, the easier it would be to blend in by showing strength.
After Obito took control of the Mizukage, he turned Kirigakure Village into a hell on earth with harsh laws.
At the same time, there were a few people there worth pulling into their side.
Hatake Satoru compared the nearby villages, then slapped his pencil down on the table with a grin.
"Alright, let's start from here!"
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