---
A flash of cold steel glinted. A pungent smell of blood erupted from Fugaku and Mikoto, who were kneeling.
Their figures swayed, then fell straight to the ground.
All signs of life had vanished; wounds continuously seeped blood, forming small pools on the floor.
Just like before, Itachi slowly turned his head.
The usual gentle and kind expression was completely gone. Itachi looked down at him expressionlessly, his three-tomoe Sharingan as cold and still as stagnant water.
Blood was still dripping down from the katana in his hand.
"No!! Dad! Mom!!"
Sasuke abruptly stood up, forcing his eyes wide open. His black pupils were completely dyed crimson.
A single tomoe quickly spun into existence in Sasuke's eyes. Itachi closed his eyes slightly, and the bloody corpses filling Sasuke's vision completely dissipated.
Sasuke knelt on the ground, gasping heavily, his eyes struggling to focus, glaring hatefully at Itachi before him.
"Why did you do it! You—!"
Seeing Itachi's cold face, a fierce surge of hatred boiled up within Sasuke.
He personally killed Dad and Mom, yet this guy still maintained such a calm expression.
Sasuke quickly drew a kunai and charged fiercely towards Itachi.
Even if there was no chance of victory, even if he currently had no ability to contend with Itachi.
But why did this happen? How could Itachi do such a thing?
Scene after scene of happy memories flashed through Sasuke's mind, ultimately settling on Itachi's indifferent gaze and his parents' corpses.
Clang. Sasuke's kunai fell to the ground.
Itachi tightly gripped Sasuke's kunai-wielding wrist with one hand, lifting him up effortlessly.
Two fingers of his other hand firmly poked Sasuke's forehead.
A gratified smile appeared on Itachi's face as he looked at him gently.
"Forgive me, Sasuke."
"??"
A trace of bewilderment appeared on Sasuke's face. The spinning single-tomoe Sharingan slowly reverted to black after seeing Itachi's expression clearly.
"As expected, Uchiha understand Uchiha best. You forced it right out."
Hatake Kuroshi's silver hair peeked out from beside Itachi, a grinning expression on his face. He even reached out and pinched Sasuke's cheek.
Even though the clan wasn't actually massacred, he could instill such a vivid Genjutsu in Sasuke.
Itachi must have considered this scenario long before, enabling him to create such a realistic illusion in such a short time.
Hatake Kuroshi glanced nonchalantly at Itachi beside him. Itachi showed no signs of nervousness, merely gazing very gently at his younger brother.
Tsk, brother complex.
"That idea of yours was terrible, wasn't it? Tormenting a child as young as Sasuke."
"Doesn't your conscience hurt?"
Shisui clearly disapproved of this artificial act, frowning with disdain at Hatake Kuroshi.
"I don't have a conscience, so it doesn't hurt."
"Besides, isn't this a great method? I didn't make him experience a life-and-death parting on a cliff edge."
Hatake Kuroshi pulled down the cheek under his eye patch with his fingers, sticking his tongue out and making a face at Shisui.
Shisui was utterly choked speechless, struggling to swallow down his indignation.
Can we never get past the cliff-jumping incident!?
Sasuke, set down by Itachi, still looked completely bewildered, looking back and forth between Itachi and Hatake Kuroshi.
The expressions of the three people before him showed no trace of seriousness or gravity. This atmosphere didn't match the mood of a clan massacre at all, right?!
"What... are you guys doing?"
Just as he finished speaking, Mikoto and Fugaku suddenly slid open the door beside Sasuke.
"What happened?"
"Are you alright, Sasuke, Itachi?"
They could hear Sasuke's throat-tearing screams from inside the room earlier.
Although Itachi had instructed them not to come out rashly unless necessary... hearing Sasuke's tragic cries, Mikoto and Fugaku couldn't hide their worry and rushed out.
Sasuke blinked, looking at Fugaku and Mikoto standing unharmed at the doorway.
His brain couldn't quite process it.
Hatake Kuroshi and Itachi's reactions were already strange, and now Fugaku and Mikoto walked out without a single scratch.
"Wh... What's going on?"
The scene in the Genjutsu felt so real, as if it happened right before his eyes, but? What on earth was happening?!
"We're fine."
Itachi placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, smiling at Fugaku and Mikoto.
Hatake Kuroshi, meanwhile, mischievously crouched down and whispered into Sasuke's ear.
"That was your brother using Genjutsu on you just now. It was all fake."
"My idea, not bad, right~?"
Sasuke's brow twitched, and he looked up at Itachi beside him, squeezing out a questioning sound from his throat.
"Hah?"
Itachi scratched his cheek awkwardly, avoiding Sasuke's gaze.
"Why are you guys ganging up to bully me! You guy, idiot, idiot!"
Sasuke rummaged through his vocabulary for insults, ultimately only managing to repeatedly call Hatake Kuroshi an idiot.
This kind of rotten idea must have come from this nasty guy!
Itachi seemed to have no intention of explaining, and seeing Sasuke yelling insults with such vigor, he didn't seem to be in any real distress.
Fugaku and Mikoto just exchanged a look and shook their heads helplessly.
Mikoto beckoned to Sasuke, calling gently:
"You can pester your brother later. Come pack your things first."
Sasuke puffed out his cheeks, glared angrily at Hatake Kuroshi grinning behind Itachi, and obediently followed Mikoto back into the house to pack.
Itachi had already informed the remaining people about moving.
Without the radicals, the remaining people weren't war-hungry. Having heard Itachi, they had already gone back in twos and threes to pack.
"Ah, there's still some cleanup work for you two to do~"
"Kotoamatsukami has completely altered the villagers' memories, so Danzo and Root should be coming soon to collect your clan's eyes."
Hatake Kuroshi pushed Itachi and Shisui towards the compound entrance.
"Burn all those bodies. Don't let them get them."
Itachi and Shisui naturally understood Danzo's covetous desire for the Sharingan. Although burning so many Sharingan eyes was a bit regrettable... compared to letting them fall into enemy hands, burning them beforehand was indeed the best outcome.
The two nodded and began using Fire Release to deal with the mess.
Hatake Kuroshi, meanwhile, was at the entrance guiding the Uchiha clansmen to the new clan grounds established near the border. It should be no problem for these people to live peacefully there.
Just as Hatake Kuroshi's group was handling the aftermath... the crows circling outside the Hokage Building completely dissipated. The crimson sky returned to its original nighttime black.
Root and ANBU members merely glanced hesitantly at the sky before continuing to urgently report back to their respective commanders.
The crow's eyes also reverted from Mangekyo Sharingan to ordinary three-tomoe, hastily flying through the forest back towards Shisui.
With the complete execution of the Kotoamatsukami Genjutsu, everyone's memories were altered.
Hiruzen stood by the window, taking a deep breath. The masked Kakashi knelt beside him.
"Itachi Uchiha has massacred his clan."
"All Uchiha clan members wiped out. The sole survivor is his younger brother, Sasuke, who was kept after school and had not returned."
White smoke swirled around Hiruzen. He nodded silently.
Kakashi, kneeling beside him, vanished instantly with Hiruzen's exhalation of smoke.
"Itachi Uchiha massacred the clan."
"The only survivor is Itachi's younger brother, Sasuke."
"We also encountered that masked man. He likely tried to stop Itachi Uchiha's actions but failed. His whereabouts are unknown."
Hearing this news, Danzo's gloomy expression finally brightened somewhat.
At last, something was still within his calculations. Although losing Shisui's eye was quite regrettable... the Mangekyo Sharingan was incredibly rare. For now, he could only make up for it with quantity.
Moreover, he had initially worried about what the masked man intended to do with Shisui's eye, but now it seemed he posed no threat.
With his whereabouts unknown, whether he was killed by Itachi or escaped didn't matter.
The masked man's arrogant words still echoed in Danzo's ears.
A rare, grim smile appeared on Danzo's lips. That person went through so much trouble to infiltrate Root, retrieve Shisui's eye, and save the Uchiha clan... wasn't it all just wasted effort, completely meaningless?
"Let's go. To the Uchiha compound, collect those Sharingan."
The distance from the border to this place was quite far. Any movement would leave traces.
To prevent leaving such unnecessary clues, Hatake Kuroshi resolutely chose to teleport the few remaining Uchiha clansmen away.
His repeatedly flashing figure seemed like a glitch in mid-air.
After everyone except Itachi's family had been moved, Hatake Kuroshi dusted off his clothes and walked casually over to Shisui.
Fugaku stood aside with a somewhat grim expression, while Mikoto tearfully hugged Sasuke.
"Sorry, Father, Mother."
"This was the most appropriate method I could think of."
"Sasuke must remain in the village, whether as an informant or as leverage to control me."
---
Check my: p@treon.com/ShixT9 for extra 60 Chapters
> Each 50 Spirit Stones I will release an extra chapter
> If a member joins my p@treon
> Tier 1 = 20 Advance Chapters +1 Extra Chapter + Shoutout
> Tier 2 = 40 Advance Chapters + 2 Extra Chapters + Shoutout
> Tier 3 = 60 Advance Chapters + 4 Extra Chapters + Shoutout
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