"So..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked deeply at Kawa Hyuga and said, "You understand, don't you?"
Kawa knew he was hinting that it was okay to use an all-or-nothing approach to threaten the main family, but he shouldn't let the branch and main families truly split. Since 'Hollows' are born from hatred, if there were a large number of deaths among the branch family, it could create another Fugaku Uchiha, given their discontent with the main family.
And judging by the 'Espada' appearing in various places in the ninja world, they were likely collecting 'Hollows' of Fugaku's caliber.
Hiruzen's desire to hold a Five Kage Summit was both to make the other Kage understand the threat of the 'Hollows' and to end the long-standing wars in the ninja world, thus reducing the number of 'Hollows' being born.
"..."
Kawa was silent for a moment, then he nodded calmly. "I understand, Lord Third. I'll do my best to restrain the branch family."
In truth, whether he restrained them or not no longer mattered. The fuse for the conflict between the main and branch families was already set, and it would only take one last spark to ignite it completely. And the person who would light that spark, Kawa had already found not long ago, hadn't he?
However, the result would be different from what Hiruzen imagined. It wouldn't be the branch family that died.
After a few more words of comfort, Hiruzen let Kawa leave the hospital room.
Click.
Kawa gently closed the door, but he didn't leave the hospital right away. He walked further down the corridor. He stopped outside the window of a private room, looking through the glass at the scene inside.
Itachi Uchiha was lying in the hospital bed, his face as pale as a sheet, and his breathing was still weak. He was clearly in a deep coma. Sasuke Uchiha was sitting in a chair, asleep beside the bed with his head resting on his folded arms.
Sasuke's face was turned to the side, his eyelashes casting a shadow on his pale cheek. The traces of dried tears still remained on his face. Even in his sleep, his brows were slightly furrowed, as if he were having a nightmare.
But unlike the original story, where he was completely twisted by hatred and exuded a cold, hostile aura, the current Sasuke, while showing deep exhaustion and anger, had not been completely consumed by hatred and malice.
This was because Itachi hadn't been able to torment Sasuke with the Tsukuyomi, and with Shisui's presence, Sasuke hadn't become as extremely insane as he did in the original story.
Kawa silently watched the scene inside the room, his eyes reflecting Sasuke's sleeping face and Shisui's.
But just then, a suppressed, angry commotion came from a distance, breaking the silence of the corridor.
"Get out of the way!"
"We need answers!"
"Shisui has to give us an explanation!"
Several figures stormed into the relatively quiet hospital ward with an aggressive air. They were the clan members who had survived Itachi Uchiha's massacre—either the old, the weak, women, and children, or those with a more gentle disposition who didn't belong to the extremist faction. But having a gentle disposition didn't mean they wouldn't be angry; they all had family and friends who had died at Itachi Uchiha's hands.
At this moment, their faces were a mix of grief, anger, and bewilderment. They ignored the doctors and nurses trying to stop them and surged toward the hospital room where Shisui Uchiha was. Their goal was clear. They had to know why Itachi Uchiha had slaughtered the clan, whether Shisui Uchiha knew about or was involved in the matter, and why Sasuke had survived Itachi Uchiha!
They needed an explanation, the truth, no matter how cruel it was.
"What are you doing?"
Kawa, who was standing outside the room, slowly turned around and frowned at the agitated Uchiha clan members. "This is a hospital; no loud noises are allowed!"
The steps of the Uchiha clan members faltered. Leading them was Yakumo Uchiha. That night, if Itachi Uchiha had continued after killing Inabi Uchiha, his next target would probably have been Yakumo Uchiha. Itachi Uchiha's kill list was ranked by strength, status, and radicalism. Yakumo Uchiha's overall ranking was low, and his lack of strength and status saved his life.
At this moment, Yakumo suddenly stopped, his chest heaving violently, his face flushed red, clearly holding back a lot of anger.
"You..."
He looked at Kawa and opened his mouth, as if to say something. But the moment his resentment met Kawa's calm Byakugan, it was like being doused with a bucket of cold water and was forcefully suppressed.
Both he and the other Uchiha clan members knew that the person standing before them was the one who had led the Anbu to rescue them that night. Otherwise, they would have likely died miserably at Itachi Uchiha's hands, just like Inabi Uchiha and his wife. Even Inabi's only child had been saved by Kawa himself. This forced them to suppress some of their anger when facing Kawa.
"Kawa Hyuga, we're not here to cause trouble."
Yakumo took a few deep breaths, his voice still trembling with suppression. He asked, "We just want to find out the truth from Shisui Uchiha."
"We want to know why Itachi Uchiha, that beast, did this. Why he killed his own clan members, not even sparing his own parents!"
Kawa's gaze swept over the grief-stricken clan members, finally settling on Yakumo Uchiha's face. He sighed and said, "Shisui Uchiha is still in a coma and hasn't woken up yet."
"Sasuke Uchiha is indeed here, but with all of you, are you planning to interrogate a child who also lost his parents overnight and now has nothing?"
The anger on Yakumo and the others' faces froze, replaced by a complex and indescribable feeling of frustration. Sasuke's father and mother also died at the hands of that beast, Itachi Uchiha. One could even say that Sasuke was the most brutally affected victim of this tragedy.
However, the anger in Yakumo's heart could not be quelled. He seemed to have a sudden thought and looked up, saying, "If that's the case, then I have to ask him."
"Why did only he survive? That lunatic, Itachi Uchiha, even killed his own parents. Why did he only spare Sasuke?"
This question instantly stirred new waves of emotion in the hearts of the other clan members. The resentment and suspicion that had subsided slightly were once again brought to the surface.
Then, just as the stifling suspicion was about to erupt again.
Creak...
The door to the hospital room was gently pushed open from the inside, and Sasuke Uchiha appeared in the doorway. He had clearly been awakened by the commotion outside. There were still traces of dried tears on his face, and he looked exhausted.
Feeling everyone's gaze on him, Sasuke's body subconsciously tensed, but he quickly pursed his lips. Then, to everyone's astonishment, he slowly knelt down, heavily pressing his forehead against the cold floor with a dull thud.
"I'm sorry, everyone..."
He kept his head down, his voice trembling. "Itachi Uchiha, the reason he slaughtered the clan, and even killed his own parents, according to his own words..."
"It was for those eyes, to gain even greater power. And he spared my life..."
Here, Sasuke's body trembled, and his voice was filled with an uncontrollable sob and fear. "He said it was because I also had the potential to awaken those eyes..."
"He said that when I have the same eyes as him, he'll come back to kill me and take my eyes."
"I don't know what he meant by 'those eyes,' but that's what he said. Please believe me..."
Sasuke Uchiha didn't know what Itachi Uchiha meant by "the eyes," but the faces of some of the surviving Uchiha clan members turned pale. They knew; of course, they knew.
Those legendary eyes, the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Itachi Uchiha had slaughtered the clan, and even his parents, to gain the power of those eyes? And he spared Sasuke's life so he could wait for Sasuke to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan and then take it from him?
This truth was more brutal than the most vicious reason they could have imagined.
"..."
Looking at Sasuke, who was kneeling on the ground and trembling with fear and grief, looking at this child who had also lost everything overnight, the Uchiha clan members present fell into a deathly silence.
After all, these surviving Uchiha clan members were the more gentle-natured ones. At this moment, facing a child who was also a victim, and one who had even been chosen by Itachi Uchiha and would undoubtedly face suffering in the future, what could they say or do?
The anger in their eyes receded like a tide, leaving only a deep, bottomless sense of sorrow and helplessness.
As for Yakumo, the frustration and anger in his heart had nowhere to go. He suddenly clenched his trembling right fist and slammed it against the wall beside him.
Bang!
With a dull thud, blood instantly splattered out! Yakumo's knuckles were bloody and bruised, his finger bones shattered, but he seemed to feel no pain. His bloodshot eyes were filled with anger and bewilderment.
The corridor was deathly silent, with only the sound of Yakumo's heavy breathing and Sasuke's suppressed sobs intertwined.
In this suffocating silence, an extremely faint voice came from inside the hospital room.
"Please, don't take it out on Sasuke..."
The voice, although hoarse and weak, broke the silence of the corridor. Everyone turned to look inside the hospital room.
In the hospital bed, Shisui Uchiha, who had been in a coma, had opened his eyes. However, his once sharp black eyes were now a vacant, pale white, his pupils unfocused as he looked towards the doorway. He struggled, using his one good arm to roughly pull out the IV lines and monitoring equipment.
Seeing his actions, Sasuke subconsciously tried to help him up. But Shisui just gritted his teeth and pushed him away, enduring the intense pain in half of his body. He used his good arm to support himself and staggered out of the hospital bed.
His steps were unsteady, and his body swayed. Every step was like treading on a knife's edge, and his forehead was covered in fine cold sweat. But he walked to the doorway and looked at the clan members outside with vacant eyes.
Thud!
With a dull sound, he too knelt heavily on the ground, his forehead touching the cold floor.
"Tell me."
Yakumo didn't care about his actions. He looked down at Shisui Uchiha and said in a cold voice, "That beast slaughtered the clan. Did you have a hand in it?!"
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