Izumi felt the air around her plummet, a bone-chilling cold making her hairs stand on end. Her hand instinctively gripped the ninja blade at her waist, already drawn an inch from its sheath. Her three-tomoe Sharingan locked onto Itachi, unblinking.
Right now, her focus was razor-sharp, beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead, every muscle in her body subtly tensed.
But then, something made her eyes widen, her pupils filled with disbelief.
It wasn't that Uchiha Itachi had made a move against her. No, in her line of sight, strange text appeared—floating right above Itachi's head!
Lines of words hovered there, suspended in the air.
When she couldn't help but focus on them, she was stunned. Wasn't this exactly what Senior Akainu had mentioned about the "evils" Uchiha Itachi would commit in the future?! Among the dense text, she even saw that Itachi would kill her mother in a year's time!
Hiss—that was the Uchiha clan massacre Itachi would unleash a year from now!
This… could it be?!
The ability to see the evils of the future!!! Izumi screamed internally, a cry no one else could hear. Her first thought was that this had to be connected to Senior Akainu's Mangekyō Sharingan! Could it be that, without her even noticing, Senior Akainu had somehow implanted a Mangekyō ability into her, letting her share the power to see the evils of the future?
That had to be it!
There was no other explanation for the scene unfolding before her eyes! Hearsay was one thing, but seeing it with her own eyes was entirely different.
As she stared at the "future evils" of Uchiha Itachi laid bare before her, Izumi realized she could never forgive him. Even if she didn't fully buy into Senior Akainu's [Absolute Justice], just witnessing Itachi's future atrocities meant she could never go back to being friends with him.
"Izumi, I can tell you're hesitating. You're wavering. Or maybe… I could call it guilt," Itachi suddenly said, his voice cold and detached. "You haven't said a word, but it seems your heart has already chosen to stand against the Leaf."
He let out a sigh. "I used to think you were different, a unique Uchiha, unlike the radical members of our clan. But now, it's clear. With Uchiha blood flowing through your veins, you can't escape the curse of our lineage. You're no different from those extremists."
Izumi: "???"
What was this guy blabbering about? She hadn't said anything—she was just shocked at seeing his future crimes! How did that turn into her feeling guilty in his eyes?
"Fine, then…" Itachi's gaze hardened, his voice steady as he stood still. "At least this version of you makes me more certain of what I have to do. The Uchiha clan is sick—gravely ill. Everyone is trapped by the curse of our blood, unable to break free. That curse limits your potential, your vision."
"But I, who strive to break free from that curse, surpass you all in both vision and scope. From now on, Izumi, you and I… we're enemies. The Leaf… cannot be destroyed by you."
Izumi's expression twisted as she finally blurted out, "Can you stop spouting that half-baked, barely-educated nonsense like you didn't even finish six years of ninja academy?"
She finally understood why Senior Akainu always urged Clan Leader Fugaku to take Itachi to a therapist. And she had a new realization of her own: Uchiha Itachi… really needed to read more books! Seriously, stop with the deranged, illiterate ramblings! Go back to the academy and start over!
She was starting to cringe just listening to him!
"Izumi, some things can't be learned at the ninja academy, no matter how long you study," Itachi said coolly. "Only by seeing and experiencing things firsthand can you understand the internal crisis the Leaf is facing."
Izumi fell silent. Maybe… she shouldn't bother arguing with this guy. He wouldn't listen anyway.
As she gripped her blade's handle, bracing herself, she suddenly noticed Itachi's attention shift elsewhere. His expression faltered, almost dazed. Curious, Izumi followed his gaze.
"…Sasuke-kun?!"
Under a streetlamp at the corner of the alley stood a small figure—Uchiha Sasuke! She saw the brothers lock eyes across the distance. Itachi's gaze held a trace of complex emotions, while Sasuke's young face was filled with anger and confusion.
Izumi immediately realized Sasuke likely knew about Itachi's "future evils." It made sense—the news had spread through the entire Leaf. It'd be stranger if Sasuke didn't know!
"I've been looking for you!" Sasuke's young voice rang out in the quiet night, sharp with both fury and sorrow. "Why would you do that to the Uchiha clan? Why would you kill Father and Mother? Why would the future you become like that? You've never given me a real explanation!"
Itachi was silent for a long moment. Clearly, Sasuke's sudden appearance caught him off guard. Since that night when he'd pushed Sasuke to the point of fainting, Itachi had avoided him. He hadn't expected to run into him tonight.
"Because of vision," Itachi said slowly. "Your perspective, and everyone else's, is limited to the Uchiha clan, to a single family. Your vision is too narrow. Even Father is the same—he's too narrow-minded. He thinks only of balancing the Leaf and the Uchiha, but that balance is meaningless."
"The moment the Uchiha clan showed discontent with the Leaf, everything became irreparable. Father can't control the situation. He's just patching up holes, one after another. But when things spiral out of control, he'll be swept up by clansmen with even narrower vision. It's inevitable. It's the Uchiha's destined fate."
Sasuke's eyes widened, tears welling up, as Itachi's lips curled into a mocking sneer. "Sasuke, do you want to die by my hand early so you can avoid living in pain? Hmph, such a weak and naive little brother."
As Itachi took a few steps forward, intent on provoking Sasuke further, a sharp shing of a blade being drawn stopped him in his tracks.
He turned to see Izumi, her sword drawn, standing in his path toward Sasuke. The night breeze stirred her long black hair, her crimson three-tomoe Sharingan blazing with fury and hostility.
"Uchiha Itachi, don't you dare shove your hopeless, illiterate worldview onto a kid like Sasuke-kun," she said firmly.
Itachi replied coolly, "You're no match for me."
Izumi's face tightened, but her voice was resolute. "[Absolute Justice] never backs down, no matter how strong the enemy. If justice doesn't stand for the innocent, who in this twisted, broken ninja world will protect them?"
Itachi's brows furrowed, about to respond, when his gaze flicked to someone approaching behind Sasuke. He locked eyes with the newcomer for a few seconds, then glanced back at Izumi. Without another word, he vanished with a flicker of his Body Flicker Technique.
Izumi blinked, startled. She turned to see Uchiha Mikoto standing behind Sasuke.
"Thank you, Izumi…" Mikoto managed a grateful smile, but Izumi could see the deep, unspoken pain behind it.
Itachi's "madness" might not have visibly affected Clan Leader Fugaku, but as a mother, Aunt Mikoto seemed utterly heartbroken by her son.
Izumi took a deep breath, sheathing her blade and calming her nerves. "It's what I had to do. That guy's gone off the deep end. He could snap at any moment, and Sasuke-kun is innocent. Stopping him was my duty."
Mikoto pressed her lips together, crouching to wipe the tears from Sasuke's eyes with the back of her hand. Standing, she held Sasuke's small hand and looked at Izumi. "Izumi, can I ask you for a favor?"
"Of course," Izumi replied.
"Could you take me and Sasuke… to see Akainu?" Mikoto asked softly, bowing slightly.
Izumi froze. Even Sasuke, who'd snuck out in the middle of the night to "find his brother" and got caught, looked up in shock, sniffling.
Meanwhile, in the Koharu Clan's compound, every member was gathered, staring at a body lying in the center of the hall. The corpse's neck bore clear signs of stitching.
"Lady Koharu! Uchiha Akainu killed one of our clan—a talented young ninja who could've at least become a Special Jōnin!" The father of "Koharu Ryūji" glared at Koharu Utatane with bloodshot eyes, his voice thick with grief. "He was just a child! He hadn't even graduated from the academy yet! Even if Ryūji made some mistakes, did he deserve to die for it?"
Ryūji's mother knelt beside her son's body, sobbing quietly.
The father's anguish and the mother's tears left Koharu Utatane deeply unsettled.
"What do you expect me to do?" Koharu took a deep breath, her face dark. "Kill Uchiha Akainu? That's a naive thought. Do you think we can kill him?"
"I…" Koharu began, but a sudden voice interrupted her, drawing the attention of everyone in the hall. A Root ninja stood at the entrance.
Before Koharu could question him, the ninja spoke quickly. "Danzo Shimura has been killed by Uchiha Akainu!"
Koharu: "…?!"
The Koharu Clan: "!!!"
"Wasn't Danzo at the Root base?" Koharu's face darkened. "Even if most Root ninja go home after hours, there are always at least seven or eight elite Root members guarding the base. How could Danzo be killed by Akainu with that kind of protection? What are you Root ninja even doing?!"
The Root ninja caught the accusation in her tone. He'd only come to deliver the news, but her words prompted him to add, "Advisor Mito Menma was there too. He told us not to act rashly. If you want to point fingers, talk to him."
Root was the Hokage's secret force, not beholden to a temporary leader like Koharu. After dropping his words, the ninja left.
The Koharu Clan's expressions were a mix of shock and complexity. "That murderer even dared to kill Danzo, a high-ranking Leaf official," one clansman muttered. "Maybe Ryūji's death was… quicker, in comparison?"
Silence fell again before someone coughed lightly. "Right now, we should focus on arranging Ryūji's funeral."
An elder added, "You two are still young. You could have another child."
The message was clear: let this go. The enemy was too strong to confront. Starting over was better than risking the clan's destruction.
Ryūji's parents: "…"
Elsewhere, the Shimura Clan's atmosphere was even heavier. They couldn't even see Danzo's body—too many secrets were tied to it, and Root would never release it.
After a long silence, someone finally spoke. "Lord Danzo poured his heart into the Leaf's prosperity, even funneling the Shimura Clan's wealth into Root to build it up. Root's strength today is because of him and our clan's sacrifices."
A younger Shimura clansman clenched his fists, eyes burning with hatred. "Yet the inherently evil Uchiha Clan always targeted Lord Danzo, and that extremist Uchiha Akainu succeeded! Are we just going to sit here and do nothing? Will Danzo's death be in vain? Will Root, his life's work, be handed over to the Koharu Clan? Are we letting Uchiha Akainu get away with this?!"
His furious questions stoked the anger in the other Shimura ninja. Molded by Danzo's influence, they saw the Uchiha as inherently evil, a clan that needed to be eradicated. They believed the current Hokage was too weak and that only Danzo was fit to lead. They took pride in joining Root.
People called the Uchiha extreme, but under Danzo's sway, the Shimura Clan was just as fanatical.
"I hear the Uchiha aren't united," an elder said darkly. "Akainu is an outlier, even among his own clan, and has made enemies within it."
Someone caught his meaning. "Whether it's the radical Uchiha plotting a coup or Fugaku's faction pushing for balance, neither gets along with Akainu."
"Fugaku won't move against Akainu," another said. "Danzo called him a weak Uchiha."
"What about Uchiha Shisui?"
Meanwhile, Izumi stood nervously in front of a modest two-story house. Had she overstepped by agreeing to bring Mikoto to see Senior Akainu? But here they were, Mikoto and Sasuke standing behind her.
Taking deep breaths to calm herself, she stepped forward and rang the doorbell.
Click—the door opened, and a sharp, quirky voice greeted her. "Well, well, it's you, newbie."
"Jiro-senpai?!" Izumi looked down to see the ninja cat Jiro opening the door.
It made sense. Jiro lived with Senior Akainu, supposedly as a partner, but more like a pampered pet.
"Hm?" Jiro noticed Mikoto and Sasuke behind her. "Meow, some rare guests, huh?"
"Sorry for the intrusion," Mikoto said with a strained smile.
Sasuke stared curiously at Jiro, then looked up at his mother, confused about why she'd brought him to see Akainu. He remembered Akainu vividly—a man who'd killed in front of him and revealed Itachi's "future evils."
As a figure appeared at the door, Sasuke instinctively hid behind Mikoto, driven by an instinctive fear.