"The Eyes of a God!"
"God blesses the Uchiha! Two pairs of divine eyes have appeared!"
"Let's seize Konoha in one go tonight!"
Hearing Itachi's voice and seeing the powerful shadow of the Susanoo, the assembled Uchiha Clansmen grew excited, crowding toward him.
But as they drew closer, they saw Fugaku lying lifeless at Itachi's feet.
"Clan Head?"
Stupefaction spread like a contagious disease across the faces of the Uchiha Clansmen.
"You see it now… this is the curse of the Mangekyo!"
Itachi made no attempt to hide the secret of the Mangekyo, exposing the higher-level eyes to everyone.
The immense Ocular Power of the Eternal Mangekyo pressed down on the Ninjas with Three-Tomoe Sharingan, forcing them to lower their heads.
"But so what? We can gain power!"
The fanatical Gin pushed aside several Ninjas and rushed out from the crowd.
"Silence!"
"Look around you! Do you want to turn those children and your families into what you are now?"
"Into... rabid dogs?"
Itachi grabbed him by the collar, etching an Eternal Mangekyo's Genjutsu into Gin's mind.
In the Genjutsu Space, Gin watched his relatives, his son, and his grandson kill each other over a single eye.
Finally, he saw his young grandson, with Mangekyo activated, crouching in a pool of blood, gently licking it, then looking up at him with a smile.
"Gah!!"
The color drained from Gin's face. His limbs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground, cold sweat mixing with the rain.
"Then what should we do? There's no place for us here anymore!"
From the crowd, a Uchiha Jonin sobbed and roared at Itachi.
"Leave!"
Itachi sighed softly.
"Why should we? Konoha was founded by our Uchiha Clan!"
Some Uchiha ninjas still refused to yield, roar in anger, but more fell into silence.
"Because we still have countless women and children who rely on Konoha's care!"
Itachi retorted expressionlessly, leaving the Ninja speechless.
"Our departure will give them a better life."
"Those willing to leave, follow me!"
With that, Itachi removed his Konoha's forehead protector and tossed it to the ground, heading toward the village barrier's exit.
Some of the Uchiha gritted their teeth and followed, while others sat down dejectedly where they were.
"Itachi... you really went this far after all."
Sakura murmured, her emerald-green eyes watching Itachi leading his clansmen away as she lowered her sword.
Wiping the rain from her face, Sakura walked to the entrance of the Uchiha Clan's compound and sat down, waiting for an important guest.
Soon, Danzo arrived with his Root's Ninjas.
What met their eyes was the giant crater that was once the Military Police Force's headquarters and a crowd of Ninjas who had lost the will to fight.
Seeing so many Sharingan within reach, Danzo gritted his teeth and ordered, "All of you, move! Suppress the Uchiha rebellion!"
"Stop! Can't you see they've lost the will to fight?"
Leaning against the compound's entrance, Sakura took several heavy breaths and swung her blade, releasing a sword light.
Clang-!
A cyan flying slash cut through the rain and air with a sharp hum, carving a massive crater as a boundary line.
The Root's Ninjas who had intended to advance retreated behind the line, warily watching the injured, seemingly fragile girl.
"Haruno Sakura! Are you betraying Konoha?!!"
Danzo, leaning on his cane, walked to the edge of the crater, confronting Sakura.
"Oh my, did I hear that right? You can represent Konoha now? Have you become Hokage to speak for Konoha?"
Sakura's exquisite face showed a malicious expression, her emerald-green eyes filled with mockery.
Despite her adorable appearance, her words struck directly at Danzo's weakest point, making the Hokage's Advisor's face twist in embarrassment.
"You..."
Danzo's face turned sinister, and he reached toward his bandaged arm.
Suddenly, a violent explosion sounded behind him.
Everyone turned to look. A massive Susanoo had kicked a huge hole in the village's barrier.
Then, dozens of figures leaped through the hole and out of the village.
Danzo broke out in a cold sweat. The memory of a man in red armor, threatening the Shimura Clan with a hundred-meter-tall blue giant when he was six, resurfaced from his long-dormant memories.
"Hahahaha, leaving a little deterrence before going, huh? That Itachi."
Sakura clutched her stomach, laughing heartily.
After laughing her fill, Sakura wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and glanced casually at Danzo.
"Still planning to move against the Uchiha Clan? Who knows, maybe other villages will mysteriously gain a branch of the Uchiha bloodline~"
"When you face the Sharingan on the battlefield someday, you'd better think carefully about what you did today, Hokage 'Advisor-sama'?"
Listening to Sakura's sarcastic remarks, Danzo's regret and resentment grew more intense.
Back then, he had been just one step too slow… just one step, costing him the Hokage's position.
'If I had become Hokage, how would this girl dare treat me like this?'
'And now, because Hiruzen was too slow, these unstable Uchiha had produced a second Uchiha Madara, causing the perfect opportunity to eliminate the Uchiha Clan to slip away.'
'Sensei! You were wrong about him! I am the one most suited to be Hokage!'
"No, from the moment you took that slow step, you were destined to be unfit for the Hokage role!"
Sakura's Observation Haki picked up on Danzo's regret, and she mocked him.
"Mind's Eye of the Kagura?"
Danzo's expression changed, and he tried to suppress his emotions.
But the more he suppressed them, the more his venomous resentment seemed to nourish itself, spreading wildly.
"Someone like you, who is immersed in darkness, never has the time to understand the unparalleled power of a soul that yearns for light."
"Light? You mean the Uchiha? That clan born with a cursed power, the cursed clan?"
Danzo seemed to have grabbed a lifeline, frantically attacking Sakura's words.
Sakura looked at the man pretending to be composed but already hysterical and shook her head.
"The Uchiha's power is no curse. Nurture it with heart's blood, and it returns roses… nurture it with hatred, and it returns thorns."
"Shimura Danzo, someone like you will never understand these things."
"So, drown in the darkness with your Root and your unrealistic fantasies."
Sakura, having regained some strength, stood up listlessly and prepared to leave.
"Insulting Root and Danzo-sama… you deserve death!"
A Root's Ninja, not accepting his superior being insulted, drew a kunai and charged at Sakura.
Facing the rapidly approaching Root's Ninja, Sakura calmly turned her head and looked at him.
Whoosh! Clang-!
Dozens of black iron pans were thrown out, knocking the Root's Ninja to the ground. Uncle Teyaki had arrived with a group of civilians!
The bustling crowd of Uchiha Clan's civilians, women, and children stepped forward, fully alert and guarding against the executioners who wanted to destroy their homes.
Sakura stood among the crowd, raised her hand, and drew a small circle toward Danzo.
Her expression seemed to say...
'See? This is the power you will never have.'