[Brain Storage!]
In the 55th year of Konoha, a blood moon hung in the sky.
A chilling aura permeated the entire Uchiha compound, yet no one noticed.
Uchiha Itachi put on his gear, his short sword sheathed. He gently touched the Konoha forehead protector, a source of pride, on his forehead with his right hand, his gaze becoming incredibly resolute.
"What a foolish clan, what a foolish little brother. At thirteen years old, I am so lonely, so tired…" Itachi muttered to himself.
The first house was Uchiha Kenta's.
Kenta was a Chunin in the clan, gentle in nature, and always greeted Itachi warmly whenever they met.
Itachi silently infiltrated the courtyard. Through the paper door, he saw Kenta kneeling before a low table, grading student assignments—he taught at the Ninja Academy.
Itachi's Sharingan glowed with an eerie red light in the darkness. The three tomoe slowly spun, and he saw the chakra pathways flowing within Kenta's body, and the most fragile artery in his neck.
The paper door was silently pulled open. Kenta looked up, a gentle smile still on his face: "Itachi-kun? So late…"
A flash of a blade, and warm blood spurted from Kenta's throat.
His eyes widened, staring in disbelief at the young clan leader he had once been so proud of.
The assignment book was soaked in blood, and the half-graded student name "Uchiha Sasuke" slowly turned red.
Kenta's wife rushed out from the kitchen, still carrying the late-night snack she had prepared for her husband.
"Kenta? What was that sou—" Her question was forever stuck in her throat.
Itachi's blade pierced her heart. Dishes shattered on the floor, and miso soup spilled everywhere.
Children's cries came from upstairs.
Itachi ascended the stairs, his steps as light as a cat's.
Four-year-old Uchiha Shota stood in the hallway, clutching a doll, rubbing his eyes: "Daddy? Mommy?"
A cold glint flashed… The doll's head and the boy's head simultaneously fell to the ground.
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura were engaged in their usual bickering.
Danzo's staff sharply struck the ground, emitting a crisp "thump."
"Hiruzen! Itachi is about to act, we must go and assist! I've already assembled the Root Anbu! I know your Anbu are already gathered too!"
Hiruzen slowly took a puff from his five-million-ryo-a-bag pipe: "No! We cannot lay hands on our comrades in the village!"
Danzo's single eye widened: "Hiruzen!"
On the side, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane sipped their three-million-ryo-a-bag Tamazakura tea, looking left and right, their gazes shifting between their two arguing old friends.
A cloud of smoke exhaled from the Third Hokage's mouth as he "anxiously" paced the room: "There must be another way. The Uchiha have been our comrades for decades!"
Danzo snorted coldly: "Suit yourself. I'm going to act! For the safety of Konoha, I must go and surround them first."
With that, Danzo prepared to turn and leave.
Hiruzen spoke sternly: "Danzo! Only surround them, don't do anything unnecessary!"
Danzo abruptly turned back: "What did you say? If the Uchiha react, do you know how many people will die?"
"Root must act!"
Hiruzen: "No!"
Danzo: "For Konoha, I must act!"
Hiruzen: "Danzo! I said no!"
Danzo: "Hiruzen!"
Hiruzen: "I am the Hokage!"
Danzo: "…Hmph! You'll regret this!"
"Bang!"
With that, Danzo slammed the door and left.
Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado exchanged glances, then said: "Hiruzen, although Danzo's tone wasn't good, what he said wasn't without reason!"
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, puffed on his pipe, his old eyes filled with sorrow: "It's all my fault. I couldn't find a better way to handle the Uchiha matter."
After trying for a long time but failing to shed a single tear, Hiruzen continued: "There are spies disguised as our village's ninja operating in the northeast of the village. Inform the Anbu to seal off that area… Kill on sight!"
…Within the Uchiha compound, a shadow rushed into a courtyard. A ninety-year-old man, watching the stars at his doorstep, was slit across the throat, unable to even utter a sound.
The shadow rushed into the house, slaughtering a couple and their two infant children, then vanished, moving to the next house.
The entire process took less than ten seconds. Each time the shadow moved, it meant another family had been wiped out.
Having just killed a pregnant woman, taking two lives with one blow, the man of the house rushed out. He was an Uchiha Jōnin, possessing a three-tomoe Sharingan!
"Clang!"
After blocking the shadow's attack, the man roared, attempting to warn his clansmen and call for help.
However, his voice was blocked by an invisible barrier, unable to escape. The man stared at the killer's waist; there was a peculiar chakra array stone.
"That's… the Anbu's mobile barrier stone!?"
"Whoosh!"
The shadow was incredibly fast, instantly appearing before the man and stabbing him through the heart.
At such close range, the man finally saw the shadow's face. He spoke with anger and unwillingness: "Young… Young Clan Leader… Why?!"
"This isn't just a difference in strength, but a difference in ocular power!"
Uchiha Itachi did not look at the fallen man again. He turned to leave for the next house, but his steps suddenly stopped.
He glanced at the corpses on the ground, muttering to himself: "I remember there were five people in Uchiha Saigun's family, not counting the unborn…"
Itachi's Sharingan scanned around, quickly pinpointing a location. He went to a wardrobe, opened the cabinet door, reached in, grabbed a three-year-old girl's tender ankle, and pulled her out.
The little girl's chubby hands desperately clung to the wardrobe, crying out in her still-developing speech: "Itachi-nii, Itachi-nii! Don't kill me… Don't…"
"Splat!"
With a swift cut, the snot and tear-covered little head rolled away, and blood splattered across the floor.
The chubby little hands were still clawing at the wardrobe, the muscles seemingly unaware that the body had already died.
Uchiha Itachi didn't waste a second, flashing away to kill at the next house.
A young mother, telling her child the "First Hokage story" to lull them to sleep, suddenly felt a chill at her neck. The next second, blood sprayed onto her child's face.
Even so, the young woman, not yet immediately dead, instinctively threw herself over her child, trying to protect them.
However, with a "splat," the sharp blade precisely pierced through the woman's body, stabbing into the heart of the child who had just woken up.
The blood moon hung high, the demon flickered, and life after life vanished from house after house.
In truth, there were many strong individuals among the Uchiha clan, but they faced the clan's top-tier combat power—the Mangekyo Sharingan!
Not only was their proud Sharingan completely useless, fully countered, but more importantly, everyone was at home in their most relaxed state, while the killer was fully armed!
After all, with the elite of the Police Force present, usually no one would have the chance to infiltrate the compound.
But no one expected a great 'filial son' to emerge from within the family, catching them completely off guard.
At the same time, the Uchiha Police Force headquarters was in disarray. A man in a tiger-skin mask killed the last on-duty Uchiha ninja and slowly walked out of the Police Force gate.
Uchiha Izumi, who happened to be passing by, threw a shuriken, accurately striking the masked man's head.
A slight smile played on Izumi's lips; this was a specialty technique her boyfriend, Itachi, had taught her!
"Thud, thud, thud!"
However, the shuriken directly passed through the tiger-skin masked man's head, striking the wooden pillar behind him with a crisp sound.
"What?!"
Izumi couldn't help but be startled, her beautiful eyes wide, her pupils contracting sharply.
She deeply realized the terrifying strength of the tiger-skin masked man opposite her; she was absolutely no match for him!
"Run!"
At this moment, only this thought was in Uchiha Izumi's mind!
So, she turned and ran.
However, a dark iron chain, like a python, wrapped around her, instantly binding her hands and slender waist tightly.
Then Uchiha Izumi felt a huge force, immediately lost her balance, fell to the ground, and was dragged across the ground, getting closer and closer to the demon-like man.
"Itachi… save me quickly!"
Tears of despair streamed from Izumi's eyes, and she called out her boyfriend's name, hoping he would suddenly appear and save her.