"So you think I'd just hand over my Mangekyo Sharingan without getting anything in return?"
"Hmph, don't flatter yourself." The Asura Path sneered at Uchiha Fugaku. "I'm not one of Konoha's fools. If you want to bargain with me, you'd better have something worth bargaining with. Besides, I don't think it'll take much effort to make you hand over the Mangekyo Sharingan. Uchiha Fugaku, do you really believe you could survive three moves against me?"
He was certain he could kill Fugaku within three moves.
The Asura Path had complete confidence. Fugaku did not.
The overwhelming pressure radiating from the man before him—and the five equally terrifying figures standing beside him—left him with no doubt that the claim was true.
"Hahaha…"
Realizing there was no way to protect his wife and son, Fugaku threw back his head and laughed bitterly.
"I never imagined that after wasting my entire life… I, Uchiha Fugaku, wouldn't even be able to protect my own family."
"How utterly pathetic."
Watching the defeated leader of the Moderate Faction, Isamu couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy. The sins of one generation often become the burden of the next. Such was the tragedy of being the last clan leader.
"To be honest… I'm grateful you told me the truth."
"I believed the Uchiha Clan would disappear entirely because of me—that I would go down in history as the man who destroyed our clan."
"But knowing another branch of the clan still survives…"
"…lifts a great weight from my heart."
"The Uchiha legacy didn't end with my generation."
"That's enough."
"It truly is enough."
As he spoke, Fugaku endured the agonizing pain and gouged out his own eyes.
Blood streamed down his face.
He held out the pair of Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Take them."
"Consider this my final duty to the other branch of the clan."
Looking at the Mangekyo Sharingan in Fugaku's bloodstained hands, Isamu finally realized that Fugaku had never lacked courage.
He had simply been trapped by circumstances.
The Asura Path accepted the eyes and sighed.
"What a waste…"
"What a terrible waste."
"If you'd been born into my branch of the clan, without all these shackles…"
"…you would have made an outstanding Clan Leader."
"What a pity."
Fugaku smiled faintly.
"I have no regrets about being born an Uchiha."
"In fact…"
"I've always been proud to bear the Uchiha name."
"It's simply too late now."
"I failed to lead the clan to prosperity."
Hearing that, Isamu slowly shook his head.
"Love for the clan can be both a blessing and a curse."
"In the hands of someone without the power to shoulder it…"
"…it's more curse than blessing."
"You failed to govern the clan."
"You failed to unite your people."
"That responsibility belongs to both you and your father."
"You can't deny that."
Fugaku nodded.
"You're right."
"I won't make excuses."
"I failed to keep the clan united."
Seeing Fugaku admit it so openly, Isamu had nothing more to say.
"It's pointless to dwell on it now."
"One wrong decision led to another."
"There's no changing the past."
Fugaku gently held his wife's hand, while she held Sasuke's.
"You're right."
"It's too late."
"Go ahead."
"I'd rather die at the hands of one of our own than those outsiders."
"Send us on our way."
"You were simply born in the wrong era."
"I hope your next life won't be burdened by the tragedy of the Uchiha Clan."
With those final words, Isamu struck.
The family of three died instantly, without pain.
Once everything was over, the Xuanyuan Clan's Five Paths vanished without a trace and quietly returned to their hidden positions near Senba's home.
Back at the inn, Isamu's true body let out a weary sigh after witnessing Fugaku's final moments.
"A great man of his generation…"
"Reduced to this."
"The Uchiha made him… and the Uchiha destroyed him."
"Fate truly has a cruel sense of irony."
Whether out of respect or sympathy, Isamu chose not to keep Fugaku's Mangekyo Sharingan.
Instead, he extracted its ocular power before allowing the empty eyes to be buried alongside their original owner.
Elsewhere, after the massacre was nearly complete, Itachi made his way home.
Along the way, he saw Sasuke jogging through the streets with his school bag slung over his shoulder.
He stopped for a moment.
Then continued walking home.
Watching through the Xuanyuan Clan's shared vision, Isamu couldn't help but sigh.
"Itachi…"
"Oh, Itachi…"
"Why are you so stubborn?"
"Have I, your grandfather, really failed to earn your trust?"
"Is carrying every burden by yourself truly worth it?"
Meanwhile, Senba and Mikoto quietly awaited their son's arrival.
Perhaps they already understood that Konoha had abandoned them.
They simply knelt together in silence.
Itachi entered carrying his sword.
Seeing his parents kneeling with their backs toward him, he lowered his head.
His heart felt unbearably heavy.
"So…"
"You've come."
"It seems you've made your choice."
Senba spoke calmly without turning around.
"Father… Mother… I…"
"We understand, Itachi," Mikoto replied gently.
Neither of them blamed him.
"Itachi."
"Promise me one last thing."
"Take care of Sasuke."
"I understand…"
Hearing those words, Itachi knew exactly what his parents were doing.
They weren't trying to stop him.
Instead…
They were helping him fulfill the path he had chosen.
Tears streamed down his face.
His hand trembled uncontrollably around the hilt of his sword.
Perhaps hearing that trembling, Senba spoke again.
"Don't hesitate."
"This is the road you chose."
"Our suffering will last only a moment."
"Yours…"
"…will last much longer."
"Even if we walked different paths…"
"…we've always been proud of you."
"You've always been…"
"…a kind child."
Unable to hold back his tears any longer, Itachi swung his sword.
In a single stroke…
His parents' lives came to an end.
Watching his son and daughter-in-law die before his eyes, Isamu's hands trembled uncontrollably.
No parent could remain unmoved after witnessing their own child perish.
At that moment, Sasuke finally returned home.
Pushing open the door, he froze.
His parents lay motionless in a pool of blood.
His older brother stood nearby.
"Brother…"
"Mom… Dad…"
"W-Why…?"
"Who did this?"
From beginning to end…
The thought that his beloved brother was responsible never even crossed Sasuke's mind.
Suppressing every ounce of grief and love buried in his heart, Itachi steeled himself.
He flicked a shuriken.
The blade sliced across Sasuke's shoulder, interrupting his words.
Clutching the wound, Sasuke stared at his brother in disbelief.
"Brother…"
"What are you doing?"
"What's gotten into you?"
The man standing before him was nothing like the gentle older brother he had always admired.
He looked like a complete stranger.
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