"My foolish little brother… Mangekyo Sharingan!"
With an emotionless expression, Itachi activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, trapping Sasuke in a genjutsu that replayed the massacre of the Uchiha Clan—and the murder of their parents.
The endless bloodshed and overwhelming mental assault ravaged Sasuke's mind.
Clutching his head as though it were about to split apart, he screamed,
"Stop, Brother! Please stop! Don't make me watch this! Why… why, Brother?!"
"AAAAAH!!"
With a final agonized cry, Sasuke collapsed under the overwhelming psychological attack.
Seeing it was enough, Itachi dispelled the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Lying weakly on the ground, Sasuke stared at his brother in disbelief.
"Why… why, Brother…?"
"To test my own abilities."
"Test… your abilities?"
"You killed everyone… just for that?"
"Because that goal is more important than anything else."
Looking at his helpless younger brother, Itachi's heart ached.
But to protect Sasuke, he had no choice but to play the role of a monster.
"Then… what is that goal?!"
Struggling to his feet, Sasuke charged forward with tears streaming down his face.
"What kind of sick joke is this?!"
But he was no match for Itachi.
With a single punch, Itachi knocked him back to the ground.
For the first time in his life, the brother who had always cherished him had struck him.
Tears instantly filled Sasuke's eyes.
"D-Don't…"
"Don't kill me…"
Looking at the man before him, who now seemed more like a demon than a brother, fear overwhelmed him.
Driven by pure instinct, he scrambled to his feet and fled from the house.
But the moment he rushed outside…
Itachi was already waiting for him in the middle of the street.
Blocking his path.
With tears in his eyes, Sasuke shook his head desperately.
"This isn't real…"
"You're not my brother…"
"Because…"
"The caring older brother you knew…"
"…was simply another role I played."
"I raised you so that one day you could become the measure of my strength."
"You possess that potential."
"You'll come to hate me."
"You'll despise me."
"You'll devote your life to surpassing me."
"That's why I spared you."
"For my sake."
"Like me, you possess the potential to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan."
"But there's one condition."
"You must kill your closest friend."
"W-What…?"
"Just as I did."
At that moment, Sasuke remembered Shisui—his brother's closest friend.
Until now, he had refused to believe the rumors.
But now…
"Was it really you?"
"Brother…"
"Did you kill Shisui…?"
"Yes."
"Thanks to him, I obtained these eyes."
"Beneath the seventh tatami mat from the right in the main hall of the Naka Shrine lies the Uchiha Clan's meeting place."
"There you'll find the true history of our clan…"
"…and the true secret behind these eyes."
The true secret…
Sasuke engraved those words into the depths of his heart.
"If you awaken those eyes…"
"There will be three people who possess the Mangekyo Sharingan."
"If that day comes…"
"Then sparing your life will finally have meaning."
"But right now…"
"You're not even worth killing."
"My foolish little brother…"
"If you want to kill me…"
"Then hate me."
"Despise me."
"And struggle on in misery."
"Run."
"Cling to your wretched life."
"And one day…"
"When you possess the same eyes as mine…"
"Come before me."
As those words fell, Itachi activated the Mangekyo Sharingan once more, launching another devastating genjutsu assault.
The overwhelming mental pressure forced Sasuke's dormant bloodline to awaken.
His eyes transformed.
A single tomoe appeared within each Sharingan.
For the first time.
Unlike before, he did not lose consciousness immediately.
Watching Sasuke awaken the Sharingan, Isamu, who had observed everything from the shadows, couldn't help but smile faintly.
As expected of my grandson.
Itachi awakened the Mangekyo at thirteen.
Sasuke has awakened the Sharingan at only seven.
Excellent… truly excellent.
Although Itachi was overjoyed inside, his face remained cold and indifferent.
He turned around, leaped over the wall, and prepared to leave.
"Stop!"
Seeing his brother trying to escape, Sasuke drew several kunai and gave chase.
With the heightened perception granted by the Sharingan—and fueled by burning hatred—he hurled four kunai at Itachi.
To leave his brother with a glimmer of hope, Itachi deliberately slashed away only three of them.
The fourth struck his forehead protector.
Clang!
Seeing that one attack had actually landed, hope ignited within Sasuke.
So…
His brother wasn't invincible.
As long as he grew stronger…
He would have his revenge.
Itachi calmly sheathed his sword, picked up the fallen forehead protector, and put it back on.
Just before leaving, he glanced back over his shoulder.
Silent tears slipped from the corners of his eyes.
They were tears of sorrow…
And of farewell.
Sasuke saw them.
For a brief moment, he wondered if he'd imagined them.
But before he could think any further, the emotional shock overwhelmed him.
His body went limp.
He collapsed unconscious.
Watching his little brother fall, Itachi quietly wiped away his tears…
Then disappeared into the darkness beyond Konoha.
After Itachi left, Isamu's Xuanyuan Five Paths emerged from the shadows.
The Asura Path gently picked up the unconscious Sasuke and sighed.
"My poor little grandson…"
"The carefree childhood you should have had…"
"…vanished overnight."
"What a cruel fate."
The Five Paths returned Sasuke to his home, secretly replaced the bodies of Senba and Mikoto with decoys, and carried away the real bodies.
Back at the inn, seeing that everything had been completed, Isamu immediately formed a series of hand seals.
"Reverse Summoning Technique!"
A massive summoning array spread across the floor.
In an instant, the Xuanyuan Five Paths, along with Senba and Mikoto, were reverse-summoned back to the inn.
Isamu stored the five Xuanyuan Clan puppets inside the Kamui Dimension.
Looking at the lifeless bodies of his son and daughter-in-law, he frowned deeply.
"I warned you this morning to stay out of Konoha's mess."
"But you refused to listen."
"You threw your own life away…"
"And dragged your wife down with you."
"How did someone as stubborn as you come from my bloodline?"
"You really know how to test my patience."
Just then, Garuda, the newly awakened Tsunade, and Shizune rushed into the room.
"Isamu, why are you talking to yourself in the middle of the ni—"
Before Garuda could finish speaking, she saw the two familiar figures lying on the floor.
She froze.
Her eyes widened in shock.
Seeing her son lying there so peacefully, Tsunade slowly walked forward on trembling legs.
With shaking hands, she reached out and touched his cold body.
The combined shock of her hemophobia and the loss of her beloved son made her entire body tremble uncontrollably.