"Stop!!!"
Izumi's sharp cry tore through the night as the kunai left her hand in a desperate throw.
But she was still too late.
The young Itachi's short blade sliced cleanly across the child's throat. In the same motion, he flicked the bloodied edge upward, effortlessly deflecting the incoming kunai.
Clang—
A sharp metallic ring echoed as steel met steel. The blade covered half of Itachi's face, leaving only his left eye visible—its crimson Mangekyō Sharingan spinning silently within the shadows.
"So it's you, Izumi…"
Itachi's voice was low and cold, his gaze fixed on her without a trace of warmth.
"Itachi! What are you doing?!"
Izumi rushed into the room, trembling as she looked at the family collapsed in pools of blood, and the small child lying lifeless at Itachi's feet. Her voice shook with disbelief.
Itachi stepped out of the darkness.
Under the moonlight, dressed in combat attire, his figure seemed taller, more distant, more intimidating than ever before.
"I just wanted… to test the limits of my capacity," he said calmly, short blade still in hand, the cold gleam of the metal reflecting his emotionless expression.
At that moment, Izumi felt that the Itachi before her was a complete stranger.
She could not believe that the kind, gentle boy she knew could commit such cruelty against his own clan.
Faced with the overwhelming killing intent radiating from him, Izumi's entire body trembled, frozen in place.
Though she had awakened her Sharingan at the age of five, she had remained a genin after graduation and had little real combat experience.
"Tsukuyomi."
Itachi's Mangekyō spun violently.
In an instant, Izumi's consciousness was dragged into the world of illusion.
Within the genjutsu—
Izumi and Itachi fell in love beneath blooming cherry blossoms.
They grew older together, standing hand in hand at their wedding.
She saw him panicking while holding their newborn child.
She saw him stern yet caring when their child went through a rebellious phase.
Finally, in old age, the two of them sat side by side under the moonlight, gray-haired and content.
In that false world, Izumi lived out an entire lifetime.
"How pitiful."
Just as Izumi was lost in the fabricated happiness of that illusion, a cold, mocking voice suddenly rang out.
She jolted awake.
Beside her, seated calmly under the moonlight, was a man wearing a fox mask and black robe.
"Who are you?!"
Izumi leapt to her feet like a startled wildcat.
The masked man turned his head slightly, regarding her with amusement through the eyeholes of the mask.
"Are you really going to remain trapped inside the Mangekyō's illusion?" he said softly. "When your own eyes might be able to stop all of this?"
"…No—this is a genjutsu!"
Izumi finally realized that this was not reality.
"Your reaction is far too slow," Menma muttered.
He couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Among all known Uchiha, Izumi had awakened her Sharingan at the youngest age.
At just five years old, she had witnessed her father's death during the Nine-Tails incident and awakened her Sharingan from overwhelming grief—something even Itachi had envied.
Itachi awakened at eight.
Sasuke at seven.
Shisui at seven.
Obito and Madara at around twelve.
Early awakening did not necessarily equal superior strength, but the fact that Izumi had achieved three tomoe by the age of twelve during peacetime meant her talent ranked just below Itachi and Shisui within the current Uchiha.
Yet despite that, she remained a mere genin, taking trivial missions like caring for nobles' pets or helping officials move house.
Menma had specifically thought of her while planning how to interfere with the Uchiha massacre night.
He was curious.
How would this gentle, emotionally rich Uchiha girl react when witnessing the slaughter of her clan?
"Since that's the case… let's continue."
Menma slowly stood, leaving those words behind as his figure faded and disappeared from the illusion world.
In an instant, the world around Izumi collapsed again.
She found herself once more sitting beside the Naka River, gentle water flowing, birds flying across the sky.
The sky was still bright.
The dango in her hands was still warm.
"That suspicious guy…"
She stood up hurriedly.
She refused to believe Itachi would massacre their clan. Her first instinct was to report everything to the Konoha Military Police.
After quickly finishing the last skewer of dango, Izumi sprinted toward the police headquarters.
'Whatever that masked man is planning, it must be something terrible for the Uchiha!'
Yet as she ran, the sky grew darker and darker.
By the time she reached the police building, night had completely fallen.
Strangely, not a single light was on inside.
"Strange… where are Uncle Yashiro and Uncle Tekka?"
Panting lightly, she stepped forward—
And smelled blood again.
Her nerves snapped to alert. She drew a kunai—but before she could move further, a deep voice echoed from the building entrance.
"Those eyes… truly are beautiful."
A man wearing a tiger-patterned mask stepped out slowly.
'Another masked person…?'
Without hesitation, Izumi hurled her kunai and followed up with two shuriken.
Whoosh—
Clang—clang—
The weapons passed straight through the man's body and embedded into the pillar behind him.
"Impossible!"
The masked man lifted his head.
Their eyes met—and through the hole in the mask, Izumi saw a Sharingan staring back at her.
Realizing she stood no chance, she turned to flee.
A metal chain shot forward and wrapped tightly around her.
'Itachi… help me…'
Even in the face of death, the first person she thought of was still him.
A short blade pierced her body.
Her life slipped away into darkness.
Quack—quack—quack—
The cries of ducks jolted Izumi awake.
Once again, she was back by the Naka River.
Having experienced "death" once, she was drenched in cold sweat, gasping for air.
"Genjutsu? Another genjutsu?"
Trembling, she activated her Sharingan and checked her chakra—but found nothing abnormal.
"Multiple layered illusions? Who is doing this?!"
No matter how she looked around, there was no one nearby.
"Are both masked men targeting the Uchiha?"
Setting the dango aside, her mind raced.
This time, fear kept her from going directly to the police station.
Instead, she turned and ran toward the center of the village.
"The Hokage… only the Hokage can help…"
She placed her last hope in the Third Hokage.
But as she ran, night fell once more.
Two masked shinobi suddenly appeared in front of her.
"I need to see—"
Before she could finish, two blades flashed.
Steel plunged into her abdomen.
Izumi collapsed in pain, black hair scattering across the ground as blood spread beneath her.
Her vision faded—
And the last thing she heard was:
"Orders from above. No Uchiha is to be allowed to escape."
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