Cherreads

Chapter 17 - Chapter 17: The night.

‎( A/N: don't know the exact timeline when the massecar happened but from what I know it happened sometime before Sasuke's 8th birthday. )

‎---

‎= July 5th – Preparations Begins =

‎I stared at the ceiling for a long time after that conversation with JARVIS.

‎Going personally was stupid. Dangerous. Probably gonna get me killed.

‎But sending a letter felt like doing nothing. And it was probably not even going to work And doing nothing meant letting a woman die when I might be able to stop it.

‎«You have made your decision. Now we need a plan.»

‎Yeah. Let's plan.

‎---

‎= July 6th =

‎The Uchiha compound sat on the eastern side of the village. Big walls. Guard posts. The kind of place that screamed "we're better than you."

‎I found a quiet alley, transformed into a sparrow, and flew over the wall.

‎«Transformation integrity: 100%. No chakra leakage. You are a bird.»

‎I feel like a bird.

‎«It's a bird, it's a plane! No it's... You.»

‎Flying was weird. My wings, wait, the bird's wings, flapped automatically. JARVIS was handling the motor control. I was just along for the ride.

‎I circled the compound. Took mental notes. JARVIS took better notes...

‎«Main gate: two guards. Rotate every four hours. East wall: patrol passes every 30 minutes. West wall: every 45 minutes. South wall: no patrol after 10 PM. That's your entrance.»

‎Why no patrol on the south side?

‎«The south side borders a residential street. Civilians live there. The Uchiha likely assume no one would approach from that direction because it's too exposed.»

‎That's dumb.

‎«It is arrogant. There is a difference.»

‎I landed on a rooftop near the center of the compound. Looked down at the houses. Traditional style. Wooden beams. Paper screens. Gardens with koi ponds.

‎«Mikoto Uchiha's residence is the third house from the main square. Two stories. Garden in the back. Her bedroom faces east.»

‎How do you know that?

‎«I have been analyzing the compound's layout from publicly available records while you reading the geography of the village in the library. The Uchiha are not as secretive as they believe.»

‎I flew lower. Landed on a tree branch outside Mikoto's house.

‎And there she was.

‎---

‎= July 7th =

‎She was sitting on the engawa, the wooden porch that wrapped around the house. Dark hair. Kind eyes. A gentle smile that didn't quite reach her face.

‎She was looking at the moon.

‎Dyam she hot...

‎«Her temperature is average for an normal human...»

‎She knows something's wrong...

‎«Or she is simply a woman who enjoys the night air. I cannot read her mind.»

‎You can read mine.

‎«You are an open book. She is a closed one.»

‎I watched her for another hour. She didn't move. Didn't do anything except sit in the moonlight.

‎Itachi wasn't there. JARVIS confirmed he had his own apartment near the ANBU headquarters. Sasuke was inside, probably asleep.

‎Mikoto was alone.

‎«She is vulnerable. If you intend to warn her, this would be the time.»

‎Not yet. She'd tell someone. Fugaku. The clan elders. And in the end the Word would get back to Danzo.

‎«And when do you intend to warn her?»

‎The night of massecar I think. She won't have time to tell anyone. Plus seeing itachi kill other clan members. Maybe she'll trust me.

‎«Assuming she believes you.»

‎Yeah. Assuming that.

‎---

‎= July 9th =

‎I found an abandoned storage shed about fifty meters from the compound's south wall. It was Old and rundown.

‎Perfect.

‎«The shed is outside the compound's patrol zone. No one has entered it in approximately three years based on dust accumulation.»

‎How do you know about the dust?

‎«I analyzed the visual data from your bird transformation. The dust on the door handle was undisturbed.»

‎You're scary sometimes.

‎«I am thorough.»

‎I checked the shed's interior. Empty shelves. A broken chair. Spiders. Some spiders not a lot.

‎«The spiders are harmless. Mostly.»

‎Mostly?

‎«One of them is venomous. Do not let it bite you.»

‎JARVIS!

‎«I am monitoring its location. It is currently behind the shelf on the left. Do not touch the shelf on the left.

‎I did not touch the shelf on the left.

‎---

‎= July 10th =

‎I waited until midnight. The Academy was dark. Empty. The front gate was locked, but the fence had a loose section near the back.

‎I slipped through. Crept to the weapons storage room.

‎The lock was cheap. A few seconds of chakra manipulation and it popped open.

‎«You are breaking into a school.»

‎I'm borrowing weapons.

‎«You are stealing.»

‎I'm borrowing without permission.

‎«That is the definition of stealing.»

‎Shut up.

‎The storage room was organized. Kunai on one shelf. Shuriken on another. Explosive tags in a locked box that I definitely did not break into.

‎I grabbed twenty kunai. Thirty shuriken. Ten explosive tags. Stuffed them into a bag I'd brought.

‎«You are now armed. Congratulations. You are also a criminal.»

‎I'm a criminal with weapons. That's better than a criminal without weapons.

‎«Debatable.»

‎---

‎= The same night =

‎The ninja gear store was on the west side of the village. Closed at 9 PM. I got there at 1 AM.

‎The lock was harder than the Academy's. Took me forty-five seconds.

‎«You are getting faster.»

‎Practice.

‎The store had rows of flak jackets, utility pouches, gloves, masks. I grabbed a set of black pants, a black long-sleeve shirt, and a blank white mask. Plain. No markings. The kind of mask that could be anyone.

‎«Why white? Black would blend better at night.»

‎Because I want them to see me. The mask isn't for hiding. It's for making them wonder who I am.

‎«That is psychologically sound. Unnecessary, but sound.»

‎I paid? No. I left some money on the counter. Enough to cover what I took. Plus a little extra for the trouble.

‎«You left money. For stolen goods.»

‎I'm a considerate thief.

‎«You are a confusing individual.»

‎---

‎= July 12th =

‎I spent the day with Naruto. We went to the training ground. He showed me his new made up"technique".

‎"SEE?!"

‎"Umm.. Yeah That's actually good, Naruto"

‎"I've been practicing! Every day! Like you said!"

‎I smiled. "Yeah. You have."

‎He beamed. Then his face got serious.

‎"Hey, Ryū?"

‎"What?"

‎"You've been weird lately. Like... distracted. Is something wrong?"

‎I looked at him. Orange jumpsuit. Whisker marks. Eyes that saw more than people gave him credit for.

‎"Just thinking about stuff."

‎"What stuff?"

‎"just some Random Stuff I can't explain yet."

‎He stared at me for a second. Then he nodded.

‎"Okay. But if you need help, you tell me. 'Cause that's what friends do."

‎"yep. That's what friends do."

‎We trained until sunset. Threw kunai. Ran laps. Did did some workout until we couldn't feel our arms.

‎When I walked him home, he stopped at his door.

‎"Ryū?"

‎"Yeah?"

‎"I feel You're gonna do something dangerous and stupid, aren't you?"

‎I didn't answer.

‎"I can tell. You get this look. Like right before you fight someone or do something random."

‎"Go inside, Naruto."

‎"You promise you'll come back tomorrow?"

‎I looked at him. At this kid who'd been alone his whole life. Who'd finally found someone who didn't run away.

‎"Yeah," I said. "promise I will come back now don't worry."

‎He smiled. Went inside.

‎I stood in the empty street for a long time.

‎«You just lied to him.»

‎I knowww.

‎---

‎= July 13th – around 9:30 PM =

‎I stood outside the Uchiha compound's south wall. Black clothes. White mask. Twenty kunai on my belt. Thirty shuriken in my pouch. Explosive tags in my pocket.

‎The night was quiet. Too quiet.

‎«No guards on the south wall. No patrols in the surrounding streets. This is unusual.»

‎Where is everyone?

‎«Unknown. I do not like this.»

‎Me neither.

‎I waited. Listened. The wind was still. The stars were out. Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked.

‎Then...

‎A scream.

‎From the far side of the compound. High-pitched. Cut off halfway.

‎Then another.

‎Then nothing.

‎«Multiple chakra signatures just vanished. Rapidly.»

‎Obito and Itachi!.

‎«Likely. They are killing the police force first. The ones who could fight back.»

‎I moved.

‎Over the wall. Through the streets. Bodies everywhere. Men. Women. Some in bed. Some on the ground. Some with their eyes still open.

‎The blood was still wet. Still warm.

‎«Do not stop. Don't not look. Keep moving.»

‎I kept moving.

‎---

‎Fugaku's House

‎I found it. The third house from the main square. The engawa where Mikoto sat that night.

‎The front door was open.

‎I slipped inside. Silent. Bare feet on wooden floors.

‎Voices. Coming from the main room.

‎I pressed myself against the wall. Peered through the gap in the screen.

‎Fugaku was on his knees. Mikoto was beside him. Both facing the center of the room.

‎Itachi stood at the back of them. His katana was drawn. His face filled with tear's, he was actually crying.

‎"Father," he said. "Mother."

‎Fugaku didn't beg. Didn't cry. Just looked at his son with something like pride.

‎"our philosophy's may differ but I'm still proud of you, " Fugaku said. "you are truly a kind child"

‎"itachi just promise me... You'll take care of Sasuke"

‎Itachi raised his katana... Crying. "I will"

‎The katana came down.

‎Fugaku's body hit the floor.

‎Mikoto didn't scream. Didn't move. Just stared at her son with tears running down her face.

‎Itachi pulled the katana free. Blood dripped from the blade. He raised it again. Aimed at Mikoto's back.

‎«Now or never.»

‎I threw.

‎Three kunai. Perfect arc. JARVIS calculated the trajectory, the speed, the angle.

‎They flew past Mikoto's head. Straight at Itachi's face.

‎He moved.

‎Fast. Faster than anything I'd ever seen. He twisted his body, sidestepped the kunai like they were moving in slow motion.

‎The blades hit the floor. Embedded in the wooden planks.

‎THUNK. THUNK. THUNK.

‎Itachi's eyes found me.

‎Sharingan. Three tomoe. Spinning.

‎"Who are you?" he asked.

‎His voice was calm. Like he'd just asked for the time.

‎I didn't answer.

‎---

‎END CHAPTER 17

‎Xx-----xX

A/N: Leave some power stones and if you don't... Yeah idk just give me sum.

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Btw if you want to read some advance chapters then check out my P@treøn, links in the synopsis.

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