Two bodies stepped out of the coffins and looked at Itachi.
"Itachi?" Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto could only remember dying on the night of the massacre.
At that time, their beloved son Itachi, in order to protect Sasuke, had chosen to turn his blade on his own clan.
Though their hearts were filled with sorrow, they had understood his decision.
They knew that if the Uchiha truly chose to rebel against the village, the chances of failure were incredibly high.
In that event, the Uchiha clan would have been wiped out completely.
Both Itachi and Sasuke would have died.
So, they chose to betray the Uchiha for a moment and calmly accept their own deaths.
Death came quickly, and without much pain.
They had thought that was the end.
They never expected to open their eyes again and see Itachi.
Looking around, they saw a windswept desert, with a massive army clashing in the distance.
They could even make out a few familiar figures.
Tsunade Senju, Minato, Kakashi.
And behind them, Orochimaru stood with a cold, sinister smile.
They seemed to understand what was happening.
"Are we… enemies?"
"Yes, Father." For a moment, emotion flickered across Itachi's face.
"Itachi, you've grown up," Mikoto said, her eyes glistening with tears as she looked at her son.
"I'm sorry," Itachi said, his expression sorrowful. His lips moved, but it took a long moment for the words to come out.
"It doesn't matter, as long as you and Sasuke are well," Fugaku said, looking at Itachi with paternal kindness.
"We knew that day would come." He and Mikoto exchanged a look, their eyes filled with tenderness.
"Alright, that's enough catching up. The battle must continue," Orochimaru interrupted.
He formed a hand seal, and Fugaku and Mikoto's bodies moved against their will, launching an attack on Itachi.
"It seems we have to fight after all. Be careful, Itachi," Fugaku said with a helpless expression.
The three of them clashed.
Mikoto had a three-tomoe Sharingan, while Fugaku possessed the Mangekyo. Against Itachi, they stood almost no chance and were completely overpowered.
But perhaps due to the turmoil in his heart, Itachi didn't destroy his parents outright.
For years, he had lived in agony. More than anyone, he longed for salvation.
"Itachi, have you been well all these years?" Fugaku asked as he thrust a kunai at his son.
The kunai struck the Susanoo with a metallic clang, having no effect at all.
Attacking a Susanoo with a kunai was an act that looked suspiciously like he was holding back.
Perhaps the Uchiha clan head had grown soft from years of peace, and his battle sense had dropped to zero.
In all of Konoha, there was probably no move dumber than that.
"I've been… fine," Itachi said as his Susanoo swatted Fugaku away.
"What about Sasuke?" Mikoto's Great Dragon Fire Technique hit the Susanoo but failed to even scratch it.
"He… defected," Itachi replied, his face a mask of guilt and pain.
"Defected?" Mikoto and Fugaku's expressions were filled with disbelief.
"How could Sasuke defect?" Their questioning pushed Itachi's guilt to its absolute limit. He could barely meet their eyes and could only mumble:
"He abandoned the Uchiha. And he abandoned those eyes." He touched his own eyes, his face contorted in pain. "He gave his eyes to me."
Hearing this, Fugaku and Mikoto were stunned.
Fugaku began to mutter to himself, "Why? How could this happen? Was our choice… the wrong one?"
Like Itachi, he had a deep faith in the potential of the Sharingan and considered it the most powerful Kekkei Genkai.
Without his Sharingan, could Sasuke still protect himself?
"Where is Sasuke? Are you enemies now?" Fugaku's attacks grew more frantic. His Mangekyo spun wildly, and his own Susanoo materialized, standing opposite Itachi's.
Through his Mangekyo, he could see the future.
He saw Itachi defeating him with overwhelming force. But Sasuke was nowhere in the vision.
In fact, Sasuke was nowhere on the entire battlefield.
"Sasuke… is not our enemy at the moment." Itachi's words brought a sigh of relief from Fugaku and Mikoto, but they keenly caught the words "at the moment."
A seed of worry was planted in their hearts.
How was Sasuke doing now? Watching the family reunion, Orochimaru was getting bored.
"Let's spice things up a bit."
A white liquid secreted from his body and instantly climbed onto Fugaku and Mikoto.
A white mist swirled around them, gradually forming half of a Hollow mask on their faces.
"The warm-up is over. Let the real show begin!"
After their Hollowfication, Fugaku and Mikoto did not lose consciousness, but all of their physical attributes were drastically increased.
"Itachi, kill us quickly! If you drag this out, our bodies will mutate, and you will lose!" Fugaku's voice was urgent.
A black, corrosive hole had appeared on both his and Mikoto's chests, and faint chains could be seen within.
"If you can't kill them within the time limit, they will become Hollows," Orochimaru's flat tone fanned the flames of Itachi's rage.
"Oh, and by the way… becoming a Hollow means their souls will be completely transformed. They will lose all their memories and become nothing more than mindless killing machines. Not even the Impure World Reincarnation will be able to summon them again. In a sense, they will die completely."
"Orochimaru, you!" Itachi's killing intent toward Orochimaru reached its absolute peak.
Never in his life had he wanted to kill someone so badly.
"Itachi!" The controlled Fugaku felt an uncontrollable killing intent for Itachi rising within him.
It was as if the man standing before him was not his son, but the murderer of his father.
"Amaterasu!" The inextinguishable black flames appeared on his Susanoo.
"Susanoo!" A giant armored phantom appeared, facing Itachi's.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Itachi's Susanoo, wielding the Sword of Totsuka, beat Fugaku's Susanoo back relentlessly.
In terms of raw power, the gap was still obvious.
"Playing with the souls of the dead, starting a war… your Seireitei is unforgivable!" Itachi had gone completely mad. His Susanoo's strikes grew stronger and stronger, shattering Fugaku's Susanoo into pieces.
The intense emotion caused his eyes to spin wildly, and with it came a stimulating sensation.
It was as if a lock had been broken. His chakra increased slightly, and he officially stepped into the realm of the beyond-Kage-level.
With his eyes and his mastery of ninjutsu and taijutsu, his power was now immeasurable.
At the very least, he was no longer someone a mere researcher could handle.
Hearing Itachi's words, Fugaku grew anxious.
"Is this… a war?"
"That's right. The Seireitei, founded by Naruto, is at war with the entire shinobi world. Sasuke is neutral for now and has not yet joined the fighting."
"Uzumaki Naruto? Minato's son… I saw Minato earlier…"
"He has joined the Seireitei. Uzumaki Naruto has the ability to bring the dead back to life. He and his father are both traitors," Itachi said coldly.
"To bring the dead back to life… what an astonishing ability. No, I should say, as expected of Minato's son."
Fugaku was filled with emotion.
"I never thought Minato, the Fourth Hokage, would also defect from Konoha. I just saw Kakashi and the White Fang… are they…" Fugaku said in disbelief.
"They have defected as well."
The atmosphere grew heavy.
Fugaku couldn't comprehend the current situation at all.
Why had so many ninja who loved Konoha chosen to leave?
In his memory, Minato and the White Fang were devoted to the village.
But there was no more time to discuss it.
The black holes on their chests were expanding, and even Fugaku and Mikoto's consciousness began to fade.
Their movements became more bestial, and their strength and speed increased significantly.
For a moment, Itachi actually felt pressured.