As the words fell, the three young genin didn't react for a moment. Once the weight of the statement settled in, their faces were overcome with shock and even terror.
Everyone in the village was dead?
How could it be... something like that...
Immediately, the three of them spoke up in a frantic rush.
"That's impossible... Mom and Dad..."
"Lord Third... no... it can't be..."
"What are you saying now..."
"I'm not joking," Uchiha Lexon replied directly.
"But... but..." Naruto and Sakura wanted to say more, but Lexon raised a hand to stop them.
"Let's settle the Uchiha matter first. There will be a way to deal with Konoha's situation," Lexon said, temporarily soothing the two.
Then, he turned to Sasuke. "Come with me. Just go and ask your brother about the hidden truth behind the Uchiha..."
Since this involved the issue he cared about most, Sasuke momentarily set aside his distress over the village. He nodded to Lexon and followed his lead. As he drew closer to Lexon, he added, "I'll listen to your version first, then I'll find the real answer. If I find out you're lying to me..."
"You'll kill us, right?" Lexon finished his sentence with a smile. "Killing Itachi might be doable, but you're still a long way off from killing me."
As he spoke, Lexon reached out and ruffled Sasuke's hair.
'It's been a long time since I patted Sasuke's head,' Lexon thought.
Sasuke seemed to miss the feeling of Lexon's touch as well; for a moment, he didn't dodge or say anything. After a while, he moved away with a slight blush on his face and said stubbornly, "Don't touch me!"
Seeing Sasuke like this, Lexon couldn't help but chuckle.
Afterward, he turned to Naruto and Sakura, who were still standing there looking lost. "You two follow us as well. Weren't you just talking big a moment ago?"
"Right... Sensei." Only then did Naruto and Sakura slowly follow Lexon.
The four of them walked back toward Orochimaru.
"Is it settled?" Orochimaru, who was well aware of the Uchiha's messy history, asked when he saw Lexon return.
"Just let Itachi explain things," Lexon said, looking toward Uchiha Itachi, who was standing at a distance, watching them coldly.
"Is that so... but I don't think he will talk..." Orochimaru doubted Itachi would reveal the Uchiha's secrets to his younger brother.
"You don't need to worry about that," Lexon responded. "By the way, don't let those Akatsuki members escape."
Lexon suddenly added.
"Why?" Orochimaru asked, puzzled.
"They can serve as research materials or errand boys for you," Lexon said.
Hearing this, Orochimaru's eyes lit up. He flicked his tongue out to lick his lips and said with excitement, "That would be perfect."
He had wanted to study the bizarre group of people within the Akatsuki for a long time. Previously, he was limited by his lack of strength to pull it off, but now that he had the Boss here, he could do as he pleased.
"Do you have enough power?" Lexon asked Orochimaru.
He was asking if Orochimaru had enough strength on his end to prevent the Akatsuki members from fleeing.
"I still have the corpses of several Kage from other villages. After using Impure World Reincarnation, they should be enough to deal with these exhausted Akatsuki members..." Orochimaru answered in a low voice.
Currently, the two strongest—the corpses of Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara—had already been used up. Aside from the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, who was still in a reanimated state, only a few Kage from other villages remained. These were the results of Orochimaru's grave-robbing efforts over the years.
"A bit lacking." As Lexon spoke, he directly created a Wood Clone. "With my clone there, it will be enough."
Orochimaru said nothing more, taking Lexon's words as a given. After all, everyone had just witnessed the strength of his Boss's clone. Although it had been killed by four opponents, it was still excessively strong. Guarding a bunch of old, weak, or injured Akatsuki members was clearly more than enough.
"Just like that, I'll leave it to you." Lexon patted Orochimaru on the shoulder and then led the three genin toward Itachi.
Itachi didn't seem to want others involved in his family matters either, as he was standing off by himself.
Lexon led the trio to Itachi's side.
The moment he got close, Sasuke questioned Itachi directly, "Why did you do that that day? Uchiha Lexon told me there was a hidden reason... Tell me, what was the so-called 'hidden reason' that made you kill our parents?"
Itachi looked at him indifferently and then ignored him, shifting his gaze to Lexon. "What are you trying to do?"
"Nothing much," Lexon replied with a wave of his hand.
Seeing Lexon's reaction, Itachi couldn't help but frown. He didn't understand Lexon's motives. Why bring his younger brother here to press for these answers? Lexon was an eyewitness too and knew the details; if he wanted to tell Sasuke, he could have done it himself. And if Lexon wanted to talk, Itachi knew he couldn't stop him.
Itachi's thoughts raced, his mind filled with confusion. He truly didn't understand Lexon's intent.
"Answer me, Uchiha Itachi!" Sasuke was clearly upset at being ignored by his brother, his tone becoming aggressive.
Finally, Itachi turned his gaze back to Sasuke. He spoke slowly, "I killed the clansmen simply to make these eyes stronger... there is no other reason."
To make his claim more convincing, he specifically activated his Mangekyo Sharingan. The sinister patterns rotated continuously within his eyes.
Itachi stared at Sasuke with those eyes and explained, "The eyes of our clan can evolve after intense stimulation, just like you saw when the stimulation Lexon and I received pushed our Sharingan to evolve. In order to become stronger, I killed the clan... even our parents... all just to make these eyes of mine... even more powerful..."
"Then why did you spare my life! Why didn't you kill me!" Sasuke's expression was frantic. His eyes involuntarily changed into the Sharingan, fully manifesting the Mangekyo Sharingan.
"It's because of this..."
Seeing Sasuke's reddened eyes spinning with a strange pattern, a sickly smile appeared on Itachi's face. A joyful light flashed in his eyes as he reflexively raised his arm, fingers extended as if he were about to gouge out an eye. He continued, "As the number of times the Mangekyo Sharingan is used increases, the light in the eyes gradually fades... eventually leading to total blindness. But a Mangekyo Sharingan evolved from a biological brother can make my eyes stronger, granting them eternal light... Sasuke! Give me your eyes!!!"
By the end, his voice was as wild and fierce as a roar.
"You really are an irrational man! Uchiha Itachi!" Sasuke shouted back, his eyes nearly bursting with rage.
His words were filled with incomparable hatred.
His brother... was indeed someone who couldn't be understood! He killed the clan and his parents just for power! He let Sasuke live only so his eyes could grow to a certain point so he could steal them for eternal light! A selfish bastard! A selfish bastard!!!
Sasuke's rage seemed on the verge of overwhelming his mind. His eyes were bloodshot, and the scene of his parents' death played repeatedly in his head.
"I'm going to kill you! Uchiha Itachi!!!"
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]