"Didn't Mom and Dad die because you were too weak? If you'd been strong enough, how could they have died?"
"Do you hate me? Want to kill me?"
Itachi tightened his grip slightly, continuing to twist the knife with his words. Listening to that soft voice and quiet laughter, Sasuke felt his heart being carved apart. His eyes threatened to split from rage, desperate to tear his brother limb from limb.
"This little bit of anger isn't nearly enough. Weak as you are, this is just impotent rage."
Itachi chuckled and shook his head. Then he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Tsukuyomi."
The genjutsu covered Sasuke completely. He watched, unable to look away, as every single member of his clan died horrifically at Itachi's hands. His parents, again and again, dying at his brother's hands in endless variation.
Blood everywhere. Blood on everything.
Hatred. He hated. Hated heaven and earth!
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Sasuke's voice came out like a wounded beast.
"Kill me? Weak as you are? Pitiful." Itachi's smile didn't waver. "If you want to kill me, then get stronger first. Once you've become stronger, come seek your revenge."
That smile burned itself into Sasuke's mind like a brand from a demon.
"Oh. It seems your friend Uzumaki Naruto has arrived." Itachi tilted his head slightly, sensing a strong life force racing wildly in their direction.
Sasuke's pupils shrank. He screamed inside his own mind: Naruto, don't come here! Don't come!
"BOOM!"
A figure landed on the street, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"So you're Sasuke's friend, Uzumaki Naruto." Itachi glanced at the dusty silhouette and smiled. "Yes, you look stronger than Sasuke. How interesting."
Naruto studied Itachi carefully. This person looked like Sasuke—was this his brother? But why was Itachi holding Sasuke by the throat?
No time to worry about that now. Naruto took a heavy step forward, voice sharp. "Let Sasuke go!"
"Oh? Are you trying to challenge me, kid?" Itachi chuckled. He glanced at Sasuke. "My dear little brother, it seems you really did make a good friend. But I'm going to kill him right now. Let your hatred grow even stronger."
He threw Sasuke aside like a sack of garbage.
"Naruto, get out of here! You can't beat him!" Sasuke stretched out his arms, voice hoarse and desperate, using his last breath to scream.
Naruto clenched his fists. His eyes never left Itachi. "Whether I can beat him or not, I'll only know after we fight. And Sasuke—you're my friend. I don't abandon friends and run away."
"Big words from such a small brat."
The moment the words left his mouth, Itachi appeared in front of Naruto in a flash. His shuriken thrust forward, aimed directly at Naruto's chest. From the angle and force, he genuinely intended to kill.
"Run!" Sasuke screamed again. But the figures of Naruto and Itachi had already begun moving, becoming blurs.
Naruto twisted sideways. He extended one finger and flicked his middle finger hard against the shuriken with a crisp TING, deflecting Itachi's weapon away. In the same motion, he spun and brought his palm down in a heavy strike.
The palm carried a whistling sound as it descended toward Itachi's left kidney.
The momentum was crushing. If this strike landed solidly, Itachi would end up with a ruptured kidney on the spot.
What incredible taijutsu!
Itachi leaped up, barely dodging Naruto's kidney shot.
But Naruto followed like a shadow. Instead of retracting his palm, he converted it into an elbow strike, driving it directly at Itachi's ribs.
Itachi's speed wasn't slow. He moved backward, not giving Naruto the opening. His hand shot out, grabbed Naruto's arm, and twisted. He immediately turned Naruto around so the boy's back faced him.
Naruto's lips curved into a smile. He borrowed the momentum, falling backward into Itachi's arms.
THUD. THUD.
Two muffled impacts. Itachi felt a suffocating pressure in his chest. He leaped backward quickly, putting distance between himself and Naruto. Standing still, he felt tightness in his chest and lungs, making it hard to breathe properly.
It turned out that the instant Naruto fell into Itachi's embrace, he'd controlled two muscles in his back and used them to bombard Itachi's chest in rapid succession.
The two stood apart, watching each other. This exchange hadn't given Itachi any advantage in close combat. But Naruto hadn't truly hurt Itachi either—his two back muscles now felt numb from the impact of meeting an opponent this skilled.
The Third Hokage and Danzo's chakra signatures were getting closer.
"Naruto, let's stop here for today. Remember to tell Sasuke—come find me for revenge. Hahaha!" Itachi let out a villain's laugh before vanishing in a flicker.
Naruto released a held breath.
At that moment, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi and the leader of Root, Shimura Danzo, arrived belatedly with their forces.
Looking at the standing Naruto and the unconscious Sasuke lying not far away, Hiruzen's eyes widened in surprise. "Naruto! Why are you here? Don't you know how dangerous this is?"
"I'm sorry, Grandpa Third. I was just passing by." Naruto's excuse was perfunctory, and suspicion bloomed in his heart.
You knew there would be an incident at the Uchiha compound tonight. But you waited until everything was over to arrive.
What role did you play in this, Grandpa Third?
The thoughts turned in Naruto's mind, but his face showed nothing.
He walked over to Sasuke and checked his condition. Fortunately, he was still alive. Naruto lifted Sasuke carefully into his arms and turned to Hiruzen. "Grandpa Third, Sasuke is injured. I'm taking him to the hospital."
Hiruzen studied Naruto's face for several long seconds, but couldn't read anything from his expression. He extended his senses, checking Naruto's seal. Finding nothing wrong with it, he waved his hand. "Go. But don't wander around when you reach the hospital. Stay there, or go straight home. We don't know if the murderer will cause more trouble."
Naruto leaped away with Sasuke in his arms, taking long, measured jumps through the village.
Beside Danzo, a white-haired ANBU operative's eyes followed Naruto's retreating figure. That familiar yellow hair, those familiar blue eyes—they made the white-haired ANBU's heart stir with complicated emotions.
"Danzo, let's clean this up." Hiruzen glanced at the Uchiha compound, now filled with desolation. His voice carried a tone of pity.
"Lord Third, shouldn't we pursue the murderer?" the white-haired ANBU asked.
"Go. Be careful." Hiruzen nodded.
"Yes, sir." The white-haired ANBU led several others and began searching the area.
On the other side, as soon as Itachi left the Uchiha compound, he met up with a masked figure.
They stood on a tree in the forest outside the clan grounds. Itachi glanced back at the compound one more time—perhaps at all of Konoha. His expression was complicated.
"What's wrong? Having second thoughts?" the masked man asked.
Itachi shook his head, then nodded slightly. "After all, I lived here for more than ten years. I'm a little reluctant. But at least it was destroyed by my own hands. Otherwise, that would be a real pity."
The masked man gave Itachi a meaningful look. "Let's go. Leave quickly, before the situation changes."
"Wait." Itachi suddenly stopped the masked man. "There's a streetlamp outside the clan grounds. I want to take it with me. That's the lamp I always stood on."
Under his mask, the masked man's face filled with exasperation. "Let's just go. We don't have time for this. There are plenty of streetlamps where we're going. You can pick whichever one you want and stand on it as much as you like."