"BOOM!"
Two dull impacts rang out. The ANBU operatives felt themselves lifting off the ground, the scenery around them retreating at impossible speeds.
At the same time, a piercing pain erupted in their chests.
This little brat—why does he punch so hard?
The thought drifted through their dazed minds as they flew through the air.
After casually knocking them both away, Naruto leaped forward in a single bound. His figure moved like a swimming dragon, tapping off tree branches as his voice carried back from the distance: "Nine-Tails! Those two ANBU are all yours. Remember, same as last time. When you're done, hang them back on their original tree."
"Got it! Hehehehe..."
Nine-Tails hopped up and down excitedly, holding a brick in his paws, and scampered toward where the fallen ANBU operatives had landed.
The two hit the ground hard, feeling the severe pain radiating from their chests. But they didn't pay any attention to that little fox approaching them. If they hadn't underestimated Naruto from the start and treated him with contempt, the kid never would have succeeded in landing those punches.
However, the next second...
Their pupils shrank suddenly. Their bodies began trembling uncontrollably.
The fox holding the brick grew larger and larger as it ran toward them. By the time it reached them, it had become as massive as a small mountain, especially with those nine long tails swaying behind it.
"It's the Nine-Tails..."
Their teeth chattered as they hugged each other, bodies shaking.
"Hehehehe..."
Nine-Tails wore a gleeful smile.
"BANG BANG BANG BANG..."
A few brick strikes later, both operatives lay unconscious on the ground. Nine-Tails delivered a few more hits just to be absolutely certain.
After confirming they'd lost their memories, Nine-Tails lifted them up and hung them back on the tree where they'd been stationed.
On the other side...
Going back half an hour, to when the Ninja Academy had just let out...
After saying goodbye to Naruto at the school gate, Sasuke hurried toward home with his schoolbag on his back.
He'd been learning the Shadow Clone Jutsu with his brother Itachi for more than ten days now. He'd almost completely mastered the technique. He planned to practice with his brother for just one more day today, and then he wouldn't need any more lessons.
After all, his brother worked so hard every single day. When he came home, Itachi still had to spend time teaching him ninjutsu on top of everything else.
Looking at his brother's slightly tired face recently, Sasuke's heart ached.
Even though he really, truly wanted to follow behind his brother all the time.
Lost in thought, Sasuke walked to a familiar spot and called out habitually, "Brother, I'm back! Coming down?"
No one answered.
Sasuke looked up. His brother Itachi wasn't standing on the streetlamp.
Huh? What's going on today? Brother stands on that streetlamp waiting for me every single day. Could he be working overtime today?
With this puzzled thought, Sasuke walked slowly toward the clan compound.
The further he walked, the more uncomfortable Sasuke felt.
As quiet as death!
In the past, when he approached the clan grounds, he could faintly hear clan members talking to each other and children playing and fighting.
But today, he heard nothing.
Strange! Today was just an extremely ordinary day, not one of the days when the clan gathered together. How could it be so quiet?
For some reason, unease rose in Sasuke's chest.
He couldn't help but quicken his pace.
Suppressing the growing anxiety, Sasuke ran into the clan compound. The moment he entered the area where his clansmen lived, Sasuke's pupils contracted sharply...
Ruins and wreckage stretched before him. Scorched black marks covered everything. Bodies lay scattered in twos and threes on the ground—old people, children...
"Father! Mother! Brother!"
Sasuke couldn't help but scream. He suddenly felt terrified, desperately afraid that something had happened to his most beloved father, mother, and brother. He ran toward home with all his strength. But along the entire way, he didn't see a single living person.
"Father! Mother! Brother!"
As soon as he reached the door, Sasuke shouted loudly again. But no one responded. He pushed the door open...
A shocking and unbelievable scene appeared before Sasuke's eyes.
His father, Fugaku Uchiha, and his mother, Mikoto Uchiha, lay in pools of blood. His older brother stood beside them, calmly wiping the blood from his shuriken.
A strong, pungent smell of blood filled the entire space.
"Father is dead... Mother is dead too..."
"This is... fake..."
His eyes had turned blood-red. He stared at his older brother, Itachi Uchiha, standing next to the corpses of Fugaku and Mikoto. All signs pointed to one conclusion—the killer was his most beloved brother Itachi.
"Brother, tell me—you didn't kill Mom and Dad, right?" A glimmer of hope still remained in Sasuke's voice.
Brother loved Mother so much. How could he possibly do such a thing?
He couldn't help but recall scenes with his brother flashing through his mind like a movie. His brother holding him when he was little, carrying him around to play together.
No matter how hard his brother was working, Itachi would still cook meals for him.
Just some time ago, his brother and he had chased each other through the dandelion field.
How could such a wonderful brother do something so terrible?
Unfortunately, crushing Sasuke's last hope, Itachi looked back at him. He stuck out his tongue and licked the blood on his lips—their parents' blood. His voice came out cold and emotionless:
"Oh, my foolish little brother... you're not mistaken. Mom and Dad—yes, I killed them."
Hearing his brother Itachi's own confession, the last ray of hope left in Sasuke's heart shattered instantly. He widened his eyes and shouted hysterically, "WHY? WHY? WHY DID YOU KILL MOM AND DAD?"
Facing Sasuke's hysteria, Itachi seemed completely calm. He wiped his blood-dripping shuriken, a trace of mockery appearing at the corner of his mouth. "Oh, why? Because they were weak. Weakness itself is the original sin. And you... you're even weaker..."
As he spoke, Itachi raised the shuriken in his hand.
The shuriken flew past Sasuke's cheek with a whistling sound, embedding itself straight into the door panel behind him. It trembled a few times, buried three inches deep.
Rage erupted inside Sasuke. He completely lost control. His already blood-red eyes grew even redder, and something slowly emerged from within his pupils.
A single tomoe appeared.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
In an instant, Sasuke finished forming the hand seals. Countless flames with long tails shot from Sasuke's mouth, attacking Itachi.
"That's it?" Itachi shook his head. In a flash, he appeared directly in front of Sasuke and slapped him across the face.
Sasuke flew backward, smashing through the gate and tumbling onto the street outside. He couldn't stand up.
"Pathetic. Too weak."
Itachi shook his head and sighed. He walked up to Sasuke, reached out, grabbed him by the throat, and lifted the boy into the air.
Blood trickled from the corner of Sasuke's mouth. Itachi's palm strike had seriously injured him just now.
"Why, you ask? My foolish little brother... you're so pitiful, still asking why?"
Itachi smiled gently, that terrible smile.
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