When his thoughts returned to the mastermind behind the Kyuubi rampage,the man who called himself Uchiha Madara,even Hiruzen Sarutobi could not prevent a visible shift in his expression. The weight of that name alone carried enough pressure to suffocate an entire room.
"There is no doubt about it," Hiruzen said slowly, his voice heavy and restrained. "That man is the greatest threat… and the greatest variable."
His fingers tightened slightly around the pipe in his hand as he continued, his tone growing colder. "We cannot afford to lower our guard. If the Kyuubi disaster were to happen again, Konoha would not merely suffer losses,it would cease to exist in any meaningful sense. At that point, the Hokage's seat would be nothing more than an empty symbol."
He exhaled deeply, eyes narrowing as memories resurfaced. "But capturing that man is extraordinarily difficult. During the previous Kyuubi incident, he bypassed Konoha's defensive barrier without triggering a single alarm. More than that…" His gaze sharpened. "He found Kushina's childbirth location,information known only to me and a handful of trusted individuals."
"That alone is terrifying," Hiruzen continued, his voice steady but grim. "Coupled with the overwhelming ocular power required to control the Kyuubi, and a hatred toward Konoha deep enough to orchestrate such a catastrophe…" He paused briefly before concluding, "The conclusion is obvious. That man is either Uchiha Madara himself,or someone who inherited Madara's will and power."
"Of course," he added after a moment, "Madara should already be dead. The latter possibility is far more likely."
That was Hiruzen's final assessment.
"As for Uchiha Itachi," he said bluntly, the warmth entirely gone from his voice, "there will be no issue. He is my most loyal hound."
"However," Hiruzen continued, eyes turning cold, "the Uchiha clan itself is another matter. With these rumors spreading, a rebellion could erupt at any moment."
"Even with Itachi," he added, "we must prepare for the worst."
"ANBU. ROOT. The Sarutobi clan. The Shimura clan." His voice carried unquestionable authority. "All forces are to remain on full standby."
"And our vigilance must extend beyond the Uchiha," he concluded. "Every unit must also be prepared for the possible return of the man who claims to be Uchiha Madara."
Danzo, Koharu, and Homura all nodded in unison.
This, undeniably, was the only rational course of action.
At the same time…
Uchiha Itachi returned home.
The moment he stepped inside, his footsteps slowed. Standing there, waiting for him as if he had never moved, was his father.
Uchiha Fugaku.
The head of the clan.
Itachi knew there was no escaping this moment. Instead of avoiding it, he walked forward of his own accord.
"Father… no," he corrected himself, bowing slightly. "Clan Head."
Fugaku studied his son in silence, searching his face for even the faintest hint of truth, hesitation, or guilt. Yet, just like always, he could not see through Uchiha Itachi.
"I will ask only once," Fugaku said at last, his voice heavy with restraint. "As your father,and as the head of the Uchiha clan."
"Are those rumors true?"
Itachi said nothing.
Fugaku stared at him for a long time before finally letting out a deep, exhausted sigh.
"Your silence," he said slowly, "is your answer."
"You witnessed Shisui's death. You took possession of his Sharingan,his Mangekyō Sharingan,and yet you never told me." Fugaku's voice trembled. "And on top of that…" His eyes hardened. "You are an informant planted inside our clan by Konoha's higher-ups?"
Still, Itachi remained silent.
The restraint Fugaku had maintained finally shattered.
"What do you want, Itachi?!" he roared, his composure collapsing. "What exactly are you trying to achieve?!"
"Do you truly intend to wipe out your own clan?" His voice cracked. "To kill your own parents with your own hands?!"
At last, Itachi spoke,his voice strained, heavy with conflict.
"Father… Clan Head," he said quietly, "I am an Uchiha. But I am also a shinobi of Konoha."
For a moment, Fugaku froze.
Then he laughed.
A hollow, bitter laughter echoed through the room.
"Hahaha… hahaha…" He laughed until his shoulders trembled. "So that's how it is."
"I, Uchiha Fugaku, truly raised an extraordinary son," he said mockingly. "Very well. You have a grand vision. Broad horizons. A higher perspective."
"You desire the prosperity of the entire village. The peace of the entire shinobi world," Fugaku sneered. "And for that… what does a mere Uchiha clan matter?"
"If sacrificing us achieves that noble dream…" His eyes burned with pain and fury. "Then it is a price you are more than willing to pay."
Itachi did not deny it.
Because, deep down,
That was exactly what he believed.
Yet… he did not dare to speak.
Uchiha Fugaku let out a long, exhausted sigh, one that seemed to drain years of suppressed anger and disappointment from his chest. His voice, when he finally spoke again, was no longer furious,it was filled with profound shame and sorrow.
"To have given birth to a son like you…" Fugaku said slowly, each word heavy as iron. "I truly have no face left to stand before my clansmen. No face to face our ancestors beneath the shrine."
His gaze hardened abruptly.
"Come," he ordered coldly. "You will follow me to the Naka Shrine."
"I want you," Fugaku continued, his voice rising, "to stand before the entire clan and explain everything with your own mouth!"
At that instant, Uchiha Itachi suddenly rose to his feet, the movement abrupt enough to cut through the suffocating tension that filled the room.
"Father-don't force me!" he shouted, his voice cracking as the calm composure he had clung to until that moment finally collapsed.
Fugaku stared at him, stunned. For a brief second, disbelief overtook authority, and his eyes widened as if he were seeing a stranger instead of his own son.
"What?!" he barked. "You dare resist me?!"
Itachi's shoulders trembled. Tears streamed freely down his face, blurring his vision, yet his gaze never wavered from Fugaku's. Pain, conflict, and resolve twisted together in his expression as he spoke again, his voice trembling but sincere.
"Forgive me… Father."
The words had barely left his lips when Fugaku's chakra surged violently. The Sharingan activated, crimson tomoe spinning with practiced ease, filling his gaze with the weight of authority that had defined him as both clan head and father.
But almost at the same time, something far more ominous occurred.
Uchiha Itachi's eyes changed.
The Mangekyō Sharingan opened, its pattern forming with terrifying clarity. Two blood-red gazes collided within the narrow confines of the room, and the clash of their chakra distorted the air itself. Invisible pressure pressed down on the walls, shadows quivered, and genjutsu overlapped in a silent, lethal struggle that unfolded in less than a heartbeat.
The result was decided immediately.
Uchiha Fugaku lost.
Before he could even fully register what had happened, his consciousness was seized and dragged into Itachi's illusion. His body stiffened, frozen in place, eyes unfocused, while his mind was locked inside a genjutsu he could neither resist nor escape.
Itachi did not allow himself even a moment of hesitation.
Seizing that fleeting opening, he turned his back on the room, on his father, and on the home that had shaped his entire life. Without looking back, he fled into the night.
When Fugaku finally regained awareness, the world felt unbearably quiet.
The house was empty.
No presence lingered, no chakra remained-only the fading trace of his son, already swallowed by distance. Fugaku stood in the center of the room, staring at the doorway through which Itachi had disappeared. Time passed slowly, measured only by his breathing, until something within him shifted.
The hesitation drained from his face.
The doubt vanished.
What replaced them was absolute resolve.
He had made his decision.
Without wasting another moment, Uchiha Fugaku moved swiftly to the Naka Shrine. Messengers were dispatched, and soon every elder, every elite combatant, and every core pillar of Uchiha power had gathered. Members of the clan and the Military Police Force filled the shrine, the air growing heavy with anticipation and restrained fury.
Standing before them, Fugaku revealed everything-the full truth surrounding Uchiha Itachi.
The reaction was immediate and explosive.
Shock rippled through the assembly, quickly giving way to rage. Hatred burned openly in countless eyes as the fragments of long-standing suspicion finally fell into place. Shisui's death had not been an accident; there was no doubt it had been orchestrated by Shimura Danzō. Sarutobi Hiruzen, far from innocent, had allowed it to happen.
Worse still, Uchiha Itachi had been turned against his own blood, ordered to spy on the clan from within and act as Konoha's hidden blade buried in Uchiha flesh.
At that revelation, the last restraint snapped.
The conflict had crossed a line from which there was no return. Any hope of reconciliation was extinguished.
Uchiha Tekka slammed his fist forward, the sound echoing sharply through the shrine.
"Clan Head! The time has come!"
"If we do not act now," he shouted, his voice hoarse with fury, "then Sarutobi Hiruzen and Uchiha Itachi will strike first!!!"
One voice became many.
Shouts erupted from every direction, rage boiling over as killing intent flooded the shrine. The very air trembled beneath the collective hatred of the clan, rebellion no longer a whisper but an inferno.
Uchiha Fugaku closed his eyes briefly, as if sealing away his final hesitation.
When he opened them again, his gaze was unwavering.
"I understand," he said, his voice calm yet heavy with authority.
"And therefore," he continued, his words echoing powerfully across the Naka Shrine, "as the head of the Uchiha clan, I hereby declare war on Konoha's higher-ups!!!"
"All Uchiha clansmen!" he roared. "Arm yourselves!"
"Take up your weapons and prepare for the final battle!!!"
The shrine erupted into furious cries, the Uchiha blood boiling as the spark of rebellion fully ignited.
And yet-
At that very same moment, far from the gathering voices and rising flames of war, Uchiha Itachi encountered someone else first.
A man wearing a mask.
A figure wrapped in mystery and darkness.
The one who called himself-
Uchiha Madara.