The cold wind blew sharply like a knife blade dipped in ice, cutting across cheeks with a real stinging sensation. The wind carried a thick, lingering scent of rust—the smell of Uchiha clan blood. The blood seeped and wound between the cracks of the stone pathways, silently permeating every inch of air.
The night was black as ink. Even the stars and moon hid behind thick layers of clouds. Only sparks of fire flickered in the distant residences, reflecting ash floating in the sky, appearing like a silent funeral ceremony.
The catastrophic extinction that should have arrived three days later had instead blanketed this land early in a shockingly sudden manner.
This was the ancestral home of the Uchiha clan, possessors of the red Sharingan eyes. Once, these alleys had echoed with children's laughter and greetings between clan members. Now, only deathly silence remained; even the sound of wind passing over rooftops carried a bone-piercing cold.
"Genki, hurry! Faster! Don't look back!"
Uchiha Hazuki's voice trembled violently, the end of her sentence nearly torn apart by the cold wind. However, the strength with which she gripped Uchiha Genki's wrist was extraordinary. Her knuckles whitened from the force exerted, and cold sweat from her palm soaked Genki's sleeve.
Her other arm tightly embraced Uchiha Izumi beside her, protecting the weak girl's body closely, as if afraid the shadow chasing from behind would swallow this last remnant of warmth.
The sound of their three footsteps was starkly contrasted in the silent alley. Each time their feet stepped on the stones, it was as if they were treading on Death's fingertips. Every step could be their last.
Izumi's face was pale as paper. Her lips trembled from biting them, but she held back with all her might to avoid crying out loud. Her hand clutched the edge of Hazuki's clothes so tightly that her knuckles turned blue. Her small face hid behind Hazuki's back, leaving only a pair of fear-filled eyes that hesitantly peeked toward the endless darkness behind them.
Genki gritted his teeth. The heart in his chest pounded so hard it seemed ready to leap out of his throat, bringing a suffocating dull pain. Cold wind entered his throat, making it feel stiff and each breath feel burning.
It had been a full ten years since he reincarnated into this world. From a clueless child, he had stumbled his way to growing into a teenager. Day after day he waited, hoping the "system" that could supposedly change fate would arrive.
He had imagined the arrival of that "cheat" countless times in his dreams, imagining he could use it to protect those around him and change the Uchiha's fate. But until now, when the shadow of extinction was right before his eyes, what he hoped for remained without news.
And he himself, despite training as hard as possible, could only awaken a Sharingan with one tomoe!
Though he was also called a genius.
But without a "cheat," without shortcuts, there was only cold reality and death that kept pressing.
The despair of being cornered submerged him like a tidal wave. However, seeing Hazuki protecting them—though her own body trembled yet still refused to retreat—and seeing Izumi depending on them like a frightened small animal, Genki's gaze gradually became resolute.
He must not run, let alone surrender. He had to stake everything to bring his adoptive mother Hazuki and Izumi, who was like his real sister, to find a way out of this clan territory that would soon turn into hell!
*CLANG!*
The sharp sound of metal collision suddenly shattered the alley's silence.
A pitch-black kunai shot through the air with a sharp sound, embedding precisely in the wall ahead of the three of them. The kunai's blade sank deep into the brick, creating a low vibration and scattering stone fragments near their feet.
The exit had been completely sealed.
Genki abruptly stopped. Inertia made his body lean forward slightly, then instantly tense.
A chill crept from his spine straight to the top of his head. All the hair on his neck stood up, and his skin broke out in goosebumps. He could clearly feel an overwhelming, suffocating pressure slowly approaching from the end of the alley, like an invisible giant net, tightening bit by bit and trapping the three of them inside.
At that moment, the clouds shifted slightly. A sliver of pale moonlight penetrated through the gap and fell precisely on a shadowy figure at the end of the alley.
A long black robe fluttered in the night wind. Between the fluttering fabric, a silhouette appeared—upright yet lonely.
On that young but emotionless face, a pair of blood-red Mangekyō Sharingan gleamed coldly in the dim shadows, like two clusters of ghostly flames carrying indifference to destroy everything.
That was him.
The man who would soon end the entire Uchiha clan with his own hands—Uchiha Itachi.
"Itachi... that's Uchiha Itachi!"
Hazuki's voice was filled with fear that was hard to hide. In a tone almost crying, she reflexively pulled Genki and Izumi behind her back again, while she herself slightly bent her body in a defensive posture.
Both her hands clenched at her sides, her fingertips ice-cold. Her body trembled violently from fear, yet her eyes radiated determination to protect.
Izumi's body shook even more violently. Tears finally couldn't be held back and pooled in her eyes, but she still held them from falling. She buried her face deeper, gripping Hazuki's clothes so tightly the fabric nearly tore.
Seeing Itachi with his expressionless face before them, Genki's breathing became rapid and heavy. His chest felt as if pressed by a massive stone; even breathing felt difficult.
Despair and fear, like cold seawater, submerged him completely once again.
He knew the strength of the man before him. It was absolute oppression. Before him, he, Hazuki, and Izumi were merely like three sheep waiting to be slaughtered, without the slightest power to resist.
But at that moment, he felt Hazuki's slightly trembling body behind him, felt Izumi's small sobs arising from fear.
Ten years ago, he transmigrated to this cruel ninja world. His biological parents had long died in war. It was Hazuki and Izumi who found him curled up in ruins, brought him home, and gave him a warm harbor.
Hazuki treated him like her own child, Izumi treated him like her own younger brother. The warmth of these ten years was the only light for him in this cold world.
He could die, but no matter what happened, he had to secure a glimmer of hope for survival for Izumi and Hazuki! Even if the possibility was as small as dust, he had to bet on it!
A desperate courage emerged from the depths of his heart, suppressing the overflowing fear.
Genki suddenly pushed Hazuki who was in front of him, stepped forward one pace, and stood protecting them. The thin teenager's figure appeared very weak under the moonlight, but carried a determination that staked everything.
"Uchiha Itachi!" His voice was somewhat hoarse from tension and fear, but he still tried to raise it to be heard, "I know information about Sasuke! You cannot kill us!"
Itachi's footsteps didn't stop in the slightest. He continued walking forward slowly. His black robe swept the ash on the ground, creating a faint rustling sound.
His gaze remained cold and indifferent. His eyes fixed on Genki without the slightest ripple, as if looking at an insignificant ant.
"Are you trying to threaten me using that trash?" His voice was low and bland, without emotion, like ice in winter, "It's useless."
Although Izumi was one of the few clan members he had ever spoken to, and although the teenager before him had a gaze full of determination, he would not waver in the slightest. For Sasuke's sake, for Konoha's peace, he had to end all this with his own hands.
Now, throughout the entire Uchiha clan territory, besides his father Fugaku and mother Mikoto, only these three eyesores remained.
The sound of footsteps drew closer, and that suffocating pressure grew heavier. Genki's heart pounded so hard it seemed ready to explode. Cold sweat slid from his forehead, soaking his bangs.
He knew he had to throw out more impactful information to make this man stop his steps.
"Inside Uchiha Sasuke's body! There's a soul that doesn't belong to him at all!"
Genki suddenly looked up, staring directly at those cold Mangekyō Sharingan. At the peak of desperation, he mustered all his strength to shout. His voice contained the madness of someone staking their life.
"If you kill me! The soul inside Sasuke's body will sooner or later completely devour his body and consciousness! When that happens, everything you've done will be in vain!"
The moment those words were uttered, Itachi's footsteps suddenly stopped.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment. In the alley, only the sound of the cold wind whistling could be heard.
Under the moonlight, his pair of Mangekyō Sharingan slightly contracted. His gaze finally was no longer completely indifferent, but rather gained a bit of sharpness and scrutinizing intensity.
He stared sharply at the teenager before him, his low voice carrying a faint cold aura, interrogating word by word:
"Is that so?!"
"I know what you're thinking!" Genki met Itachi's cold gaze. His throat was stiff but he didn't dare retreat even slightly. His voice was hoarse but carried desperate determination, "You think by eliminating the entire clan with your own hands, you can sever the hatred and protect Sasuke? Let me tell you, the danger to Sasuke isn't from outside, but from within himself!"
He deliberately paused his sentence. Through the corner of his eye, he saw Itachi slightly furrow his brows. He immediately struck while the iron was hot, throwing out the heaviest secret: "The soul inside Sasuke's body doesn't belong to him at all!"
"It's a vessel of will passed down through generations in our Uchiha family—the Uchiha clan's ancestor, the eldest son of Rikudō Sennin Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, namely Ōtsutsuki Indra! The creator of the Sharingan! He wants to take over Sasuke's body!"
Itachi's face still showed no expression, but those blood-red Mangekyō Sharingan contracted slightly. His previously indifferent gaze now contained some deep assessment. The pressure surrounding them slightly faltered; clearly this sentence had hit his crucial point.
Genki saw it clearly. His heart pounded violently, knowing he had won the bet on his first step.
He suppressed the trembling in his chest and continued: "You don't believe it, do you? But you only need to check the Uchiha's ancient historical records, and you'll find that for thousands of years, the Senju and Uchiha seemed bound by fate, their conflicts never ceasing."
"And at every point of large-scale conflict, both clans would always produce a ninja with terrifying talent simultaneously, as if arranged by destiny!" His voice trembled uncontrollably, both from fear and extreme tension, "The closest pair to us, you must know them very well—the First Hokage Senju Hashirama, and our ancestor, Uchiha Madara!"
When mentioning the name "Madara," Genki could clearly feel the chakra fluctuation around Itachi.
He clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms. The pain kept him conscious. This feeling of helplessness when entrusting one's fate to the enemy's hands gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake. Despair loomed, yet he didn't even have the right to retreat.