Itachi silently walked behind his parents, his crimson gaze fixed on them, a sense of bitterness arising from deep within.
"Is it really you..."
Fugaku sighed, as if regretting something, filled with a sense of bitterness.
Itachi stood wordlessly facing them.
"Maybe, it was my mistake, unable to lead the clan, not knowing how to educate my children... Ending up like this, it's my own doing."
Fugaku seemed to have made some sort of resolve.
"Father..."
"Since you've decided to side with the village, don't hesitate anymore. A ninja doesn't have so many tears to shed."
"We've already come to terms with it, Itachi. If the destruction of the clan is inevitable, being destroyed by one's own is also a sort of blessing."
Mother Mikoto's all-encompassing gentle voice reached him, making the hand holding the blade begin to tremble.
Having already made his decision, Itachi suddenly hesitated at this moment, not knowing if his current actions were right or wrong.
"Do it, Itachi, compared to our momentary pain, what you bear is the true darkness. Without doing this, you wouldn't survive..."
Fugaku understood.
If Itachi failed the mission, what awaited him was undoubtedly the village's cleansing afterward.
They didn't need a ninja who was no longer loyal to the village.
Only by killing them, by wiping out all of the Uchiha, could Itachi have the right to survive, even if it meant living as a renegade ninja afterward.
But as long as he could live, there was still hope.
"I am sorry to you, I shouldn't have used such education to raise you. Your father, I, have been a failure all my life. The only success..."
...was successfully drawing fire for others, well performing his role as a decoy. Fugaku bitterly smiled inwardly.
Because he was incompetent enough, he could effectively play the role of a decoy.
The real seed had left Konoha more than ten years ago.
Sadly, realizing it now was too late.
He hadn't seen how heavy the burden in his son's heart was, causing him to fall into the enemy's trap, becoming a blade for dealing with the Uchiha, and unable to understand the elders' arrangements until at last, he saw the Uchiha Clan of Konoha nearing its end, finally seeing it all clearly...
He couldn't explain all this to Itachi.
Once he did, Itachi's death would come, too.
He was just a child misled by others, seemingly conducting everything according to his own will, but from beginning to end, he was walking on a path arranged by others.
Whether it was killing or targeting the clan, or loyalty to the village, it was all under the enemy's guidance.
As a puppet, at least he could hold on to innocent fantasies to live on strongly.
Thinking of this, a stabbing pain suddenly attacked from behind, Fugaku coughed, blood spilling from his mouth, and with a smile, he fell to the ground.
In the fading consciousness, he seemed to hear someone holding back the sound of crying.
"Live... well..."
Using all his strength to say these words, Fugaku lost his breath, his body's warmth gradually growing cold.
...
Itachi lowered his head, gazing at the corpses of his parents lying on the ground, his eyes vacantly staring, tears streaming out uncontrollably.
The guilt on the blade increased once more.
There wasn't much time for him to be sad and confused, as soon, hurried footsteps were heard in the corridor, followed by the door being pushed open.
"Dad! Mom!"
It was Sasuke, who had returned from the Ninja School, calling out.
Then, he saw his parents' bodies lying in a pool of blood, his eyes widening in terror.
Itachi's body emerged from the shadows, the crimson Sharingan staring at Sasuke, holding a blood-stained ninja blade, the tears on his face long wiped away. He had become cold and resolute.
"B-brother!? What's going on, why are Dad and Mom..."
A kunai flew over.
It grazed Sasuke's shoulder, blood spraying out, as the kunai embedded itself into the wall behind Sasuke, firmly rooted.
Sasuke's pupils contracted, his mind going blank, forgetting to shout.
"My foolish little brother..."
The cold words pierced Sasuke's heart like a merciless blade, leaving him almost breathless.
"Let me show you the truth..."
The Mangekyo Sharingan activated, its terrifying donjutsu pouring all the guilt into Sasuke's fragile mind without mercy.
Sasuke's young body, like a log, was fixed there, unable to move, only a horrifying cry of fear escaping from his mouth.
Blood...
Father's blood...
Mother's blood...
Clan members' fresh blood...
All splattering before his eyes...
And the one who wielded the slaughter blade, was the person before him, once his idol and goal—the Uchiha Itachi.
Sasuke fell to the ground, yet his face remained directed toward Itachi.
"Why... would you do this?"
"To test my capacity."
"Capacity? To test this, you needed to kill Dad, Mom, and everyone else..."
Sasuke, forgetting fear, glared at Itachi with eyes filled with murderous anger.
Even in death, he wouldn't submit here.
"It's a very important matter."
"Are you kidding me?"
"This is no joke, but a fact. I want you to eternally hate me, abhor me, ultimately, to surpass me, constantly living through vile means."
Itachi approached Sasuke, his crimson eyes making Sasuke tremble all over.
Sharingan... not the basic magatama.
What is it?
"This is the Mangekyo Sharingan..."
Seemingly noticing Sasuke's confusion, Itachi answered.
"Mangekyo Sharingan?"
Sasuke's eyes were filled with bewilderment.
"Yes, it's the eyes that only open by killing one's closest friend."