The night was cold.
The moon hung low and red in the sky, staining the world in a bloody hue.
The figure of a young man, clad in a dark cloak and wearing a cold, unreadable expression, traversed the rocky valleys beyond the Land of Fire.
Itachi Uchiha.
His Sharingan eyes gleamed beneath the shadows of his hair.
With every step, the distance between himself and the village he once called home grew larger.
With every heartbeat, the weight of his betrayal, his sacrifice, sank deeper into his soul.
> "This is my path now..." Itachi thought grimly.
At the edge of the barren valley, two figures awaited him.
One was a tall, blue-skinned man with shark-like features — Kisame Hoshigaki.
The other, a composed man with orange hair and numerous facial piercings, radiated an oppressive aura — Pain, the leader of Akatsuki.
Beside him, a beautiful woman with lavender hair and a stoic gaze — Konan — stood silently.
The wind howled as Itachi approached them, his black cloak billowing behind him.
---
Pain spoke first, his voice deep and resonant.
> "Uchiha Itachi... you have chosen to abandon your village. Why have you come to us?"
Itachi's gaze remained steady.
> "To create peace," he answered.
"To walk a path in the shadows... for a greater purpose."
Pain narrowed his eyes.
> "Words are easy. Loyalty is rare."
> "I have abandoned everything," Itachi said, his tone calm, almost sorrowful. "There is nothing left for me but this."
There was silence.
Then, Pain nodded slightly.
> "Very well. You will join Akatsuki."
Kisame smirked, stepping forward.
> "Looks like I'll be your partner, Uchiha. Hope you're not too delicate."
Itachi's lips curved into a ghost of a smile.
> "We'll see."
Konan observed him silently, her eyes softening for a fraction of a second, sensing the grief he carried.
Thus, Itachi Uchiha — the prodigy, the traitor, the hidden protector — entered the ranks of Akatsuki.
A new chapter of blood and darkness began.
---
Back in Konoha, the atmosphere was suffocating.
The Masked Man's attack had left scars — physical and emotional — across the village.
Streets were eerily empty.
The Uchiha compound, once lively and proud, now stood silent, a graveyard of memories.
Flags hung at half-mast.
Smoke curled from incense sticks burning in front of doorsteps.
In the hospital, reports circulated grimly — of casualties, of missing persons, of irrevocable losses.
Among them — the name that tore at the heart of one family:
Fugaku Uchiha — deceased.
---
At the morgue, under the grey, oppressive sky, Mikoto Uchiha and her young son Sasuke stood before a covered body.
The white sheet did nothing to hide the stillness, the finality beneath it.
Trembling hands — Mikoto's hands — reached forward.
She pulled the sheet back.
And there he was.
Fugaku Uchiha.
Once proud, once stern, once unshakable — now lying lifeless, cold, with an expression of calm he never wore in life.
Mikoto's knees buckled.
Sasuke caught her instinctively, though his small frame could barely support her.
> "Father..." Sasuke choked out.
Mikoto pressed her forehead to Fugaku's chest, sobbing silently.
Years of pride, years of discipline — shattered in an instant.
The strong matriarch of the Uchiha Clan, reduced to a grieving widow.
> "Why...? Why did it end like this...?"
Sasuke's young hands clutched his father's cold, unmoving hand.
Tears streamed down his cheeks unchecked.
His world — the safe, proud world of the Uchiha — had collapsed.
---
At the Uchiha cemetery, hundreds had gathered.
Rows of white stones marked fresh graves.
At the front, dressed in black, stood Shisui Uchiha — now the new Clan Head.
His face was a mask of composure, but his eyes reflected profound sorrow.
He stood before the graves of the fallen —
Fugaku.
Scores of Uchiha warriors.
Brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers.
Shisui bowed deeply.
The wind whispered through the trees as if mourning alongside them.
> "Today," Shisui began, voice resonating across the silent crowd, "we lay to rest the pride of our clan."
> "They fought bravely. They lived with honor. They died protecting what they loved."
The clan members bowed their heads, tears streaming freely.
Shisui raised a hand, and hundreds of paper lanterns were lit.
The night sky filled with tiny floating lights, carrying the souls of the dead toward the heavens.
> "I swear, in their name," Shisui vowed solemnly, "I will protect what remains. I will lead us into a future worthy of their sacrifice."
The Clan murmured agreement.
Some wept openly.
Some stood in grim silence.
But in every heart — the same vow was etched:
Never again.
---
Meanwhile, in the corridors of power, the Third Hokage brooded silently.
The death of Fugaku.
The attack of the Masked Man.
The emergence of Naruto's Wood Release.
Questions abounded.
Doubts festered.
> "Konoha is standing... but for how long?" Hiruzen thought grimly.
Danzo's absence was quietly covered up.
But Danzo Somehow survived using izanagi and silently escaped and planned to recuperate
The truth of the masked man's identity was buried.
On the surface, peace had returned.
But beneath — Konoha was a volcano, trembling on the verge of eruption.
And deep in the shadows — Naruto, the unseen player — smiled faintly, knowing the real game was only beginning.
---
[Chapter Ends]
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