Dawn broke as the first pale light pierced through the clouds, casting a golden glow over the prosperous streets of Konoha, driving away the darkness.
For ordinary people,
It was just another normal day.
The ANBU had already cleaned up the battlefield near the Uchiha compound and set up a perimeter around it.
Without direct orders from the higher-ups,
the ANBU were not yet permitted to clear out the Uchiha compound itself.
Still, some had already infiltrated the area, standing atop rooftops and surveying the site while establishing tight defenses.
Along the main road of the Uchiha compound, Itachi carried Sasuke on his back, walking toward the compound's exit.
Elite ANBU operatives stationed nearby didn't stop them—
they simply acted as if they didn't see them at all.
Itachi's expression was dazed.
He ran through excuse after excuse in his mind to tell Sasuke—but dismissed each one just as quickly.
According to his plan,
Sasuke wasn't supposed to pass out so early.
"Stop right there!"
A familiar voice rang out.
Itachi looked up, spotting a fox mask and two familiar silhouettes.
Two ANBU members had blocked his path.
Itachi looked past them—
Hiruzen Sarutobi and his two advisors were walking toward him. Their expressions were cold, exuding the air of high-ranking leaders, their eyes glossing over the scattered Uchiha civilian corpses like they weren't even there.
"Stand down," Hiruzen said flatly to the two ANBU who had stopped Itachi.
Just before the fox-masked ANBU left,
Itachi reached out and stopped him, gently handing over the unconscious Sasuke.
"Kakashi-senpai… please watch over Sasuke for a while."
Kakashi paused for a moment, sighed lightly, and took Sasuke into his arms.
He and Yamato withdrew to a distance.
Now only four people remained on the street.
Koharu Utatane stepped forward without delay, her tone calm and deliberate:
"Uchiha Yu wiped out the Uchiha Clan and escaped the village with a squad of Uchiha rogue ninja.
Itachi, this means you don't have to leave the village."
Itachi's muddled thoughts began to focus as he raised his eyes to look at Hiruzen standing beside the old woman.
He immediately understood what they meant.
Hiruzen met his gaze, steady and calm, and sighed:
"Sorry, Itachi. In the end, I couldn't find a better solution.
As for staying in the village—
What do you think?"
To the three Konoha elders, the Uchiha Clan could have been wiped out by Itachi…
or by Uchiha Yu.
And now, Hiruzen was leaning toward the latter.
The advisors' thinking made sense.
Konoha desperately needed capable people right now.
Seeing Itachi remain silent, Koharu continued bluntly:
"The truth of tonight is known only to the three of us… and you… and the deceased Danzo."
"Danzo is dead?!"
Itachi's head snapped up, his bloodshot black eyes locked onto Koharu. The words struck him like thunder.
Shimura Danzo—the mastermind behind the Uchiha clan's destruction—was dead?!
How did he die??
Itachi's mind jumped to the unthinkable answer—
Uchiha Yu killed him!!
Koharu's eyes narrowed. Her breath caught for a moment, and her body shivered slightly.
For a split second, the boy's gaze seemed to carry kunai forged from pure killing intent—
sharp enough to pierce her heart.
Koharu nodded, not hiding the truth:
"Uchiha Yu killed him."
At her words, Itachi's pupils shrank, his thoughts a mess once more.
He took a deep breath, calmed himself, and began to reassess the danger Uchiha Yu posed.
Itachi looked up at Hiruzen Sarutobi, speaking slowly and with a trembling voice:
"Before I made my move, Uchiha Yu had already dealt with the Uchiha Police Force."
The moment those words landed—
Hiruzen Sarutobi, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado were once again shaken to their core.
That meant—
Uchiha Yu wiped out the entire Uchiha Police Force inside the compound, and then doubled back… to kill Danzo?!
An Uchiha who could take out the entire police force, and assassinate Danzo?
That definitely qualified as an S-rank rogue ninja!
The last time Konoha saw a rogue of that caliber…
was one of the Legendary Sannin—Orochimaru.
"This…" Koharu's pupils trembled. She swallowed nervously, the words catching in her throat.
It sounded like utter fantasy.
Hiruzen was the first to regain his composure.
He thought through the entire shinobi roster of Konoha and realized—only his three students could possibly pull something like this off.
Uchiha Yu, even with the Mangekyō Sharingan… shouldn't have had the chakra reserves to pull it off.
Wiping out the entire Uchiha Police Force alone would have exhausted his chakra completely.
And then to assassinate Danzo afterward?!
They knew Danzo's strength better than anyone else—
Even the Legendary Sannin working together wouldn't be able to kill Danzo in one strike.
Silence fell like a curtain.
Itachi broke it:
"Forgive me, Lord Hokage. For Sasuke's sake, I can't stay in Konoha. I'll find a way to deal with that Uchiha rogue squad myself.
I entrust Sasuke to your care."
The three Konoha elders pushed their shock aside.
They had been in power for many years—masters of compartmentalizing.
Their minds quickly shifted from the impossibility of Yu killing the entire police force and Danzo, to what was now truly important—
Convincing Itachi to stay!
The Uchiha Clan was gone.
And now that there was a rogue Uchiha squad to pin the blame on,
Itachi really didn't have to leave the village.
Hiruzen wasn't surprised by Itachi's answer.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and glanced at Koharu.
The two exchanged a brief look.
Koharu stepped forward again to persuade him:
"Itachi, we understand how you feel.
But at least hear the conditions we're offering you.
Danzo is dead.
Konoha's underground intelligence division—the ANBU training branch known as "Root"—was now in urgent need of someone to take over.
You, as you are now,
are the most suitable person for this role.
As long as you stay in Konoha,
you can take care of Sasuke yourself—
raise him with your own hands.
Itachi, think carefully about your brother.
Of course…
If you insist on leaving the village,
we will honor our word—
Sasuke will be well taken care of.
Uchiha Itachi weighed the pros and cons swiftly in his mind, then slowly raised his eyes toward the Third Hokage.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed:
"None of us ever wanted to see this happen to the Uchiha Clan.
But such is the way of the world.
Once caught in the game, the tides of power force people to make choices.
Itachi, what I'm about to say may sound harsh…
But you've carried out the Will of Fire.
You've made an outstanding contribution to Konoha's peace.
You're a hero of this village.
You shouldn't have to live in the shadows.
Itachi, stay.
As Hokage, I'm asking you—no, I'm begging you."
---
Two days into their escape.
The border of the Land of Fire.
Kikyō Mountain.
A small creek, like a ribbon of silver silk, wound through the bleak autumn valley, flowing quietly outward.
Splash—
Uchiha Yu stood at the upper stream, bent down, and cupped his hands in the clear water, washing the blood from his face.
His feet rested in the ankle-deep, crystal-clear riverbed.
The late-autumn water was chilling to the bone.
In the sunlight, the surface of the stream reflected Yu's face—
Short, tousled hair.
Sharp brows, starry eyes.
Well-defined features.
Clad in white.
Graceful in posture.
Other Uchiha were nearby, cleaning themselves of dirt and blood.
They had already changed into plain civilian clothes.
At a glance, they looked like villagers from the local mountains—
albeit with exceptionally striking features.
At that moment, Uchiha Izumi stepped through the water from downstream, ninja sandals in her right hand, brows slightly furrowed.
She represented the others as she walked up to Yu, who hadn't spoken much to them in the past two days, and asked gently:
"C-Captain Yu, going forward…
should we take the river and circle around Kikyō Mountain…
or pass straight through Kikyō Castle?
I-I personally think…
the river route is longer, but it might help erase our trail."
°°°
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