Naruto: Call of Cthulhu

"Wh-Why?"

"Why are you doing this?"

Yusuke never imagined, even in his wildest dreams, that he would awaken the final form of his Sharingan on this fateful night. What he also didn't expect was that the first person he would encounter after awakening it was Itachi.

But the most shocking of all was that this fellow clansman immediately attempted to kill him upon their meeting.

Reflecting on the night's events, he had already been ambushed by two other members of the Uchiha clan. One was a young ninja named Tenjin, who had been seduced by a woman and attacked him, though it might not have been his true intention.

However, from the face of Itachi, standing behind him, Yusuke could clearly feel the killing intent.

At that moment, Itachi's face wasn't stained with just Yusuke's blood; the amount of blood splattered all over his face made it difficult for Yusuke to gauge how many Uchiha clansmen Itachi had already killed. Remembering the report from Hachidai, he began to see that everything happening now might not be so unreasonable after all.

After the discovery of Shisui's body, Hachidai had led two other Uchiha ninjas to the clan leader's home to investigate Itachi.

Not only did Itachi avoid all three, including Hachidai, but he also made statements like "A tiresome clan" and "Shallow-minded fools." However, when Fugaku appeared, he immediately knelt down and apologized to Hachidai and the others.

Hachidai reported this to Yusuke, but he had dismissed it as Itachi going through a rebellious phase. As both the clan leader and his Itachi's father, he believed Fugaku would be able to handle Itachi, so he did not intervene.

But now, in hindsight, it all seemed like a signal—perhaps Itachi had harbored malice towards the Uchiha clan since that moment.

"Damn you!"

Yusuke forcefully pushed away Itachi, clutching his chest where he had been pierced. He tried to activate his Mangekyo Sharingan once more.

However, due to his previous injuries and the exhaustion from already having used the Mangekyo, the three tomoe in his Sharingan started to come together but soon dispersed again.

Seeing this, Itachi was slightly surprised. "Have you awakened it as well?"

But whether Yusuke had awakened the Mangekyo was irrelevant to him at this point. He swiftly rushed forward and plunged his blade into Yusuke's heart.

Hachidai... I'm sorry. I couldn't... make your sacrifice count.

And just like that, Yusuke was killed by Itachi before he could even experience the full strength of his Uchiha bloodline.

Itachi pulled his katana from Yusuke's chest, flicked off the blood, and glanced around at the skinned and mutilated bodies of Uchiha ninjas and the collapsed walls that formed the ruins of the courtyard.

Itachi had only just arrived in this area and had no idea what had transpired earlier. He simply saw Yusuke standing there, laughing madly, which prompted him to strike. Even upon closer inspection of the surroundings, he couldn't make sense of what had happened.

He had also sensed similar abnormalities on his way here.

Originally, he had agreed with the masked man, who claimed to be Madara, to split the task—each handling one side and not interfering with the other's area.

But for some reason, on his way here, he saw many Uchiha civilians who had died horrific deaths.

These civilians had either been completely skinned, like the ninjas on the ground, or had their skulls pierced by a sharp, spiral-shaped object, with their brain entirely drained.

This grotesque and troublesome method of killing didn't seem to match the style of the masked man. Itachi found such methods utterly repulsive. While it was true that the vast majority of the Uchiha clan had to die tonight, he still wished to give them a swift and painless death.

Not this kind of agonizing, torturous end.

However, he had no time to ponder this further, as the greatest challenge of the night still lay ahead. He glanced up at the blood-red moon, growing more intense in its color. And without further hesitation, leaped several times into the alley, heading toward the home of the Uchiha clan leader, Fugaku.

That was once his home too.

As he departed, a figure slowly appeared beside the collapsed courtyard wall. This figure had a voluptuous and alluring figure, with a black fan covering her stunning face, radiating charm.

She was the Bloated Woman, disguised as a beautiful young girl. She peered through the gap in the wall but saw no living soul.

"Just a moment ago, I saw a handsome young man. How did he disappear so quickly?"

She was about to step into the courtyard when she suddenly stopped, looking at the figure near her feet. "Why are you so useless?"

Despite her words, the Bloated Woman used her invisible tentacles to lift a skinned corpse from beneath the rubble. This skinned figure was no longer a full body but merely a sheet of skin.

Or rather, the appearance of the Skinless One had always been its true form—a skin!

The Bloated Woman held the horrifying skin, filled with muscle tissue, tendons, and blood vessels, with an expression of disdain. "Carrying you around is really cramping my style when it comes to seducing men."

"Whatever. We're done here anyway. There aren't many good men left, after all."

---

On the street leading to the clan leader's house, Itachi encountered a dozen more Uchiha civilians. These were people who had run to the clan leader for help. Seeing the son of the clan leader return, they rushed forward excitedly, believing they had found their savior.

"Look! It's Itachi! We're saved!" one of them cried out.

There can be no salvation tonight.

But before they could utter another word, his katana had already swung through them. His swift and precise blade granted these civilians a merciful death, as fresh blood splattered across the walls of the street.

Just then, a towering figure stood in his path, blocking his way. 

Father?

Itachi swallowed nervously, trying to calm his tension as his gaze traced the shadow back to its source. To his surprise, it wasn't Fugaku who stood there, but a dark-skinned man dressed in a dazzling robe.

Under the crimson moonlight, Itachi could make out the details of the man standing before him.

The man wore a sandy-colored, tall, circular crown on his head. His body was draped in an extravagant golden robe, decorated with obsidian-colored lines. The robe's tail dragged along the ground, creating an appearance that seemed cumbersome and impractical for movement.

Such attire was not only unheard of within the Uchiha clan, known for their typically modest clothing, but it was also rare in the entire village. Usually, only traveling performers from outside Konoha would wear something so pretentious.

Coupled with the man's pitch-black skin, far darker than anything the sun could produce, he immediately concluded that this person was neither from Konoha nor from the Uchiha clan.

The dark-skinned man was not standing empty-handed. He held a staff, half as tall as a person, decorated with golden and blue stripes. The handle was inlaid with several black gems. At the top of the staff, a massive red gemstone emitted a scarlet light.

The man's physique was robust and imposing, his posture tall and majestic, and his face handsome yet arrogant. To the twelve-year-old Itachi, the man appeared formidable.

Unconsciously, he could feel a sense of pressure emanating from him.

Why?

Why am I feeling fear towards this man, who isn't even a shinobi?

Itachi couldn't yet determine the man's identity, but from his gaudy, impractical clothing and the lack of any ninja village forehead protector, it was clear that this man wasn't a shinobi.

As for being a civilian, he dismissed that idea as well. No ordinary person could remain so calm in front of someone like him, especially after witnessing him kill so many civilians.

If he wasn't from the Uchiha clan or Konoha, then the only possibility left was the organization that the masked man had mentioned—Akatsuki.

Very few knew about today's operation to annihilate the clan. Besides Konoha's top brass, the only other person aware of it was the masked man.

Could it be that the masked man didn't trust me and sent someone from Akatsuki to watch me? But aren't the members of Akatsuki all shinobi? Could this man really be considered a shinobi?

In the narrow alleyway, he quickly ran through various possibilities regarding the man's identity. But all of his guesses were quickly dismissed.

"Who are you? What business do you have here?" Itachi finally asked.

This was the simplest and most direct way to identify him, and the dark-skinned man responded.

"I am an observer of this world."

"I gaze upon the misfortune of mortals, mock those cursed by fate, and warn those who dare to seek ancient, forbidden knowledge."

"You may call me the Black Pharaoh."

Black Pharaoh? What kind of title is that?

"You're not from Konoha, are you? Why are you here on this night of all nights?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Black Pharaoh took a step forward, and the shadows on the ground moved towards him.

"I told you, I gaze upon the misfortune of mortals."

"The destruction of the Uchiha clan, and the tragic fate of someone bearing the name Itachi—is that not worthy of my presence?"

Hearing the name of his clan and even his own name spoken from the mouth of such a bizarre figure felt weird to him. Yet, within the Black Pharaoh's regal and arrogant demeanor, he sensed something else. This man looked at him with the same disdain an inspector might show when surveying the downfall of the Uchiha clan.

This arrogance infuriated Itachi. He recalled the words the Black Pharaoh had spoken earlier. The Black Pharaoh claimed to mock those with cursed fates, and it seemed he considered Itachi to be one of them.

Cursed fate? Is that what he thinks this is?

"Are you here to mock me?"

The Black Pharaoh merely nodded his head slightly.

"Yes."

"But I am not mocking you alone, Itachi. I mean all of you, everyone who bears the name Uchiha. You are all cursed by fate, and you are all subjects of my ridicule. I—"

You dare to mock the sacrifice I'm making?

Before the Black Pharaoh could finish speaking, Itachi's body moved. He closed the distance between himself and the Black Pharaoh, aiming to decapitate him with his blade.

Just as his blade was about to sever the Black Pharaoh's head, he noticed the man smiling Although hard to detect, the smile conveyed pure disdain, without the slightest attempt at concealment.

He truly was mocking him—mocking the entire Uchiha clan!

The painful decision Itachi had made for the peace of Konoha and the future of his brother and the resolve to personally carry out the massacre of his own clan, was being so easily ridiculed by an outsider.

This only fueled his anger further. His blade came down at full speed toward the Black Pharaoh's head. But just as the blade was halfway through its arc, he felt a strong resistance.

The moment the resistance appeared, it forcefully pushed his blade away, causing him to flip in the air before landing back on the ground.

What was that?

He knew that his katana hadn't come close enough to touch the Black Pharaoh's body, yet the resistance had clearly been there. Something had blocked his attack. But he didn't see what it was, only a distortion in the air.

Realizing that his attack had failed, he suppressed his anger and refrained from blindly attacking again. He stayed grounded, carefully observing the area around the Black Pharaoh.

Suddenly, Itachi noticed two areas of faintly distorted air on either side of the Black Pharaoh. They stood motionless, like invisible entities guarding him.

Some kind of barrier jutsu?

Recalling the distorted air that had blocked his blade earlier, he immediately understood that something hidden must be concealed within those distortions. He should have noticed this detail earlier, but the man's flamboyant attire and mocking words had clouded his judgment, leading him to attack rashly.

"Is that the best the mighty Uchiha can offer?"

He's not even taking me seriously.