Naruto: Fire-Release system

Chapter 6: "My Foolish Little Brother! Live On in Hatred and Ugliness!"

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"No! Please stop!"

"Why, Itachi?! Why are you doing this?"

"Traitor!"

No matter how much the Uchiha clansmen didn't want to believe it, the brutal truth unfolded before their eyes.

The once-proud Uchiha Itachi had turned his blade against them. Wherever he passed, be it skilled Uchiha shinobi or ordinary clan members without ninja talent, his sword showed no mercy.

Blood soaked the clan grounds, transforming them into a hellish nightmare.

Amid this chaos, a young Uchiha child stumbled into the scene.

Seeing the lifeless bodies of familiar faces he had known his whole life, his heart sank.

The child sprinted toward home, fear and confusion clouding his mind. Surprisingly, the Root and ANBU operatives stationed nearby didn't intercept him; they merely watched in silence.

At the Uchiha compound's main residence, the clan head Fugaku Uchiha and his wife, Mikoto Uchiha, knelt silently on tatami mats.

Moonlight shone upon their motionless figures, casting a melancholic glow.

The couple's faces remained unnervingly calm, as though oblivious to the massacre occurring just beyond their walls.

Footsteps echoed.

Itachi Uchiha entered the room, his blade dripping with fresh blood.

Standing behind his parents, he fell silent.

"Itachi," Fugaku said without turning around.

"If this is the path you've chosen, then carry it out without hesitation."

"Do not fear. This is the road you decided to walk."

"For us, the pain will last only a moment."

"Even if our ideals differ, we are still proud of you."

"And don't forget... you are also an Uchiha."

With a heavy heart, Fugaku sighed silently. He couldn't help but regret his past decisions.

Perhaps he should never have sent Itachi to interact with Konoha's upper echelons, trying to mend relations between the Uchiha and the village.

That path was doomed from the start.

"Itachi," Mikoto chimed in, her tone warm and gentle.

"This is the fate of the Uchiha clan. I won't blame you."

"I have no desire to fight my own son."

"Just promise me one thing: take care of Sasuke."

She smiled softly, her voice filled with maternal warmth, unwilling to place any additional burden on her eldest son.

For Mikoto, the massacre was an inevitability. If not by Itachi's hand, it would have been someone else.

Their destiny was sealed.

Hearing his father's stern command and his mother's loving reassurance, Itachi's expression finally shifted.

Tears welled in his Sharingan-filled eyes.

Even so, the road he had chosen allowed no turning back.

The darkness and suffering ahead were his burden alone to bear.

If sacrificing his family meant protecting Konoha's peace, so be it.

For the Uchiha, only Sasuke needed to live.

With that resolve, Itachi gripped his blade and struck.

"Shk!"

In an instant, both Fugaku and Mikoto fell lifeless to the floor.

Standing motionless for a moment, Itachi silently mourned the loss of his parents.

Soon after, young Sasuke Uchiha burst through the door, trembling in shock.

"Father! Mother!"

Sasuke froze in disbelief, his eyes darting between the lifeless bodies of his parents and the blade-wielding figure standing before him.

In the dim moonlight, the face he saw was all too familiar: his older brother, Itachi.

"Itachi! Why... why did you do this?!"

Tears streamed down Sasuke's face as his voice trembled with anger and confusion.

"My foolish little brother…" Itachi murmured.

He activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, pulling Sasuke into a nightmarish Tsukuyomi illusion.

In the crimson-tinted world of the Tsukuyomi, Sasuke witnessed the massacre replayed countless times.

He watched helplessly as one clansman after another fell by Itachi's hand. Blood pooled around him, consuming the floor.

"Stop! Please, brother, stop!" Sasuke screamed in terror, clutching his head.

"Why?! Why are you doing this?!"

"No… I don't want to see this anymore! Please, don't hurt them!"

"Father… Mother…!"

Only a second passed in the real world, but in the illusion, Sasuke endured agonizing hours.

The psychological torment left him gasping for breath as he collapsed onto the ground. His trembling body faced his parents' corpses.

His tear-filled eyes glared at the looming figure of his brother, now an object of undying hatred.

"Why did you do this?!" Sasuke managed to whisper.

"To test my capabilities," Itachi replied coldly.

"You slaughtered everyone... for something so trivial?!" Sasuke's voice cracked with rage.

"To me, it was necessary."

"If you wish to kill me, despise me. Hate me."

"Cling to your pitiful life and survive in disgrace."

"Then, when you have my eyes, come find me and end my life."

These words burned into Sasuke's soul as he fell unconscious, overwhelmed by despair and hatred.

Looking at his brother's crumpled form, Itachi felt a twinge of disappointment.

He had orchestrated everything to push Sasuke to his limits. Yet, despite all the pain inflicted, Sasuke had only shown signs of awakening his Sharingan, not advancing further.

(For the curious: I've scoured various sources and rewatched key scenes. There's no explicit confirmation that Sasuke unlocked his Sharingan at this exact moment. Feel free to investigate yourselves!)

With one last glance at his unconscious brother, Itachi turned back to his parents' lifeless bodies.

He had to handle their remains personally. Though he trusted the Third Hokage to protect Sasuke, he harbored deep suspicions toward Danzo Shimura.

After all, his dear friend and mentor, Shisui Uchiha, had fallen victim to Danzo's schemes. Shisui's other Mangekyō Sharingan had also ended up in Danzo's possession.

After ensuring his parents' remains were properly dealt with, Itachi would confront Danzo to warn him against targeting Sasuke.

Glancing once more at Sasuke, Itachi silently vowed to protect him from the shadows, no matter the cost.

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