Time returned to when the four had just separated.
Sasuke was walking home alone, bored. Along the way, people were already starting to look at him strangely, or rather, at the Uchiha.
This year, the Uchiha's reputation in the village was even worse. Due to the Konoha higher-ups' instigation, the Konoha Military Police Force now seemed like a powder keg, wanting to endure but unable to swallow the anger, wanting to explode but held back by Uchiha Fugaku. This feeling of frustration made the Konoha Military Police Force's enforcement even more violent than before.
So Sasuke was under considerable pressure walking down the street now.
Fortunately, because of the Uchiha's notoriety, there were basically no other civilians after approaching the clan grounds. They had all moved away this year. Sasuke slowly raised his little head again, revealing his bruised and battered face.
"Oh, little Sasuke, are you hurt?" A clear female voice sounded in Sasuke's ear.
Sasuke turned his head in the direction of the voice and saw a girl wearing a purple jacket and trousers, with smooth, black, long hair. She had a beauty mark under her right eye, and with her gentle smile, she had even more charm.
"Izumi-neechan."
Sasuke greeted her obediently. She was one of Uchiha Itachi, his brother's, few friends, and in the Uchiha clan, his only friend.
"Does little Sasuke want to eat dango?" Uchiha Izumi took out a stick of Three-Colored Dango from the paper bag in her hand and handed it to Sasuke.
"Thank you, Izumi-neechan."
Seeing Sasuke take the dango, Uchiha Izumi's face revealed a sly expression.
"Since little Sasuke has accepted neechan's dango, then little Sasuke must tell neechan how he got hurt."
Because the Uchiha's situation in Konoha was getting worse and worse, she was afraid that Sasuke was being bullied by children of the same age outside.
The smile on Sasuke's face froze slightly. The matter of sparring with Naruto was only known to his parents and brother in the clan. He hadn't told anyone else. As the son of the Uchiha clan head, the younger brother of the Uchiha's number one genius, he had his own pride. If outsiders knew that he had been losing to someone his age, he would have no face to stay in the Uchiha clan.
"No, it's nothing. I just accidentally fell."
Sasuke told a clumsy lie. Uchiha Izumi definitely didn't believe him. Who could fall and bruise their face like that?
"Sasuke, if you are bullied outside, you must tell neechan. Neechan is very strong now. Neechan can help you!" Uchiha Izumi looked at Sasuke with a very serious expression.
Sasuke's face flushed with embarrassment, and he stammered, "I, I know."
Seeing that Sasuke was unwilling to say anything, Uchiha Izumi had no choice. The Uchiha were like this.
"Little Sasuke, speaking of which, hasn't your brother been home for a long time?"
"Umm~ hmm."
Sasuke answered Uchiha Izumi's question while eating, his cheeks bulging.
Uchiha Izumi's expression dimmed, and she stared blankly at the paper bag in her hand, lost in thought.
"Little Sasuke, these dango are all for you to eat. Neechan has something to do and must leave."
Uchiha Izumi suddenly stuffed the paper bag directly into Sasuke's arms, turned around, and ran away.
"Eh—"
Looking at the paper bag in his hand, Sasuke was still a little confused. He looked at Uchiha Izumi's running figure and only felt that Izumi-neechan was very strange. He didn't think much about it and took out another skewer of dango to eat.
In any case, Sasuke was now considered the Uchiha's favorite. Unlike his brother Uchiha Itachi, who was full of hostility towards the clan, he had a delicate and cute appearance, and his talent was not bad. After walking for a while, someone else cared about him at the entrance of the clan grounds.
"Little Sasuke, why are you coming back with injuries all over your body again today?"
They were a kind middle-aged couple.
"Uncle Teshao, Aunt Jing."
Sasuke politely bowed to the two again, then scratched the back of his head and said embarrassedly, "I accidentally fell while training."
The Teshao couple looked at the sensible Sasuke and liked him even more. They took out some snacks and drinks from their own grocery store, packed them in a bag, and handed them to Sasuke.
"Little Sasuke, take these and eat them. You can only grow taller if you eat a lot."
"This... Uncle Teshao, I..."
After another round of refusals and thanks, Sasuke finally left with the bag and the paper bag.
Finally, he arrived at his doorstep. With things in both hands, it was a little inconvenient for him to open the door. He was planning to ask his mother to help him open the door, but he suddenly heard a noisy sound inside.
"Itachi! Where have you been these days?"
"I'm carrying out Anbu missions."
"You guy, have you forgotten that the clan raised you? Are you still a member of the Uchiha or not?"
"The Uchiha are also part of the village."
"Konoha simply doesn't have..."
"Enough!"
Sasuke immediately recognized the voices inside. Besides his brother and father, the other two were Uchiha Tekka and Uchiha Inaho, who often came to his house. He heard that they were very powerful Ninja in the Konoha Military Police Force, but he didn't know why they often argued with his brother.
While Sasuke was still thinking outside the door, Uchiha Tekka and Uchiha Inaho had already come out.
"Captain, we'll leave first. Please don't forget about Elder Setsuna's matter."
Tekka still had anger on his face, but he didn't vent it out of consideration for the clan leader's face.
Uchiha Fugaku just nodded lightly, and then suddenly saw his youngest son outside the door. Looking at his appearance, he couldn't help but frown.
Tekka and Inaho also noticed and looked over, their expressions changing.
"Sasuke, did someone in the village bully you?"
Inaho had an irritable personality, and he got angry immediately when he saw the injury on Sasuke's face. "Tell me, I'll go and arrest them all!"
Sasuke quickly shook his head, "I accidentally fell from a tree while training."
Inaho didn't quite believe it and wanted to ask more, but Tekka pulled him away.
Watching the two figures leave, Sasuke secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Although these two uncles weren't bad, they were too fierce and always had stern faces, just like his father.
"Come inside."
Looking at the still slightly bruised face of his son, Fugaku naturally knew the inside story, so he didn't say anything.
"Okay." Sasuke ran into the house quickly, and as soon as he entered, he saw his brother, Uchiha Itachi.
Sasuke immediately put down his things and ran towards Uchiha Itachi.
"Brother!"
Uchiha Itachi, who originally had a gloomy face, showed a long-lost smile when he saw his younger brother. He had only come home this time to see Sasuke, but he didn't expect to run into those two guys.
"Sasuke."
Itachi directly hugged Sasuke, and when he saw the injuries on Sasuke's face, a hint of scarlet flashed in his eyes unconsciously, but it was fleeting.
"Sasuke, did you lose to Naruto again?"
"Yeah." Sasuke's expression was a little lost, but he quickly perked up again, "Brother is back, can you accompany me to train tomorrow?"
"That way I can get stronger faster and then defeat that guy."
"This..." Uchiha Itachi hesitated a little, and after hesitating, he shook his head, reached out his finger and poked Sasuke's forehead, and said, "Sorry, Sasuke, maybe next time."
...
(This section is from the anime, those who have seen it can skip it.)
Late at night, tonight's moon has a hint of blood.
Inside the Naka Shrine, there is a kind of eerie but fiery strange atmosphere. In the dark and even somewhat humid atmosphere, several torches made explosive sounds in the silent secret room, illuminating a little darkness.
Uchiha Itachi didn't like this feeling, especially the pressure coming from Fugaku, which made him feel a little bored.
Uchiha Fugaku lowered his head, looking at the stone tablet in front of him, which was said to have been passed down for hundreds of years. The content on it was said to have been personally written by the Sage of Six Paths.
It records the history of the Uchiha clan, the conditions for the evolution of the Sharingan, and many unknown secrets. The content inside must also be read layer by layer as the Sharingan evolves.
"Only those in the clan who possess the Sharingan can read this stone tablet, but they can only understand a part of it."
"You, who possess the Mangekyo Sharingan, should be able to understand more."
Uchiha Itachi's eyes widened slightly when he heard this. He didn't expect his father to have already seen through his Mangekyo Sharingan. His eyes were opened after despairing of the Uchiha.
But his expression still didn't change at all, and he said in a calm tone, "Do you want me to tell you the content?"
"That's not necessary."
Uchiha Fugaku slowly turned around, revealing his hollow Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
"Mangekyo! Father has it too?"
Uchiha Itachi was extremely shocked at this moment. An Uchiha with the Mangekyo is too dangerous for the village!
"During the Third Shinobi World War, my friend saved me at the cost of his life. Accompanied by blood and tears, I opened the Mangekyo, but the Uchiha are currently in such a wrong environment!"
Uchiha Fugaku turned around again and looked at the stone tablet, recounting the reason why he opened the Mangekyo.
"That can't be a reason to try to subvert with force..."
"The higher-ups in the village fear us, so they persecute us," Uchiha Fugaku clenched his fists, interrupting Uchiha Itachi's words, "They fear the power of this Sharingan. Since they fear it, then we can only take power!"
"Father, are you planning to become Hokage by force?"
"Because this is the wish of the clan, I can't stop everyone, but in order to avoid using force, I have been hiding the fact that I have the Mangekyo Sharingan."
"Why?" Uchiha Itachi was a little puzzled. If his father was planning a coup, why would he hide the existence of the Mangekyo?
"The Mangekyo Sharingan is capable of controlling the Nine Tails. If the clan finds out, they will do something even more terrible. You can see it for yourself!"
Uchiha Fugaku turned his head, the Mangekyo pattern in his eyes spinning, pulling Itachi into the future he saw.
Uchiha Fugaku controlled the Nine Tails, causing the Nine Tails Rampage again within Konoha. This time, no one could stand up to stop it.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
Uchiha Itachi woke up from the Genjutsu, kneeling on the ground, his eyes wide, sweat dripping from his forehead, constantly gasping for breath.
"How... how could this be!"
"There are quite a few people in the clan who harbor resentment towards the village. If pushed too far, they are definitely capable of doing it. At that time, both sides will suffer heavy losses."
Uchiha Fugaku's voice was somewhat low when he said this, but it quickly rose again.
"But Itachi, as long as you are here, you can take advantage of their unpreparedness to control the higher-ups. Although small-scale battles are unavoidable, as long as you, as an Anbu, lend a hand."
Uchiha Fugaku turned around, looking at Uchiha Itachi with a burning gaze.
"A bloodless revolution can succeed!"
"Bloodless... revolution?" Uchiha Fugaku's words made Uchiha Itachi feel a little confused. He clearly heard from his father's tone that he didn't want a coup, but why...?
"Itachi, you are my son, please, help the clan!"
...
The scene shifted again, and Uchiha Itachi was already kneeling in front of the Konoha higher-ups.
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