[The scene continues on screen]
[On screen, Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Fugaku, the Captain of the Konoha Military Police Force, stand before the stone monument within the Naka Shrine.]
[Fugaku turns his head, revealing his Mangekyo Sharingan.
Seeing this, Itachi's expression shifts dramatically. "The Mangekyo... Father, you possess it too?"
A trace of sorrow crosses Fugaku's face. "It was during the Third Shinobi World War. I awakened the Mangekyo, paying a price of blood and tears."]
In the viewing square,
The Konoha elders wear expressions of disbelief. In their memory, Fugaku had only ever revealed possessing the Three Tomoe Sharingan.
Who could have imagined he had awakened the Mangekyo? Why had he kept this hidden from everyone?
Why was he concealing?
"If Shisui had lived, the Uchiha clan would have possessed three Mangekyo Sharingan wielders... a terrifying thought!" Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage, murmured.
"And judging by Sasuke's previously demonstrated ability to manifest Susanoo, the Uchiha clan would effectively have three Kage-level shinobi! This is..." A, the Fourth Raikage, couldn't help but exclaim.
["But a coup cannot succeed through force alone..." Itachi countered.
"The village leadership fears us, which is why they persecute us. They fear the power of the Sharingan!" Fugaku sighed.]
["Father, do you intend to seize the position of Hokage by force?"]
[Fugaku replied helplessly, "It is the desire of the clan. I cannot dissuade them all. However, to avoid bloodshed, I have continued to conceal the fact that I possess the Mangekyo Sharingan."]
["Why?"]
["The Mangekyo can control the Nine-Tails! If that were known, it would provoke even greater fear and hostility!"]
[Using his Mangekyo's power, Fugaku showed Itachi a vision of a potential future.
In a night stained crimson, Naruto Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, is bound and thrown before Fugaku. A voice cries out, "Captain! Unleash the power of the Uchiha!"]
[The next moment, the Nine-Tails materializes, rampaging through the village just as it had years ago during the attack on Konoha, leaving countless casualties.]
Watching these past events,
Sarutobi Hiruzen lowered his head. He had indeed been negligent.
As Hokage, he had failed to adequately manage the tensions between the Uchiha clan and the village.
Fugaku had endured for so long, restraining the more radical elements within the Uchiha clan despite possessing such strength himself.
At this moment, Hiruzen felt he had wronged Uchiha Fugaku.
"To think Fugaku was forced into this position... I misjudged him," Utatane Koharu said reproachfully.
"So did I," Mitokado Homura sighed.
["Itachi, if you, as an Anbu operative, lend your aid, the bloodless revolution can succeed."]
["A bloodless revolution?"]
["Itachi, you are my son. Please!" Fugaku looked at Itachi with pleading eyes, hoping he would support the Uchiha clan.]
[The perspective shifts]
[Itachi, turning away, relays Fugaku's plan to the Konoha Elders.
Danzō Shimura: "We must strike first!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "The Uchiha were once our comrades. I wish to resolve this through dialogue! I do not want to resort to force!"]
[After the meeting, Danzō leads Itachi to the Root headquarters, where he reveals the Sharingan he took from Shisui Uchiha.
"Don't be fooled by Hiruzen's words. When the critical moment comes, he will always choose to protect Konoha!"
"You have a choice: perish with your clan, or side with Konoha, eliminate the Uchiha, and spare only your younger brother!" Danzō presented Itachi with this terrible ultimatum.]
"Damn it! How could Danzō propose such a despicable choice?"
"Itachi, that traitor... he wouldn't actually agree to that, would he?" the Fourth Raikage shouted, aghast.
Terumi Mei mused, "I believe he did. Otherwise, why did Sasuke survive?"
Ōnoki scoffed, "It seems Konoha excels at manipulation! Perhaps I should send someone to study their methods!"
Baki commented, "He betrayed his own father... should we call him righteous? Or simply ruthless?"
Meanwhile, the villagers of Konoha watched the screen nervously,
Because the scenes unfolding threatened to shatter everything they believed to be true.
[Under a blood-red moon illuminating the Uchiha district, Uchiha Itachi crouches on a slender pole, surveying the clan's compound below. His eyes are cold, resolute. In the next second, he slowly dons his Anbu mask, draws his short sword, and leaps down.]
[Simultaneously, another figure—a man with spiky hair wearing an orange, spiral-patterned mask—appears before the Konoha Military Police Force headquarters. He enters the building like a phantom. Suddenly, horrified screams erupt from within, blood spatters, and cries for help echo.]
[Elsewhere, Uchiha Itachi moves through the homes of clan members, his sword falling swiftly. Countless Uchiha fall by his hand, their blood splashing onto his face.]
[That night, blood stained the Uchiha district. That night, screams resounded through the quiet sector of Konoha.]
[In the street, Fugaku stands waiting for the clan's executioner.
"Itachi, what lies at the end of this path of slaughter? I showed you a vision of the clan's future once! Is this the different outcome you intend to show me?"]
[A light seemed to flare in Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan. Fugaku's eyes glazed over as he muttered, "Uchiha Sasuke...?"]
Pop!
[The Fugaku standing there vanished – it was merely a Shadow Clone.
And Itachi understood: his greatest opponent would be his own father! This would be a clash between two wielders of the Mangekyo Sharingan!]
Just as everyone leaned in, captivated, the screen abruptly went dark.
Fourth Raikage: "So Itachi, that turncoat, really did accept Danzō's terms!"
A Konoha Civilian: "He... he didn't massacre his clan just to gain power, then!"
Baki: "Did you notice? There was another masked man involved in the massacre!"
Shinobi from other villages: "Why did it stop! We want to see the battle between Itachi and Fugaku!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen: (Thinking) "Could that masked man be the same one from Akatsuki?"