Dark clouds billowed.
Rain poured like pillars.
Fierce winds tore through the Valley of Sanction. Trees outside the gorge bent and broke, and the air was filled with the heavy scent of earth and rain.
"Pink medicine… assistance…"
Yu fell deep into thought, then glanced at the list of side quests that had just popped up in his mind. He sighed—unreliable quests always arrived late, but they arrived nonetheless.
The green medicine task had involved healing, so it was safe to assume it was some sort of medical item.
But the pink medicine…
Based on the name and the vague "assistance" description, it was impossible to guess its effects.
Still, Yu held a degree of expectation. After all, the items granted by quests always had some peculiar uses—the last side quest had rewarded him with a ninja tool pouch with strange effects.
Cliffside at the Valley of Sanction.
"Has the situation changed?"
Tsunade peered toward the wooded slope. From a distance, she could vaguely make out a small figure that had appeared at the edge of the forest—ever since then, the Uchiha ranks had fallen into chaos, and Yu had turned back.
"…"
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes. He thought, No matter who it is—so long as they can buy Hiashi some time—that's enough.
"The one who came is Uchiha Itachi. You may not know this, but the night the Uchiha were annihilated, he joined forces with a mysterious figure to mercilessly slaughter both civilian and shinobi members of his clan."
Orochimaru spoke calmly, his golden slit pupils rimmed with purple eyeshadow glancing sideways at the two, watching their reactions with great interest.
He was more than happy to share the truth of the Night of the Massacre with his two old friends—and see how they took it.
Tsunade and Jiraiya's pupils trembled. Shock overtook their expressions as they turned to Orochimaru.
The one who destroyed the Uchiha… was Itachi?
That didn't align with the intelligence they had gathered.
Tsunade's eyes turned sharp as she questioned him:
"Wasn't it Yu who teamed up with outsiders to wipe out the Uchiha?"
Jiraiya furrowed his brows and added, "But after the massacre, Yu did take control of nine Uchiha—including Mikoto—and used them as hostages to pressure Itachi…"
"No," Orochimaru interrupted, smiling.
The corner of his mouth curled upward as he relished their reactions. He patiently explained:
"You've misunderstood Yu.
Look closely—none of those Uchiha, including Mikoto, ever showed signs of being controlled.
They followed Yu willingly in his defection.
And besides, Tsunade, Jiraiya—the intelligence you gathered about the Uchiha massacre? It's exactly what Konoha wanted you to see. The truth is far more fascinating than you imagine."
With that, Orochimaru fell silent, waiting patiently for the right moment.
Tsunade and Jiraiya's expressions grew heavier as they sank into contemplation. It became increasingly clear: Itachi, being the closest ANBU to the Hokage and village leadership, had likely carried out the massacre with their tacit approval.
And now, Konoha had spun Itachi into a heroic figure who had "tried to prevent" the massacre.
The more Tsunade thought about it, the more horrifying it seemed.
Jiraiya stood stiffly, head bowed, deep in thought. He wasn't fully convinced by Orochimaru's words—but they had certainly shaken him.
On the slope.
Passing through the forest previously altered by Wood Release, the trees had warped and lost their original form.
Their trunks twisted grotesquely, crowns stretched into claw-like shapes, and roots had become tangled vines crawling like serpents across the ground.
The entire forest seemed like it had briefly come alive—then died again—a haunting grove of fallen tree spirits.
At the edge of the woods.
Itachi stared directly at his mother, who was about to take her own life, while watching Yu's location from the corner of his eye.
"Promise me, Itachi… other than taking care of Sasuke… please let these clan members live. This is the last thing I ask of you."
Mikoto's heart was filled with despair. She closed her eyes without hesitation, pressing the kunai to her abdomen and stabbing downward.
Shff—
The kunai fell.
Throughout their journey, Mikoto had been waiting for the right chance to die in place of the clan members—to atone for her sins.
Now that the moment had come, she couldn't help but smile faintly. At last, she would be freed from this hell on earth.
Itachi slowly closed his eyes as well.
"…My lady…"
The Uchiha clan members' eyes widened as they watched Mikoto choose to sacrifice herself in hopes of stopping Itachi.
Minami thought of how much Yu valued Mikoto.
He wanted to intervene, but his whole body was limp—he couldn't move.
Beside him, Tamao grew anxious as well.
None of them had expected…
Mikoto to be so resolute!
Uchiha Izumi gasped and staggered to her feet. Dragging her exhausted body, she made her way toward Mikoto.
Even Nono Yu felt admiration for Mikoto's actions.
Nearby, the controlled shinobi didn't understand what was happening, but seeing the scene unfold, they knew one thing: as long as this man's arrival could delay Yu from making a move on them, that was enough.
When nothing stirred in the surroundings—
Itachi slowly opened his eyes.
He ignored his mother kneeling in the mud and gripped his sword, walking toward the remaining Uchiha.
Clearly, even Mikoto's sacrifice wouldn't stop him from finishing off the weakened Uchiha.
"You bastard!!" one Uchiha shouted, gripping his tachi tightly and glaring at Itachi as he approached.
Uchiha Izumi knelt down beside Mikoto and closed her eyes—she already understood the outcome.
Even with the Uchiha clan annihilated and the defectors long gone from Konoha, this man still intended to wipe out every remaining Uchiha in the ninja world for Konoha's sake.
No… judging from what Mikoto had said, he wanted to kill the entire clan—leaving only himself and his brother alive.
This was his so-called justice?
And Mikoto's death—
Had allowed the remaining Uchiha to truly see Itachi for who he was.
"…I'm sorry."
Itachi was only five meters away from them when he reached Mikoto and Izumi—and suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Moments earlier, under everyone's gaze, Mikoto had raised a kunai and stabbed herself in the stomach.
But now, half a minute had passed.
There was no look of pain on her face. No blood. She didn't collapse.
"…"
Uchiha Mikoto's brows slowly relaxed. She felt no pain in her abdomen, and gradually, the grief that had filled her began to lift.
A look of surprise appeared on her face. She tightened her grip on the kunai—but felt nothing in her hands.
Mikoto slowly opened her eyes and looked down at her stomach—only to realize, to her shock:
The kunai Yu had given her earlier… was gone?
How had it disappeared without a trace!?
Izumi also noticed something was off. When she saw Mikoto's empty hands, she, too, became confused.
"…Huh?"
Mikoto was completely dazed. She knelt in the mud, at a loss.
Rain washed over her knees and thighs, but she couldn't understand how the kunai had vanished.
"?"
The nearby mind-controlled shinobi stared blankly at the woman who had just tried to take her own life—and now looked perfectly fine. One by one, question marks popped up in their heads.
So… was she dead?
Or not?
The Uchiha were stunned too.
"Maybe… the clan leader's wife didn't want the mood to get too dark, so she staged a fake suicide to lighten things up?" Tamao muttered, eyes darting around as he stroked his chin thoughtfully.
The other Uchiha: "…"
Mikoto looked around in a panic. Finally, she turned back, her elegant face now tinged with anger, and stared toward the edge of the forest—where Yu had just arrived.
"…How embarrassing!"
Nono curled her toes inside her shoes.
She looked at Mikoto, who had spent so long working up her emotions and dramatically attempted suicide in front of everyone—only to survive—and couldn't help but feel this scene was oddly familiar.
"…"
Itachi's eyes filled with killing intent.
He intended to quickly finish off the remaining Uchiha.
Even he was startled and confused by Mikoto's farcical failure to die.
After a moment, Itachi recalled the overwhelming shock he'd felt when his mother, under the influence of Yu's Mangekyō Sharingan, had escaped the clan compound.
Whatever had just happened…
Yu had interfered again.
On the slope, at the edge of the forest, Yu quietly returned the kunai to his ninja tool pouch. He had stopped Mikoto from killing herself—but strangely, the quest still wasn't marked as complete.
°°°
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