For some reason, tonight, Fugaku felt restless.
He sat at the dinner table, watching his less-than-stellar younger son, Sasuke, wolf down his food. His gaze shifted to his wife, Mikoto, who was eating slowly and gracefully, then finally to the empty seat beside Sasuke.
Mikoto, perceptive as ever, noticed her husband's unease. Following his gaze to the empty chair, she fell silent for a moment. After taking a sip of cold water, she spoke to Fugaku. "You know, ever since Itachi learned about the prophecy from Akainu and declared he'd follow it someday, it's been hard for him to openly return to the Uchiha clan compound. Even harder for him to sit at this table and have dinner with us."
"It was his choice," she continued. "And afterward, you said that no matter what misguided path Itachi took, you were proud of him. You admired the conviction he showed. But now, in this situation, you're missing him again. Fugaku… in the ninja world, you can't have it both ways."
Fugaku took a deep breath, pulling his gaze from the empty chair to his wife. "Every time we talk about Itachi… you always bring up Akainu."
His face was stern as he continued, "If an outsider didn't know better, they might think you're closer to him than to your own son—or even your husband."
Mikoto's brow furrowed slightly.
Before she could respond, Fugaku added, "I just have a bad feeling. I can't shake the sense that something's going to happen tonight—something probably tied to Itachi and likely the Uchiha clan."
Mikoto froze.
Sasuke, overhearing, slowed his eating, his ears perked as he listened.
"Wasn't Uchiha Setsuna already killed by Akainu?" Mikoto said. "After that blow, the Uchiha clan's radical faction has been quiet. They haven't caused any trouble recently, made no extreme moves, or said anything provocative."
"In that case, Itachi shouldn't have any reason to act against the Uchiha clan," she reasoned. "Without the radicals stirring things up, the clan isn't a threat to the Leaf."
She added, "He wouldn't make that choice when the Uchiha clan isn't a threat to the village, would he?"
Mikoto felt her eldest son had become almost unrecognizable in his extremism, but she didn't believe he was so far gone as to be completely deranged.
There was still a faint filter of affection over her view of Itachi. After all, he was her flesh and blood—bones might break, but the bonds remained.
"I don't know," Fugaku said, exhaling heavily. "The Hokage knows about Akainu's prophecy too. I doubt he'd want to see the entire Uchiha clan wiped out. Otherwise, he wouldn't have tried to use the clan before. To him, the Uchiha are still a useful tool."
"So he'd probably try to talk Itachi down," Fugaku continued. "Itachi might not listen to his father or mother, but he'd likely follow the Hokage's orders and restrain himself."
His words carried a hint of uncertainty.
A normal person might act as he described.
But… was Uchiha Itachi normal?
---
"Uchiha Itachi, your twisted, irredeemable mindset has strayed far beyond what's normal in the ninja world. Even some of the most heinous criminals don't have thoughts as warped as yours," Uchiha Akainu said, stepping closer to Itachi with each word.
As his cold, detached words fell, the air around them visibly heated up. The temperature rose so sharply that the scenery in Itachi's vision began to distort.
A faint sulfurous smell spread through the air. Tender green buds on nearby trees visibly wilted and yellowed. The edges of dry leaves on the ground sparked as if spontaneously combusting.
The intense heat dried out Itachi's face, and each breath he took burned his lungs.
"It seems absolute justice is such a threat to the Leaf in your eyes that you can't wait to eradicate it," Akainu said, stopping less than ten meters from Itachi, their gazes locked.
"Because that's the truth," Itachi replied, drawing a deep breath of the sulfur-tinged, scorching air. Despite the discomfort in his lungs, the confident expression he'd worn facing Akainu now shifted to wary caution.
He subtly stepped back half a pace, distancing himself from Akainu's subordinate, Izumi, to avoid a sudden attack. Then, staring at Akainu, he said, "Uchiha Akainu, you don't even realize how much damage you've done to the Leaf. Every time you swing your blade, killing countless ninjas, you weaken the village's strength."
"The Leaf today isn't even a third of what it was in its prime, all thanks to your absolute justice," Itachi continued. "Can you honestly say the Leaf's decline has nothing to do with your so-called justice?"
"Uchiha Itachi! The ninjas killed by Senior Akainu were nothing but parasites rotting the Leaf from within!" Izumi snapped, unable to hold back. Gripping her ninja blade, she glared at Itachi. "Those parasites were eating away at the village's foundation! Take Danzō Shimura—he experimented on Leaf ninjas with bloodline limits and war orphans. How many Leaf ninjas and civilians did he harm? Did you see that?!"
"And Sarutobi Shinzo, the Third Hokage's eldest son, ran a secret research base behind the Hokage's back, conducting inhumane experiments. He claimed it was for the Leaf's good, but that was just an excuse for his crimes! People like him drag the Leaf into the abyss!"
"Then there's Sarutobi Asuma, conspiring with outsiders to assassinate Leaf ninjas. As the Hokage's second son, he sided with the Land of Fire's daimyo. He claimed to love the Leaf, but he was the least loyal of all!"
"And countless other parasites!" Izumi raged. "In your eyes, these evildoers are victims of absolute justice. To you, absolute justice is the Leaf's true evil."
"I've never seen anyone as ridiculous as you. Today, you've really opened my eyes, Uchiha Itachi! Senior Akainu was right—your mindset, your very brain, is seriously messed up!"
To Izumi, everything Senior Akainu did was to make the Leaf and the ninja world better. It was Itachi who kept twisting the meaning of absolute justice.
Itachi glanced at her. "Izumi, you've been brainwashed by his extreme justice. The Leaf doesn't need his absolute justice—it needs the true Will of Fire."
With that, Itachi subtly shifted his gaze, avoiding Akainu's eyes to prevent being caught by his mysterious eye technique. "Since you're set on killing me, I have no reason to hold back…"
Before he could finish, his pupils contracted. His Sharingan clearly caught Akainu's movement.
In an instant, the ten-meter gap closed. Itachi watched as Akainu drew his ninja blade, slashing down at his head with lethal precision. If he didn't dodge, he'd be split in two!
Itachi leaned back, the blade grazing his Anbu mask, slicing the butterfly design in half and revealing his youthful yet grim face.
As he dodged, he flung a volley of shuriken.
Retreating swiftly, he sheathed his blade, clapped his hands, and formed seals at a blistering pace—six per second.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!!!"
The shuriken flying toward Akainu were engulfed in flames, streaking like brilliant meteors.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The flaming shuriken pierced Akainu's body, passing through and flying out the other side. But before they could travel half a meter, they stopped, melted into molten iron, and splashed onto the ground.
Itachi, now perched on the railing by the Leaf River, wasn't surprised by Akainu's ability to elementalize against fire and shuriken. "Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!!!"
Instantly, massive streams of water, thicker than buckets, shot from the Leaf River behind him, surging toward Akainu from multiple angles.
Itachi wasn't limited to Fire Release; he was adept at Water Release too, though less proficient.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!!!" A sudden voice came from behind Akainu. An Itachi shadow clone had appeared there unnoticed, and a ferocious water dragon lunged at Akainu.
"I've run countless simulations of fighting you," Itachi said calmly. "When lava meets water, it cools rapidly, solidifying into obsidian or basalt. I've seen your battles—when someone uses Water Release against you, you dodge or block. That means it's one of your weaknesses!"
Boom!
The water streams and dragon hit Akainu's position, and Itachi heard the sizzling of lava.
Got him! But his face didn't show triumph—it showed concern. Akainu wouldn't go down that easily. If he knew water was his weakness, he'd have countermeasures.
Sure enough, Itachi's instincts screamed danger. A massive cloud of white steam exploded, rushing toward him like a shockwave. The scalding steam burned his face red.
He scrambled back, plunging into the Leaf River to avoid being engulfed. When he surfaced, soaked and panting, he looked up.
Akainu stood on the riverbank, molten lava flowing over him, staring down. "You should've read more books. Yes, lava cools quickly in water, but it also triggers a violent explosion. The water vaporizes instantly, expanding nearly two thousand times in volume, creating a steam explosion that can cook a person alive."
Itachi caught the mockery in his tone and saw Akainu's right arm swelling with surging lava.
"Great Eruption!"
As Itachi's pupils shrank to pinpoints, a massive lava fist roared toward him.
Itachi clapped his hands. "Crow Clone Technique!"
His body burst into a flock of crows scattering in all directions as the lava fist slammed into the Leaf River.
BOOM!
The deafening impact shook the entire village, sending a fifty-meter-high spray of water into the air, exposing the riverbed below.
That single punch had briefly severed the Leaf River's flow!
---
Elsewhere, Hiruzen Sarutobi was heading back to the Sarutobi clan when the distant commotion reached him. Thinking it was trouble outside the village, he squinted toward the sound—only to realize it was inside the Leaf!
"What's going on?!" His heart sank. Was tonight determined to give him no rest?
"Lord Hokage," an Anbu guard leapt down from a nearby rooftop, his tone grave. "It's likely related to Uchiha Akainu. I saw what looked like Lava Release in that direction."
"Akainu…" Hiruzen froze, a possibility dawning on him. "Could it be the Akatsuki members he fought outside the village before? Have they infiltrated the Leaf?!"
It seemed unlikely, but not impossible. The Akatsuki even recruited Orochimaru—Hiruzen doubted they were up to any good.
"Gather all Anbu ninjas! Alert every jonin in the village to head there immediately!" Hiruzen barked, his face stern as he issued commands.
To the other Anbu guards, he added, "Everyone else, follow me! Prepare to face enemies from another village!"
"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
---
The deafening blast of "Great Eruption" shattered the Uchiha clan compound's quiet, sending a small soup bowl on the dinner table jumping and spilling a few drops.
Fugaku shot to his feet, knocking over his chair with a screech that pierced the silence.
Sasuke, engrossed in his meal, jolted in surprise.
His bad feeling now at its peak, Fugaku's stern face crossed the room in a single step. He yanked open the door and flickered to the rooftop.
In the deep night, a blinding, searing light pulsed in a distant part of the village, swelling and shrinking like a molten heart. It lit up half the sky with swirling orange and yellow, and even from this distance, Fugaku felt the destructive heat radiating with a faint shockwave.
Lava Release…
Akainu!
His bad feeling… it was coming true!
"…Akainu… and… Itachi. Something's happened!" Fugaku's voice was low and hoarse, trembling in a way he hadn't noticed. The unease, the concern for his eldest son, Itachi, all converged on that roiling glow of lava.
A voice deep inside told him this wasn't just about Akainu—it was about Itachi too.
The one thing he dreaded most was likely unfolding.
"Fugaku!" Mikoto called, stepping outside.
But all she saw was her husband's figure vanishing into the thick night, his faint voice drifting back. "It's Akainu's Lava Release! I suspect the one clashing with him in the village… it might be Itachi! Stay home, keep Sasuke safe, and don't let him know about this."
Mikoto's eyes widened. "!!!"
"Mother, what's wrong?" Sasuke asked, stepping out and seeing only his mother.
Mikoto took a deep breath, forcing a faint smile. "Something came up with the Police Force. Your father needs to handle it."
She lied.
"I can help," Sasuke said earnestly. "I've learned a lot from Teacher Akainu and Senior Izumi. I can assist Father."
Mikoto ruffled his hair gently. "It's not a big deal. Your father will be back soon."
'I hope…' she thought, the words unspoken.
---
The massive roar and heatwave swept through the Leaf, rattling the windows of an inn room.
Tsunade, dozing off, snapped her eyes open, the blazing orange light reflecting off her blonde hair and furrowed brow. "Lava Release? That kid caught another criminal? What is it with the Leaf? It's like Tanza Street! How does the old man run this place as Hokage, letting so many outlaws pile up for that kid to hunt?"
The familiar, destructive chakra signature sparked a flicker of doubt in her eyes. "Shizune! Let's see what that kid's up to now!"
She shouted, then smashed through the window like an arrow, racing toward the erupting light.
"Lady Tsunade! Wait for me!" Shizune called, instinctively clutching Tonton tightly and chasing after her at full speed.
---
Elsewhere in the Leaf…
Jiraiya sat cross-legged on the Hokage Rock, having just finished talking with Fukasaku and Shima. Shima's voice still echoed in his mind: "Little Jiraiya, that Hyūga Neji kid… he's got amazing talent and a tough fate, but I didn't sense the 'light of a world-changer' in him."
"The prophecy clues from the Great Lord and that rude Uchiha kid probably don't point to him," Shima had said. "But he's got potential. He could be a companion to the Child of Prophecy in the future. If you're up for it, you could take him as a disciple."
Jiraiya scratched his messy white hair, sighing in frustration. "Looks like I was off the mark. Taking him as a disciple? That'd be stealing from the Hyūga clan. There are still plenty of names on the list, like that Uchiha girl always with Akainu…"
He was about to mention Uchiha Izumi to the sages when a fiery orange pillar lit up the black sky, seizing his attention.
"What a ruckus!" Jiraiya exclaimed. Fukasaku, on his shoulder, squinted his aging eyes. "Little Jiraiya, is the Leaf holding some special fireworks show tonight?"
"Fireworks? That's no show! That's Lava Release—Akainu's fighting someone, and he's not holding back!" Jiraiya's face changed.
Whoever could push Akainu to use this level of Lava Release in the village had to be terrifyingly strong. His mind raced through possibilities, landing on the worst one like a bucket of ice water.
"Hiss! Akainu… he's not fighting the Hokage, is he?"
The thought startled him.
---
Half the flock of crows scattering in all directions was caught in the lava, incinerated to ash instantly.
When Akainu's gaze locked onto a spot, several crows landed on a utility pole, reforming into a figure.
That figure's scarlet three-tomoe Sharingan morphed into a Mangekyo Sharingan!
"Tsukuyomi!!!"
For the first time, Itachi used his Mangekyo's ultimate technique against a fellow Leaf ninja. The pattern in his left eye spun slightly.
Akainu, standing on the riverbank, saw the Mangekyo pattern reflected in his eyes.
But the next second, his body melted like water.
"A shadow clone? A Lava clone? He predicted I'd use my Mangekyo, so he swapped with a clone after that move? Wait—he knows I have the Mangekyo!" Itachi's alertness spiked.
A critical realization hit him: if Akainu knew so many secrets, could he know about Itachi's Mangekyo? Did he know his left eye held Tsukuyomi? His right, Amaterasu? Did he know about the Mangekyo he'd taken from Shisui?
Despite the growing unease, Itachi's killing intent didn't waver. His scarlet Mangekyo flashed coldly as he sucked in a breath and charged forward.
Whoosh! Several kunai tied with explosive tags shot out with a piercing whistle.
At the same time, his hands blurred through seals. "Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire!!!" Leaping into the air, Itachi spat dozens of blazing fireballs, raining down like a storm over the steam cloud, sealing off Akainu's escape routes.
But a cold voice answered, "Pointless struggle."
Facing a kunai barrage that could shred a jonin, Akainu didn't move an inch. His outstretched arm turned to molten lava, twisting and extending into a massive, angular lava hound.
The hound's jaws snapped, melting the kunai's steel tips like ice, reducing them to pools of red-hot metal.
Boom! Boom! The explosive tags detonated, riddling the lava hound with holes, but Akainu remained unscathed.
Itachi's pupils shrank. The overwhelming power gap made even his usual calm falter, cold sweat beading on his brow.
But he confirmed one thing—this was Akainu's real body!
A flash of resolve crossed Itachi's eyes. If Tsukuyomi was seen through, he'd use the all-consuming black flames!
His right Mangekyo widened to its limit, the twisted pinwheel pattern spinning visibly. All his focus, chakra, and killing intent poured into it.
He locked onto the blurry figure in the steam. He bet Akainu only knew about Tsukuyomi. He bet he wasn't omniscient. How could a ninja be all-knowing? That'd make him a god. How could absolute justice create a god?
Itachi's gaze zeroed in, unprecedented pupil power surging in his right eye.
"Amaterasu!!!"
In an instant, an indescribable darkness that devoured even light erupted before Akainu—black flames, unignited, inextinguishable, burning anything as fuel.
The black flames roared silently, overpowering the lava's heat, as if to incinerate Akainu completely.
"Huff… huff…" Itachi panted heavily. At only twelve, using Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu back-to-back pushed his pupil power to the brink.
His face was deathly pale. "Cough… cough!" He covered his mouth, coughing, and when he pulled his hand away, it was stained with vivid crimson blood.
But he didn't care. Exhaling heavily, he stared at the black flames and Akainu. "Did it work?"
"Hm?"
Itachi froze. As a breeze cleared some of the steam, he was shocked to see a massive ring of red bones surrounding Akainu, radiating terrifying chakra and pupil power.
The black Amaterasu flames weren't burning Akainu but the giant skeletal structure.
A word slipped from Itachi's lips: "Susanoo!"
"Uchiha Itachi," Akainu's voice was cold, showing no trace of fatigue despite using his Mangekyo twice. Compared to Itachi, he was in far better shape. "When I meet a fool, I try to wake them up my way. If that doesn't work, I cut off an arm. If they still don't wake up, I take their limbs until they do."
Itachi blinked. Did that mean, even though he tried to kill Akainu, Akainu wanted to spare him?
"But," Akainu's next words cut through his thoughts, "if the fool is both stupid and evil, and has violated the taboos of justice, I use a simpler, more direct method."
As Itachi watched in shock, the massive skeletal structure around Akainu grew larger, sprouting a skeletal arm wielding a colossal ninja blade.
"The gap… is it really this big?" Itachi muttered, dazed.
He'd thought that, with his own Mangekyo, even if he was younger and slightly weaker, he wasn't that far behind. In a one-on-one fight, he might lose most of the time, but he'd have some chance of winning.
Only now, clashing with Akainu, did he realize the true gap.
"Don't underestimate my resolve!" Itachi shouted, blood streaming from his eyes, his pale face growing paler. "Don't underestimate my will to protect the Leaf!" A similar ring of massive bones formed around him.
"Susanoo!"
His cold, gritted voice echoed as his Susanoo rapidly entered its second form. Flesh and sinew spread over the skeleton, a chakra cloak enveloping it, and a red greatsword appeared in its grip.
"Haa… huff…" The second form was the limit for twelve-year-old Itachi, his first time using this ability. He didn't know how long he could sustain it—maybe thirty seconds, maybe ten, or less.
"I have to… end this quickly…"
Before he could finish, his eyes widened, his gaze tilting upward until he craned his neck. Shock filled his eyes.
A towering, fully armored red Susanoo stood proudly in the Leaf Village, at least three or four times larger than Itachi's!
It was like a crimson volcano.
"Face reality, Itachi. There's a gap even between Mangekyo Sharingan," Akainu's voice rang in his ears as the massive, lava-dripping red blade slashed down.
Even the blade in Akainu's Susanoo was bigger than Itachi's entire Susanoo…
BOOM!
Itachi's second-form Susanoo shattered like fragile tofu, cleaved in two.
His vision froze on the godlike red Susanoo.
"It's… really over…" he murmured.
In the flash of the blade, his frail body vaporized, leaving no trace for reanimation.
Uchiha Itachi…
Dead.
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