Night draped its cloak over the land.
From a high ridge outside the village, Obito drew a sharp breath as he watched the Uchiha district burn like a blazing pyre in the distance.
He glanced at Itachi and narrowed his eye. Had he lit that fire?
"What happened to your arm?"
Instead of answering, Itachi looked at Obito's empty sleeve.
"I got played," Obito said darkly. "Your Uchiha really are full of surprises."
He remembered the fight and felt his scalp prickle. If he had not sacrificed an arm to force Kamui, it would have been his head.
He had no idea how that man could be so strong, or how he understood the workings of Kamui so well.
Every time Obito chose a moment to rematerialize and strike, that monk was already in position to intercept, then riposted with impossible speed.
That phantasmal shunshin, just thinking of it brought a chill.
If Uchiha Shisui were not dead, Obito would have been sure it was him. Yet it could not be. The man's Mangekyo was not Shisui's, and Shisui's eyes were in Danzo's socket and Itachi's head.
Which made it worse. Somewhere in Konoha, another expert existed, and he knew Obito's weakness.
He had underestimated the Uchiha.
He had not killed a single clansman tonight. Yet the Uchiha were still annihilated.
The one who acted stood beside him. Before leaving, the man had even set the place ablaze.
What kind of grudge was that?
A cruel man.
"As agreed, I will find you in Akatsuki," Itachi said. "There are things I must handle first. Same meeting place."
He stared at the flames, worry flickering in his eyes. He had not set this fire. Aside from him, only Root had attacked.
Was Danzo tearing off the mask and trying to kill his two brothers as well?
He would have to warn Danzo before he left.
Itachi vanished into the dark.
Who did this?
Itachi did not know it, but Danzo was just as stunned. The man who had cajoled Itachi into butchering his own clan had planned to reap all the benefits.
Konoha's feud with the Uchiha meant nothing to Danzo. He would have loved a coup, for it would topple Hiruzen's prestige and give him room to strike.
More than that, Orochimaru's experiments were nearing completion, and they required a mountain of Sharingan. The massacre was his harvest day.
Now, standing outside the smoking district, Danzo's eyes were murderous.
Who lit this damned fire?
His Root operatives sent in to do the work had all gone dark. The farther out they ran, the hotter the flames burned. His water release squads had tried to push through and failed.
What was happening?
Nothing followed his script. The Uchiha's wealth. Their Sharingan.
He had gained nothing.
"Danzo! Look at this mess you made!"
Trouble arrived, as expected. Only one man would call his name in that tone, a blend of accusation and schadenfreude.
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Hiruzen was furious. In the past he had looked the other way when Danzo moved. This time was different.
He had watched Danzo talk Itachi into this night, and he himself preferred the Uchiha to vanish quietly into history. That ending was best for Konoha.
When the district erupted in flames, he realized if he delayed, everything would spiral.
Konoha was a tapestry of clans. Though Hiruzen had long suppressed the clans and favored commoners, he could not deny they were still Konoha's strongest arms. In war and in peace, he needed them.
The Uchiha were one of those clans. Plotting a coup was still plotting. Until they acted, they were still part of Konoha.
If word spread that Konoha had moved openly against them, every clan would fear that one day the blade would fall on them too.
The Uchiha could be erased, but never in the open.
This blaze drew far too many eyes.
Danzo, how could you botch something so simple?
Face like stone, Hiruzen's gaze carried a threat. "You acted without my permission. You crossed the line."
"Effective immediately, you are stripped of Root command. Root is dissolved."
"Go home and reflect. As for the Uchiha, pin it all on Itachi. You know how."
"Remember, this is the last time I clean up your mess."
So this is you, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Hidden under a tree, Itachi watched and pondered. When the Third put away his kindly mask, he looked like a loathsome old dog.
Itachi flickered down before them.
"The task is done," he said. "I do not care who set the fire."
"But hear me, Lord Third, Lord Danzo."
"If my two brothers are unharmed tomorrow, I will let this pass."
"If anything happens to them, I will do to the Sarutobi and Shimura what you did to the Uchiha, one to one."
"Every secret Konoha keeps will appear on the desks of our enemies."
"I keep my word."
Uchiha Itachi had gone mad.
One day. That was the deadline he gave Konoha's rulers. He had erased his clan. His brothers were all he had left.
If Amane and Sasuke were hurt, he would forget all talk of the greater good.
Before either man could move, Itachi exploded into crows that vanished into the night.
For a long moment, Hiruzen glared at Danzo, face dark as iron.
"This is your handiwork."
"Do not pin everything on me. You think I do not know you were skulking in the dark?" Danzo snorted. "I finished the extermination. Put out your own fire."
He turned on his heel and left. The Hokage's authority?
To him it was wind. At best, a bad smell.
The master of scapegoats?
Not this time. This blame, he would not shoulder.