Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar...
Sasuke stood on the high platform, his hands rapidly forming hand seals in front of his chest.
As he looked at Itachi kneeling before him, his vision blurred. He saw the memories of the past, the happy times he had shared with Itachi, the warmth of their family of four. But in an instant, those memories were drowned in a sea of blood.
The punishment the Uchiha clan had decided for Itachi was to let him burn to ashes in the flames of the Great Fireball Technique.
"Wait!"
Just as Sasuke was about to form the final seal, a soft voice interrupted his movements.
Sasuke tilted his head slightly, forcing back his tears, and then looked at the person who had spoken.
It was Uchiha Izumi.
But the Izumi standing before him now was completely different from the one Sasuke remembered.
The gentle smile that had always graced the girl's face was now replaced by a lifeless expression, devoid of the liveliness and cheerfulness she once had.
"Izumi-nee, do you have something to say?"
"Sasuke, Inabi-senpai, I just want to ask Itachi one last question. Is that okay?"
Izumi's lifeless eyes turned to the two of them, and neither Sasuke nor Inabi could bring themselves to refuse. They both nodded silently.
Every Uchiha present had lost loved ones. Izumi's suffering wasn't any greater than others', but her situation was unique.
At just 12 years old, with a three-tomoe Sharingan, she was more prone to extremes than anyone else.
Izumi slowly climbed onto the platform and stood beside Sasuke, facing Itachi.
"Uchiha Itachi, did you kill my mother?"
As she spoke, the crimson three-tomoe Sharingan appeared in her eyes.
She knew that asking this question was pointless now. After all, Itachi hadn't even spared his own parents. But she needed to ask, if only to give herself closure.
"I'm sorry, Izumi."
A low, hoarse voice emerged from Itachi's throat. Though he didn't answer directly, everyone present understood what he meant.
Uchiha Hazuki, Izumi's mother, is an Uchiha who had married with a non-Uchiha and left the clan. After her husband died during the Nine-Tails attack, she returned to the clan and lived on the outskirts of the Uchiha Clan's compound.
Itachi had started his massacre from the outside and worked his way in, so Hazuki had been among the first to die.
"I se."
Izumi's eyes trembled slightly.
Then, a layer of mist formed over them.
Drip… drip…
Tears streamed down her face, cold and unfeeling, falling to the ground.
Her face, which had been lifeless just moments ago, now showed a flicker of emotion.
However, rather than saying she had regained her vitality, it was more accurate to say that the old Izumi had died on the night of the massacre. The Izumi standing here now was someone reborn.
"Sasuke, can I join you?"
Izumi's face remained expressionless as tears continued to flow. The boy she had once admired had killed the person she loved most. The girl named Uchiha Izumi had finally broken.
Sasuke naturally didn't object to Izumi's request. The two of them stood apart, exchanging a silent glance before taking a deep breath. Simultaneously, they raised their hands, formed the hand seals, and unleashed two massive fireballs toward Itachi.
The roaring flames instantly engulfed Itachi, but they didn't kill him outright. Instead, they controlled the output of Chakra, ensuring that Itachi would die in agony. Only then could the souls of the Uchiha who had perished that night be at peace.
"Sasuke, take care of yourself and Mother from now on..."
From within the raging flames, Itachi's hoarse voice uttered his final words. The firelight illuminated the faces of Sasuke and Izumi, casting a momentary look of confusion on Sasuke's face.
But just as confusion began to set in, the brutal, bloody, and nauseating scene from the Uchiha Clan's compound flashed before his eyes once more.
Uchiha Itachi, that man, had personally slaughtered their clansmen, had personally killed their father!
Even the children and elders of the clan had not been spared from his blade!
Sasuke's eyes cleared once more.
The souls of the Uchiha needed redemption, and that redemption would come through this man's suffering and death!
The single tomoe in Sasuke's eyes began to change, spinning rapidly.
Two tomoe!
Three tomoe!
'It seems the stimulation wasn't as strong as in the original work.'
Naruto observed Sasuke's eyes, noting that they stopped at three tomoe. But that made sense. In the original work, Sasuke's hatred had festered for ten years, and he had been completely alone. Now, many Uchiha were still alive, and his mother was still with him. Naturally, the stimulation wasn't as intense.
"I probably won't be Sasuke's match anymore."
Neji couldn't help but sigh. Even with just one tomoe, Sasuke had been able to match him in combat. Now, with three tomoe, Sasuke was undoubtedly stronger.
"Don't worry, the Byakugan can also evolve. I'll take you to see it someday," Naruto patted Neji's shoulder reassuringly. After all, Neji was probably feeling pretty down, having suddenly become the weakest among the group of Ninjas.
"The Byakugan can also evolve?"
Neji was skeptical. He wondered if Naruto was lying to him. After all, as a member of the Hyuga Clan, he had never heard of the Byakugan evolving.
"Do you think I'd lie to you?" Naruto shot Neji a look before turning his attention to Izumi, a slight smile tugging at his lips, "Neji, that is the true power of the Uchiha."
"Hmm?" Neji followed Naruto's gaze toward Izumi.
The firelight reflected off Izumi's face. The tears that had been streaming down her cheeks had turned to blood. In the baptism of blood, tears, hatred, and pain, the Mangekyo Sharingan was born.
Neji had never seen eyes like these before, red and black, swirling like a vortex.
Everyone present noticed this, and each of them was filled with shock. For a moment, all the Uchiha forgot about Itachi, who was still twitching in the flames.
After experiencing destruction, the Uchiha Clan had once again gained the Mangekyo Sharingan.
The flames died down, and all that remained of Uchiha Itachi was a pile of ash.
Izumi felt the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan flowing through her, sensing the powerful Dojutsu that had awakened within her eyes. She murmured softly to herself.
"So this is the power of the Mangekyo... Hah, it came too late."
---
In a blink of an eye, the execution of Uchiha Itachi was over.
Naruto, along with Shisui, Inabi, and Izumi, gathered in a small wooden house. Inabi's eyes burned with fervor, while Naruto and Shisui remained calm.
Mikoto, meanwhile, was comforting Sasuke. As the wife of the clan head, she was far stronger than many ordinary Uchiha.
"Naruto-sama, if you grant me the chance to take revenge on Konoha, Uchiha Izumi will become your most powerful weapon!"
Izumi knelt on one knee before Naruto, her delicate face as cold as ice, but her eyes, with their strange patterns, burned with the flames of hatred.
The blood of Uchiha Itachi alone could not repay the debt of the Uchiha Clan's hatred.
Naruto smiled and said, "You'll have that opportunity. But first, can you tell me about the Dojutsu of your eyes?"
The Sharingan was the eye that reflected the soul, and its abilities were as varied as the hearts of its users. It was no surprise that any kind of power could manifest.
Izumi didn't hesitate and immediately explained the Dojutsu of her Mangekyo Sharingan.
"My Dojutsu is called Okuninushi."
"The ability of my right eye allows me to instantly replicate and project any weapon I've seen or used."
"The left eye can create a bounded field, a kind of independent space, where I can store the weapons I've replicated and projected. I can also pull enemies into this space to fight."
Both Inabi and Shisui showed expressions of astonishment. 'The Dojutsu of the Mangekyo is indeed formidable.'
One ability allowed her to create objects out of nothing, which can be said to be the pinnacle of Yin Release.
The other was akin to a Space-Time Ninjutsu, which is equally terrifying.
Only Naruto's expression turned strange.
'Does her ability require chanting incantations too?' Naruto thought, 'I am the bone of my sword, steel is my body and fire is my blood?'
'What had Izumi been thinking when she killed Itachi to awaken such an ability?'