July, three days after the Uchiha Massacre, Taira Mansion.
It is difficult to differentiate day from night inside Izumi's cell, as the light is always on. She and Yuina spend most of their time trying to combat boredom by exercising, reading books, or playing cards, but it's almost impossible not to worry about their families and loved ones. The two young women support each other emotionally, and as the days go by, their relationship becomes more and more like that of sisters.
Yuina is an outgoing young woman and always finds ways to cheer up Izumi, although as the weeks go by the spirits become increasingly difficult to lift. The masked man's visits are sporadic, but they've never lasted as long as they have now, when he hasn't appeared in over a week.
Having had dinner a while ago, they both know it's already nighttime and are lying in the room's only bed. Suddenly, they hear footsteps, indicating someone is coming to visit them, which is strange, as they've never come at this hour before. First, the lock clicks, then the door finally opens, revealing two of the most familiar individuals to the two ninjas: the man in the demon mask and his guardian, the female warrior in the black mask.
The image is strange, because the man walks quite slowly, as if he were injured, and his armor seems to be in a terrible state, with many of its metal parts with significant damage.
The two young women remain silent as the man takes a chair and sits on it, while his guardian takes up a defensive position next to him.
"What we feared has happened" The man begins, looking at Izumi.
The young woman immediately gets out of bed and approaches the man. "What are you talking about?" she asks nervously.
"The massacre of course. Your clan has been eliminated... by your friend Itachi unbelievably."
"I don't think so," Izumi says confidently. Yuina, behind her, shows a look of surprise.
"No matter what you believe, the truth is this. I was there and saw it with my own eyes. In fact, I faced off against your friend Itachi's partner, which is why I ended up like this. Unfortunately, I couldn't save anyone." The man's voice laced with remorse.
"Impossible! The clan can't disappear, much less at the hands of our greatest genius!" Yuina interrupts with great disbelief.
Both young women stare at the man defiantly, while he simply stares at Izumi for a few moments. Then, placing one of his hands on his waist, he causes an explosion of smoke, summoning a body from the ground—the corpse of Hazuki Uchiha, Izumi's mother.
Izumi's reaction is immediate, first falling to her knees, then giving a heartbreaking scream, to finally throw herself on the corpse of her mother, who has a clear wound in her heart. Her crying is uncontrolled, causing Yuina to try to calm her, but nothing works. The crying turns into screams.
When it seems that the young woman is going to calm down, something strange happens, because Izumi's pupils instinctively transform into Sharingan, but the transformation does not seem to stop there, since the three tomoes begin to spin to soon transform into six and finally form a kind of black ice flake under the red background.
Izumi's collar and shackles begin to vibrate and fractures begin to appear on their metallic surfaces, but everything stops the moment the man raises his hand and a powerful electric shock hits the young woman, causing her to faint on the ground.
Yuina rushes to Izumi's aid and hugs her close, shielding her from the man, but he doesn't move from his chair and simply watches. The young genin doesn't know what to do in a situation like this, so she simply hugs her captain and watches the man suspiciously.
Minutes pass and the man simply stays in his chair, looking at the ninjas on the ground, without any hurry, and when it seems like more than half an hour has passed, he raises his hand again and a jet of water is shot at Izumi and Yuina, causing the latter to scream in fear and surprise.
The water jet is quite weak, so neither girl is injured, but it causes Izumi to wake up, very tired and dazed.
"Are you calmer now?" the man asks in a tired tone.
Izumi, still in her partner's arms, first tries to understand what's happening, but upon seeing her mother's body again, she quickly gets up from the ground and confronts the man. "You're telling me Itachi killed my mother and the entire clan. How do I know you weren't the one who killed her?"
"If you think this is some kind of plan to make you betray your village, let me tell you that you are very wrong. Although I would like your help, I really don't need it. I saved you because I could save you and because I wanted to save you. The fact that I went to the trouble of searching for your mother's body so that you can have closure on the fate of your clan is just me being considerate of you. I don't owe you anything, not even explanations. On the other hand, you owe me your life," the man replies in a cold tone.
Izumi drops her arms and stares at her mother's corpse, tears beginning to fall from her eyes again. Yuina hugs her from behind and also begins to shed some tears, holding back her crying.
The man lets out a sigh. "If you want to know the truth, my real purpose for getting involved in this whole mess is this." The man creates another burst of smoke, and this time two bodies are conjured into the room, right next to Izumi's mother.
This time horror appears on the faces of Izumi and Yuina, who fall on their butts in surprise.
"Leader Fugaku! Lady Mikoto!" Yuina shouts.
"But… how?" Izumi asks.
"Killed by Itachi. Though I have to say it was more of a suicide on their part, since they didn't really oppose their son's decision," the man replies.
Both young women remain silent, staring at the corpses of their leaders, with fear and a touch of resignation. Izumi soon realizes that both bodies lack eyes.
"The sharingan… That's what you were looking for," Izumi declares, looking at the man.
"No… The Mangekyou Sharingan is what I was looking for," the man nods. "Something you just awakened a few moments ago."
The young ninja doesn't understand what Mangekyou is, nor the claim that she also has it, but the man calmly proceeds to tell her everything he knows about one of the Uchiha's greatest secrets, as well as one of the reasons why they are so feared.
The two ninjas little by little begin to understand the general picture of their clan's situation, the reason for the fear of the other clans and the isolation to which they were subjected after the Kyubi attack. Izumi, in particular, begins to see Itachi differently, and ultimately, she sees the man as prey seeing a predator.
"If I wanted to, I could kill you right now and tear those precious eyes from your face, but I won't do it, just as I didn't do it with your leader. He was a person worthy of respect and from what I understand, he never sought the rebellion of his clan, but unfortunately he was overwhelmed by those, both within and outside the clan, who wanted that to happen. Your friend Itachi was simply a tool of some who wanted the elimination of a latent threat within the village," the man says, then stands up. "Do you know why all the members of your clan died?"
"Why?" Izumi asks with a trembling voice.
"Because some people thought your clan's existence was a danger, because your clan's pride was a danger, and because internal conflict meant too great a danger to the village in a global conflict scenario. Your life, my life, and the lives of many others, don't matter to the hierarchy of the great villages; the only thing that matters is power, the kind that can control the destiny of everything."
Izumi looks confused, not quite understanding what the man is after with everything he's done. "So, what are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for balance. A new force is needed to oppose the larger villages, in order to prevent situations in which innocent victims are drawn into senseless conflicts and wars. And don't get me wrong, your clan knew very well what they were getting into when they planned the coup d'état. In a sense, they deserve what happened to them, but that should never have involved innocent people, especially children. That thinking will only bring about the annihilation of the human race, the moment someone strong enough begins to eliminate cities and nations for some stupid belief."
"I think I understand a little, but what will happen to us?"
"The massacre has already occurred, and unfortunately, for you, there is no longer a home. If you ever think about returning to Konoha, I can guarantee that there will be some who will want to finish Itachi's work, and your sharingan will be precious treasures to some, especially Izumi's Mangekyou. Perhaps the Hokage will protect you for a time, but the man is unable to control everyone in the village, especially Danzo Shimura, much less the external forces involved in all of this," the man concludes.
Izumi doesn't know how to process all the information she's received at once, as does an even more confused Yuina. Both are convinced to approach the man, who takes their wrists, and something happens they never thought would happen: the room they lived in for almost two months suddenly disappears, replaced by a luxurious room in what appears to be a hotel, with large windows and spacious rooms.
Izumi, a little more experienced, immediately understands that they've teleported. "Hiraishin?" she asks.
"No, but something similar," the man replies, as his armor begins to emit a mixture of heat, steam, and water. Beside him, his guardian is in a similar situation. "We are in the capital of the Land of Fire, and this is one of the best hotels there is. Make yourselves comfortable and rest. From today on, you are free to do as you please, but I recommend hiding your identity, using the substitution jutsu, and finding ways to permanently change your appearance. In two more weeks, I will return and ask if you wish to join me in my cause, and I will answer any questions you may have. If, on the other hand, I don't see you here, I will understand that you are leaving on your own, and I wish you luck in advance, although I will show you no mercy if I find you on the battlefield. This is one and only one chance I will give you."
Izumi seems to want to say something, but ends up just staring at the ground, leaving Yuina to finish asking. "What about the corpses?"
"They will be returned to the village to be buried in the clan cemetery."
The man approaches a table and places a pair of keys, the former belongings of both women, and a wad of bills on it, clearly to cover the expenses of the two ninjas. "The keys are for the collars and shackles. Remember to be careful when gathering information from the village, it is still early, but the news of the massacre will reach here without a doubt. By the way, this power that I possess does not correspond to that of a ninja, it is a power given by God, and as his envoy I am able to share it"
After saying the last words, both the man and his guardian disappear from the room, an act that leaves both ninjas with more questions than answers.