Naruto: I'm in Konoha, my name is Uzumaki Menma

Chapter 253 Itachi: Forgive me, Sasuke
The campus, which should have been quiet, was now brightly lit.

Iruka and several colleagues were organizing a nighttime emergency evacuation drill for the students.

The children, still sleepy-eyed and with confused and slightly uneasy expressions, lined up in a queue under the teacher's guidance.

"Keep formation! Don't push!" Iruka's voice echoed in the night sky as he tried his best to maintain order, but his heart was already uneasy.

This sudden exercise left him bewildered, as if he had returned to that terrifying night of the Nine-Tailed Fox.

at this time--

boom! ! !
A deafening explosion came from the direction of the Uchiha clan's territory, followed by more frequent explosions and faint shouts of battle.

The ground shook violently, and the school's windows rattled loudly.

"ah!"

"What happened?"

"Teacher, I'm scared!"

The students were immediately thrown into panic, and several young children burst into tears.

Iruka's heart clenched; his ominous premonition had come true.

"Calm down! Everyone, don't panic!" Iruka tried to remain calm, but his voice still trembled involuntarily.

A dark figure appeared instantly at the edge of the playground; it was an ANBU ninja wearing an animal mask.

"Iruka-sensei!" The Anbu's voice was urgent and cold: "The Hokage has issued an urgent order! An unknown force has attacked the village! Immediately lead all students to the First Shelter beneath the Hokage Rock!"

Iruka's face turned deathly pale: "An attack? From which direction?"

The ANBU member was silent for a moment, then whispered, "It's mainly in the Uchiha clan's territory, but there's unrest elsewhere too. Let's go!"

Iruka immediately realized the gravity of the situation and turned to shout, "Everyone! Change course! Destination: Vault One! Run!"

The Konoha Ninja Academy is located in the heart of the village, not far from the Hokage Rock. Soon, the huge underground bunker was filled with terrified students, as well as more and more villagers pouring into the shelter.

The flickering light of the oil lamp cast uneasy shadows on people's faces, and the air was filled with suppressed sobs and whispers.

"Choji, why are you still eating? Aren't you scared?" Naruto couldn't help but ask, looking at Choji who was still crunching away on potato chips.

He was so nervous that his palms were sweaty, and something inside him seemed to be stirring, making him even more uneasy.

Choji swallowed the potato chips in his mouth, his voice a little slurred: "I'm scared...that's why I need to eat more to calm my nerves..."

Shikamaru, who was standing to the side, had long lost his usual lazy demeanor.

His brow furrowed, hands in his pockets, his gaze sharp as he stared at the flames outside the ventilation duct: 'That direction… that's Uchiha clan territory. Such a commotion is probably no ordinary disturbance.'

Hinata Hyuga timidly hid in the crowd, her small hands tightly gripping the hem of Menma's clothes beside her.

Of course, it was just a shadow clone; his original body had already left.

Sensing Hinata's fear, Menma gently squeezed her small hand to comfort her.

"Huh? Where's Sasuke?" Ino suddenly realized that someone was missing.

"Yeah, where did Sasuke go?" Sakura realized as well, her face showing worry.

Shikamaru felt a chill run down his spine, realizing something was wrong.

Given Sasuke's personality and how much he values ​​his clan, upon hearing commotion from the Uchiha clan's territory, he'd probably...

The shadow clone with the pockmarked face also frowned slightly.

Should we take Sasuke and Naruto away at this time?

The thought flashed through his mind.

But after careful consideration, he abandoned the idea.

The Nine-Tails within Naruto and the Indra chakra within Sasuke are both extremely dangerous forces.

During his last trip to the moon, he asked Hamura Otsutsuki to deliver a message to the Sage of Six Paths, but it has been ignored ever since.

This suggests that either Yu Yi doesn't think highly of him, or she has a deeper scheme.

If these two are forcibly taken away, but the influence of the chakra that has been entangled in their souls for thousands of years cannot be resolved, it could bring great trouble to the Land of Stars.

For example, under the influence of the Six Paths Elder, someone might do a Chibaku Tensei (Planetary Devastation) just like Kaguya's, "in order to prevent the destruction of the ninja world," which would be quite amusing.

Therefore, it's best to be cautious before advancing to the Six Paths level.

The cursing reminded him of Kaguya Otsutsuki's madness in creating the White Zetsu army, and the vast number of souls in the Sage of Six Paths' Pure Land; the waters behind all this ran deep.

After a moment's consideration, Menma made a decision.

Through the markings on the back of his hand, he subtly contacted another shadow clone monitoring from a more distant location: 'Find Uchiha Sasuke, ensure his safety, and remove him from the battlefield if necessary, but do not insist on bringing him back.'

Just then, after Iruka finished counting the number of people, he discovered that only Uchiha Sasuke was missing, and his face turned deathly pale.

"Mitsuki-sensei, I'm leaving this to you! I have to go find Sasuke!" Iruka said anxiously to his colleague beside him.

Mizuki grabbed him, saying, "Hey! Iruka! It's too dangerous outside! Judging from the noise, it's definitely no smaller than the Nine-Tails' attack! We're just Chunin, going out would be suicide!"

“But I am his teacher!” Iruka broke free from Mizuki’s grasp, his eyes resolute. “I cannot abandon any of my students!”

After saying that, he rushed out of the shelter without looking back.

Shui Mu watched his retreating figure with a complex expression, which eventually turned into a sigh.

On the banks of the Nanga River.

Uchiha Sasuke ran desperately along the familiar road toward the Uchiha clan's territory.

His heart pounded wildly, and an ominous premonition gripped his mind.

The distant explosions, the towering flames, and the faint, terrifying chakra fluctuations all made him extremely anxious.

The closer you get to the tribe's territory, the stronger the stench of blood becomes in the air.

Sasuke's heart sank to the bottom, and his ominous premonition grew stronger.

When he finally made his way through the woods and reached the banks of the Naga River, the sight before him struck him like a thunderbolt, and he froze on the spot!
In the direction of the clan's territory, three towering, colorful giants exuding a suffocating aura are fighting fiercely!

A green Susanoo wields a giant chakra spiral sword, a dark red Susanoo brandishes a burning greatsword, and a blue Susanoo looms in the distance.

Every time they clashed, the earth shook and the roar echoed through the sky.

"What...what is that?!" Sasuke's pupils contracted, his mind went blank.

The scene before him was completely beyond his comprehension, but a certain feeling deep within his blood told him that these terrifying beings were all related to the Uchiha clan.

Just then, a familiar figure slowly walked towards him from the smoke and chaos ahead.

"Brother...brother?" Sasuke saw who it was and his tense nerves relaxed a little.

He rushed forward, shouting, "Brother! What happened to the clan's territory?! What are those huge things?! Where are Father and Mother?!"

Itachi Uchiha's face was stained with blood and dust, and his expression was cold and weary that Sasuke had never seen before.

Especially those eyes, with the flowing blood leaving glaring marks on their pale cheeks, made them look exceptionally eerie.

Itachi didn't answer Sasuke's barrage of questions. He simply raised his hand slowly and, as usual, gently rubbed two fingers on Sasuke's forehead.

His movements even carried a strange gentleness.

"Forgive me, Sasuke..." Itachi's voice was low and hoarse, carrying an indescribable pain and resolve.

Before he could finish speaking, Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan began spinning wildly!
"Tsukuyomi!"

Sasuke felt the world before him spin instantly, and all the sights and sounds faded and distorted at a rapid pace!
The next moment, he found himself as if he had been dragged into an endless darkness, a world with only a blood moon hanging in the sky!

In this world, time has lost its meaning.

He watched helplessly as his beloved older brother, Uchiha Itachi, transformed into a ruthless executioner, wielding a blood-dripping ninja sword and expressionlessly slaughtering one familiar clansman after another!

He saw his neighbor's uncle lying in a pool of blood, saw his training buddies die with their eyes wide open, and saw the uncles and aunts who had watched him grow up die tragically under the knife...

Finally, the scene freezes on that familiar home, where his father, Fugaku Uchiha, and mother, Mikoto Uchiha, lie in pools of blood, while Itachi's sword is being pulled from his mother's chest...

"No...no!" Sasuke's spirit screamed in the Tsukuyomi space, and he was instantly engulfed by immense pain and despair!

In reality, his body suddenly stiffened, his eyes completely lost focus, and he fell straight backward.

Itachi reached out and caught his unconscious younger brother, carefully laying him flat on the grass by the river.

He looked at Sasuke's pale and pained face, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes, but it was quickly covered by coldness.

"Forgive me, Sasuke..." Itachi murmured softly, his voice almost inaudible, "Only in this way... only in this way can you gain enough power..."

at this time--

"Let him go! Itachi Uchiha!" A furious shout came from the side!
Iruka arrived breathlessly, having clearly witnessed Itachi using genjutsu on Sasuke.

Although it was unclear what exactly happened, Itachi's bleeding eyes and Sasuke's unconscious state were enough for him to judge that there was great danger!

“Iruka-sensei…” Itachi slowly stood up, facing this teacher who only had the strength of a Chunin but dared to confront him directly, and said in a calm tone: “You shouldn’t have come.”

"What did you do to Sasuke?!" Iruka demanded sharply, his kunai pointing directly at Itachi: "Put him down!"

"It was just a... little illusion to make him face reality," Itachi said calmly, the three tomoe in his eyes instantly appearing and spinning!
"Magic: The Art of the Flail!"

Iruka didn't even have time to react; all he saw was a blur before his eyes, and the scenery around him instantly changed!
He felt as if he had returned to that nightmarish night.

The Nine-Tails wreaked havoc in the village, its enormous claws smashing houses to pieces, and his parents... died before his very eyes...

"No...no..." Iruka screamed, clutching his head and collapsing to his knees, his body trembling violently.

The endless pain and despair overwhelmed him once again, and he was completely trapped in the endless, agonizing illusion that Itachi had woven for him.

Having easily dealt with Iruka, Itachi's gaze returned to Sasuke.

He took a deep breath, preparing to proceed with the next step of his plan.

However, at this moment——

clap clap clap...

A clear and slow clapping sound suddenly came from the shadow of a large tree nearby.

Itachi's body stiffened abruptly, and he turned his head sharply!

The Sharingan instantly locked onto the source of the sound!
He was completely unaware that someone was there!

Bathed in moonlight and the distant flames of war, a figure wearing a white three-eyed fox mask and a black robe slowly emerged from the shadows.

He moved with a relaxed air, as if he were not on the edge of a bloody battlefield, but taking a stroll in his own backyard.

"Brilliant... What a brilliant performance, Uchiha Itachi."

The voice coming from behind the mask, carrying a hint of amusement and cold praise, clearly reached Itachi's ears.

"To personally annihilate an entire clan, and then implant endless hatred and pain into the heart of your beloved younger brother, all to shape his future power... This ruthlessness, this 'magnanimity,' is truly... despicable!" Shura tilted his head slightly, his white three-eyed fox mask appearing particularly eerie in the flickering firelight of the distant battlefield.

The newcomer tilted his head slightly, his gaze seemingly piercing through the mask and landing on Itachi's eyes, which were streaming with bloody tears.

"This play, titled 'The Weasel Who Wiped Out the Clan'... the 'script' I prepared for you... are you satisfied with it?" he asked softly, as if chatting with an old friend.

"Shura..." Itachi's voice was icy, and the kunai in his hand was already poised to strike.

The Mangekyou Sharingan contracted violently, and the Mangekyou Sharingan spun wildly, trying to see through the true nature of this mysterious person.

But to his shock, he discovered that his eye power was completely ineffective, as if it had sunk into the sea, and he couldn't even sense the other person's chakra!
In the distance, the roar of the three Susanoo and the sounds of battle emanating from the clan's territory served as a backdrop for this standoff.

Itachi's brain was working at lightning speed, assessing the situation.

The opponent was able to approach silently and reveal his deepest secrets in a single sentence. His strength was unfathomable and far beyond what he could contend with in his current state of great chakra depletion and physical and mental exhaustion.

He must be extremely cautious.

To conceal his almost obsessive protectiveness towards Sasuke, Itachi forced himself to relax, even deliberately adopting a nonchalant, sarcastic tone to try and divert the other's attention: "The Asura of the Land of Stars... truly impressive tactics. Intervening in the chaos and reaping the spoils. You want the Uchiha clan to serve you? Congratulations, it seems you've achieved your goal."

His gaze swept over the three giants in the distance, indicating that Fugaku, Shisui, and the entire Uchiha clan had already sided with the other side.

Upon hearing this, Menma slowly shook his head.

His gaze fell on Uchiha Sasuke, who lay unconscious on the grass.

This subtle movement made Itachi's heart clench, and he almost couldn't control the urge to attack, but he suppressed it with amazing willpower.

"Use? Serve?" Menma's voice came through the mask, carrying a detached, scrutinizing tone: "Uchiha Itachi, those who toy with fate will ultimately be devoured by it. The blood-stained path you chose, all the sacrifices... were they truly worth it?"

does it worth?
These three words were like a poisoned kunai, precisely piercing the most vulnerable part of Itachi's heart.

The images of his clansmen falling flashed before his eyes, as did Zhishui's disappointed yet resolute gaze and his father's complex and disappointed eyes.

He knew what Shura was asking, especially after learning about Shimura Danzo's disgusting behavior during his brief but intense confrontation with Shisui.

He ambushed fellow village ninjas, stole their bloodline limit, and was a habitual liar.

The "justice" he personally carried out had long been eroded by decay.

But he cannot regret it. If he does, all his sacrifices will be meaningless, and he will fall into the abyss.

He could only blame it all on fate, on the inescapable destiny of everyone.

“Everyone has their own path and choices, whether it’s worth it or not.” Itachi’s voice was low and hoarse, deliberately avoiding the core of the problem and trying to maintain a calm demeanor.

"This is just the necessary price to pay."

He quickly changed the subject, pointing the finger at the strongest fighter in the opposing camp: "But you, Shura. You seem quite interested in the power of the Uchiha. The power of Uchiha Hikari is indeed astonishing, capable of fighting against many of Konoha's elites at the same time... but she is still far from the legendary Uchiha Madara."

"Whether it's her or Shisui, their Mangekyou Sharingan is ultimately just ordinary, with fatal flaws. Madara Uchiha's power, however, has long surpassed that of ordinary Mangekyou Sharingan."

He stared intently at the masked man, trying to discern any desire or curiosity in him for "greater power."

This was a bait he threw out, an attempt to gain some control of the conversation.

However, what he received in response was a contemptuous sneer coming from behind the mask.

"Ha." Menma seemed to have heard something extremely ridiculous.

"Should I play along and feign surprise, asking, 'Oh? A more powerful kaleidoscope? What is that? Is it related to your massacre of your entire clan, sparing only your brother?'"

Itachi's pupils suddenly contracted!

Menma's voice suddenly turned cold, filled with undisguised sarcasm: "Save your breath, Uchiha Itachi. Don't treat everyone like fools who've been deceived. Do you think the 'Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan' is some kind of top secret? Even the stone tablet under the Nakagawa Shrine, which your Uchiha clan has guarded and treasured for generations, and which records the so-called 'ultimate secret'..."

He paused deliberately, admiring the finally broken composure on Itachi's face, before slowly uttering words that would shatter Itachi's understanding:

"...It was just bait that was altered by someone a long time ago and used to deliberately lead your Uchiha clan toward hatred, prejudice, and infighting."

"what?!"

Like a thunderclap exploding in his mind, Itachi's cold mask, which he had been trying so hard to maintain, shattered instantly!

His face drained of color, and was filled with disbelief and shock.

A stone monument at the foot of Namikawa Shrine!
That was an absolute secret known only to a very small number of high-ranking members of the Uchiha clan!

Even the Mangekyou Sharingan couldn't see all the contents of the stone tablet!
How could an outsider possibly know?!
and……

tamper?

Bait?

He originally thought the other party only coveted the power of the Uchiha clan or had a grudge against Konoha, but he never expected to hear such subversive remarks about the clan's most core secrets from the other party!
"Who...who are you?!" Itachi's voice trembled slightly for the first time. He gripped the kunai in his hand tighter and his Sharingan spun wildly, trying to see through the white mask, but he only felt that the other person's figure was like a bottomless abyss.

"How do you know about the stone tablet?! What do you mean by 'tampering'?!"

If even the contents of the stone tablet, and even the activation of the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, were altered...

Were the entire Uchiha clan being played for centuries?!

Menma stood there quietly, like an ancient iceberg, unmoved by Itachi's shock and questioning.

The white three-eyed fox mask, illuminated by the flickering light of the distant battle, exuded an even more eerie and unpredictable aura.

"The ninja world holds no secrets for me." Menma's voice was calm and even, yet it carried a chilling sense of oppression.

"For example, the one who gave you the order to exterminate your clan was Shimura Danzo, but who was the person you went to for help...?"

Another bombshell has dropped!
Itachi's body swayed almost imperceptibly.

This was a spur-of-the-moment decision, and the details were known only to the two people involved; even Danzo was unaware of them…

"What exactly are you trying to say?!" Itachi shouted sharply, trying to use his imposing manner to mask the turmoil in his heart.

His Sharingan was locked on Shura, and his chakra began to fluctuate violently, clearly on the verge of exploding.

Every word the other person said was impacting his beliefs and understanding. He felt as if he were standing on the edge of a huge conspiracy, with an abyss below.

Mianma seemed to think that he had laid enough groundwork, and he took a small step forward.

This slight step made Itachi Uchiha feel as if he were facing a formidable enemy, and he instantly held a kunai in front of him, assuming a perfect defensive and offensive stance.

“What I want to say,” Menma’s voice remained calm, yet carried the weight of final judgment, “is that what you consider ‘right’ is fundamentally misguided and distorted. The ‘sins’ you have committed may have satisfied some people’s deeper schemes. And your hopes for the future path of ‘your brother’s revenge’…”

His gaze swept over the unconscious Sasuke once more.

"...From the very beginning, it may have been a preordained dead end leading to deeper despair."

"Shut up!" Itachi could no longer remain calm!
The overwhelming information and the other party's "curse" on Sasuke's fate pushed his already tense nerves to their limit!
He could not allow anyone to tarnish the "plan" for which he had given everything, nor could he allow anyone to threaten Sasuke!
(End of this chapter)