Obito's figure quickly disappeared into the dim forest. In the trees, a boy with a bandage on his face quietly revealed a single red Sharingan.
The two figures vanished, and the leaves rustled as they fell from above.
"Why do I have to stay for detention with *you*?"
Naruto laid his face flat on the desk, grumbling with no energy and full of complaints.
The classroom was totally empty now. Only the cold, white light above their heads stayed on.
It was already completely dark outside, and the blackboard was still full of formulas and problems.
"I don't want to be stuck here with you either."
Sasuke snapped back without holding back. He still had a few questions on his notebook with no answers filled in.
The ninja academy usually didn't care much about homework. All their classes were aimed at helping them get better at ninjutsu.
Most students just left after class, or stayed a bit to practice throwing shuriken.
Sasuke usually went home to train at the Uchiha training grounds with his family.
So staying behind today just for homework—it felt off.
Sasuke felt a little uneasy. He glanced out the window, worried.
He didn't know why, but something about tonight felt wrong.
And the strangest part? The person sitting next to him in detention.
"Don't you usually sneak out the second class ends? Why are you still here today?"
Naruto wasn't the type to stick around in a classroom. He was always skipping class, showing up late, and no one could really control him.
For him to be here, *now*, and still sitting still—that was wild.
"Big bro Satoru said he wasn't coming to class today, and I didn't really have anything else to do."
"If he's not around, wherever I go is just—uh…"
Before he could finish, Naruto realized he'd slipped up. He quickly covered his mouth.
"Huh?!"
"You *know* that guy?!"
At school, Sasuke usually acted all mature and serious, copying Itachi like a little grown-up.
But the second he heard Hatake Satoru's name, he shot up from his seat and nearly smacked into Naruto.
He still remembered that white-haired guy who was always teasing him.
Even when he complained to Itachi, Itachi always defended Satoru. Totally biased.
Naruto was startled by his reaction and flinched back in surprise.
"What do you mean 'that guy'?! Show some respect—Satoru bro's a really good person!"......................................
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"What's so good about him? He's got a horrible personality."
"He's a grown man but eats sweets every day. That's just weird!"
Sasuke couldn't say out loud how often Hatake Satoru messed with him and left him speechless, so he had to argue from another angle.
"Itachi's a grown-up too, and he likes sweets!"
"My brother is my brother! That guy's nothing like Nii-san!"
The two kids only talked for a bit before the conversation turned into a full-blown debate over who was more mature—Itachi or Hatake Satoru.
Sasuke's desire to go home faded fast. He rolled up his sleeves, ready to take Naruto on.
This was a matter of honor—for Itachi.
And the one who told Sasuke to stay after school… was Itachi himself.
Even if his hands would be stained with blood, he didn't want Sasuke to see their family die in front of him.
It was enough if Sasuke came back later, found out what happened, and grew up hating him.
That was all he needed.
Itachi stood outside the Uchiha compound and took a deep breath, gripping the sword in his hand.
The cold moonlight hit the blade, casting a sharp white glint across his face.
Hiruzen stood inside the Hokage building, staring silently out the window, unable to come up with any real solution to the Uchiha coup.
ANBU had been sent to keep watch over the Uchiha, but they weren't ordered to take action.
They were just his eyes, helping him see everything clearly.
And that was it.
Hiruzen had also heard bits and pieces about Danzo planning to have Itachi wipe out the clan, but he didn't stop him.
No matter how he looked at it, the Uchiha coup seemed inevitable.
Rather than letting things keep getting worse,
it was better to cut things off quickly, end the clan, and avoid future trouble.
After tonight, Itachi would definitely be a missing-nin—for the peace of the village, to stop another war from happening.
That kid had to be sacrificed.
Hiruzen exhaled a puff of smoke from his pipe and shook his head.
Danzo had been strangely quiet tonight. Maybe he was just waiting for the Uchiha to make a move, planning something in the dark.
The medical unit had just left. The bandages over Danzo's eyes now fully covered them.
He reached up and touched the cloth wrapped tightly around them.
The only eye still visible was full of rage and cold hatred.
He hadn't expected that intruder to actually take both of his eyes.
That kind of dangerous guy… after fighting for so long, he didn't even get to see his face.
To Danzo, that was pure humiliation.
"Keep a close watch on the Uchiha. If anything strange happens tonight, kill Itachi too."
That strange man seemed to have a goal different from Itachi's anyway. Let the two of them fight it out.
Tonight definitely wasn't going to be a peaceful one.
Inside the Uchiha compound, lights were shining everywhere.
The room was packed with people.
The rebellious voices were getting louder, and trust in Itachi was dropping by the day.
Even though Fugaku didn't want to start a revolution too early, things had already gone beyond his control.
There were too many radicals in the Uchiha. They didn't like anyone, always looking to pick a fight.
This kind of thinking was spreading fast, pushing more and more people, even affecting Fugaku.
As clan head, he had the final say—but now he was being pushed forward by the very people he led.
Fugaku stood beside a bright candle and raised his hand toward the clan members sitting in front of him.
"My son, Itachi, will meet you all at the Hokage building today."
"Don't harm any civilians. Do your best to complete this bloodless coup quickly."
The radicals below cheered with excitement. The pressure they had been under made them long for a war where they could finally let everything out.
Even though Fugaku called it a "bloodless" revolution, once the fighting began, no one would really care about that.
In the Land of Fire, deep in a hidden forest near the border with the Land of Grass—
The Land of Grass was small and pretty peaceful, so most of the time, ninjas didn't come near here.
In the middle of the forest, a huge open area had been cleared, filled with rows of empty wooden houses.
Tenzo stood on high ground, looking over his work from the past few months with satisfaction.
Back when he was staying at the Hatake house, Hatake Satoru had secretly asked him to come here and build these houses.
"Don't tell anyone. Not even my little brother."
Hatake Satoru had looked very serious when he gave Tenzo that order.
Tenzo didn't really understand why Hatake Satoru wanted to build all this in such a remote place—maybe he just liked construction?
But if it was something that man wanted to do, there had to be a reason behind it.
Tenzo trusted every decision Hatake Satoru made.
Anbu still had to keep an eye on the Uchiha tonight.
But Kakashi said it wasn't urgent, and they wouldn't make a move. Tenzo could finish up here first and head back after.
Even so, it was best not to take too long.
Tenzo thought about it for a second, then quickly vanished into the night.
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