darknovel Chapter 91 The Plan Executed at the Request
Chapter 91 The Plan Executed at the Request
"Benefits...?" Faced with Itachi's sharp questioning, Menma's voice carried an unpredictable slowness, "...Who knows. Maybe it was premeditated, or maybe it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing."
This ambiguous, almost mocking attitude made Itachi feel more uneasy and angry than a direct denial.
"However, the biggest reason is probably still 'dissatisfaction'."
A night breeze blew by, swirling up a few fallen leaves stained with the stench of blood.
"Just because of disappointment with a few individuals, you want to drag hundreds of innocent lives that have nothing to do with this to the underworld..." Menma's voice was full of undisguised sarcasm.
"They even arrogantly believed that this was the only 'correct' choice, a necessary sacrifice..."
"Uchiha Itachi is utterly arrogant and disgusting."
"Are you going to accuse me of this?!" Itachi's voice rose slightly with agitation. "But, the one who 'annihilated' the Uchiha clan was you, wasn't it, [Jin]?! We made a promise!"
When she heard Menma mention "innocent lives," she was filled with bewilderment and even a sense of absurdity. She had seen it with her own eyes—the "corpses" lying everywhere in the clan's territory, the thick stench of blood—all of which proved that the extermination of the clan was complete.
She even suspected that Menma was deliberately deceiving her, but the result she "saw" was beyond doubt.
The weasel was unaware that those lifelike deaths were merely indistinguishable biological imitations.
However, at this moment, Itachi had no mind to continue this endless debate and entanglement with Menma.
There's no time left...
In her mind, Satsuki was almost at the location where her parents had fallen into a coma!
If Satsuki discovers her parents aren't dead... if her hatred isn't deep enough... if she doesn't awaken her Sharingan...
Then wouldn't all the sacrifices and sins have lost their meaning?!
Panic gripped her heart; she couldn't let the plan fall apart at the last minute!
"My request is simple. You are not allowed to harm the Uchiha clan leader and his wife."
Itachi's pupils trembled slightly, but before she could process the instruction, Menma's next words struck her like a thunderbolt.
"And that child... her name is Satsuki, right?" When the name was mentioned, there seemed to be an extremely subtle, almost imperceptible change in the voice under the mask. "She was dragged into this cruel plan by you without my permission... you are not allowed to do anything 'unnecessary' to her anymore."
If he was just puzzled before, at this moment, Itachi's heart was instantly filled with astonishment and even a sense of absurdity.
The leader of 【Jin】...is concerned about Zuo Yue?! How does he know about Zuo Yue? And why is he specifically protecting her?
What exactly is his purpose?!
This was completely beyond her expectations and all her calculations. The leader of a mysterious organization whose terrifying strength shook the ninja world and whose intentions were unclear would actually show an almost...protective attitude towards her sister?
"That Mangekyou Sharingan's eye technique is called [Tsukuyomi], right?"
The plain statement almost froze Itachi's blood.
"What?! How do you know?!" she exclaimed in shock. She had never mentioned her name or the effects to anyone else.
"That's not something you need to worry about," Menma interrupted her. "Besides not touching Fugaku Uchiha or Mikoto Uchiha, I'll say it again, you're not allowed to use that [Tsukuyomi] eye technique on Satsuki..."
He paused slightly, and the surrounding air seemed to freeze and cool down as he spoke next.
"...When I decide to do something, I can be extremely, extremely stubborn."
A chilling killing intent spread out as if it were a tangible force, tightly binding Itachi and making it difficult for her to breathe.
"If you dare to do either of these two things..." Menma's voice deepened, "next time, that ninjutsu... won't just end up in the desolate wilderness outside Konoha."
Cold sweat instantly slid down Itachi's forehead, mixing with blood and tears.
【The Great Spiral Wheel】
That terrifying ninjutsu, capable of turning the earth into nothingness with a single strike and possessing the power to destroy the entire Hidden Leaf Village! This threat was too heavy for her to bear.
"Uchiha Itachi," Menma concluded, "my request shouldn't make you think... it's worth dragging the entire Hidden Leaf Village down with you, should it?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Itachi's vision blurred, and Menma's figure vanished silently from the spot like a ghost.
Only Itachi Uchiha was left standing alone in the cold moonlight and the smell of blood on his face.
She clenched her fists tightly, causing a sharp pain. However, all the anger, resentment, and struggle ultimately turned into a futile exhaustion. Her fists slowly loosened and fell limply to her sides.
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The cold night wind brushed against Satsuki's cheeks, carrying a nauseating, heavy stench of blood. She gripped Naruto's hand tightly, almost instinctively dragging him forward in a frantic run.
The surrounding scenery flashed by like fragments of a nightmare—familiar streets, familiar tribal emblems, but with "tribal members" lying prostrate, their necks cracked and their eye sockets hollow.
Don't look... You can't look...
She forced herself to look away, focusing only on the front—the direction of home. Only there, a last glimmer of hope remained.
Finally, when she was almost completely exhausted and her lungs were burning with pain, she saw two incredibly familiar figures lying prostrate on the ground at the edge of her vision—
Dark Uchiha clan clothing, mother's long, loose black hair, father's broad but lifeless back...
"...That's...?!"
Zuo Yue's steps suddenly stopped, the intense running abruptly halting, making her dizzy.
Her breathing became incredibly rapid, each breath accompanied by an uncontrollable tremor, and the hand she was gripping Naruto with became as tight as an iron clamp.
Beads of cold sweat trickled down his pale cheeks and dripped onto the cold stone floor.
Fear, once again, overwhelmed her like the coldest tide.
She stood there, her legs feeling like lead, unable to move an inch further. She was afraid, afraid to go over and witness the outcome she couldn't bear.
Move... move faster!
She screamed inwardly, trying to control her unruly body. But the overwhelming fear made her tremble uncontrollably, every cell screaming in resistance, resisting the possibility of a utterly devastating reality.
She is afraid.
What she feared most was seeing her parents, just like the fallen members of her tribe on the way here—cold, lifeless parents who would never respond to her again.
"Dad... Mom..."
Suddenly, an unusually cold wind swept through the silent street without warning, and Zuo Yue instinctively closed her eyes as the wind blew through her.
When she opened her eyes again, trembling, her pupils began to tremble.
Not far ahead, a figure stood silently, blocking the view of her parents' fallen bodies.
Satsuki's heart leaped into her throat, pounding so hard it felt like it would shatter her ribs. The killer! This figure… could very well be the culprit who created this hellish place!
Her body reacted before she could think, and her legs staggered back two steps uncontrollably.
However, in the next instant, an instinct she herself was unaware of drove her to use her still tender and small body to protect Naruto behind her.
The figure moved.
Slowly, step by step, they emerged from the thick shadows. The cool moonlight gradually illuminated their faces.
The first thing that caught Satsuki's eye was her familiar outfit, then her long black hair cascading over her shoulders, and finally...
It was that face she knew so well, the face that even brought her a sense of security at that moment—her older sister, Uchiha Itachi's face.
"elder sister……?"
Zuo Yue almost uttered the name through sobs. Her highly tense nerves snapped like a bowstring, and a sudden release came over her. A huge wave of grievance and panic surged up like a burst dam, almost causing her to collapse.
In her frantic search for answers, she completely overlooked the fact that those usually gentle or stern black eyes were now filled with a chilling coldness she had never seen before, a coldness that could freeze one's blood.
"Sister!...Dad and Mom...and everyone...what happened...?"
Her question came to an abrupt end.
"Be careful!"
Naruto's cry of alarm rang in her ears! Almost simultaneously, a tremendous force violently slammed her to the side!
Whoosh-!
A cold, sharp light whistled past her ear.
With a muffled thud, the two crashed heavily onto the cold, hard ground. Satsuki looked up blankly and saw Naruto supporting himself above her, a strand of golden hair severed and slowly drifting down.
On his cheek near his ear, a thin bloodstain was clearly visible, with bright red blood quickly seeping out and gathering into a glaring stream that slid down his taut jawline.
"...Huh?"
Satsuki's mind went blank, her pupils unfocused as she stared at the bright red wound on Naruto's face, unable to comprehend what it was. That warm, red color, representing hurt and betrayal, was like a cold key, suddenly prying open her senses that had been shut down by fear.
She stiffly turned her head, inch by inch, her gaze passing over Naruto's shoulder and landing once again on the figure she called her older sister.
Under the moonlight, Itachi Uchiha still stood there quietly, her eyes unwavering, as calm as a bottomless, icy pool, devoid of any former warmth, only filled with an extreme coldness as if she were looking at a dead object.
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(I'm late because I wrote more content than I expected... I'm very sorry!)