Night of the Clan Massacre (2) Please Vote

Crash!

The door was pulled open, and Uchiha Fugaku, Yashiro Tekka, and the others walked out of the house, just in time to see Uchiha Itachi changing his shoes in the entryway.

Beside them, Uchiha Mikoto was flusteredly gathering the teacups that had fallen onto the floor. When she heard that the Military Police Force clansmen intended to deal with her son, panic had made her lose her grip on the cup, causing it to fall.

And now she had happened to see Itachi returning. Mikoto did not know what to do for a moment. She had left the ninja profession more than ten years ago and was now merely an ordinary housewife.

"Father, are you discussing something?"

Seeing the number of people behind Fugaku, Uchiha Itachi nodded slightly in greeting and spoke slowly. At the sight of them, a faint chill surfaced in his eyes, though he concealed it well enough that no one noticed.

"Itachi, there’s something I need to ask you." Uchiha Fugaku sighed, staring intently at this son who felt so unfamiliar to him. "Did you go to the Military Police Force these past two days? You’ve never gone there before. Why did you go? Was there something you needed?"

Uchiha Itachi glanced at Uchiha Tekka and the others before answering calmly, "I wanted to learn about Shisui, Father."

"Nothing else?"

Uchiha Itachi replied impassively, "Senior Inabi, I don’t know what you mean."

"You know—"

"Inabi!" Uchiha Tekka shouted, stopping the impulsive Inabi.

The Uchiha Clan revered strength. Tekka, who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, was already enough to win the trust of the other five. Even Uchiha Yashiro, the oldest among them, was no exception. Within the Uchiha Clan, the Mangekyō was the command of the strong.

Uchiha Tekka stared at Uchiha Itachi and said, "Itachi, you’re an Anbu squad member. With that status, it shouldn’t be difficult for you to act against the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, right? If we can control the Nine-Tails, the chances of the coup d’état succeeding will rise considerably. As a member of the Uchiha Clan, you wouldn’t refuse, would you?"

Upon hearing that, Uchiha Itachi shook his head. "The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki has many guards around him. It would be difficult to make a move."

"No matter how many guards there are, can there be more than the Uchiha Clan?!"

Uchiha Tekka raised his voice slightly, pressing him step by step. "You’ve never attended a clan meeting, and you refuse every clan assignment. Uchiha Itachi, you use the clan’s Great Fireball Technique and shuriken throwing techniques, bear the Three-Tomoe Sharingan in your eyes, yet you—"

"Tekka!!"

Uchiha Fugaku suddenly shouted. His expression was somewhat unpleasant as he turned to the others and said, "Please, leave this matter to me."

"Clan head, the plan is about to begin. Are you still going to keep an unstable factor at your side?!"

Uchiha Tekka thought of Yasunori Sakai, who had come rushing to meet him after receiving his invitation and placing his trust in him, only to die because of a clansman’s betrayal. And now, with the uprising imminent, Uchiha Fugaku still did not intend to deal with Itachi. Was he disregarding the safety of the other clansmen simply because Itachi was his own son?

If Uchiha Itachi truly was a spy, allowing him to move freely would pose an enormous threat to the entire clan.

"No, we still haven’t gotten to the bottom of this. Leave it to me." Uchiha Fugaku pleaded once more, but this time, neither Inabi nor Yashiro intended to obey Uchiha Fugaku’s orders again.

Shisui had said the same thing last time. Yet when they went out a few days later, they had encountered an attack from Root. If they did not eliminate unstable factors, they might not even be able to carry out the coup d’état in peace.

"Clan head!" Hearing Fugaku say that, not only Uchiha Tekka, but even the normally steady Yashiro could not help feeling anger rise within him.

Even without evidence, was he unwilling to detain Uchiha Itachi based on his suspicious behavior? They were not trying to take his life. He would only lose his freedom for a few days.

"This time, listen to me!"

After saying that, Uchiha Fugaku raised his head and opened his eyes again. The Three-Tomoe in his pupils transformed into shuriken-shaped Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Mangekyō…"

When Tekka and the others saw Fugaku’s Sharingan, their momentum weakened somewhat. As clan head and the wielder of such a Mangekyō Sharingan, Fugaku reminded Yashiro, Inabi, and the others of all he had done in the past. Their urge to force clan head Fugaku into making a decision diminished somewhat.

However, Tekka’s resolve had never changed. If he found proof that Uchiha Itachi had tipped off Root, he would definitely kill Uchiha Itachi.

Yashiro and the others looked toward Tekka. Tekka, who also possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, was the only one who could stand on equal footing with the clan head.

"I hope you won’t disappoint the clansmen, clan head. Otherwise…"

Uchiha Tekka gave Uchiha Fugaku a long look. Not long ago, he had still been Uchiha Fugaku’s trusted subordinate, but as time passed, he had become increasingly disappointed with the clan head’s actions.

By now, Uchiha Tekka no longer held even the slightest hope for Uchiha Fugaku.

The uprising was imminent, yet Fugaku had concealed the fact that he possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan. If not for Uchiha Itachi, the clansmen probably would never have known.

Tekka had originally intended to tell Uchiha Fugaku that he, too, had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, but now he had no desire to do so at all.

After leaving those words behind, Uchiha Tekka left Uchiha Fugaku’s home. The others followed him out as well.

Only then did Uchiha Fugaku realize that he, as clan head, had almost no authority left.

A coup d’état… Uchiha Fugaku suddenly felt that the chances of success were incredibly slim. Even if they followed the plan they had prepared in advance, the odds were not high.

But the arrow was already on the string. This was no longer something he could simply cancel with a word. As for the Uchiha rebellion, perhaps all of Konoha did not know about it yet, but at least some well-informed ninja clans had noticed something. They simply did not dare be certain.

But the Konoha higher-ups definitely knew the truth. There was only one path left for both sides: war. If the Uchiha did not act, it would be no different from stretching out their necks for the Konoha higher-ups to chop off.

"Itachi—"

"Father, Mother, I’m exhausted from my mission. I’ll go upstairs and rest first."

Uchiha Itachi went straight upstairs before Fugaku could finish. Seeing Itachi like this, Uchiha Fugaku frowned deeply. He, too, began to feel that he might have done something wrong.

"What is this? Why is it so ugly?"

Sasori of the Red Sand frowned slightly as he asked Hyuga Mirai. Was he supposed to take this thing to pick someone up? Was that not an insult to Sasori of the Red Sand’s sense of aesthetics?

"An Anti-gravity Airship. It’s difficult to build, and with the limited time available, I could only sacrifice some artistic appeal…"

Hyuga Mirai waved a hand as he spoke to Sasori of the Red Sand. Anti-gravity Airships were difficult to manufacture. Both the materials and fuel required many substitutes. With time so tight, he could only prioritize load capacity and mobility.

"What if I run into people trying to stop me?"

"Handle them however you want!"

Hyuga Mirai smiled and drew a hand across his throat, indicating that Sasori of the Red Sand could act without restraint.

War did not endanger civilians, much less the elderly and weak. The actions of Root and Uchiha Itachi had already become somewhat frenzied and inhumane.

"Then I’m relieved." Sasori of the Red Sand smiled upon hearing that. He was afraid of having his hands tied. The puppet art he created could only be displayed to its fullest through killing. If he had to hold back whenever he met resistance, Sasori would rather push this task onto someone else.

"You’re going too this time?"

Hyuga Mirai nodded and said, "Yes. Once we’re outside Konoha, I’ll split up with you."

At that point, Hyuga Mirai paused. He saw the longing in Uzumaki Ayaka’s eyes, but this time he shook his head, signaling that he did not intend to take her with him.

It would be better for her to remain at the base and continue training. The Spirit Transformation Clone Technique had only just begun to show progress, and Sage Art was not even on the agenda yet. Uzumaki Ayaka still had plenty of room to improve. Besides, he would only be gone for a day or two, so there was no need for her to come along.

Sasori of the Red Sand tilted his head and asked, "This hasn’t even had a test flight yet, has it? When are we leaving?"

"We’ll leave shortly. Simulated flight won’t be a problem, but as for the test flight…" Hyuga Mirai smiled awkwardly at Sasori of the Red Sand. "I’ll have to leave that to you."

"You… really are unreliable!" After a pause, Sasori of the Red Sand spat out those words.

After saying that, Sasori of the Red Sand turned the Anti-gravity Airship back into a Space Capsule, picked it up, and went outside to test-fly it.

Though it was called a test flight, he was actually heading directly toward the Land of Fire.

Sasori of the Red Sand only needed to pick the person up at the designated location to complete the mission. If anyone tried to stop him, he could kill them all.

The Anti-gravity Airship was not very fast, not even as fast as a ninja running at full speed. After testing it for a while, Sasori of the Red Sand stored the airship away and used puppets to carry him toward the Land of Fire.

There were only a few hours left until the appointed time. If he did not use puppets to travel, he would not make it in time.

After Pakura and her group returned to Sunagakure, they immediately summoned the Federation higher-ups remaining in the village and announced that they would go to war with Konoha.

At first, the Federation higher-ups were somewhat astonished. They did not understand why Pakura had gone out only briefly, then returned and declared war on Konoha.

But after learning that the Kazekage’s Assistant had been murdered by Konoha’s Root, most of them showed grief and indignation.

Setting factions aside, every ninja in the Federation had a favorable impression of Yasunori Sakai. Though the Federation had only been established recently, Yasunori Sakai’s actions had already earned the deep respect of even the Stubborn Faction from the former Sunagakure.

That was also one of the reasons why so few had opposed Pakura when she appointed Yasunori Sakai as Kazekage’s Assistant.

Now that this had happened, almost no one opposed Pakura’s decision. The few who suggested resolving the matter through negotiation were immediately shouted down.

They had yet to settle accounts with Konoha over the two noble families in the River Country. Now the Kazekage’s Assistant had been murdered by Root. If the Federation remained silent again, they might as well disband outright.

Declaring war on Konoha was no small matter, but with the Federation united from top to bottom, it did not take long to determine the ninja troop and its commanders. Under Elder Yasunori’s coordination, logistics and the second reinforcement unit were also being arranged.