Kagami and Uchiha Rinne snapped their heads toward the sound, their eyes locking onto the half-open door, pupils constricting in the dim light. The faint moonlight was just enough to trace the silhouette of a young man standing there—his posture was tall and straight, but he was cloaked in a chilling, dark aura. The long blade in his hand shimred with a cold, silver light. Each drop of blood that slid from its tip fell like a silent punctuation mark in the heavy air, a testant to the carnage he left in his wake.
It was Uchiha Itachi, and he had carved a path of death to their doorstep.
Behind him, the midwife's body lay crumpled like a discarded doll, a pool of blood blooming around her like crimson spider lilies, staining the ground a horrifying red.
"Itachi… why?" Uchiha Rinne's hand flew to her mouth, stifling a gasp. Her eyes, wide with disbelief, filled with a torrent of shock and grief. She trembled, unable to reconcile this monstrous act with the gentle Itachi she knew. The itachi she once fed with her own hands.
Kagami, however, was frozen in shock. His face went pale, his fists clenching so tightly his knuckles turned white. He had always known this day would co, but seeing the massacre unfold before his eyes sent a chilling cocktail of fear and fury through him. The Night of the Massacre had begun, and the young man before him was the grim architect of its destruction.
"Damn it, it's really tonight," Kagami thought frantically. "System, integrate the template now!" He commanded it in his mind the instant he saw Itachi. Despite the shock, Kagami forced a semblance of calm. He prayed the system would be fast enough. Otherwise, his family would be cut down by that fool, Itachi. Without the power of the Ryon Sukuna template, they stood no chance.
His mind raced, desperately searching for a way to buy ti for the system to complete the integration. The process only took a few seconds, but against an opponent like Itachi, who could strike in an instant, every fraction of a second was a lifeti. These precious monts would determine whether his family lived or died. The air, thick with the tallic tang of blood and suffocating tension, seed to stretch each passing second into an eternity.
Uchiha Itachi took a slow step forward, the sound of his footfall echoing the frantic rhythm of their hearts. His presence radiated death, laying bare the unavoidable, grim fate that stood before Kagami.
Kagami forced himself to stay composed, schooling his features into a look of pained disbelief. "Itachi," he said, his voice steady despite the turmoil inside him. "I never thought you, of all people, would do sothing like this."
A cool, uneasy wind swept between them, rustling Itachi's bangs and carrying with it a whisper of regret. Itachi had intended to end it quickly. But hearing Kagami's words, he paused. Perhaps it was his supre confidence, or the fact he didn't see this broken family as a threat, but a bitter expression crossed his face.
His gaze was piercing, seeming to cut through the shadows and read every flicker of emotion on their faces. "Kagami san" he said, his voice laced with a complex sorrow, "if the clan had only listened to you back then, perhaps it wouldn't have co to this. But now... it's too late for everything."
Kagami had once proposed many paths for the Uchiha, but they had all been dismissed with arrogance and disdain—by everyone, including Itachi, who was just following his father's orders at that ti but he was actually acting as a double spy for hokage. Now, standing amidst the ruin of his own making, Itachi realized they had been as arrogant and foolish as Kagami had warned. He felt a pang of regret for not supporting Kagami's ideas, for simply watching from the sidelines as his clan marched toward this self-inflicted doom.
Across from him, Kagami's heart was a block of ice. He felt nothing for Itachi's regret. He had given up on the Uchiha Clan long ago. Their fate was sealed by their own pride. All he cared about now was Rinne and their child. And it was that singular focus that gave him the clarity to continue his desperate ploy for ti. He was banking on the faint impression he'd once left on Itachi, hoping it was enough to buy him the seconds he needed.
Kagami summoned every ounce of his composure, forcing a bitter, complex smile to his lips—a mask for the storm of emotions raging within. He had to stall him sohow to buy that few monts.
"Itachi," he began, his voice low and hoarse, each word heavy with unspoken grief. "Is this really worth it?"
In the dim lamplight, Itachi's figure seed utterly solitary. He lowered his head, his bangs hiding eyes that wavered between confusion and grief. His fingers trembled before clenching into fists, the white knuckles revealing the fierce battle raging within him.
Finally, the struggle resolved into a grim certainty. He looked up, a flicker of undeniable determination hardening his gaze. "I don't want this either!" he declared, as much to himself as to the world. "But the Uchiha had beco a threat hanging over Konoha. I have no choice but to sever it myself, even if it ans bearing all the hatred and pain that cos with it."
"Peace?" Kagami scoffed internally. "As long as Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi are in power, there will never be peace." Itachi's words filled him with nothing but disdain and mockery. The Uchiha's downfall wasn't their fault alone. The true cause lay with Danzo's covert machinations and Hiruzen's deliberate inaction.
Suddenly, a spark ignited in Kagami's eyes, and a slow, dangerous smile spread across his lips. In that instant, the Ryon Sukuna template finished integrating with his child. A flood of unimaginable power—ten tis the strength of the King of Curses—surged through him. The ti for gas was over. He hadn't yet mastered this new power, nor did he have the combat experience to wield it perfectly, but he knew one thing for certain: against Uchiha Itachi, it would be more than enough.
With this newfound confidence, Kagami dropped the facade. His gaze sharpened, becoming as predatory as an eagle's. A cold sneer replaced his pained expression, laced with deep sarcasm and utter contempt.
"Itachi, do you really believe that sacrificing your own family can bring peace?" he taunted. "You are not just wrong. You are a fool."
"You've been played by the hypocritical Third Hokage. He simply used you as a weapon to eliminate the Uchiha and solidify his own power." Kagami's face was a mask of disappointnt, and he drove each word ho like a hamr blow to Itachi's soul.
"Itachi, you were ant to be the pride of the Uchiha," Kagami continued, his voice dripping with ice, each word a shard plunging into Itachi's heart. "Instead, you chose to beco a pawn for hypocrites. You betrayed your family, your people, your honor. You are a disgrace."
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