Chapter 377 - 62

Chapter 62: FratricideAs soon as Uchiha Itachi finished speaking, he rushed towards Sasuke. Sasuke had not expected his brother to be so fast; by now, it was too late to dodge, so he could only cross his arms in front of him, attempting to block the attack.However, the immense force sent him flying backward. Uchiha Itachi had no intention of stopping; he flashed behind Sasuke, grabbed him by the neck, and lifted him up.Sasuke struggled fiercely, but because he had no leverage, his efforts were in vain despite using all his strength. Seeing that Sasuke could barely breathe and was on the verge of losing consciousness, Uchiha Itachi slammed him hard onto the ground.Uchiha Itachi pulled up the katana that had been stuck in the ground, walked slowly in front of Sasuke, and said coldly: "My foolish brother! Your short life ends here. Go down and keep Mom and Dad company!"As he spoke, he raised his blade and thrust it downwards. At this critical moment, a figure suddenly appeared and blocked the path in front of Sasuke. Holding two Kunai, he blocked the attack—it was Uzumaki Naruto!He had been saved, but after seeing who it was, Sasuke felt no joy at all. Instead, he shouted anxiously: "Naruto, hurry and leave! You are no match for him!"Naruto turned his head to look at Sasuke, smiled, and said: "We won't know until we fight. Besides, even if I'm no match for him, I cannot just watch you be killed and run away on my own."As he spoke, Uchiha Itachi quickly retreated. Afterward, he and Naruto exchanged a few more rapid strikes before standing apart on opposite sides.Uchiha Itachi sheathed his katana and said slowly: "Your talent is not bad. Once you grow up, you should be a very good measuring vessel.Sasuke, I have changed my mind. I will spare you both for today. I hope you will hate me as a hateful memory and make surpassing and killing me the goal of your life.By the way, before that, you need to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan. Do you know how to awaken it? It requires killing your closest friend, just like I did."It was obvious that Uchiha Itachi was lying to his brother, but Sasuke did not know this. He asked in shock: "Brother... are you saying that you killed Shisui?"Uchiha Itachi did not answer him but continued: "Heh, if you want to surpass me, you will definitely walk down this path too. That person is standing right next to you, isn't he?"Upon hearing this, Sasuke clenched his fists and shouted loudly at Uchiha Itachi: "That won't happen! I am not like you; I will not do anything to harm my friend for the sake of that so-called power!""Hahahaha, my foolish brother! When will you stop being so naive?" Uchiha Itachi began to laugh loudly as if he had heard something funny. Suddenly, his laughter stopped, and he turned to look at Naruto, asking: "Naruto, what would you choose?"After speaking, Uchiha Itachi burst into action instantly, with speed too fast for the naked eye to follow. "Ah!" A scream from Naruto followed. By the time Uchiha Itachi stood back in his original position, Sasuke looked with difficulty at Narutobeside him and discovered that his eyes were bleeding continuously—they had actually been taken by Uchiha Itachi."Naruto!" Sasuke screamed frantically and collapsed onto the ground. At this moment, UchihaItachi threw something towards him.Sasuke looked closely; it was a small bottle containing, surprisingly, a pair of Sharingan!Then, Uchiha Itachi turned around to leave. As he walked, he said: "Sasuke, these are Shisui's eyes, which possess extremely powerful abilities.I will use this to test the friendship you speak of! Will you, for the sake of power, disregard your friend and transplant these eyes yourself?Or perhaps... after Naruto transplants these eyes, will he kill you to obtain stronger ocular power..."Having said that, Uchiha Itachi turned his head slightly to take one last look at Sasuke, after which he transformed into a flock of crows and dissipated into the night sky.Sasuke had no time to think; he stood up with all his might, laboriously carried the unconscious Naruto on his back, and began to walk toward his home. Not long after they left, members of Root arrived first.Uchiha Itachi arrived at Hiruzen's place immediately. This time, he did not kneel on one knee as usual. Upon noticing his arrival, Hiruzensaid: "First, I must thank you. In this way, the Village has avoided a civil war, and the peace of the Village has been preserved.However, even now, I still regret that I could not find any other way to resolve this matter."Uchiha Itachi replied without any personal emotion: "I am sorry."Hiruzen: "I am the one who should apologize. From now on, Konoha will regard you as a rogue Ninjawho slaughtered your own clan. You will be placed on the wanted list and pursued, with orders to kill on sight."Uchiha Itachi: "That is only natural."Hiruzen turned his face slightly and looked at Uchiha Itachi from the corner of his eye, asking: "Then what do you plan to do from now on?"Uchiha Itachi: "I found someone who claims to be from the Akatsuki Organization to help, and he has promised me that he will not attack the Village in the future. I will follow him and join the Akatsuki Organization to ensure he does not break his oath.But before that, I hope Hiruzen-sama can help me protect and take good care of my brother, and not let him be harmed by Danzo."Hiruzen nodded: "Rest assured! Sasuke will be left to me. I will do my utmost to protect him and provide him with a good environment to grow up in."After Uchiha Itachi left, Hiruzen arranged for Anbumembers to hurry to the Uchiha Clan compound to seal off the scene and collect the bodies of the Uchiha Clan, ensuring that the number was counted and they were handled properly.Hiruzen and Danzo met outside the Uchiha Clancompound, though one was walking in and the other had just come out. Hiruzen looked at Danzocoldly and asked: "Are you satisfied with this result? Is this the 'once and for all' method you spoke of? The coup has been resolved, but with so many innocent people dead because of it, does this not count as the Village bleeding?Remember this, one of the founding families of the Village has been completely wiped out like this. The blow this deals to us is by no means just what we can see right now! You had better reflect on your actions!"After speaking, Hiruzen did not give the other person a chance to speak and turned to leave immediately. Watching him, Danzo actually laughed out loud and said to his subordinate nearby: "He really hasn't changed a bit. Even though he himself had no solution at all, it was I who cleaned up his mess and resolved this matter perfectly.In the end, after it was done, he still had to put on a hypocritical display of compassion; it really makes me sick! I really don't understand why Nidaime(2nd)-sama liked that about him?"