Chapter 93 - 23

Chapter 23: Polygamy, Many Blessings! The Aftermath of the Clan Extermination Tragedy!Minato's eyes flickered for a moment: "Itachi deliberately avoided all vital points when he fought him in front of the shrine. He was seriously injured, but was rescued in time by the Suzaku Group's medical team. Now... he should have already rendezvoused with Shisui and the others."Naruto looked up abruptly: "Then what about Sister Izumi?""You cannot tell her." Minato's voice was resolute. "At least not now. Naruto, you must understand, Danzo's 'Root' monitors every Uchiha survivor. The grief and hatred of Izumi and Sasuke... all of this must be real. Any unusual calmness will arouse suspicion, and that would kill everyone who has already 'died'.""Including herself?" Naruto's voice trembled."Including herself." Minato nodded heavily. "So you must keep this secret. You cannot tell Izumi, you cannot tell anyone. This is to protect her, and also to protect those fifty-three lives."Naruto closed his eyes.He felt a deep sense of powerlessness; knowing the truth, yet having to watch the people he loved suffer."Dad, what exactly is 'Aoi'?" He opened his eyes and asked the question he had been wanting to ask.Minato pondered for a moment, seemingly weighing what could be said. Finally, he spoke slowly:"'Aoi', full name 'Hyuga Aoi', takes the meaning of 'Always facing the sun, with roots deep in the darkness'. On the surface, it is a special tactical unit directly under the Hokage, but its actual authority is higher than the Anbu, and it is directly responsible to the Hokage and the 'ivy project'."He held up four fingers:"It is divided into four squads. Azure Dragon, in charge of intelligence, infiltration, espionage, and counter-espionage; the squad leader is Kakashi Hatake. He is the person you saw that night.""White Tiger, in charge of assault, assassination, and high-difficulty decapitation missions; the former squad leader was Uchiha Itachi, now succeeded by Uchiha Shisui.""Suzaku, in charge of logistics, medical, transportation, technical research and development, and shelter operations; the squad leader is Yakushi Nono. You may not have heard of her, but she is Konoha's top medical Ninja and strategic logistics expert.""Genbu, in charge of defense, protection, barriers, base construction, and anti-infiltration; the squad leader is Raido Namiashi, who specializes in joint defense tactics."Naruto committed these names and functions to memory. A massive and precise shadow organization revealed the tip of the iceberg before him."Then what about you, Dad? What are you in 'Aoi'...""The nominal general manager, but in reality, more of a coordinator and Advisor. Your mother is the final boss!" Minato smiled bitterly. "After all, I am still in the public eye and cannot participate directly in too many operations. But now that Shisui has joined, the White Tiger Squad's chain of command will be more complete."Outside the window, the sky began to turn white. The pre-dawn wind blew in through the window crack, carrying a chill."I have to go." Minato stood up. "There is an emergency meeting at the Hokage Building in an hour, and I have to attend on behalf of 'Aoi'. After daybreak, Konoha will officially announce the handling results of the Uchiha incident."He walked up to Naruto, crouched down, and pressed his hands on his son's shoulders:"Naruto, now that you know these secrets, it is equivalent to carrying this weight. You might feel pain, you might feel it is unfair... but this is the path we have chosen.""Growing in the sunlight, guarding in the shadows. You and the children of the ivy project are the former, while we, 'Aoi'... are the latter."Naruto looked into his father's eyes. In those azure pupils, there was exhaustion, heaviness, but more importantly, a flame that had never been extinguished."I will become stronger, Dad." Naruto said, his voice not loud, but every word sounded like an oath. "Strong enough that one day, we won't need to hide in the shadows anymore. At that time, I will openly and honestly bring those Uchiha clan members back!"Minato smiled. It was a tired, yet hopeful smile."I believe in you."He dispelled the barrier, patted Naruto on the shoulder one last time, and turned to leave.Naruto was left alone in the living room again. He walked to the window and looked in the direction of the Uchiha compound—the flames there had already been extinguished, leaving only billowing thick smoke.But he knew that the spark had not been completely extinguished.There were fifty-three people, under the leadership of Shisui, who were on the road to a new life.And there was Itachi, the good brother who would rather sneak into the darkest organization alone, bearing the name of a traitor.And there was his father, there was Kakashi, there were all the members of 'Aoi', guarding the bright side of this Village from the shadows....Sasuke woke up in the Ninja Academy dormitory.He had a nightmare, dreaming of his brother covered in blood, dreaming of the clan compound burning. When he woke up, he found his pillow soaked.He then quickly got up and rushed towards the Uchiha house, a wave of ominous premonition surging in his heart.Fate is cruel. Not long after, he saw the scene that caused his mental breakdown: his parents dead, clan members' corpses strewn across the field...It was at this moment that a figure appeared before him."Brother?" Sasuke was stunned. "How did you...""Sasuke." Itachi interrupted him, his voice very calm. "From today on, you are alone.""What... do you mean?""I killed everyone." Itachi said, his eyes turning into the Mangekyo Sharingan. "Father, mother, clan members... all the Uchiha clan members."Sasuke's world stood still at that moment. He heard every word, but could not understand. What was his brother saying? Killed everyone? Why? This was impossible..."Why..." His voice trembled."To test my capacity." Itachi walked towards him. "Foolish little brother, if you want to kill me, then hate me, despise me. And then live uglily, until one day, when you possess the same eyes as me, come and find me."The Mangekyo Sharingan spun, and the genjutsu was activated. Sasuke saw it. He saw the way his parents died, he saw the scene of his clan members being slaughtered, he saw... his brother's cold, emotionless eyes."Ahhhhhhh! Uchiha! Itachi! I will! Kill you!" The scream echoed throughout the entire Uchihacompound.Itachi turned and left without looking back.Sasuke knelt on the ground, his hands supporting his weight on the floor, tears falling in big drops onto the floor. Hatred. He had never hated someone so much before. He had to become stronger, to kill Itachi, to avenge his clan members