Author: Okay I KNOW that I should be writing one of my other fics...but this One-shot just NEEDED to be written because...well it was stuck on my brain and I decided to write it. Lol, don't worry, I will get on the other ones soon.
WARNING: Intense Violence, if you cannot handle explicit scenes depicting death, please do not continue. I also ask that you respect my write to post and not report this fanfiction. Thank you.
That Night
By: phantomgamer01
A dry wind swept the dust off the ground through the section of Konoha known as the Uchiha territory. A tinge of cold night air made an attempt to reach his spine, but the man standing outside the gates of the famed land was far too focused to allow the shiver to take hold of him. He sighed in anticipation of the greatest he could imagine, and clutched the hilt of the sheathed sword on his back.
He shut his eyes, a random mantra running through his mind to steady his nerves, he was sure he could do this, but that still didn't take away the bit of nervousness that ran through him. It wasn't so much as what he was doing as much as it was the fact that he had finally found the ultimate way to test himself, and now was the time to see if he was truly as great as he thought he was.
"Let us see Shisui...if your sacrifice was truly in vain or not."
With another sigh, he pushed open the main gates of the complex, ignoring the guards standing as sentry. Their polite gestures were lost on his as he walked swiftly by them, he was used to such unwarranted kindness, being the "genius" of the Uchiha clan.
Creating a bunshin, he left it atop a telephone pole as sentry to warn him of any unwanted guests.
He continued to advance down the street, trying to decide exactly how to go about beginning his test, sure that everything else would follow on it's own. He walked a bit through the shallow streets, ignoring the kicking dust all around him, until he reached the center of the complex where a few personal businesses were closing down.
He heaved another sigh and pushed chakra to his eyes. In his mind he counted down the time before he began.
'...5...'
He spotted a woman near the edge of a closing stand.
'...4...'
He began to walk silently in her direction, noting the few other non-ninja Uchiha in the area.
'...3...'
He was within a few feet of the woman.
'...2...'
He stopped before her, his eyes now distant as he measured her meager chakra level.
'...1...'
He moved his hand to the hilt on the sword strapped to his back, the sound of it grasping hard of the metal against the cloth brought her attention. She turned just as Itachi's eyes went wide.
'...GO!'
With a solid soundless motion equaling the swiftness of the smallest birds, the sword was released from it's prison, glinting in the moonlight.
The woman drew a short breath before the blade sliced clean through her from shoulder to pelvis. Her eyes went wide as a last instinct as the cold metal reduced her to two, Itachi stepped back to avoid the blood spray.
He marked another presence in the area by a shocked gasp as well, and without a second thought motioned toward it, closing the short distance in the blink of an eye.
A man this time, 19 maybe, it didn't matter much as the blade went through his torso and he fell to the ground.
'The weak first to anger the strong...'
He turned towards a scream, swinging the blade to throw off the blood before advancing, holding the trailing blade behind him.
The woman was wide eyed, her scream pierced the air for a moment before the blade was stabbed into the center of her chest, clearing her back by a good few inches. Shock consumed her as she lost the ability to continue screaming. Striking hard at her throat, Itachi both finished her and released his blade.
There were a few more around him that he heard screaming and with a push off the ground, he was airborne, closing in on a random voice.
With a clean swipe, the person before him was rendered headless, and he continued over the closest figure near him, avoiding the now headless woman's life stream.
He spun his body to in mid-stride, using the momentum to cut through an elderly woman that was too near by and unfortunate to scream.
There was a younger man next to her and he brought the blade back, using enough strength to place the blade only halfway through the boy before him. He turned it slightly, ignoring the way his face twisted in anguish before wrenching it out the same way it went in. His movements were slower than he anticipated and a bit of the fountain from the elder woman splashed on his vest. He ignored it and stepped quickly to the right, closing in on the last person in the area.
With a quick slash across the chest, a middle aged man fell to his knees as the life slipped out of him.
Another quick swipe and the sword was relatively clean again, taking a quick breather and admiring the silence, he moved his foot over a small rock as he felt another presence enter the area.
"What is going on here?" A guard exclaimed.
Without a word, the tainted man focused his chakra to grab hold of the rock and turned swiftly, sending the small projectile toward the unsuspecting guard. It hit it's mark square on the man's forehead. A small trail of blood followed him as his head tilted back and Itachi pounced forward through the air, slashing through his exposed throat with his sword.
He turned his gaze towards a sudden movement in the distance as another guard sped off.
'...Now the test truly begins...'
With that he turned down a random street, his mind blank as he made it to the first house he saw.
Jumping forward, he kicked through the front door and ran inside, sensing the presences of two residents inside. Both civilian.
He turned a corner to see a startled man and woman at a table, they looked at him, saw the blood and fear overtook them.
Jumping forward, he kicked the woman in the face, effectively sending her to the nearest wall smashing her skull instantly from the sudden impact from behind. He hardly let it slide down before he turned, kicking the table into the air and striking it with an open palm to crush the other resident against the other wall. He stepped forward, thrusting the sword through and felt the man shudder as he drew his last breath.
Itachi pulled back and re-sheathed the sword before turning to head back out the house.
No sooner had he reached the street had he seen another house to enter, and in a similar fashion, he "opened" the door. He sprinted into the two story house, looking for the three presences he felt inside. Two civilian, one very low ranked Ninja.
His senses lead him up the stairs into a hallway with three doors. He kicked down the first door which held the two civilians, laying together tangled up in bed.
They looked up from their activities in utter shock as he jumped through the air. His sword was released in a flash and he impaled both lovers on the blade before a cry could be uttered. Standing on the bed he stepped on the back of the man on top to free his sword before heading out into the hallway.
He turned to search for the third when he saw a young boy, no older than his own younger brother, cowering in the hallway with a kunai clasped more tightly than necessary. His body shook with fear. Itachi breathed a small sigh before turning to the child, remaining silent as he stared through the awe struck boy who's eyes were brimming with tears.
His mind was a silent as his voice as he advanced toward the younger boy. He avoided the horribly thrown kunai that would have grazed his hip as he grabbed the boy's head in his hand and shoved his knee into his skull. There was a short yelp before the boy fell limp in his grasp.
Without a word, he turned into a room to find a window which he jumped out without a second thought.
He landed onto the ground without a sound and looked down the street at the houses he had left to enter. Sheathing his sword he headed into the next, then the next, and so on.
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He stepped out of the last house on the street he was on, his mind actually conjuring thought for the first time since he started.
'36 adult civilians...15 academy students...12 chuunin....3 infants...'
He turned his attention back towards the square, planning on returning there to go towards another street when he felt a large group of chakra coming from all around.
"Uchiha Itachi! What is the meaning of this?"
A guard, jounin it seemed entered the area first on top of another house.
Channeling chakra to his feet, he launched himself at the first intruder before the others could close in. He struck out first with an open palm for the man's face when he reached them, leaving the man little time to bring his arm to block his face. Capitalizing, he grabbed the forearm, ignoring the cry of surprise, and pulled it to the side, leaving the jounin completely unarmed. His Sharingan activated just before Itachi's other hand connected with the side of his neck, just as quickly as the comma filled eyes activated, they were returned to their blacker form.
He fell lifeless just as Itachi's feet came down on the roof.
He pushed more charka into his eyes, and some into his body to heighten his reflexes, just in time to perceive a large amount of kunai come from one side. He jumped off to the right, rolling over his shoulder as he noticed the presence of two others in his path.
He turned his head to meet their Sharingan in mid roll before palming two kunai out of a pouch in his vest. When his feet met the roof again, he propelled himself toward the two in a full body charge with his back exposed. He formed a few hand seals with a single hand, hiding the motions with his body.
The two before him noticed the change in chakra pattern but had little time to react, and chose to fill Itachi with as many kunai as they could manage in the short time, quickly lining his back with about 15 metal protrusions. No sooner had the last one made contact did the body explode into a puff of smoke, that revealed the body of the jounin that had been slain moments before.
'Kamiwari!?'
Both thought in unison as icy cold metal was plunged into the back of their necks, severing the spine and killing them both quickly.
Itachi withdrew from the bodies, leaving the kunai in place before turning to the ones who had thrown the kunai at him a moment ago. He charged forward, stepping through the field of kunai they had used, and picked two off the ground without stopping.
The two jounin who were now his targets exchanged glances at each other before nodding and jumping in two separate directions. Itachi stopped in his tracks, dropped the kunai, moved off the roof, and shot a quick glance at both of them, one after the other, noticing that they were performing the same hand seals.
His Sharingan picked through the seals as they were performed, until the technique was finished. The two ninja's didn't bother calling out the name, instead just pushed their hands forward shooting out a solid conjuration of lightning.
Wasting no time, Itachi braced himself as he performed his own seals, using the flash of the lightning to keep the others from seeing his jutsu. As the last seal finished, walls of clay from beneath him shot up, encasing him and shielding him from the blasts in the knick of time. With that, he summoned his chakra and teleported out of the walls which began to crumble, reappearing behind one of his opponents while still in mid-air.
His hands moved busily through the seals, finishing just as the jounin managed to turn in midair. He pushed his hands forward and grabbed onto the vest of his opponent sending the same kind of electricity straight into his target. The body heated up in seconds until it was almost scalding as it began to convulse and spasm.
He let go of the nearly flaming corpse and landed on a roof, eyeing the other ninja from across the street on another roof. Their Sharingan met for a moment before jumping at one another to meet in midair. The jounin brought two kunai out as Itachi drew his sword, they met and crossed, the sound of slashing through the cold air and blades hitting blades rung in the immediate area, before the two passed on unscathed. While the jounin checked himself for injury, Itachi slid a kunai out and swiftly threw it behind him.
He moved down to the street, ignoring the sound of the kunai embedding itself in the jounin's chest.
He felt more chakra gather around him before he pushed his Sharingan up one more notch, at the limit of it's ability without transforming. He stood still as 15 jounin surrounded him, being headed by one that he recognized among the ANBU ranks.
Neither said a word, the ANBU merely gave a signal and the jounin attacked.
Itachi clutched his blade tightly in his hands before crouching down. It was only a moment before there was a ring of ninja closely surrounding him.
He stepped to the left to avoid a kick for his head, then ducked under another kick from another opponent. His senses pricked as he felt chakra being molded behind him, he paid it a hint of attention before stepping in to avoid a punch from the nearest jounin. He took the chance and grabbed at the arm at both the wrist and tricep, turned his body, and threw the jounin in the direction of the molding chakra without at second glance. He counted four grunts and felt the chakra diminish as he avoided another punch.
Ducking under butterfly kick, he noticed a slight sound coming from behind. On sound alone, he managed to identify the position of the flying kunai aimed at the back of his neck. He turned a bit and grabbed the hilt of his sword, after a moment of waiting, he began to draw it, deflecting the kunai with the action.
He spun, making it to his feet as he drew his sword, kicking the kunai into the chest of a random jounin. Idly, he noted that the four from before had gotten back to their feet and were joining the circle. He slashed widely, once and then a second time on the opposite side, feeling the blade cut across flesh and hearing pained cries.
He avoided another kick from behind by dropping to his stomach, then countered with a very acrobatic spin along the ground, sweeping the blade along the ankles of the crowd around him, causing them to step back. Using the moment, he jumped up into the air, performing a slow back flip at the height of the jump.
He hid a set of seals from his single hand as he continued to the flip. A few of the jounin had decided to follow him into the air, hoping to catch him before he could make an escape. They noticed the change in his chakra, but attempted to reach him before he completed his jutsu. The smartest of them threw a kunai to reach him in time.
Their efforts were in vain however, as Itachi met the mid-point of his back flip, he brought his hand to his mouth while completely upside down. Out of his mouth came a pillar of fire that all at once stopped the kunai and engulfed all the jounin in both the air and on the ground.
The lone ANBU member there had risen his eye in shock as he saw the scene.
'The Katon: Ryuha? With one hand? How can he be so...'
His thoughts were cut off when Itachi sent him a glare, bringing his free hand up to form the teleporting seal.
The ANBU member reacted quickly enough, managing to get a kunai out in time to block as a puff of smoke appeared in front of him and Itachi materialized, his blade against the kunai.
Itachi pushed the blade upwards, causing the ANBU to stumble back as his kunai and arm were lifted above his head. He barely managed to retrieve another kunai with his free hand and bring it up to block as the sword came back down. He stepped back to put some distance between the two, not sure if he wanted to go on the offensive.
Fearfilled Sharingan met empty ones for a moment before Itachi took off towards him, dragging the blade behind him. The ANBU watched him close the distance between them, and stared straight into his opponents eyes while in a defensive stance. He watched him close the distance until they were no more than 5 feet apart.
Then one Itachi became two, and went in separate directions to surround the ANBU from either side, slowly fading into the night sky.
The ANBU's eyes went wide as realization hit him, he turned behind him, throwing the kunai into the air at the flying form of Itachi, black against the full moon's light.
'Dance to the Crescent Moon...he knows that too?'
The kunai sped towards the flying ninja, yet he didn't move to avoid it. Instead, he let the kunai bury itself in his chest before quickly becoming a log instead. The ANBU didn't even have time to draw a quick breath of surprise before a cold blade slid into his back and out his chest.
His Sharingan eyes fell lifelessly black a Itachi pulled the blade out, looking over and surveying the area. It seemed that was all for now.
Without a word he turned to the next street, to continue with his test.
===============================================================
It had been three full streets of houses since he had tussled with the jounin and the ANBU member, curiosity picked at the Uchiha as the count continued in his mind.
'55 adult civilians...78 adult chuunin...28 adult jounin...24 academy students...13 genin...12 teen chuunin...23 infants...'
He focused a minute to rid himself of the faces that were becoming harder and harder to ignore in his mind.
This was the last street, and at the end was his own house. His muscles were beginning to ache as he was starting to feel the end of his chakra pool coming soon.
He took a step towards the first house when it opened for him. Three figures stepped out, Sharingan bright red, and anger and fury on their faces.
Itachi breathed a sigh of annoyance as he recognized them.
"We knew something was wrong with you..."
"Yeah...We should've done something earlier, I can't believe you would do all this."
"What, killing Shisui wasn't enough!? What, do you expect to wipe out the whole clan?"
They noticed for an instant that Itachi's eyes changed again...the commas now stretching to the edges of his eyes in that creepy way they had only seen once before. Then he was gone, replaced by a single word they heard behind them and the sheathing of a sword.
"Exactly..." For the first time since everything began, Uchiha Itachi muttered words that pierced the still air more effectively than his sword ever could.
A rush of confusion hit each Uchiha behind him before wounds on their stomachs and torsos blew open spraying blood on the street before them. Their eyes turned black as the life faded from them, without another word or a second thought, Itachi made his way into the house he was standing at.
He stepped in, turning a corner and found himself in a kitchen, three bodies huddled up in the corner and shaking with fright. Measuring their chakra, he judged them all to be civilian.
He lacked the desire to kill them with the sword, not wishing anymore horror struck faces pleading for mercy to be etched into his skull. He turned his back, slipped his hand into his shuriken pocket and retrieved three. He walked back towards the door to the kitchen, pausing only to toss the shuriken over his back. He continued moving, seemingly unfazed by the short yelps of agony before a family of three fell lifeless.
The casualty count fresh in his mind as the last look he saw on their faces appeared in his mind, even though he hadn't watched them die, he knew how it would've looked. He didn't even spare himself a sigh as he moved on to the next house.
Crossing the street, he stopped midway when he felt the strong presences of nearly 15 ANBU warriors surrounding him on the roofs.
"Uchiha Itachi...this is unforgivable. Prepare to die!"
A voice rang out as the obvious commanding officer. With a silent command, every ANBU jumped from the roofs at once, all aiming for the single spot in which Uchiha Itachi stood.
Without even acknowledging them other than his hand tensing on the hilt of his sword, Itachi moved his free hand to another pocket to firmly grasp a smoke bomb. Pulling it out and holding it tightly, he counted down until the moment to use it, the flying figures coming from all sides, most preparing to come with taijutsu, few beginning to form seals.
As they closed in, Itachi threw the bomb down, becoming suddenly active as the area and all the ANBU were covered in a thick shroud of smoke.
Nearby villagers huddled in their houses that were ninja could identify the sounds of a sword ringing through the air and painful cries, those who knew of Uchiha Itachi, knew who was doing the slashing and who was dong the screaming. Hope was lost in those who understood as the last line of the Uchiha's defense fell before the lone prodigy.
The smoke cleared and Itachi took the moment to take in deep breaths of clean air, his chakra beginning to wane as his Mangekyou Sharingan returned to its normal level. His knuckles were beginning to hurt from clutching the sword so tightly, but other than that he remained unscathed...unharmed...untouched.
Taking in a few breaths, he turned towards the house he planned to enter, stepping over the recently deceased bodies, ignoring when one hand reached up to grab his ankle as the last ANBU finally died. He kicked his leg, shaking off the hand before he continued onward.
===============================================================
He stood now before the last place he knew to enter...the last place he was going to go into. He exhaled deeply, sheathing his blade and shaking off his abused knuckles. He pushed the door open and stepped silently into his home.
He didn't need to walk far, rounding a turns before he found himself in the kitchen, his mom sitting at the table with her elbows propping her hands up, her head resting on both wrists.
She didn't look up to acknowledge him, and even though he was soundless in his entry, she still knew he was there.
"The ANBU told us to take cover and hide in our houses..."
Her voice was shaking, she still wouldn't look up at him. Itachi remained expressionless as he stood in the doorway, the haunting visions now quiet.
"They said...that you had gone on a killing spree...that you were just murdering people...with no apparent cause..."
She looked up, her eyes swollen from shed tears. Her face was completely red and fresh tears were beginning to run down her face.
"...It's true isn't it? You...you did just go...and...Why!? Why Itachi?!"
He continued to be silent, his Sharingan focused on her and not through her, a pleasantry most were not given.
"I don't understand Itachi..."
She stood up slowly, her hands came together clumsily in the first hand seal of the only technique she remembered.
"I...can't stop you...but I won't let you just come in here and kill us too for no reason...not without doing something..."
While talking, she messed up the order of the seals and began to start all over again. Her eyes were becoming focused as she shakily started work again.
"Mother...don't..."
Itachi's voice was still cold, colder than he thought it would be, but he didn't care much. It would be wrong to way he didn't love his mother in some way, but there were things much more important than maternal ties.
She didn't stop going through the seals, but she did mess up a second time, grunting a little before starting again. Her eyes fell to her hands as she went to concentrate...an academy student level mistake.
But for all this, Itachi just stood there watching. Killing this Uchiha would probably be the one hardest to kill, she was the one that was going to die that had actually cared about him as a person...but she was an Uchiha. Just like the boy in the hallway...just like the couple in bed...just like the woman in the manor center...they were Uchiha, that was all that mattered.
She finally completed the seals before bringing the her shaking right hand up to her mouth and taking in a deep breath.
Her eyes quivered and began to tear as she breathed out a blazing ball of fire that immediately engulfed the entire room with the flames, yet amazingly, nothing managed to catch fire.
Itachi shut his eyes as he molded his chakra effortlessly to cover his body and protect him from the Katon: Goukyaku.
He stepped forward, feeling his mother's strain as she pushed with all her might, but to no avail. There was no way that this level of fire could hurt him, they both knew it.
He continued to walk until he finally was close enough to touch her, reaching out his hand, he grabbed the hand in front of her face. The sudden scare made her stop her breath and with it, the Katon stopped.
"Its been years since you left the chuunin ranks to become a housewife mother..."
He drew his blade quickly to avoid making his mother wait for her death.
"This level of fire can not hurt me..."
He plunged the blade into her gut as he finished his words. Twin tears fell down her face as her fear was realized. She coughed a bit, her body shuddering at the intrusion that had somehow managed to stay cold despite the countless bodies it cut through. Her eyes began to lose focus as she leaned in, her hand becoming free from Itachi's grip.
Using her free hand, she placed it softly against her eldest son's cheek, her body warmth against his for the last time.
She breathed out one last word, utilizing most of her fleeting strength.
"Why...my son?"
"You could never understand mother..."
With those emotionless words, the murderous Uchiha twisted the blade in his own mother's stomach. His face remained passive as he tried to ignore the last look of agony she experienced before her face relaxed for the last time.
He stood there for only a moment before grunting and removing the still cold blade, it rang through the silent air for only a moment.
He put a firm hold on his mother's torso, and held her at his side as he turned back to the main hallway to the house, the one that led to the practice room that his father was sure to be in.
He slowly made his way, the floor still completely quiet underneath him, never creaking at all nor making the slightest sound, even without the aid of his stealth. It was a short distance to the door that he found himself before, he reached out a hand to touch it when it stopped.
His expression stayed solemn as a new bit of information hit him.
His bunshin had spotted Sasuke...
He pushed the door open in more haste than he intended to, to find his father sitting on his knees in the middle of the room, eyes shut in meditation. He was facing the opposite wall, not moving, even though he was well aware of what had just happened at what was happening.
Itachi flung the body of his mother so that it slid along he floor, coming to a stop just before touching the meditating man before him.
There was a long, deep breath from the aged Uchiha before him.
"The clan...your mother...You've killed them...you intend to kill me too...and Sasuke...but why?"
Straight to the point.
"No...Sasuke shall live..."
"Hmmm?"
He groaned a bit in calm shock.
"Why him? Why Sasuke and no one else?"
"Because everything I did here was simply for my greatest test..."
"Your greatest test?"
"Sasuke has the power within him to achieve the Mangekyou Sharingan...to be my greatest opponent...to be the ultimate test of my vessel."
"Really? You believe that Sasuke really has such potential?"
Itachi was silent, but his agreement was obvious, even without looking at him.
"While I agree that Sasuke has some potential...he is not nearly at your level...nor do I believe that he will ever be. It took him a whole day to master the Katon, and he is still an academy student at his age. He is far beyond others...but he will not be able to match you..."
"No...your wrong. Sasuke has the potential...he just needs the reason to bring it out. That is why I have done everything I have done tonight...to push Sasuke to the brink of madness, so that he will unleash a fury that will take everything I have to defeat. That is the sole reason that I am here right now...I will test my vessel in it's fullest...even if it takes some time."
"I guess that is to be expected...he is afterall, my son..."
"If anything...you aren't worthy to be called his...or my father."
His father's body visibly tensed at the comment. He turned himself completely around, still sitting on his knees, but looking up past the body of his wife.
"Do not mock me, it is my blood that runs through your veins that gives you that damnable eye."
"I wouldn't be surprised if it was mother's blood that gave us the Mangekyou..."
"You...you ingrate!"
He was shouting, very much unlike a meditating Uchiha father. Itachi would've smiled if capable at the moment.
He felt a prick in the back of his mind as Sasuke came close to the entrance of the house.
"It is time to die father...rest in peace."
His father's eyes went wide for a moment he was cut open in five different vital points, his blood oozing out as he fell over the corpse of his wife. He wasn't dead yet, but he was dying, that he knew.
Itachi sheathed his sword quietly before taking a moment to breathe again. Relishing the moment before he muttered words again.
"Sasuke...don't come in here..."