Made of bronze and naked, carrying his infinite power from his heart that burns with the fire of will, with his exuberant and glorious muscles rises a statue and finds itself a place in the Uchiha compound. Tomoe have been ingrained on his eyes. They look down upon a corpse.
The statue's mighty arm extends, confidently leaning on the odachi dug onto the ground. Under the overwhelming power of his right foot lays the enemy ninja.
The main avenue of the compound. A night as merciless, cold and sharp as ice.
Shop stands lazily set row by row by the silken windows of the residences. Men sitting down by the stands, drinking tea, chitchatting with their friends, snacking on freshly baked biscuits. Some dragged on their tobacco pipes, pulling the blue-tinged smoke into their lungs and exhaling it for once.
This was a compound that was lively no matter the hour.
A few weeks had remained before the coup d'etat. Each Uchiha had to be home or on the streets of the compound, it was ordered by the leader of their clan. Fugaku Uchiha. Everyone had to be busy, no matter what they were doing, as long as the Hokage would not be suspicious of them, they could do anything and everything.
The time had come. He was prepared. Soon, so would he join in the massacre.
A young male with silky black hair pulled hops off a pole and down onto the street, the leather of his sandals crunching as he landed on the cobble-laid streets. The crimson red of his eyes appeared, and the tomoe spun hypnotically. One by one. He swept out their lives into the void with the Herculean broom.
Death came unexpected. Corpses laid on the street, some had their heads chopped off...
The heads rolled on the ground.
Some had a tanto dig through their internal organs.
It spilled over the floor.
Kunai sunk deep into skulls.
Limbs chopped off, limp on the ground.
They did not even get the time to cry out in pain.
The dirt beneath the cobblestone that excitedly soaked in with the blood and swole up, leaving dried up marks upon them. They were tinted with the blood red.
He knew that the heads were glaring at him, burning with hatred- He could feel it in his heart. There was no way that the young Itachi could ever have been forgiven. There was no forgiving for one such as him. Shamelessly murdering each and every person, leaving no distinction between the innocent and the criminals to be punished.
It had to be done.
A man took his grandson to bed. His hands gently laid the blanket over the fragile and pale body of the boy, kissing him on top of his forehead.
"Grandpa... I.. I don't wanna sleep."
Bloody screams. His eyes opened in shock. His dear grandson whimpered in fear. He shushed the boy.
They were attacking the Uchiha clan. Konoha had came for them before they even revolted.
How had they known?!
"...But... I'm scareeeed~"
"Don't worry kid, we'll just be alright."
He ripped apart the wooden flooring with his nails. His hands flew through hand signs. His palms pressed against the dirt, the dirt was pushed down and a hole was created.
Overextension of his chakra created a burning sensation within his body. God damn it, he hadn't aged well, with his muscles shaking, he held onto the boy, pressing two fingers against his forehead and making the boy go to sleep with a simple genjutsu.
He laid the boy down onto the hole before covering it up by reinforcing the entrance with a thin layer of dirt — thin enough that the boy could dig through it. — and laid down the planks once more.
Then, he extended his sun scarred arm and took a cleaver into his hands, tightening his grip onto it, his fingers reddening as he squeezed. He knew that whoever had been sent, he would not be able to defeat them, but at least, his grandson would've survived this.
He hoped that the boy would.
Some must have noticed the bloodshed to come. He had came to that realisation when a man handling a cleaver came running towards him. He watched as the man slowly closed the distance between them, and he swung his cleaver, it headed for Itachi's shoulder, he stood straight and sidestepped to avoid the cleaver. He raised his leg, stretching it beyond the limits of a normal human being. His leg snapped down, crackling the man's skull with a sickening sound. He pushed down onto the man's head, smashing it onto the ground. The crimson liquid soaked into the floor.
The streets were emptied out, so were the houses. He went through all of them — not including the house of this foolish old man — and... except the house of his parents, a large building shining as the pearl of the compound. He felt a lump grow inside of this throat.
His mother. His father. They would have died, and it would be by his hand- His hands, they were already covered in blood. Blood of the innoce- No, they would have rebelled against the Leaf, that was unthinkable.
He had betrayed them.
That was the unthinkable.
Everything that his ancestors had built would be wiped out by his own hands.
"Mother... father... I am sorry."
With a nimble jump, he landed upon the balcony of the building, his hand reached over and he swiped the blood off his face. He would prefer if his parents did not have to see him with his face covered in blood in their last moments.
He did not wish to fight his fathe- He had to, such was the destiny he had chosen...
He chose what would be better for the masses, for the innocent children of Konoha and for peace to be preserved. Peace. Peace had to be preserved. Peacepeacepeacepeacepeacepeacepeace. Yes. That was his goal, just... ah... holding in his emotions were hard but years of training hadn't gone to waste after all.
Tiptoeing, he passed by shoji screens of the rooms, until a stern voice could be heard calling out for him.
"Itachi. Come here, this isn't a trap. I can promise you that..."
The young boy made it into the room, sliding the screens open with one hand, the other holding onto the tanto as he raised it forward, pressing it against his father's back, the blade leaving a mark on the the fan of the Uchiha patched on the back of the shirt. His mother and father, they were sitting on their knees. His mother had closed her eyes, with the muscles of her face relaxed, she looked as relaxed as she could look. Which in this situation was not enough to relieve the young male from the ache in his heart.
Itachi opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by his father raising his hand. "Itachi, I can't get into a death match with you-"
It hurt his heart to hear him speak.
"...despite the differences in our beliefs,"
Father, please stop speaking. Please. Let me finish this.
"...I am proud of you, son."
And, he could not handle this anymore.
The tanto pierced into the man's stomach, and with one swift slash, out came his intestines, pouring onto the floor. His hands moved fast, the tanto then piercing into his mothers' chest, her ribs resisting against the blade before cracking with a sickening sound, and a clean cut being made through her torso.
They collapsed onto the ground.
His eyes burnt. Tears pooled in them. He wanted to voice out his emotions, to feel... feel.. but he... he couldn't do that. He had to move on. His younger brother would have returned from his night-time endeavour by now. — Training to match his big brother, of course. —
He wondered how would Sasuke feel when he saw his big brother covered with the blood of his clanmates.
A young boy pushed open the gates of the compound, the metal creaked as it was forced open.. Ugh, he'd tell father about this, metal creaking irritated him so so much! Especially when he was this tired... his shirt was soaked in his sweat, he couldn't wait to get off his clothes- Would Itachi be proud of him for training so hard...? He would...! At least he thought he would! He couldn't admit this to anyone but his older brother's opinion was very important for him. Itachi was his idol. Huh. It was weirdly silent. Usually by now the gramps' would be outside smoking tobacco! Papa would tell them to not smoke close to the crowds, so they'd be embarrassed to do so...
He walked through the streets of the compound, and... he saw the corpses.
They were covered in blood- The streets, oh, oh... they were covered in blood. Organs were spilled on the floor... He felt like vomiting. Itachi! Mother! Father! WERE THEY ALRIGHT?! WERE THEY?! Hell... hell... why had everything gone so badly?
The young boy pulled out a kunai from his pouch. He held onto it as he made his way to his house. What.. what would he even do if he were to see the killer? Could he fight? His legs jellified even with the thought of it... how could he fight? If the killer managed to take down the police force... he would investigate... maybe he should have called for help but, that did not seem so possible now.
With careful steps, he made it around the streets, the bottoms of his sandals still clacking against the cobblestone despite his best efforts. A silhouette moved by the dimmed street lights, approaching him. He could feel his chest tighten. He could hear the crows caw, and he irked with each sound... there were crows, flapping their wings crazily, as if they were in great chaos. With each step taken, he got closer and closer to the house. His heart beats got more and more erratic, it hastened up until it was all that he could hear.
Badumbadumbadumbadumbadumbadumbadumbadumbadum!
The boy fell on the ground with shock as the crows grouped together, they slowly mashed together, creating an abnormally dark blob that twitched and slowly took the shape of someone that he knew.
His older brother, Itachi. His clothes were soaked in blood, streaks of blood covering his face. The blood dripped off the tanto. It was him. His brother killed them all. Their eyes met. The crimson eyes looked back at the young boy with not even a single sparkle of emotion. Tears dripped from his. He couldn't believe it... he couldn't believe it, how could he have done that to his father or his mother!? That was unlike him, wasn't it?! This wasn't the Itachi he had known, this had to be a lie. A lie. This could not be it.
"I-Itachi, this... this has to be a lie! This isn't something yo-you would do?!" He shouted, almost choking on his own words. How could his brother do this? There must have been an explanation, maybe- maybe Itachi had tried to protect their clan! He killed the one that killed... a sudden revelation hit him. What about his mother? What about his father? Why in hell was he just thinking about such absurdity...
"...What happened to mother or father?"
A cold stare was the only thing that met him, then with a subtle movement of his lips, the blank look on his face turned into a smirking one. Why was he smirking?! Why in hell was he?! The blood in his veins boiled and he rushed towards his older brother, pulling his kunai close to himself in a guard. His eyes took on a crimson colour, one tomoe finding itself a place. Itachi's smirk grew ever larger. He reached out and grabbed Sasuke's wrist, forcing it down and forcing him to drop the kunai.
"Brother, did you really think that you could have any hope of harming me? Just look at yourself..." With a kick to the young boy's chest, he sent the boy flying away and rolling on the floor. It had to be done. His innocent brother... He had to toughen up, and... one day, maybe- maybe he could have recovered the pride that came with being an Uchiha.
Toughen up, Sasuke.
He allowed for the boy to get up. The boy struggled, but he managed to push himself up to his feet, still holding onto his chest in pain. "Hate me, only then could you even dare of fighting me. Have eyes as cursed as mine, then you may come after me... You are too weak for me to even warm up. I'll just finish this."
The pattern of the Mangekyou twirled and the crimson of his eyes shone. "Tsukuyomi."
A world appeared, vast landscapes of grey, flat terrain soon were replaced by the interiors of the Uchiha compound, still monochrome with flickers of the crimson, the crimson coming from the blood of the innocent. The young boy found himself locked in position, chains coming down from the moon bound theirselves to his arms and legs, and all he could do was to watch.
Everything happened, again and again, again and again... He screamed! Painful screams shattered his vocal cords, the chains bonding him down burnt his limbs, and it felt as if they were going to be ripped out.
The screaming stopped, a poor mind overwhelmed by the heaviness of the emotions, a frozen stare was all he had, two bodies laid down on the floor, both of their organs spilled out and laid down onto the floor, a masterful piece from the bloodiest a murder could have been... Yet, there was nothing new.
Every bit of pain and shock, it returned no matter how small or large it was, in the same sequence, and always within the same order of size it happened, but he couldn't scream any longer.
A whimper left his lips.
His head sulked down, and he relaxed against the bindings holding him in place.
A great void enveloped all that was around him and he felt himself fall down into the void...
It all disappeared.
The only thing remaining was his older brother, watching it all happen with a worried look on his face, and then, so did he disappear.
When the illusion shattered and reality became apparent once more, Itachi was in panic. He hadn't expected this- He- he had expected the boy to be angry at him, to be more resistant, to be more furious... had he just ruined his younger brother? NO. That couldn't be. He wouldn't accept that... He hadn't messed up, he knew that when his brother would wake up, he would burn with passion- a hatred against him, and be strong... as strong as he could to survive in this world, he was certain about that- But now, he didn't have much time to think.
He had to a mission evaluation with Danzo. Surely, his Root ANBU would have arrived at the gates by now, the clock was ticking and he had to be finished by now... That was all there was to it.
He gave a last glance to his younger brother laying down on the ground, swallowing his emotions, he made way to meet with Danzo. Passing quickly, his eyes scanning the houses and the coverings around him — He didn't trust Danzo, and he knew that a man like him obviously would try to kill him one way or other if he had the opportunity to. — and then he finally arrived.
The man had a stern look on his face, knocking his cane on the floor as if he had waited too long and he was growing impatient. Itachi took in a deep breath to calm himself down and the pattern of the Mangekyou came to being once more. Danzo's bodyguards reached to attack, but a wrinkled hand stopped them from doing so, and the ice cold eyes forced them to back down.
"Danzo, if you are to even cause a scratch on my brother, then I promise to you... I'll reveal every dirty thing your organisation has done, I won't stop with that either... I love this village dearly, but my brother? I could never sacrifice him for YOUR desires."
The old man looked rather unimpressed by his sudden outbreak of emotion, a sigh left his lips. How could one of his greatest agents be reduced to this level just in one night? He pitied the teen. He had grown so much yet he hadn't come to realise that he was sacrificing the potential well-being of hundreds of individuals just for his younger brother. One day though, the teen would have learned. "...Itachi, I haven't forgotten about our deal. You've killed the Uchha, and in exchange, your brother will be left unharmed by me. You might not trust me, but you must trust in me that I have done everything I have for the greater good, but yes, moving on, you must remember that you have to disappear. You no longer are a civilian of our village. ANBU will soon come looking out for you. Go."
He knew that the deal wouldn't be held perfectly, but what could he do? He could ruin whatever Danzo had planned for the future, but knowing that he couldn't take back any harm that could be done... It was better to play along for now. He jumped onto a tree branch, the leaves shaking with his weight, he hopped from tree to tree, disappearing to the view of the old man and his bodyguards. He tree-hopped for a few kilometers until he was sure that he was out of sight for the moment, then he made it down onto the ground, landing with a thud, raising the dirt onto the air. Then he continued marching through the forest, making sure to cover his tracks as he did — Covering his footsteps with coverage, crushing greens and flowers with strong scents and planting them, and making sure not to give harm to the terrain around him — walking through to the rendezvous point he had with a peculiar man.
Finally, he had made it there, it was by the riverbank of the Mitsuishi river, trees that almost reached the skies enveloped the area, their leaves gently rustled with the winds, their thick roots tightly held the trees onto place, some of them were so old — Even older than the clans — that their roots had surfaced, no longer able to find themselves any place down the earth to grow their roots in. The leaves themselves were grandiose, each one as almost as large as an human head, they were ovate, with serrated edges, the branches they held onto were thick and had a terribly rough texture- Itachi loved the natural beauties of this land, too bad that no longer would he be here. Life was not about enjoyment after all.
He waited by the riverbank and in a few seconds, a whirling gap in air appeared besides him, and out of it came a masked man, Madara Uchiha. — Or at least, that was how he had introduced himself to the boy. — "So you've killed them all, with my help of course but your stealth is quite impressive... I've committed to my part of the deal, and so have you, very honourful of two clan killers, is it not? Heh, but, now that you're a traitor to Konoha... I'd like to take you under my wing, to an organisation, which I'm sure you've heard of in your times as a part of the Root. Akatsuki. You don't have much of a choice though, Itachi... So come." He offered his hand to the boy, so that he could take both of them away.
Itachi kept silent. He couldn't bother to talk with this man. He accepted the hand that was offered to him, and the last thing he saw before finding himself in their cave was the warping of the world around him.
Two boys were being rushed into the hospital.
Men, women, children, all whispered amongst each other on what happened...
"Oh, those poor boys..."
"I've heard- I've heard that they're both knocked out, aren't they?"
"That monster!"
"Another boy survived alongside with Uchiha Sasuke, they say..."
"Yes, someone else did survive as well... they were hospitalised, my uncle is a medical nin there, he says that Uchiha Sasuke's condition is critical..."
"...Oh dear! I hope they make it out of this."
Made of bronze and naked, carrying his infinite power from his heart that burns with the fire of will, with his exuberant and glorious muscles rises a statue and finds itself a place in the Uchiha compound. Tomoe have been ingrained on his eyes. They look down upon a corpse. The statue's mighty arm shattered, no longer could it hold the odachi, the chiselled muscles of the body chipped away, the statue slowly collapsed down on itself.
No longer could it be hold together by pride and strength.