Everyone on the Team stood shocked at Martian Manhunter's accusation. Wally was about to comment about it being a good joke until Artemis poked him with her elbow to stop him. He saw the serious looks on the faces of the Justice League and knew that they were being serious. Wally wasn't too fond with Itachi at the moment, but even he didn't think that the vigilante was a murderer.
M'gann felt horrified and betrayed. She was horrified for Itachi and what this could mean to him. If the League or their teammates decide that Itachi is just a murderer without taking in the circumstances he was put in, he could be taken off the Team. She also felt betrayed that her uncle would read her mind against her will. It was a complete invasion of privacy. Even though Itachi indicated that he didn't blame her, M'gann still felt guilty for this happening.
Kaldur didn't know what to make out of all of this. Murder was a pretty serious accusation to be throwing around, but he doubts that the League would have made such a dramatic showing of this unless they were absolutely sure. Conner was shocked by this meeting. He figured that they wanted to spring this on them suddenly so that Itachi wouldn't have time to properly defend himself against them. Conner decided that he would need proof before believing anything else said by the Leaguers. Robin seemed to agree with that sentiment as well.
"What proof do you have of this?" Robin asked. As of this moment, he would presume that Itachi was innocent of these accusations until proof was provided.
"One week ago, my niece and Itachi were having a conversation. During that conversation Itachi divulged the origins of his past. Itachi revealed that he is not of this world and that he has committed atrocious crimes in his past. M'gann can cosign this as true." Manhunter answered.
"But you don't know the whole story. This is why he was so hesitant to reveal his past. That's such a small part of it Uncle J'onn." M'gann said while trying to defend her friend.
"So you're admitting that he did do the things J'onn is accusing him of. We cannot condone murder for any reason. No story on Earth can change that." Superman said while gazing at the young Martian. Truthfully, he wished that J'onn was wrong about Itachi. He liked the young man and thought he could be a future pillar for the Justice League, but his stance on murder was final.
"But he isn't from this world! He's not even from this universe. The world he comes from is so dark and evil. I saw it firsthand. Itachi didn't have a choice and it killed him to do what he did." She said passionately.
"Wait, you're from another universe? Why didn't you ever say something?" Wally asked.
"We would not have judged you either way. We are your friends." Aqualad said. When Itachi didn't offer any explanations, M'gann spoke up on his behalf.
"It's complicated. We probably wouldn't have believed him anyways. But he's not guilty." She pleaded.
"Why doesn't he defend himself if he's so innocent? What do you have to say Itachi?" Batman asked. Everyone turned to Itachi and waited for his answer. The former shinobi had been silent throughout the entire exchange. No one could get a read on him, not even Artemis. Though Robin and Itachi had the best combat chemistry, Artemis and Itachi were the closest in terms of friends everywhere else. That's why Artemis was hurt that Itachi felt more comfortable talking to M'gann about his past than he did her. She'd known him the longest, or at least she thought she knew him. But even with the hurt she was feeling, Artemis wanted to hear it come from Itachi before she believed a single word that was said.
"Itachi you need to say something. Why aren't you denying anything? None of this is true unless you say it is as far as I'm concerned. Itachi you-" Artemis was cut off by words that she doubted that she'd ever forget.
"It's the truth." Itachi answered to everyone on the Team's hock. Robin and Wally had to take a minute to process what they just heard.
"So you're saying that you really did murder a bunch of people?" Wally asked incredulously. He felt himself getting angrier and angrier, but even still he wasn't as angry as Robin was at this revelation.
"Murderer. Itachi you're just a murderer. We let you on the Team…in our family, and you lied to us." Robin accused angrily.
"He didn't lie about a thing and it's not that black and white. Itachi had no choice. His life was a living hell from birth." M'gann said sadly while remembering the bloody images she saw a week ago.
"I don't care! Heroes don't kill! I thought Itachi was a hero, but man was I wrong about him. We were all wrong about him." Robin said with as much venom in his voice as he could muster.
"M'gann he can't stay on the Team. That's final." Wally said. M'gann was getting desperate and felt like her friend was getting ganged up on. Luckily for Itachi and her, they hadn't lost all of their allies.
"Look, I don't know what Itachi did in his past nor do I care. I have no right to judge him wanting to keep it secret either, and neither do any of you. I can only judge Itachi on what he's done since I've known him and all he's done is saved all of our butts. He even saved Gotham…by himself!" Artemis added coming to her friend's defense. She wasn't the only one.
"M'gann says that Itachi had no choice. Why isn't her word good enough?" Conner asked.
"It's hard to accept any defense of Itachi when Itachi himself has yet to defend himself. In fact, all he has done is admit guilt." Wonder Woman replied.
"Guilt? A word that suggests that I did something wrong or that I failed in an obligation. In the macro, I guess you could say that I am guilty. I wish I could have done things differently. But in the micro, I did the right thing and held true to my obligations. I saved my village and my brother. I'd do anything to keep both of those things safe…anything. " Itachi said. He wasn't trying to excuse what he did at all. Itachi knew that for them to form a just conclusion about him, he'd have to explain everything.
"What were your obligations Itachi? I will not judge you until I hear your side of the story from your own mouth." Aqualad promised.
Itachi sighed to himself as he stepped forward until everyone was looking at him. He activated his sharingan and prepared a genjutsu for everyone to see, "There are no sides to this story. There is only the truth. That's all I can show you and when you're done, then you can cast your judgments. I don't care if you think of me as a hero or a murderer. I can be both of those things if that's what is required of me. That is what the Will of Fire is; the ability to protect one's village against all threats."
"You sure that you weren't the threat to this 'village'," Wally said as a sarcastic jab at Itachi.
"No, I'd die for my village….for my brother," Itachi then activated his genjutsu and everyone saw their surroundings change. M'gann knew exactly what was happening and what they were about to see, but even in knowing what was ins store from having seen it already, she still couldn't help by feel her heart break all over again, "This is the truth about the failure named Itachi Uchiha of the Leaf Village."
(Itachi's Earth)
"This is my home…my world." Itachi said as everyone looked around. They were no longer in the conference room of the Cave. They are now in what looks like a battlefield of sorts, and it was riddle with corpses. Everyone was shocked to see just how many dead men, women, and children there were here. Manhunter dropped to a knee from all of the mental turmoil he was feeling, "What is this? Did you do this?"
"No Uncle J'onn, Itachi didn't do this. Right now Itachi's world is fighting in a giant war. These are the casualties of a battle." M'gann explained.
Everyone was horrified at the scene around them. Everything from the missing limbs to the cold stares of children that looked like they could be the ages of any member on the Team absolutely horrified them. Some of the children looked like they couldn't have been any older than 12 years old. The members of the Team were especially shook. Most of them had never even seen a dead body before, let alone a field of corpses.
"This isn't a battle…this is a catastrophe." Superman commented as he wished he was here to stop such a thing from occurring.
"No, it's just war. It's what one day of war in my world looks like. During this time we were fighting in the Third Great Ninja War. It's our version of your Earth's World Wars, except we've had three of them and are currently fighting a fourth one the last time I checked." Itachi explained.
"Four World Wars?! What type of archaic world do you come from?" Hal Jordan asked.
"The kind that has no problem sending children to fight and die for the sake of adults. I didn't grow up in an ordinary setting like all of you were. I was born in war…in the golden age of killing. Look over there and you'll see what type of world this really is." Itachi said while pointing over a boy that was walking through the corpses.
"Who is that?" Artemis asked. They all walked over to see the boy kneeling down and giving one of the fallen shinobi some of his water. M'gann almost wanted to run away at what was about to happen next, "Its Itachi…at four years old."
"Aww weren't you such a cutie, Itachi. How could a cute boy like that ever kill anybody?" Artemis said jokingly. She stopped her coddling when she saw the sad look on M'gann's face. She knew something bad was about to happen.
They all saw the downed ninja spring up suddenly with a kunai knife in his hand and the intent of murdering Itachi. Before he could strike Itachi down his throat was slit by the Uchiha. Everyone watched as the man fell and bled to death.
"Oh…" Artemis said quietly.
"Whoa." Wally added.
"This is starting to get scary." Captain Marvel said which crystallized what everyone else was starting to think.
Everyone saw a man walking towards Itachi. They all got worried about what would happen next, but M'gann assured them that he wasn't a threat.
"Father…why did this shinobi try to kill me? I didn't do anything…" Four year old Itachi asked. The man behind him, revealed to be Itachi's father, looked on stoically.
"Because this is war." He answered.
"War?" Itachi curiously repeated.
"It's not a war between people. It's a war between nations. That's why strangers kill each other meaninglessly." Fugaku explained.
"Is that what war is?" Itachi asked. He wanted to know if war was just people killing other people that they didn't know for a cause that wasn't even theirs.
"That is what the shinobi world is. Listen Itachi…never forget this sight." His father warned. The scene around every then began to change.
"What's going on?" Robin asked.
"We're going to the next major event in Itachi's life. You just saw the first time he had ever killed anyone. It traumatized Itachi and it breaks my heart all over again seeing it for another time." M'gann answered.
"A Child soldier…your Earth uses child soldiers. Is that what you were Itachi?" Batman asked.
"No…I already told you what I was…a failure." Itachi answered as the scene change finished.
They were at a memorial for the fallen shinobi of the Third Great Ninja War. Young Itachi walked up to a pale looking man named Orochimaru and began asking him about the meaning of life. Orochimaru replied that there was no meaning to life unless it was eternal. That too was a major event in Itachi's life because it caused him to search through whether or not life was worth living.
"That man's so full of it. Life does have meaning; he had no right to be telling a four year old child something so irresponsible." Canary said as she felt her anger welling up.
The scene changed to young Itachi standing near the edge of a very high cliff. The others saw that Itachi had a look of defeat and sorrow on his face. Artemis started walking up to the young boy as he got closer and closer to the edge, "What's he about to do? What were you about to do Itachi?"
"I'm about to try to commit suicide." Itachi answered stoically. They all looked at him in surprise. Then young Itachi fell from the top of the cliff. As they watched the boy plummet to the ground, the sounds of crows started to fill their ears. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, they saw Itachi pull out two kunai knives and use them to stop his descent. After a few tries, Itachi had stopped his freefall and landed on the ground safely.
They then saw young Itachi speaking to one of the crows. Then a horde of crows swarmed around Itachi as if symbolizing a changing of the winds. One landed on young Itachi's arm after the others dispersed. The scene began to change, but before it did everyone heard young Itachi ask the crow what the meaning of life was.
James, Professor Ivo, and Amanda Waller were all in the examining room as the Itachi clone was being given a final physical. If he passes, the clone would be allowed to go on his first mission. It's why everyone wanted to be extra careful of his progression.
"Everything looks good so far, Ma'am." James noted.
"Yes, yes it does. Is the team prepared for the mission?" She asked.
"Yes, they've all been made aware of the conditions and terms of the mission. As soon as the clone is cleared, he will join them so that the mission can begin." James replied.
"Are you sure testing him with a mission of that difficulty this early is wise? Who knows how he will be able to handle to stress of it?" Ivo inquired.
"That's why we are testing him with such a challenge this early. We need to assess him skill wise and come up with a proper training regimen. I have the utmost faith in his abilities." Waller answered.
"But what if he dies on the first mission? Making him and using all of these resources would have been pointless." Ivo argued.
"You just focus on making sure that memory adaptation device stays functional. If the clone dies on the first mission that means he was never meant to do anything of purpose anyways. Whether his is a clone or not though, his life has purpose." Waller replied.
"What is that purpose?" Ivo asked. James smile as he clenched his fist, "To bring down the Justice League and save the world."
The clone sat on the table in a blank state as his creators spoke on his future, but internally the clone was suffering from great conflict. In his mind all he could think about was what happened to him in the past.
'Or I should say what happened to the real Itachi. But how can he be the real Itachi when I exist? Aren't I the real Itachi? I'm so confused…so lost. Why did that soldier try to kill me? I was only four years old?! Why did I try to kill myself? What is the point of all of this death…what causes it? War…war makes people kill people they don't know for a cause that isn't there's. Am I at war with Itachi? Is this even my cause? What is even the meaning of life?' The clone thought.
He was in conflict with himself. Images of memories flooded his mind all of a sudden and it caused the clone's soul to be at war with itself, but clone Itachi had no idea which side to choose...or which one would win.
"I got my answer a year later when my younger brother Sasuke was born," Itachi stated as the scene changed to everyone being in his house and watching Itachi and his family interact with Sasuke. M'gann smiled at the scene. She knew that Sasuke was about the only thing in Itachi's life that truly made him happy.
The scene changed again, but this time the scene became chaos as the gigantic Nine-Tails Fox was summoned in the middle of the village and caused massive havoc. Everyone around him grew concerned as the fox destroyed everything in its path and decimated all who opposed it. In all of the chaos, young Itachi was trying his best to keep his brother at ease while he was protecting Sasuke and getting the both them to safety. They witnessed one of the debris fall on top of the building young Itachi and Sasuke were in, but thankfully the older brother was able to cover his loved one. Unfortunately, just like during the Great Ninja War, young Itachi was now surrounded by corpses again. Only this time, the dead bodies all belong to the people of his village which truly saddened him.
"That thing is so big. How are they going to defeat it?" The Flash asked.
"Everyone is being slaughtered. I can feel their pain, fear, and anguish. No group of people deserves this." J'onn commented.
"All of these people…dead for no reason. You really grew up in this world Itachi?" Aquaman asked.
Itachi nodded as he pointed towards his younger self. The boy was currently running with Sasuke until they found a place of refuge. On his way there he came across a fellow student named Izumi. He saved her life and escorted her to a shelter. After some time the Fox was defeated and the village went silent. Only Sasuke's cries were heard from in the shelter.
As time passed, the Leaf Village mourned for its loss. Countless villagers lost their lives to the fox attack, including the Fourth Hokage and his wife. The village lay in shambles and its people were devastated. Itachi didn't know it then, but the ramifications of the Fox attack would shake the very history of the shinobi world.
After the mourning process exited its grief stage, the Leaf Village had to start rebuilding from its roots. As Itachi was surveying the buildings as they were being constructed, Itachi's classmate Izumi ran up to him, "Itachi! I wanted to say thank you for before. Because of you, I was safe!"
"I'm glad you didn't die." The Team then saw Itachi's impressive big brother displays. They could all tell that Itachi deeply care about people and is a good person. So the question on everyone's mind was what could such a good person to committing such horrible crimes.
Itachi's clone looked down at his hands as the tubes that the doctors hooked up to him were getting samples of his blood for testing. He was thinking about the young boy who looked like him and cried whenever anyone else tried to hold him. For some reason, the clone felt an inherent need to protect that boy, "His name…is Sasuke. He's…my younger…brother."
James looked at the clone oddly. He could swear that the clone just said the he had a younger brother, but he cast out those thoughts. He chucked it up as a result of Ivo's memory adaptation device. No one else seemed to hear it so ignored it and went back to checking on the clone's physical statistic.
"He's off the charts in terms of strength and physique. His memory retention skills and depth perception are also astronomical. I don't know if he's on the Crow's level yet, but at this rate of growth I don't see how the clone doesn't catch up to him." Ivo noted.
At the mention of Itachi, the clone's hand started to clench and unclench. His heart rate began to speed up and the machine's monitoring his brainwave activity showed large spikes in activity started to show. Waller saw this and grew concerned.
"What's happening to my clone professor?" She demanded.
"The machine indicates that the clone is thinking…no it's more like that it's feeling something. Based on the brain scans, the clone is experiencing some severe trauma. Its brain is accessing charged emotional events and playing through them. The problem is that it should be impossible for a clone to even have charged emotional events since it's a product of science. The scans are showing that the brain is slowly losing the ability to maintain a stable mood. It could lead to him being more violent, brutal, and harder to control than anticipated. Waller I don't think this clone should be let out. We need to decommission-" The professor was interrupt by James.
"We don't have time for that. We've already taken contingencies for the case that the clone goes rogue. We've got this handled." He assured.
"I'm not talking about him going rogue. I'm talking about him going insane. Something bad is going on through his head right now and depending on what it is and what it does to his psyche; we could be letting a monster loose." Ivo warned.
"Good, I need a monster on my side since the Justice League has a whole army of them on theirs. You see anger as something uncontrollable, but I see it as a tool that can be used to spark the fire that burns the League to the ground. We stay on schedule with his mission tonight." Waller ordered.
"What if he becomes the very thing you're fighting to destroy? The scans are showing the areas of the brain that access feelings like hatred and rage, along with his impulse control are being affected; and all he's doing is sitting there. At this rate you won't be able to control him." Ivo argued.
"You have no idea what I'm fighting to destroy. Be lucky that that thing I want gone isn't you, Ivo. Now shut up and get back to work." She ordered thus ending the argument.
The clone ignored their squabble. It was only focused on his DNA template, Itachi. He had one question that was running through his mind like a rocket flying through space, 'Why do I hate Itachi Uchiha so much? What did he do?'
"Itachi, you seem like a good kid. So how please tell us why J'onn saw you murdering countless people. Who were they? Enemies of your village?" Superman asked.
"In a way yes…" Itachi answered vaguely as the scene changed again. It was to a meeting involving Itachi's family. They were discussing what to do about them being relocated and basically blamed for the attack of the Nine-Tails Fox. It was a bad reminder of the dark days of the Second Hokage's reign, "This is where the trail of blood starts."
"What's that supposed to mean, Itachi?" Conner asked.
"Just watch, Conner. It'll all make sense soon." M'gann answered.
Everyone could see that even at a young age, Itachi had always been a genius. They all saw Itachi progress through the ninja academy. He was clearly step above the other children and was progressing at an astonishing rate. Canary and the others were impressed with him, but Batman was concerned.
"A school for training children to fight and go to war. That's where you learned how to fight?" Batman asked.
"It's a school for training children to protect the Leaf Village, not go to war." Itachi corrected.
"Atlantis has a training system similar to this, Batman. Aqualad is proof of that." The Atlantian king said.
"Protecting Atlantis is what the school is for. We'd fight anyone to protect the kingdom." Kaldur replied.
"No you wouldn't. There's a line you'd never cross. This village…the dark side of the Leaf Village has no line, and yet its goal is the same as the light side of the village; to protect it by all means." Itachi said as the scene changed.
More time had passed, but young Itachi still stayed kind. They saw him graduate from the academy and get his leaf headband. He was assigned to a three-man team to go on missions for the village. Itachi made his first friends on that team.
"Wow, Itachi. Getting you to join our Team was like pulling teeth, but here you look so happy. It looks good on you." Artemis noted.
"They were all my friends. Just like you all are." Itachi responded.
"You mean we all were," Wally corrected harshly. It got him a glare from Artemis, Conner, and M'gann. Not everyone had made up their minds about how they felt about this so for Wally to make such harsh, false statement really annoyed them.
As another year went by, Itachi was eight years old and being well known as a genius of the Uchiha the entire village. But despite his praise, the relationship between the Leaf Village and the Uchiha Clan had weakened. The clan had been relocated to the edge of the village, ostracized, and had all of their power stripped for them. The resentment the Uchiha felt was growing with each passing day because they truly felt mistreated. Itachi and his father both knew that this was only going to get worse if things kept up.
Artemis looked and saw that it changed to Itachi sitting by a pond with a girl. It was the girl Itachi save from the attack and they seemed to be getting pretty close to each other. She took this as a time to joke around, "Itachi, you sly dog you. I had no idea you were popular with the ladies at such a young age. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that she reminds me of another cute girl that I know of."
Itachi had to stifle a groan as Robin couldn't stop himself from laughing. Wally, though, had no problem ruining the fun, "As much as Itachi's love life is fun and all, what does any of this have to do with him murdering people."
"Yes, what does this have to do with it?" Red Tornado asked.
"She showed me how to love." Itachi answered.
"Aww, how cute." Artemis joked.
Everyone was then teleported to the day when Itachi witnessed his entire team being murdered in front of him. They all saw a man in an orange mask kill all of Itachi's friends without mercy. They all felt everything from sadness for Itachi, to grief over the loss of such young children, and rage for the madmen who'd do something so evil. The young Itachi stood there like a statue, devastation was clear on his face.
"Itachi…I'm sorry." Wally muttered sadly.
"To see something like that…at such a young age is horrible. It's no wonder why you can be so distant sometimes." Artemis added.
"That day I learned what true suffering was. When I lost my friends…no when they were taken from me, I realized that I never wanted to lose something precious like that ever again. I wanted to grow strong enough to protect what matters the most. Loss is the origin of the Sharingan and my power. That day showed me how to hate." Itachi revealed as his younger self active the Uchiha eyes for the first time. Young Itachi didn't look proud, instead he look like he was in pain.
They all were then transported and saw a scene that absolutely disgusted them. They heard Itachi's father speak on how proud he was that Itachi unlocked the sharingan, thus ignoring the trauma the young boy had to experience in the process. It was a reality check on just how cold Itachi's upbringing was. His feelings and pain were completely ignored by his father for the glory of their clan. And Itachi had no choice but to put on a façade.
"That's disgraceful. No child should be subjected to this lifestyle." Canary noted sadly.
"A childhood without love, but filled with death and sadness. Is this why you killed all of those people?" Manhunter asked.
"No, my childhood my not have been the best, but I still had joy in it." Itachi answered as they saw him playing with his brother. And just for the slightest of moment, M'gann swore that she saw Itachi smiling.
"As the years passed things got worse. I was made a captain of the anbu black ops, which are my village's special forces. Though my clan praised me for my accomplishments, a rift was created and I grew more distant and colder towards my clan. The rift was created because I openly disapproved of my clan's direction. Time only made my clan grow angrier at the Leaf for their mistreatment. The higher ups blamed us for the Nine-Tails attack, their rationale being that only an Uchiha could control a tailed best. The greatest evil my world had ever seen had come from my clan, and he too was able to control the Nine-Tails. They had preconceived prejudices of us that started generations ago. By the time I was thirteen, the relationship was completely shattered." Itachi explained.
"What does that mean? So your clan hated their government, a lot of people hate their government. How is that significant?" Hal Jordan asked.
"Because my clan was willing to start a civil war over it. With my promotions in rank, the clan sought to use that as an opportunity to gent intel on the Leaf Elders. My best friend Shisui and I were secretly chosen as spies to report to the Leaf Elders about the Uchiha clan's secret meetings about the potential coup." Itachi explained.
"You were a double spy? Why did you go against your clan?" Wonder Woman asked.
"Because it was the right thing to do. My clan meant to cause great harm. The goal was to placate my clan, but if we were unsuccessful, drastic measure would be taken." Itachi answered.
"Drastic measures? What do you mean by that?" Superman asked.
Itachi changed the scene to eleven year old Itachi speaking with his friend Shisui. The others saw that the ninja was bleeding from his eye and looked to have just got out of a battle.
"What happened to your friend's eye?" Robin asked noticing that it was bleeding and closed.
"It was taken from him during an ambush from one Leaf Elders. He had grown impatient with us and decided to take drastic measures." Itachi explained.
"That means taking a teenager's eye?! What type leadership does you village have?!" Superman asked angrily.
"The kind that is willing to do anything to protect the village." Itachi answered.
They all quieted down as Shisui and Itachi had their final conversation on a cliff in the outskirts of the village, "The Foundation is involved. Unfortunately, they see that there is no way to stop the Uchiha's coup. If civil war breaks out in the Leaf, the neighboring countries will definitely use that as an opportunity to invade…and the next Great Ninja War will begin because of it. I was planning on using my eye to stop the coup, but Danzo ambushed me and took my right eye. He viewed my genjutsu as a temporary fix and acted against me because of it. He has lost faith in us and will resort to anything to protect the Hidden Leaf Village. Soon, they will come after my left eye too. But before that happens I want you to have it."
Shisui then removed his left eye from its socket much to everyone's surprise and disgust. They were starting to see the plot unfolding. Everyone was starting to piece together who Itachi killed and unfortunately why he did it.
"Itachi, you're the only friend I trust. I beg of you, please protect the village and the Uchiha name. I'm sorry to thrust such a burden on you, but you are our last hope at avoiding war. You can save them all." Shisui then gave Itachi his left eye.
"I'm also going to be giving you a new power; the Mangekyo Sharingan. You know what that means. My time on this Earth is running out. Take this as a gift…as my dying wish. Hey, stop it with that look. Even with no eyes, I can still see your face easily. That's how close we are. A worried expression doesn't look good on you. You must always remain calm, my friend. That's what Itachi Uchiha is. I know you can do this, so don't worry." Shisui encouraged. M'gann began crying again like she did the first time she saw this scene. Everyone could feel the sadness crashing down as they knew Itachi was about to lose his best friend.
"I will carry on your will and honor the Uchiha name." Itachi swore.
"From now on, you may be forced to walk down a long, dark path. One that's filled with pain and suffering. I have to apologize because I can't be with you through it all. I hope you don't falter from your path. Please keep moving forward as a Leaf ninja. I believe in you. That is why I'm able to ask you to carry my will…and the Mangekyo. Thank you for everything. This may be the end of the road for me, but this will pave a new way for you and give you a new power to be used to protect the village. The time has come Itachi. Make a new way for yourself with your own hands. You can do it…I know you can. Goodbye my friend, I leave the rest to you."
Shisui then fell off of the cliff and killed himself in front of Itachi. The emotional distress and pain caused Itachi to awaken his Mangekyo Sharingan, and started him on the path that would change his life forever. Everyone was silent at what they had just witnessed. They were starting to see the darkness in which Itachi has walked under for his entire life. From then on they could all see the visible shift in Itachi as time passed. He started openly challenging the customs of his clan and openly feuded with them, growing more and more disgusted with them with each day.
To everyone's surprise, Itachi still kept working with Danzo after what he did to Shisui. Itachi explained that after Shisui's death, he still had to focus on stopping a civil war from breaking out. That meant cooperating with all of the Leaf Elders. He had to if he were to save Sasuke from the decisions of their clan.
Unfortunately, his story only gets darker. They all were shown the conversation Itachi had with Danzo prior to the massacre. Two years had passed and every sign pointed towards civil war. The Uchiha were all dug in and Itachi knew there was no hope for them. Danzo decided to meet in secret with Itachi and relay that his clan's fate was sealed. They would all be exterminated, including innocent children such as Sasuke and including Itachi himself. The reason the children had to die was because if someone like Sasuke witnessed a Leaf ninja murder his clan, he would grow up seeking vengeance against the Leaf, and would have to be killed later on anyways. But he gave Itachi an ultimatum, a way to save his brother; he could either align with his clan, be slaughtered with them, and have their legacy be tarnished forever. Or he could side with the Leaf, save his brother before the coup happens, and help exterminate the other Uchiha. This way the reputation of the Uchiha would be forever preserved. He made it clear that either way, this was happening soon so Itachi had no time to contemplate.
"As a double agent for the Leaf and Uchiha, only you can do this Itachi. This will be the most painful mission for you, but on the other hand it will allow you to save your little brother. All you have to do is kill your other kin. I know you care about the future of this village as much as I do…so will you accept this mission?" Danzo asked.
Itachi walked away because they both knew what his answer was. He was backed into a corner and saw only one way this could end. The League and the Team were shocked by this.
"Your family?! They made you murder your own family? And have the nerve to call it a mission like it was some sort of justice?!" Superman asked angrily.
"They used your love for your home and your brother against you like that?! That's unforgivable." Marvel added.
"How could you accept that? How could you not fight back?" Robin demanded. He had his family murdered so the idea of watching someone be forced to murder their own kin infuriated him.
"He had no choice. Itachi's clan was going to be wiped out no matter what he chose. It was already in motion. You saw what they did to his friend. Itachi could either let someone murder his entire family and let his lineage die, or do it himself and be able to save one of them. It was an impossible choice. None of us knows what that feels like or what we would have done in that situation." M'gann argued.
"It's just hard to comprehend. Itachi, you're so kind. To be force to kill your own family…I just don't understand." Canary said with sadness.
"Peace is never without price. Sometimes that price is ugly." Batman commented.
"But why him? Why did it have to be Itachi? Why couldn't that coward Danzo do it himself?" Artemis demanded angrily. She was angry and sad that her friend had to live like this. This made her feel like her family drama was nothing compared to his.
"Because if his village orchestrated the massacre of an integral clan, and the other clans found out, it would lead to rebellion and civil war. Their deaths would be meaningless if that happened. Isn't that right, Itachi?" Batman hypothesized. Itachi nodded in agreement much to the others chagrin. He really had no choice.
"Why didn't you just kill this Danzo guy? He basically murdered your best friend! It's not like he doesn't have it coming." Artemis asked. She really did not like that old man.
"Because he took responsibility for doing too many deplorable things for the sake of the Leaf. He helped shift the blame for the Nine-Tails attack from the Uchiha clan to a newborn baby. It helped the village recover from the crisis and pushed back the coup by several years. I would never be able to do something that bastardly and because of that he was spared. The truth is that the Leaf needed Danzo more than it needed me." Itachi answered.
"Great, he's so despicable that the village needs him. What a joke." Artemis lamented. The others agreed with her and saw the fragility of the village's moral compass.
"It seems I was wrong. Itachi, your world is nothing like Atlantis. I don't know if I could have survived in it. I wish you were born on our Earth and could have lived in peace." Aqualad said. Everyone was in agreement with that statement.
After Itachi made his choice, he set in motion the plan to exterminate his clan and save his village. He sowed seeds of resentment towards the Uchiha after being accused of murdering his best friend and suggested to Sasuke that it would be best if he hated him. Itachi also vowed to always be there for him in the end. As the night drew closer, Itachi made one last deal that sealed the Uchiha's fate. He enlisted the help of Madara Uchiha; the man who murdered his friends that fateful day all those years ago. That deal protected the Leaf from Madara's wrath and secured Sasuke's safety. All Itachi had to do was join his organization afterwards. The deal was another example of the bad position Itachi was in. He had to team up with the man who murdered his friends, so that they could both murder his family. It was the definition of a cruel world. The plan was for Madara to kill the Uchiha Police Force as Itachi slaughtered the rest of the clan. It would all happen quickly, silently, and gruesomely.
"This is it. You know who I kill and why I do it. Now, all that is left is for you to witness it." Itachi warned.
"But Shisui wanted you to save your family, not kill them." Green Arrow argued.
"I did save them. History will always remember that the Uchiha clan was murdered by a rogue psychopath who hated the clan's traditions and lineage. The world will never discover that my clan planned to overthrow the Leaf Village and were willing to murder thousands by unleashing a tailed beast on innocents. Instead of monsters, they are remembered as victims because of my actions." Itachi explained.
"But at what cost to you though," Zatara asked. Itachi looked as the scene changed to the nigh of the Uchiha Downfall, "Self-sacrifice is the way of the shinobi. My decision was based on the safety of my brother and my village, both of which I love very much. Nothing else mattered and nothing could sway me from this course." Itachi said as the nightmare began.
They all witnessed Itachi initiate the Uchiha Massacre. It took place the night before the Uchiha Coup was scheduled to begin as most of the clan would stay within the compound in preparation for the coup. Danzo made it so that all Uchiha Police that was schedule to be on duty were relived so that they would be in their homes. He also made it so Sasuke would be kept at the Academy until late, allowing him to be spared.
His first victim was his lover, Izumi Uchiha. He figured that if he could force himself to kill her, then his resolve would force him to see the mission through. He put her in the Tsukuyomi and forced her to live out her entire life in a matter of seconds. That much mental stress of the genjutsu killed her because dying in a genjutsu is the same as dying in the real world; your brain just stops functioning. In her final moments she did not show Itachi resentment, instead she thanked him for giving her the life she wanted with him, even if it was just a dream. Itachi in turn thanked her for loving him as she passed away. The scene brought nearly everyone to tears. But then her mother walked in and Itachi impaled her heart with his sword. They were all reminded that this was indeed a massacre.
The plan was for Itachi and his partner to start at opposite ends and meet at the center. Madara handled the police and the initial resistance while Itachi took the civilians and non-fighters. That meant Itachi would be slaughtering a lot of women and children. This had to be done quickly, but still be gruesome enough to look like a massacre out of rage rather than a calculated attack. Itachi felt sorrow for having to do this, but he knew this was the only way to save his brother. He swore that he'd make this quick and painless for his clan.
As the night commence everyone saw a river of blood being spilled. Itachi tried to kill as many people as painlessly as possible. Everyone was horrified by the gruesome scene. J'onn nearly collapsed from the sheer fear and terror being felt.
The worst of it was when a group of children were holed up in a shelter. Itachi had just slit the watchmen's throat as he left to make sure the kids were secured. Itachi walked in and the kids started feeling hopeful that they would be saved.
"It's Itachi! He'll protect us. You're here to take out the bad guys, right?" One of the kids asked.
"Yes…I am." Itachi answered.
"See, I told you we were gonna make-" The kid never got to finish as Itachi ran his sword through the boys chest, killing him instantly. He then turned his attention towards the other kids who were shaking with fear as they were all slaughtered one by one. He made sure that none of them suffered any pain and all died instantly. He left the room in a pile of riddle corpses and covered in all of their blood, 'Quick, but bloody.'
Itachi repeated that mantra throughout the entire night as he went house by house, door by door, and slaughtered all in his sight. It was the only way he kept his sanity as more blood kept being shed. Men, women, boys, and girls…they all had to die so that Sasuke could live. Even the innocent ones who knew nothing of the Uchiha's coup had to meet their fates. Itachi did, however, take care to prolong the suffering of Inabi, Tekka, and Yashiro Uchiha since he felt they forced his father to go through with this coup and ordered Shisui to spy on him. In his eyes, all of this was happening because of them.
Everyone was shocked silent by what they were seeing. It was truly a massacre. Not even the quick-witted Wally had anything to say. It was just tears, rage, and silence.
When all of the Uchiha except his parents are dead, Itachi halted his mission to watch Sasuke enter the compound. He wanted to bask in Sasuke's last moments of innocence before it was taken from him forever. Itachi hurries to his home to finish the mission, but meets his father on the way. Fugaku laments Itachi's decision to go against the Uchiha, but respects his choice. He shows Itachi that he too has the Mangekyo Sharingan and plans on using it to resurrect the Nine-Tails Fox. Itachi uses his Mangekyo Sharingan to show his father what he envisions as the future of their clan; Sasuke. Fugaku understands the message before disappearing in a huff of smoke. Itachi realized that it was a clone and that he would have to fight his father to the death.
Itachi hurried home to finish his mission, but finds his parents kneeling in their bedroom as if they were waiting for him to arrive. Fugaku and Mikoto expressed that they did not want to fight their own child.
Fugaku expressed shame and regret for forcing his son to have to do something that would scar him forever. Fugaku knew that his son was a pacifist and that he despised violence, but he kept pushing the clan's goals on him which has led to this tragedy. He wished that he had been a better father and trusted Itachi more, for he believes that his son could have become Hokage and finally united the Leaf and the Uchiha.
"Itachi, just promise me this…take care of Sasuke." Fugaku pleaded to his son in his last moments.
"I will." Itachi promised as he began to feel the weight of what he was about to do and started crying.
"Do not fear. This is the path you have chosen. Compared to you, our pain will be over in an instant. Even if our philosophies differ, we are proud of you, son. You truly are a kind child." That was Fugaku's last words to his son before he and his wife were killed.
Moments later, almost everyone had tears in their eyes as they saw Sasuke's reaction to walking in on his parents as Itachi stood over them. Their hearts broke the moment Sasuke realized that Itachi had murdered them, along with the rest of their clan. Itachi then put his brother under the Tsukuyomi and showed him every bloody, gruesome death. All with the goal of making his brother hate him. They saw Itachi chastise Sasuke for his fear and dared him to get strong enough so that he could face and kill him. Itachi demeaned his brother by making it seem like he wasn't even worth killing. It broke Sasuke. Itachi left his brother in shambles and heartbroken, but Sasuke woke up and chased after him. Itachi saw that the emotional trauma caused Sasuke to awaken his sharingan and whatever humanity that was still in Itachi died in that instant. Sasuke managed to muster up the rest of his willpower to attack Itachi, but only wound up damaging his forehead protector. Right when Sasuke passed out, Itachi shed tears. They would be the last tears Itachi would shed for the rest of his life.
The bystanders couldn't even watch it anymore. The pain in both Sasuke's and Itachi's tears were unbearable. So when Itachi told them that this wasn't the end of it, they all braced themselves for more pain and death.
Waller and James smiled as the clone got up and took his memory adaptation device off. He had a look of fierce hatred on his face. It was like he was a man possessed.
"Are you ready for your first mission?" Waller asked.
The clone nodded. James then directed the clone to the armory. The Masked Stranger left him with a few tools that could be useful to him for his first mission: shuriken, kunai knives, paper bombs, and smoke bombs. And a special tool made specifically for him to use on missions; a sword.
"What is my mission?" The clone asked.
"To prove to us that we're right in investing in you. To show us if you are good enough to destroy the Crow and the League. We need to know if you have what it takes to crush them. This mission will be a tutorial for us to study you." Waller answered with a smirk.
"I think I understand what you want." The clone responded as he studied the sword.
"Show us why you fight. What is your purpose?" James added. The clone of Itachi put its gear on and prepared to begin his first mission. He thought about James's question and his mind went back to what he had just witnessed; the murder of the people he believed were his family and the heartbreak of his brother Sasuke, 'Itachi, you took them away from me. My mother, my father, and my brother all suffered because of you. You're a cancer and you need to be exterminated. I swear I'll kill you in the slowest, most excruciatingly painful way imaginable. I'll kill anyone who gets in my way…everyone that you care about in this world will die. Yes, I'll kill as many people as I have to as long as you are one of them. I swear it because I hate you, Itachi Uchiha, and my purpose is to kill you!'
"I can't believe Waller had us sent to this dump for a 'special mission'." Bronze Tiger Lamented.
The members of the Suicide Squad were currently on mission by orders of their boss, Amanda Waller. The goal of the mission was simple; survive. Whoever could make it through the night, Waller promised that they would receive full pardons of past crimes and immediate release of their current sentences. Said members were Bronze Tiger, King Shark, Livewire, Shrapnel, Slipknot, Captain Boomerang, and Cheetah.
"I can't believe that Harley actually was able to escape. That crazy loon has all of the best luck." Captain Boomerang muttered despairingly. The accomplice to the clown prince was broken out of Belle Reeve about a month ago.
"I'm just wondering who broke her out since Joker has been locked away in Arkham for a few weeks now." Cheetah said.
"I heard it was Riddler and his crew. Apparently, they're planning something big together." Livewire speculated.
"It doesn't matter. She's gone so let's focus on the current objective. If we survive tonight, we all get to go home to real beds and not that concrete crap they have us sleeping on back in Belle Reeve. I don't know what Waller is thinking, but she just lost her precious Task Force X." Bronze Tiger said as he put his tiger claws on.
"Good, I need to pay Flash a visit for putting me behind bars. Then I'll find a bank to rob since it's been so long." Captain Boomerang added. Bronze Tiger got them all in a circle and went over the plan with them. He had no plans on dying tonight, "Slipknot, I want you to guard to door outside. It's the only way in or out. If you see anything, even if it's just a fly, you shout and we'll provide backup. We'll work on finding the generator in here and having Livewire put some juice in it. We're sitting blind here in the dark and that needs to change. Cheetah and King Shark will use their enhanced senses to snuff out anyone who may already be inside while the rest of us provide cover where we see fit."
"I very much want to go home so none of you had better screw up or you'll have me to deal with." Shrapnel threatened.
Everybody left to get the plan started. Slipknot stood watch outside and had his grappling pistol ready for use. It was raining so it would be harder to hear noises outside, but Slipknot was a trained assassin and experienced killer. Before he was sent to prison, he made a reputation of raping and murdering women. It's how he was put on Black Canary's radar. Since then he has been on Waller's task force trying to reduce his sentence. So with this opportunity to get it all wiped away, Slipknot was determined to not let it go to waste.
Slipknot was on high alert as the rain came down hard. So when he heard a noise from above, he wasted no time in firing his grappling pistol upward towards the source of the sounds. He waited a few minutes to see if he had killed whatever he shot at.
"Nothing. Must have been my nerves. What am I nervous about? Who's gonna attack-" Slipknot didn't get to finish his sentence. He was killed by decapitation; and the weapon used was a demon wind shuriken. As his body fell to the ground in a bloody heap, his killer walked up to both admire his work and prepare for the next stage as he picked up Slipknot's head.
The other members of the Suicide Squad were all gathered by the generator inside of the warehouse. The machine was old so it was taking Livewire longer than expected to warm it up. As everyone waited as it was charging up, Bronze Tiger was attempting to get into contact with Slipknot.
"Bronze Tiger to Slipknot, come in." He never got a response. There was only static that was heard. He and the others didn't want to take any chances so they sent Cheetah to check on him, "Cheetah, go check on that idiot."
"Of course, it's always him that seems to screw things up. You'd think a creep like him could handle himself, but all he seems to be good at is preying on defenseless women. I'd claw his face off if-" Just as she was about to finish, an object was thrown their way from out of the darkness. Everyone saw that the object was the decapitated head of their teammate, "If his head was still attached to his shoulders…gross."
'Whoever did this seems to be either really good or really sick in the head. Slipknot's jaw is removed. That means that either it was removed after Slipknot was killed or he was in the middle of talking when he got his head chopped off.' Bronze Tiger surmised. He would consider it impressive if not for the fact that whoever did this was probably here to kill all of them.
"Whoever you are, come out now! We didn't like Slipknot anyways, so you wound up doing us a favor by cutting the bloke's head off. As thanks we'll settle for cutting your head off, but if you make us wait, we will make it hurt." Captain Boomerang threatened.
The response the Suicide Squad got was not what they were expecting. The figure laughed as his voice echoed throughout the darkness of this factory. It was the most menacing laugh they'd ever heard, and most of them have met the Joker.
"I can't figure out where he's at. The way his voice is bouncing all over the place makes it seem like he's everywhere and nowhere at the same time." Cheetah voice frustratingly.
"Who are you?! Show yourself so I can devour you!" King Shark demanded.
"There was an idea…to bring together a group of despicable people with the goal of doing something good. That with enough time, they could wash away the sins of their past and redeem themselves to society. And when the time came, you could be called upon to fight toe-to-toe with the Justice League for the good of the Earth. But you never could and I was created instead. I was not made without cost…a price must be paid." The voice warned.
"Damn that Waller! This is no mission…it never was. This is our replacement…our execution." Bronze Tiger realized angrily.
The others felt betrayal and rage towards Waller and Argus. They had fought and bled for Waller's suicide missions and what was their reward; a bloody execution. But they weren't going down without a fight.
"Well why don't you come down here and get this over with then since you think you can take on the Justice League?!" Shrapnel yelled.
"I can hear the fear in all of your voices. You all sounded like he did just before he lost his head. So unsure…so afraid. Before the night is over, you will come to know true suffering as I have. To lose everything you hold dear, even the things you never knew were important to you. There are some redeeming qualities deep within all of you, good things worth fighting for, yet I will kill you all here the same. Fight me…run from me, it will not matter because death has come." The voice declared.
"You talk too much. Come down here and fight us since you're so confident." Bronze Tiger said trying to goad their opponent into a fight they wanted. If he was being honest, something about this guy didn't sit well with him at all.
"We aren't afraid of you! The Justice League doesn't even scare us. So how could some coward in the dark scare us?!" Captain Boomerang declared.
"Do you know the one thing I love more than hearing someone scream in terror; hearing them go silent." The voice said ominously.
After that a sizzling sound was heard nearby. Everyone check their surroundings for what they believed to a bomb nearby. It wasn't until Cheetah focused her hearing did she find the noise coming from inside Slipknot's head that she realized the trap that was set, "Everyone get away from-"
It was too late. The paper bomb hidden inside of Slipknot's head went off and blasted everyone within the vicinity. Livewire was blasted straight into King Shark, thus causing significant damage due to her electrical powers. Shrapnel, Captain Boomerang, and Bronze Tiger were the furthest away from Slipknot's head which meant they took the least amount of damage. They just had the wind knocked out of them. Cheetah, on the other hand, was the closest and suffered the most significant damage. Her left arm was blown off completely, with her right one being rendered useless because of the third degree burns she suffered. She also suffered a compound fracture in her right leg. Her Femur bone could be seen sticking out of her leg painfully. Cheetah was wailing in pain and suffering greatly.
In the midst of all of the chaos, their attacker had made his presence known. He was the clone of Itachi Waller made and his first mission was to exterminate the current incarnation of the Suicide Squad. He strolled down the assortment of criminals with a satisfied smile on his face. When he got to Cheetah, he knelt down and smothered her mouth with his hand. The only sound that could be heard was the muffled screams of a terrified Cheetah.
"Pleasure isn't something one usually feels when torturing someone else, it corrupts the soul. It's why there is a saying out there; 'my mercy is greater than my wrath'," The clone then released her mouth and let her breath again. The pause was only the calm before the storm though as he stabbed her broken leg with a kunai. She started screeching even louder than before much to the clone's delight, "It's too bad you don't deserve mercy, none of you do. That's why I am going to enjoy this. Hearing you scream puts a smile on my face. I want you to feel all of the terror you've caused to others due to your carnal ways. I am wrath that devours mercy! You deserve to suffer…so scream for me!"
Cheetah kept screeching in pain. It was the most hellish moments of life she had ever suffered and she would beg for death if she had the ability to speak. It didn't end until the clone used his sword to gruesomely hack her head off of her shoulders.
"I love it when they go silent. I wonder how long you all will last before you stop screaming," The clone said as he was smiling menacingly. He turned towards the others who still hadn't recovered all of the way. Fear was clear on all of their faces, "I'm going to enjoy every moment of this."
And with that began a pivotal event that would start this clone on a dark, evil path towards revenge against Itachi. That event is known as the Suicide Massacre.
That's it for this chapter! It took a while, but I got it done. As you all will read, this clone is a dark, sadistic force of nature that will challenge Itachi in every way possible. I wanted to base it off of the Logan climax of Wolverine vs. X-24. A battle of mythology vs. reality if that makes sense. I want people to fear this character and his psychotic tendencies. The clone will definitely push the boundaries of Itachi's moral compass and greatly alter how I want this story to progress. It's why when writing the chapter I wanted to show that the clone is also seeing Itachi's past as the others are and reacting to it in real time like they are. It's why I chose to go into great detail about it. This is only the beginning and I can't wait to get back to writing and dive deeper into the dark mind of Itachi's clone.
The next chapter will be called Wrath. It will be featuring the rest of Itachi's past and the clone vs. the Suicide Squad. I wanna say thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has read, liked, disliked, or anything in between about this story. When I was asked to continue it, I had no idea this many people would view and like it as much as they have and for that you have my thanks. This is not the end. Once I'm done with boot camp, I'll get right back into the grind and pump another chapter out for you guys. If you like the chapter let me know in the reviews/pm, and if you didn't like it let me know still because I enjoy reading everyone's reaction. Love you guys and have a happy New Years! See you all in March!