Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 449 The Mature and Filial Son, Uchiha Itachi

"The ninja world is about to face a great crisis. The evil insect demon king is preparing to wreak havoc on humanity. If we don't stop him, everyone will lose their freedom and become pawns. And I—" Black Zetsu pointed to himself, "was left behind by the Sage of Six Paths to guide them."

"so what?"

"Therefore, the Uchiha cannot leave Konoha." Black Zetsu's voice suddenly turned stern. "Your father knows too many secrets. If he defectes to the enemy or is captured by demons, our plan will be exposed, and the entire ninja world will be plunged into a huge crisis."

Next, Black Zetsu explained to him what Infinite Tsukuyomi was and what eternal peace was, but he wasn't interested in any of it.

So he immediately changed his tone and told him that there was another way: Indra and Asura could awaken the power of all things in the universe and recreate the ancient seal, the demon within.

He then went on to explain how to merge the Eternal Kaleidoscope.

Hearing this, Itachi Uchiha was slightly tempted.

He wasn't doing it for himself, but for his younger brother Sasuke. "You mean Father will betray the ninja world?"

"He has already made his choice, hasn't he? He was already bewitched when he was preparing to pledge allegiance to the Dragon Kingdom."

Black Zetsu corrected him, "Even if he didn't defect voluntarily, the enemy might capture him and extract information from him. You know, Father knows too many of our secrets. If he really leads people to the Land of Waterfalls, he'll be handing himself over to the enemy."

"Anyway, I've already told you." Black Zetsu's figure slowly disappeared into the tree trunk. "The rest is up to you."

Uchiha Itachi lowered his head, now facing an even deeper dilemma: on one side were the remaining six members of his clan, and on the other was the survival of the ninja world. The scales had already tipped in his heart.

Then, another face appeared on the water's surface—the face of a serene young girl.

She bent down and came closer, her bangs falling freely, which she then tucked behind her ears with her fingers.

"What are you doing?" Itachi didn't turn around.

"I found some pills in the clan elders' house. They can enhance your physique and mental strength, and perhaps alleviate your genetic disease." Uchiha Izumi walked over and sat down next to him, taking out a porcelain bottle from her bosom and handing it to Itachi. Inside were several Body Tempering Pills and Mind Concentration Pills.

Itachi didn't take it; he just stared quietly at the water, at the reflections of the two people in it.

"If you had to choose between your clan and the ninja world, what would you choose?" he suddenly asked.

Uchiha Izumi was stunned, clearly not expecting Itachi to ask such a question.

"Itachi, why are you asking such a question?"

She found it strange, but answered truthfully anyway, "To be honest, the ninja world is too big, and our Uchiha clan is too small to compare. But I am also insignificant, so all I want is for my family to survive."

"Oh." Itachi Uchiha nodded, then suddenly stood up and hugged Izumi Uchiha from behind.

Quan's body suddenly froze, and a blush suddenly appeared on his cheeks. The two of them sat on the riverbank, their shadows overlapping in the water.

However, at that moment, Itachi Uchiha suddenly pulled out a kunai and stabbed it hard into her abdomen.

Izumi's eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Itachi's reflection. Blood gushed from the wound, flowing down the handle of the kunai onto Itachi's hand, warm and sticky.

Itachi, expressionless, pulled out the kunai and inserted it again and again...

Until the blood stained the ground red, and his breath completely ceased.

He wiped the blood from his face and whispered, "I'm sorry, I have no choice but to choose the ninja world. If the ninja world perishes, Konoha will cease to exist, and the Uchiha clan will not escape unscathed. I will bear all the sins alone."

Itachi held Izumi's gradually cooling body, lowered his head, and gently kissed her forehead.

He stood up and gently placed Quan's body on the ground. Blood and tears were mixed together, making them indistinguishable.

When he looked up again, his eyes had changed; there was no more hesitation, no more sadness, only resolute determination.

In the dead of night, the moon was as red as blood.

Outside Konoha Village, on a secluded path.

Uchiha Sasuke had just said goodbye to a new friend. It was a little girl who had been called a Byakugan monster by the village children. Sasuke had helped her chase away the bullies who were tormenting her. He helped her up, and the two became friends.

Sasuke was in a good mood, humming a song as he walked home. He couldn't wait to tell his brother that he had made a new friend today.

The moment Sasuke pushed open the door, his smile froze.

Blood, blood everywhere. Blood splattered everywhere—in the corridors, on the steps, on the walls, on the ceiling. The air was thick with the acrid smell of rust, making one want to vomit.

"Father? Brother?"

Sasuke called out a few times in a trembling voice, but no one answered. He walked step by step toward the living room, and stepped on something soft. Looking down, he saw a severed finger.

"ah--!"

Sasuke let out a short scream, then quickly covered his mouth, forcing himself to remain silent.

The living room door was half open, letting in a dim, yellow light.

Sasuke walked over and pushed open the door.

Five corpses lay scattered in the living room, each one a surviving member of the Uchiha clan.

A highly respected elder, a ninja who taught Sasuke the art of shurikenjutsu, and a grandfather and grandson who barely escaped death.

And his father, Uchiha Fugaku.

They were all dead, fatal wounds to the throat or heart, a clean and swift death.

The murderer was standing right in front of him.

In the center of the living room, Itachi Uchiha held a long sword that was still dripping blood in his hand, his face expressionless, only cold. "Sasuke, you're back."

"Brother...you...you killed..." Sasuke's voice trembled, his mind unable to comprehend what was happening before him.

"Why? Why? We all survived."

"Why? Why did you kill everyone? Why did you kill Dad?" Sasuke's tears welled up, his legs went weak, and he could barely stand.

"Because of my magnanimity, because I need to awaken a higher level of vision, and you are merely the material I'm fusing with. Suffer. Despair."

As Itachi approached step by step, Sasuke's small body retreated until he was cornered against the wall. With nowhere left to go, he closed his eyes and shouted, "Brother, don't kill me!"

"What a coward!" Itachi Uchiha's eyes transformed into Tsukuyomi, and he used one hand to turn Sasuke's face, repeatedly assaulting Sasuke's brain.

"Open your eyes and look at me, and then... with a heart full of hatred, take your revenge on me."

Ah ~

Sasuke Uchiha's consciousness was dragged into a blood-red world. There, his will was twisted, and he saw Itachi Uchiha killing all his clansmen again and again, endlessly.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke. From this day forward, you will hate me."