9
Three excruciating days crawled by, each one a torment for Itachi as he grappled with two haunting choices. Seeking solace, Itachi finally approached Kakashi, and their meetings at the Naka River were fraught with unspoken tension.
"I've made up my mind," Itachi declared. Kakashi taunted, "Wow, so heartless," eliciting a glare from Itachi. "But make sure nothing happens to my little brother. If it does, I won't hesitate to bring the whole village down with me," Itachi threatened.
Kakashi sighed, pondering, "That's a lot of confidence. I wonder where it's coming from... did you perhaps get help from somewhere?"
"Don't worry. As long as my little brother is safe, the village is safe," Itachi assured. "Just your little brother?" Kakashi probed. "Yes, just him," Itachi replied in a hushed voice. "So when?" Kakashi questioned. "Tonight." "Heartless..."
That night... "Sensei, I have something to report," Kakashi said with a serious expression, prompting Minato to follow him outside the living room to discuss away from Naruto's ears. "The Uchiha clan is no more," Kakashi revealed. "Huh?"
Minato reached the Uchiha compound within seconds, stunned to learn that Itachi was behind the massacre. "So where is Sasuke?" Minato asked as an ANBU guided him toward unconscious Sasuke. "He's just passed out, nothing serious, physically at least," the medic ninja reassured.
"At least he didn't kill his own brother," Minato sighed. "We are done investigating Hokage-sama" another ANBU reported. "Is that so? And anything else?" Minato inquired. "Nothing, Hokage-sama," he replied. "Alright, call Kakashi for me," Minato ordered.
At the hospital... Sasuke woke up in panic, breathing heavily, his eyes filled with terror. Minutes later, Minato arrived with Kakashi behind him. "Where is he, my brother, where is he?" Sasuke demanded with rage, revealing a newly awakened two Tomoe Mangekyou Sharingan. ‘Two Tomoe already, that’s different,’ Kakashi wondered. "I'm sorry, Sasuke, but we don't know. Can you explain what exactly happened to you and him?" Minato questioned.
"Nothing happened to HIM. Everything happened because of him," Sasuke replied, glaring at Kakashi. "What has Kakashi got to do with it?" Minato inquired. "Calm down, Sasuke. I agree I had a thing with your brother, but I can assure you that I had no part in this," Kakashi explained.
"Liar, you're all just liars!" Sasuke exclaimed, tears welling up in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. I can only imagine your pain, but if you want to bring the real culprit to justice, you have to tell us what exactly happened," Minato urged.
"It's Itachi. He did that. I don't know why, but one thing I'm sure about is that I will be the one to bring my clan to justice. I will avenge them by killing Itachi with my own hands," Sasuke declared, gritting his teeth and controlling his tears. ‘That’s the spirit. So nostalgic,’ Kakashi thought to himself. "I'll talk to you later personally. Rest for now," Minato said, leading Kakashi out of the room.
"What should I do, Sensei?" Kakashi asked. "Don't do anything. I want you to leave ANBU and become a teacher of newly graduated Genins to train them," Minato instructed. "But don't you think I'm overqualified for that?" Kakashi questioned. "So was I. It doesn't matter. Do whatever you want," Minato replied. "It's alright, I guess. I just gotta fail everyone until my Team 7 graduates. But until then, let’s just train," Kakashi said to himself.