Chapter 6
Sasukes memories started oh so innocently with himself, a man, a woman and an older boy sharing a meal.
As memories tended to do, when shared with this genjutsu, it was in Sasukes Perspective and had underlying emotions. Although the memory was not as clear as a sharingan one would be, it was vivid and full of detail. Izuna could look at the picture of the walls for Kamis sake!
The memory had a content emotion, though there was clear tensions visble between the other People in the room.
The next memory just featured the boy from the table leaning in and the touch- sensation of being poked. It was initially annoyed-content but somehow overshadowed by dread and hate and oh... was that him? The clan-killer?
Izuna shuddered, just thinking about it but had to wait to find out because a few other memoried followed- including Sasuke making a giant fireball and being very happy when the man- his father? took note and the kid appereantly saw fit to give them a history lesson.
Izuna was both grateful he did and wished he didn't.
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It started in a room full of desks and kids- from different clans nontheless- and and adult at the front and Sasukes emotions did not indicate this as abnormal even though it was.
There wasn't really a reason for a clan child to be with non-allies, alone, so it should be. Unless they weren't non-allies ( though if Sasuke had any real allies, Izuna doubted he would have made it here because his very idea had been insane and dangerous).
Something was off.
And then the adult started talking about the creation of Konoha, a village built by the Senju and Uchiha and Izuna wanted to punch him, the wall and Madara.
Because clarly, something as stupid, idealistic and narrow-minded as a village with the Senju of all People had to come from him. Madara had brought up Peace with the Senju a couple of times now and Izuna had always talked him out of it because they couldn't fully trust anyone, let alone Senju- Sum! People could and would akways fear them, hate them, betray them and walk over mountains of corpses to get their eyes ( Izuna loved his eyes and Kami- given power but it dit paint a target on their back. People seldom simply admired the beauty or power of others- no, they seeked to make it theirs and squash it down anywhere else.)
That feeling of dread, anger and wanting to pukch someone only intensified when the man skipped over the village leaders- who all appeared to be senju- Hashimara, Tobriama of All things ( having a senju leader was basically suicide for his Clan what were Madara and he doing? Where were they? Why did they not prevent this) or senju taught ( that was not better).
Izuna got his answers and he wished he did not.
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The next memory was the kid talking to one of the adults he shared a meal with before.
"They talked about how the village was created and the Kage in the Academy ...Mom, why was there never a Uchiha Kage?"
" Hnn... People would think it's unfair cause we are also the Police I suppose."
" But that's unfair! The other Clans also do other stuff and could still be Kage?"
" Well...who becomes the Kage is mostly based on Popularity and in the past hhey were only really people that the previous Kage taught in some way."
"So the first taught the second and the second the third?..."
" No... The first was voted." The kid did not seem to pick up on the fact that this seemed to bother his mother but Izuna did.
" Then his brother surpassed him, who made us responsible for the Police force. He chose his student to surpass him, the third. He chose...his students student and he, well, died in the Kyubi Attack, so the third is the Hokage at the moment."
" It's still unfair that there wasn't an Uchiha Hokage."
" Yes. After Madara became the first missing-nin, people weren't really keen on Uchiha leading..."
" That's aaages ago though."
" Hnn. People don't forget or forgive easily..."
:"But they did...the Senju and Uchiha did wjen they found this village, didn't they?"
" Hnn...Maybe. What do you think, should we buy some Tomatoes for dinner? "
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So Madara just left their People which was not a thing that was acceptable unless he dragged them with him. Things had to be bad if that Madara finally realised that what was once a dream was a nightmare in reality.
Izuna could not imagine is brother just leaving his people to die. And if he ever thought about it, Izuna would have talked him out of it.
Unless he was dead.
Oh.
That explained a lot.
Izuna was Madaras rock, just like Madara was his. Loosing him...it could very well break his brother. It could change him.
And Izuna being dead would explain the ridiculous village too- the Uchiha did not have someone who could rival Tobirama without him and there wasn't any voice Madara would listen to opposing such village plans expect for Izunas.
And without Madara there after he left, the Uchiha had no one with the Power to rival Hashimara or his brother so pushing them down, pushing them smaller, making his clan weaker and loose their allies if they still had any until finally disposing of his entire clan would be laughably easy.
And if that Village did that, they used an ex- Uchiha, got one who was once theirs to obey their orders and do their dirty work like a dog trained to attack.
It would explain how almost the whole entire clan was killed in a night.
Unless the Clan-killer was on Madaras level at least, it wouldn't be possible for one Uchiha to kill the whole clan alone so fast. It probably wouldn't even be possible for Madara.
But if the village just pretended Sasukes ex-brother was responsible for everything ( which Sasuke would be very inclined to believe after that person put him the worst mental torture Izuna could even try to imahine) they could keep another Uchiha if they just hid Sasukes ex-brother from him and maybe have more Uchiha subservient in the future. Kami, they could even do that if the whole thing came out ( after all, it was easier to control and surpress people if they stood alone and the only things standing by Sasuke were broken dreams and corpses.)
Izuna just did not understand why.
Why would an Uchiha ever turn so much against their own as to at the very least be complicit in the Genocide if their own Clan and torture their own little brother so much that killing him instead would have probably been a mercy?
Izuna didn't know. He didn't think it really mattered either. He just wanted to stop it, stop everyone involved from ever hurting his people ( killing them painfully would be cathartic).
He couldn't because he wasn't there but at least he could-would make sure that it would not happen here. He just had to not die, stop Madara from ever founding a village from the senju and find someone to take care of Sasuke.
He could do this. It was fine.
But first he had to continue on with Sasukse memories.
This would be the worst one.
Izuna saw death.
The streets were filled with corpses and he - or rather- Sasuke felt - shock hatred sadness anger fear.
And then he met the brother who did not deserve him when going into a house that felt familiar- his home maybe?- and was glad he was alive until realising that that same brother was not an ally when he moved to attack him.
And then the boy, the ex-Uchiha, the monster as Sasuke had called him explained he killed everyone and then showed Sasuke how with Genjutsu. Those memories repeated once and Izuna was glad they were over for him so soon while for the kid they probably weren't,
going by what he said.
They were gory ,cruel and Izuna wanted to jump into action, a lot, and just had to helplessly watch. This was it's own form of torture.
The memories showed him one thing though.
The monster couldn't have killed everyone like he showed there. Some of his killing methods didn't quite match the wounds the people had. It came close though, and so Sasuke probably would not have ever noticed.
It made Izunas blood boil.
But well. He could go and deal with all this ansger and all his other emotions when he finally finished Sasukes memories.
The next memory was of an old man coming into a white room and offering condolences.
He looked sad and regreful(?)- Izuna had never been good at reading the Emorions of Outsiders.
And then the man said all of the clans bodies were already burned, even the eyes and Izuna felt overwhelming anger fear sadness...He wasn't quite sure which one of the emotions were his and which were Sasukes.
Not even the Senju-Scum had dared to touch their fallen comrades. It was the one mercy their clans granted each other. And there, then in a world where the clans pretended to have peace ( Izuna always knew that would not work!) they did not only weaken them, kill them.( probably) almost all, torture them ( unless that was a thing the monster did on his own, who knew?), no, they even took their corpses. They may have taken the eyes the Kami had gifted to the Uchiha. That was even worse than death.
It wasn't the first time that Izuna just wanted to burn it all.
Burn the one Sasuke once called Brother,.brun everyone who attacked the Uchiha, burn that old man and burn the whole village down.
Izuna couldn't do that. But he could prevent the villages existence- if he stayed alive, or beat that into Madaras Head good enough that Madar would act accordingly even if Izuna died and that wasn't as fun or relieving but at least it was something.
Izuna took a deep breath and watched the last memory.
The last memory was full of determination, fear, hope- a first one of this, a sudden pain on an arm, the sensation of painting something- a seal? that you could also see in the mirror on a shoulder.
Izuna couldn't decipher the seal but Sasuke seemed to know what he was doing.
Then there was another seal, a tug of chakra- which felt very weird - and the surroundings of the kid changed.
The kid felt relived and very exhausted as he dragged himself until he eventually just sat down in the cave Izuna found him in.
This was the last memory Sasuke gave him and Izuna was very relieved that it was finally over.
His eyes immeadetly went towards the child, the child who when everyone around him died chose not to fight his enemy but the very bounds of reality.
He looked peaceful, at rest, and Izuna was so glad he had put him into a Genjutsu.
That meant he could deal with...well...everything without being worried about him right now.
Madara had seemingly also finished watching the memories, going by his - by Madaras standarts- very distraught face.
" I think I need another drink." Izuna commented.
Madara hnned in agreement, eyes fixed on Sasuke.
Before Izuna went to get them just that he went outside, made a fireball and and hit a tree so hard it formed cracks.
He felt a bit better after that.