Naruto: The Nine-Tails' Legacy Chapter 52: The Night of the Massacre

Sasuke burst through the front door and frantically searched the house like a headless fly.

The entrance hall.

The kitchen.

The bathroom.

The living room…

After checking every room without finding anyone, the fear inside him grew stronger and stronger.

Because just like outside—

The entire house was completely dark.

No…

No…

There has to be sowhere I haven't checked yet…

Suddenly, Sasuke rembered his father's room.

The dojo-like room his parents and even Itachi rarely allowed him to enter.

Almost instinctively, Sasuke sprinted toward it.

"There!"

Like soone grabbing onto the last thread of hope, Sasuke stumbled desperately toward the door.

Yet the mont he reached out to push it open—

He froze.

Then terror swallowed his entire body.

Soone was inside.

Breathing.

Heartbeat.

Footsteps.

Chakra.

None of it was concealed.

Sasuke could clearly sense that soone stood inside the room.

But…

Only one person.

Is it Dad…?

It has to be Dad!

Sasuke's entire body trembled violently from fear and rage.

Countless horrifying images flooded his mind as he desperately tried to resist the terror overwhelming him.

"Move…"

"Move already!"

Grinding his teeth, young Sasuke forcibly suppressed the instinct screaming at him to run away.

Then—

He pushed the door open.

Blood.

Just like everywhere else he had seen tonight—

Blood flowed slowly across the floorboards.

And the mont Sasuke opened the door—

He saw the bodies of his parents collapsed in pools of blood.

The scene shattered the young boy's heart instantly.

Shock and disbelief filled his face so completely that even fear itself collapsed beneath the impact.

His subconscious refused to accept what his eyes were showing him.

"Mom… Dad… what happened to you…?"

"You finally ca."

A soft voice drifted out from the darkness.

A familiar…

Yet strangely unfamiliar voice.

Every hair on Sasuke's body stood upright.

His pupils shrank violently.

Who was speaking?

Terrified, Sasuke slowly lifted his head.

Then he saw the familiar face stepping out from the darkness.

The other person wore an unfamiliar combat outfit stained faintly with blood.

Beneath the Konoha forehead protector—

A pair of scarlet eyes stared down at him coldly.

The bloody aura and killing intent radiating from Itachi filled the room.

Yet in his panic, Sasuke barely noticed any of it.

Instead, he staggered toward his older brother desperately, like soone finally seeing salvation.

"Nii-san!"

"That's great… you're okay…"

"Mom and Dad, they—"

Thunk.

A rciless shuriken interrupted him.

Sasuke instinctively dodged at the last second, but the blade still sliced through the fabric near his shoulder and left a bloody cut along his arm.

Falling backward onto the floor, Sasuke clutched the wound while staring upward in disbelief at Itachi's utterly emotionless face.

"Why…?"

"Why…?"

Trembling in terror, Sasuke retreated until his back slamd against the doorway.

He couldn't understand it.

He couldn't understand why his gentle older brother would do sothing like this.

His reflexes improved quite a bit.

Looks like the daily training this past year really did have results…

But I didn't expect Sasuke to co ho earlier tonight.

Hopefully "Madara" finishes cleaning up the remaining clan mbers quickly.

There are still things Sasuke absolutely must rember.

Watching Sasuke barely avoid the shuriken, Itachi sighed inwardly.

Yet outwardly, his face remained perfectly calm.

Ignoring Sasuke's terrified, pleading eyes, Itachi slowly closed his own.

"Foolish little brother…"

Then he suddenly reopened them—

The three tomoe had transford into the triangular blades of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Tsukuyomi.

Darkness swallowed Sasuke's vision instantly.

Then—

The scenery around him changed.

And the mont he realized what he was seeing—

Sasuke completely broke down.

"No…"

"No no no—!"

"Stop, Nii-san!"

"Why?!"

"STOP!"

"Dad! Mom! Run!"

"Nii-san, please stop—!"

Before his eyes unfolded a true living hell.

Itachi Uchiha stood amidst mountains of corpses and rivers of blood like a demon from the underworld.

The eerie glow of the Mangekyō Sharingan illuminated everything around him.

The blades and ninja tools in his hands rcilessly harvested the lives of clan mbers Sasuke had seen every single day of his life.

anwhile, while Sasuke suffered in agony—

Itachi himself silently endured unimaginable pressure.

Not only did he need to maintain the stability of Tsukuyomi through his eyes—

He also had to carefully limit the damage inflicted upon Sasuke.

Otherwise—

Sasuke's mind could easily collapse completely and kill him.

Screams.

Wails.

Curses.

Voices of despair echoed endlessly through Sasuke's mind.

Finally—

He collapsed to the ground clutching his head, releasing a heart-rending cry while tears and mucus stread uncontrollably down his face.

"Haa… haa…"

Sasuke's broken sobbing only exhausted Itachi further.

Yet he could not reveal even the slightest emotion.

Because within Itachi's plan—

Sasuke absolutely had to rember this terror.

This hatred.

Only then would he grow stronger quickly enough to protect himself.

After all—

Ever since being brought onto battlefields by his father as a child, Itachi had already learned the truth.

The endless wars.

The people slaughtering one another without cease.

Everything…

Originated from hatred.

Only hatred could drive people to pursue true power.

And as mbers of the cursed Uchiha clan—

They possessed the natural ability to transform hatred into the terrifying strength sleeping within their bloodline.

Grow stronger, Sasuke.

From now on…

You'll have to learn how to protect yourself.

Eventually, Sasuke stopped crying.

He lay sprawled across the floor.

Tear streaks covered his face.

Even saliva leaked uncontrollably from the corner of his mouth.

He simply stared blankly at Itachi.

"Why…"

Itachi silently looked into Sasuke's eyes.

Beside the scarlet pupils distorted by agony—

Tomoe had begun to appear.

Though Sasuke himself clearly hadn't realized it yet.

Two tomoe…

Originally, Itachi believed Sasuke's chakra reserves should only allow the awakening of a single tomoe Sharingan at best.

Was this also the result of training alongside Naruto?

Itachi closed his eyes briefly.

His lips moved slightly without producing sound.

Then he reopened his eyes once more.

"To test my strength."

"..."

Sasuke's nearly shattered pupils trembled violently again upon hearing those words.

"J-Just for that…?"

Like a wounded wild dog, Sasuke trembled violently while struggling to force himself back upright.

Sweat soaked his hair completely, strands falling over his forehead and partially covering his eyes.

His vision blurred slightly.

Why…

Why can't I see my brother clearly anymore?

Why does he feel so unfamiliar now?

"That reason is important."

Itachi's calm voice sounded once more.

"Important?!"

"You've got to be joking!"

Barely managing to stand, Sasuke didn't even dare recall the nightmare he had just witnessed.

He charged forward like a madman, screaming hysterically.

At this mont, he could no longer think about anything else.

He only wanted to tear apart this horrible nightmare.

This had to be a dream!

It had to be!

Watching Sasuke charge toward him with bloodshot two-tomoe Sharingan eyes—

Itachi realized he could no longer delay.

Because Sasuke returned ho earlier than expected tonight, Itachi had been forced to deal with him first.

aning several surviving Uchiha clan mbers hiding elsewhere still remained alive.

If those survivors escaped—

What would the village do next?

Could Itachi truly continue protecting Sasuke afterward?

He didn't dare imagine the answer.

Sasuke's punch flew toward him.

Itachi blocked it effortlessly.

Before Sasuke could even use the other hand hidden behind his back—

A crushing impact exploded upward through his stomach like his organs were being shredded apart.

Itachi's carefully controlled knee strike slamd directly into Sasuke's tiny body, nearly launching him off the ground.

"Gah—!"

Sasuke coughed up blood violently.

Before he could even fall—

Itachi had already grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air.

The unbearable pain…

The ntal collapse…

The suffocation…

All of it caused the world beneath Sasuke's Sharingan to blur.

The scarlet eyes faded gradually.

Tears stread down his face as he looked weakly toward the cold Itachi standing before him.

"This… is a dream…"

"You're not really my brother…"

"Not really…"

"Foolish little brother…"

Itachi's voice finally shattered the last remaining support holding Sasuke's mind together.

"I only pretended to be the good older brother you admired…"

"So I could test your abilities."

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