Konoha: Naruto's abnormal life choices

"Uchiha Itachi, why aren't you dead yet?!" Sasuke's murderous intent surged. He hunched forward, teeth clenched, eyes burning with hatred—as if he wanted to rip Itachi apart with his bare hands.

He had already used every technique at his disposal—Lightning Release, Fire Release, the Sharingan—and even had Uchiha Izumi fighting by his side in this desperate clash.

Yet despite their combined might, they still couldn't overwhelm Uchiha Itachi. They had a slight advantage, yes, but it wasn't enough. The three maintained a strange equilibrium in battle.

The more Sasuke thought about it, the more his rage boiled. His emotions spiraled out of control.

If it were any other opponent, he might have held back. But not with this man. He wanted to kill Itachi to avenge his parents—nothing less.

"My foolish little brother," Itachi sneered through the searing pain in his eyes, "maybe you should ask yourself why you're still so weak."

"You don't hate enough. You lack resolve. And you think you can kill me?"

Sasuke's Sharingan pulsed furiously. His hands trembled with rage as he prepared Susanoo's bow. "Shut up and die!"

Zheng!

Itachi's Susanoo raised its shield—the legendary Yata Mirror. The arrow from Sasuke's Susanoo clashed against it with a metallic screech, but the mirror's divine defense easily blocked it.

A gleam flashed in Itachi's eye as he countered, his Susanoo brandishing the Ten-Fist Sword, stabbing forward with intense crimson light.

"Since you've awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, there's no need to spare you. You'll die right here, and I'll take your eyes as my eternal light!"

He laughed maniacally as the fiery blade extended toward Sasuke's Susanoo.

Just as the blade was about to strike, Izumi intercepted with her white Susanoo, her short sword slashing horizontally.

"You're truly a monster, Itachi. You killed your clan, your friends, your parents—and now, you want to murder your own brother?"

Om~!

Their blades clashed with a high-frequency hum.

Izumi's sword—brutal and sharp—neutralized the mystical Ten-Fist Sword's sealing power. Her technique was raw, overpowering.

Itachi gritted his teeth. "Izumi was always such a gentle girl… Why is her Susanoo so ruthless?"

This battle was especially difficult for Itachi because of Izumi. He could brush off Sasuke's arrows, but Izumi's blade was a real threat.

The Yata Mirror was his saving grace.

Her sword and his shield—an unstoppable force and an immovable object—cancelled each other out.

"I have to eliminate Izumi first," Itachi calculated grimly. "Otherwise, this battle will drag on—and I can't hold out much longer."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Izumi… Where have you been all these years?"

Izumi's gaze was icy. "You put me in hell. You paid someone to kill me yourself."

"I've been there ever since the day you murdered my mother."

"Why, Itachi? She was just a Chunin. Why did she have to die?!"

She screamed, her voice cracking from rage.

Itachi flinched—briefly guilt-ridden—but quickly masked it with coldness.

"You don't want to answer?" Izumi continued, her voice shaking.

"I did answer," Itachi replied evenly. "You're not dead, are you?"

"Oh? Disappointed I survived?" she spat. "Who am I to expect mercy from you? You killed your parents. Of course I'm nothing."

"You're scared," she hissed. "Scared I'd awaken my Mangekyō and come for you."

Sasuke snarled, his emotions erupting: "How could you kill Mom and Dad? They always smiled at you more than they did at me—and you butchered them. You're not human. You're a demon."

Itachi's chest tightened, tears threatening his vision.

He had chosen this path. He had destroyed the Uchiha Clan. But the truth? He'd never wanted any of this.

If not for the coup...

If only there'd been another way...

He had no choice.

He wanted to explain everything to Sasuke and Izumi, but he couldn't.

If they knew the truth, Sasuke might hesitate.

Itachi needed Sasuke to grow stronger—he needed him to protect Konoha. Even if it meant hating him forever.

Taking a deep breath, Itachi murmured, "It's useless to say any more. Just remember this: The strong devour the weak."

"You weren't strong enough back then. That's why the Uchiha fell. It's your fault."

The words cut him like a blade. Blood and tears streamed from his eyes.

"Disgusting," Naruto muttered from afar, barely containing his nausea.

Bad guys weren't scary. What was scary were bad guys who believed they were the good guys.

He did all this in the name of peace? For ideals?

The coup was the work of Uchiha elites. What did civilians have to do with it? Why slaughter everyone?

And even if every Uchiha backed the coup—did that give Itachi the right to judge them?

Parents who never wronged him. Who gave him nothing but love.

Yet he still raised a blade against them.

Of all the twisted minds in the Uchiha Clan, Naruto thought, Itachi was the worst of them all.

And Sasuke? A fool, forgiving it all just because Obito spun a few words about how "Itachi did it for him."

"A man who defies nature," Naruto muttered bitterly.

He believed even bad people had bottom lines.

But Itachi? Crying and playing the victim after mass murder?

It was pathetic.

If not for wanting Izumi and Sasuke to gain experience, Naruto would've already jumped in to end it.

Orochimaru, watching with him, asked, "Sir, are you worried about Sasuke and that girl?"

Naruto shook his head. "They don't need help. Itachi can't overpower them."

"Shall I handle something for you, my lord?" Orochimaru asked quietly.

"Find Zetsu," Naruto replied. "Assist the Two-Tails Jinchūriki with him."

"Yes," Orochimaru responded, disappearing instantly.

He had become a loyal and capable subordinate—never asking what Naruto didn't want to say, never delaying orders.

Back on the battlefield, the three Uchiha stood off.

Itachi wiped away his tears and blood. "You were the one I saw in the Land of Lightning, weren't you, Izumi?"

Her crimson eyes were cold. "So what?"

Itachi saw no kindness left in the girl he once loved. Only burning hatred.

She must have vanished from Konoha long ago. If she were still there, the Third Hokage would've told him.

She'd probably only just returned—and with one goal: kill him.

If Izumi, a Mangekyō Sharingan user consumed by hatred, hadn't grown up in Konoha... she'd be a danger to it.

He couldn't let her lead Sasuke astray.

He needed to control her. The Kotoamatsukami—originally meant for Madara or Sasuke—would have to be used on Izumi.

"I don't need to say anything else," Itachi declared. "Today, I collect two Mangekyō Sharingan."

Blood streamed from his eyes. The shattered Ten-Fist Sword regenerated instantly.

"Sister Izumi, be careful!" Sasuke warned, arrow drawn.

He waited for the perfect moment.

Izumi nodded slightly. Her long black hair shimmered in the sunlight. She struck first, slashing with her Susanoo blade.

Itachi blocked with the Yata Mirror and countered with the Ten-Fist Sword.

Swoosh!

Sasuke's arrow roared through the air, aiming for Itachi.

Susanoo had tremendous defense—but Sasuke bet his bow could break through if timed right.

Itachi finally noticed and tried to defend, but it was too late.

Izumi grabbed his wrist.

Crack!

Bone shattered.

Sasuke's arrow pierced Itachi's Susanoo—and at the same time, the Ten-Fist Sword stabbed through Izumi's white Susanoo.

Their defenses were down. Both lunged forward.

"Amaterasu!"

"Uga no Mi!"

Black flames surged toward Izumi—but she threw them aside with raw force.

Itachi's pupils shrank in disbelief. No one had ever escaped Amaterasu physically.

"What kind of ability is that?"

Izumi's eye technique was unimaginable.

She raised her sword and lunged at Itachi.

He panicked—and used Tsukuyomi.

In an instant, Izumi was in a blood-red world. Bound. Surrounded by a thousand Itachis, all armed.

"A mental attack?" she smirked.

But her ability wasn't just physical—it extended to mental resistance too.

As long as five seconds hadn't passed in the real world, she remained invincible.

"You picked the wrong person to use Tsukuyomi on."

She broke free, seized a blade, and massacred every single version of Itachi in the dreamscape—decapitating, slicing, ripping hearts out.

For thirty straight minutes, she bathed the dream world in blood.

Finally, Itachi was forced to break the illusion.

He fell from the sky—shaken, mentally scarred.

But Izumi's blade still swung for his neck.

Desperate, Itachi released a crow from his sleeve—its eye glowing with Shisui's Sharingan.

"If I can make her loyal to Konoha, it'll all be worth it—even if I die."

Just as the crow's eye met Izumi's...

A golden flash interrupted everything.

Naruto appeared.

He crushed the crow's head with one hand—and caught Izumi's sword with the other.

"You want to die?"

"It's not that easy."

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