The Uchiha clan, which was wiped out entirely, lacked vision.

Chapter 2 My Shadow, Your Regret

The moonlight, like solidified liquid mercury, pressed heavily on the eaves of the Hokage Building.

The Third Hokage had been standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of his office for a long time. The flickering light from his pipe cast a constantly shifting shadow on his deeply lined old face beneath his Hokage hat.

He gazed into the distance into the deep night, where the Uchiha clan's territory remained deathly silent.

This is a good thing, it means that everything is under control and no accidents have occurred.

But he still dared not let his guard down, fearing that a violent explosion and blinding flames that pierced the sky might erupt at any moment.

In the shadows behind him, figures of the Dark Guard were hidden, silent and motionless, like lifeless sculptures.

But he knew very well that with just one order, these loyal guards could be deployed as a reserve force to suppress any potential rebellion.

"Ugh!"

The third generation sighed heavily, their hearts filled with helplessness and pain.

This is not what I wanted!

Why did things end up like this?

It's a pity that Itachi, a ninja with the potential to become Hokage, who clearly loved Konoha and was extremely loyal to the village, could only live as a rogue ninja in the future.

He took a few more deep drags on his pipe, his sorrow deepening.

Time passed slowly, the moon rose in the east and set in the west, and the entire Hidden Leaf Village remained peaceful and serene.

"Whoosh!"

A hidden agent suddenly appeared in a flash, kneeling on one knee to report:

"Lord Hokage, the Uchiha clan has been wiped out."

"Phew..." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and the heavy atmosphere in the air was immediately broken, making the atmosphere in the office much more lively.

The third generation finally breathed a sigh of relief. He tapped his pipe in his hand, frowned, and asked:

"Are you sure it's correct?"

"Uh..." The ANBU ninja hesitated for a moment, but still reported the truth: "After counting the bodies, apart from the Uchiha An family, all known members of the Uchiha clan have been confirmed dead."

"However, blood belonging to the four individuals was found at Uchiha An's residence. Judging from the amount of blood loss, these four individuals should have been dead, but someone took their bodies away."

"Someone took the body away?" The Third Hokage was taken aback and asked curiously, "Was it Itachi who did it?"

"It's not confirmed at the moment. Also..." The ANBU member quickly glanced up at the Third Hokage, "Uchiha Sasuke is also dead."

"What?!" The Third Hokage was so shocked he dropped his pipe. "How could this be! How could Itachi kill his beloved younger brother?"

"What's impossible?" A sinister voice rang out from outside the door. "He's an evil Uchiha too! He could kill his parents and entire clan, so what's wrong with having another brother?"

When the Third Hokage turned around, he saw Danzo, dressed in bandages, walking in from outside with a gloomy face and leaning on a cane.

Tonight is a crucial moment in the annihilation of the Uchiha clan, so of course he had to be there to oversee things and prevent any from escaping. And now he has rushed back.

"Hmph!" The Third Hokage's eyes blazed with anger as he looked at this arrogant and unruly Konoha elder, growing increasingly displeased.

Originally, things wouldn't have escalated to this point with the Uchiha clan; it was all because of this bastard's wanton stirring up trouble that things came to this.

If it weren't for their long-standing friendship and the fact that keeping him and Genbu around would still be useful, he should have been torn to pieces long ago for what he had done!

"Sasuke is just a child, he doesn't know anything, so why did you have to kill him?"

"Itachi was always thinking about his younger brother, Sasuke, and he was afraid that Sasuke would be bullied in the village after he left."

"I promised Itachi that I would take care of his younger brother after he was gone."

"Sasuke was Itachi's bond in the village, and now you've killed him. How can Itachi not hate you in the future? How can you expect Itachi to remain loyal to Konoha?"

"I didn't kill Sasuke!" Danzo roared with a grim face.

Faced with his old friend's unreasonable accusations, Danzo's one eye was filled with anger.

"Sasuke was already dead when we got there!"

"It was clearly Itachi who did this, to completely sever ties with Konoha and avoid leaving a weakness in the village!"

"What do you mean by 'always thinking about your younger brother'?"

"He's totally fooled us!"

"He was clearly faking it to fool us!"

Danzo felt ashamed and angry, trembling with rage, realizing that he had always thought he had Itachi under his thumb, only to find out that he was the one being manipulated.

"Impossible!" The Third Hokage was already well aware of Danzo's habitual tendency to shift blame, and seeing him being so irresponsible again, he became even more furious.

He slammed his pipe on the table and roared:

"Danzo, don't think that just because you have absolute power in Root, no one will know what you've done!"

"I know better than anyone what kind of person Itachi is!"

"He would never do such a thing!"

"Itachi's loyalty to Konoha Village is beyond question!"

"What's there to be absolutely certain about?" Danzo's eyes were filled with disappointment and frustration. "He's an evil Uchiha, he's not trustworthy!"

"If he were truly loyal, he should have left Sasuke behind as a hostage for the village!"

"If he were truly loyal, he shouldn't have taken Fugaku's eyes!"

"Those evil eyes are most likely to evolve under the pressure of life and death!"

"Now that his entire family has been wiped out, Fugaku's eyes have likely transformed into the legendary kaleidoscope!"

"You've seen the village's intelligence, so you should know what it means that Itachi took those eyes with him!"

"Fugaku's eyes?" This new information startled the Third Hokage, who subconsciously looked at the Anbu member who was reporting the news to him.

The ANBU member gave a wry smile. "I hadn't even had a chance to report before Elder Danzo arrived."

The Third Hokage fell silent, and the political and biological mindset characteristic of the Hokage regained control of his thoughts.

He silently put the pipe into his mouth, took a long drag, and slowly exhaled.

After a long silence, he slowly spoke:

"Fugaku's eyes are only one possibility. After all, over the years, we haven't seen many people who have been able to activate the kaleidoscope."

"Furthermore, the disappearance of the Uchiha An family's corpses is also very suspicious."

"Perhaps they didn't die, but were rescued."

"Issue an arrest warrant, declaring Uchiha An a rogue ninja, charged with... murdering a fellow villager, Uchiha Sasuke!"

Danzo had known the Third Hokage for many years and was very familiar with his ways. As soon as he heard the Third Hokage's voice, he knew that the Third Hokage still suspected that Sasuke had been killed. However, in order to prevent Itachi Uchiha from becoming disloyal, he deliberately framed the missing Uchiha An.

"snort!"

"What we need to do now is not concern ourselves with the life or death of a nobody like Uchiha An, but to seize the time and, before Uchiha Itachi has digested Uchiha Fugaku's eyes, arrest him and retrieve Fugaku's eyes!"

The mere thought of his own family possessing a pair of Mangekyou Sharingan, along with the Wood Release brought by the First Hokage's cells balanced by the Mangekyou Yin Release, made Danzo's body tremble with excitement. He kept urging the Third Hokage to give the order.

But the third generation showed no mercy, simply shaking their heads in refusal. After being annoyed by his persistent pestering, they slammed their fists on the table and resorted to their tried-and-true method of dealing with the situation.

"Danzo!"

"I am the Hokage!"

"I will not allow you to lay a hand on Uchiha Itachi!"

Danzo was trembling with rage at the thought of losing what he had almost obtained.

"Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"

He slammed his cane on the ground, turned around angrily, and slammed the door shut as he left.