The black flames of Itachi's Amaterasu consumed the surroundings, leaving everything in ruins, ruins that were also caused by the fight of two brothers.
His gaze had already faded, at the same time his life was ebbing away from his body.
The all-consuming flames, the flames of Itachi's pain.
Suddenly, a strange sound echoed near the corpse and the fainting teenager. Two men appeared, looking at the misfortune that had been unleashed.
When they arrived, Toru narrowed his eyes as he saw that what Zetsu had said was true. In front of him, lay the lifeless body of Itachi, next to his beloved brother Sasuke.
Unconsciously he approached them and crouched down to make sure of this.
He touched Itachi's neck with two fingers and could make sure that this man had definitely left this world. He also made sure that Sasuke was still alive. To his good and bad luck, Sasuke was still breathing and had a steady pulse. Although he was weak, Uchiha Sasuke is still alive.
"So that's it..." Toru stood up and looked at Tobi.
"You surprise me with your reaction" He folded his arms and looked at the brothers lying on the ground. "I'm also surprised that you didn't change your ways when I showed my true self" he said with a low tone of voice. That childish and mocking tone was gone, only the deep voice of that man remained, the voice of Uchiha Madara.
In response to what was said before, Toru sighed and looked at the black flames spreading through the forest. "I already guessed as much. Itachi told me as well. Though it's hard to believe that someone like Uchiha Madara was still alive in this world" he showed an expressionless face throughout. His cold tone intensified even more, with eyes that somehow showed a bit of hostility and distrust.
"Hm... I'll tell you everything in a better way when Uchiha Sasuke wakes up. In the meantime, why don't you help me carry the dead weight?" as he said this, Madara looked at Itachi's lifeless body, which made Toru understand what he was referring to.
At the same time, Toru was silent for a few seconds, he looked at Itachi's lifeless body again and bent down to take it in his arms. In the process, he also looked at Sasuke, who was grabbed by the yukata by Madara as if he was a sack of potatoes.
"You took too long" Madara noticed Zetsu's presence, so he looked at him and obviously made his comment.
"It's not my fault. I don't have the ability to teleport like you. Besides, you already got help from that guy" Zetsu replied being stuck in the ground from the shoulders down.
"It doesn't matter anymore. Let's go before the bugs surround us."
After that, Madara used the ability of his Mangekyo Sharingan to transport them all to a different place, but because there were quite a few people he had to transport, it took a few seconds.
-Konohagakure-
"Ha!"
Blows were heard nearby, where two shinobi trained their jutsus splendidly and passionately.
Sweat trickled down her forehead, while her hands moved like water, fluctuating around her opponent's body, to finally return her opponent's strength in a powerful attack that pushed him a few meters away from her.
Hanabi smiled as she saw the fruits of her training, for she had achieved what a year ago she thought impossible.
"Omoiken... I made it..." Hanabi smiled and looked at her hands, which had scrapes and the occasional minor injury. Her training had managed to finish, but this would only open a new door to more possibilities. 'Onee-san... I can finally get over you again. I'll bring Nii-san back too. Just wait a little longer...'
Like everyone in this village, like everyone in the Shinobi World, Hanabi is growing up, growing up with a slightly bright vision about the future. She believes that if she works hard she can reach for the stars. She is still a child, but she has still grown mentally faster than many her age.
Hyūga Hanabi, princess of the Hyūga clan. She sees the future here as happy and peaceful. Although she also sees the bad side of the world in a somewhat amusing way.
"I'm sorry, are you okay? I didn't measure my strength much, Kō-san" She reached out her hand to help her caretaker.
"Hahaha... it's nothing" he got up from the ground and sighed. "Ha~ I feel old. I can't keep up with you anymore, Hanabi-sama."
"Don't be so cruel to yourself. I just...try too hard, haha."
"I understand. Since Hinata-sama no longer needs my protection, I thought I could still protect you, Hanabi-sama, but it seems that will soon no longer be possible."
"My, my. Spoken like a worried old man. Still, it doesn't matter. You'll still be able to look after me even if I have the power to destroy the world."
"Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration, Hanabi-sama?"
"Not at all! I know I'll make it someday. Until then, I have to try harder!"
-16th Akatsuki Lair-
He opened his eyes, tired, completely exhausted. He had a dry mouth, and some blood stains on his clothes.
He looked at the place, confused, of course. In fact, he didn't remember anything at all well, other than that last moment of Itachi. He still remembered the guilty satisfaction he felt.
"I've let someone apply first aid on you. Though it's not much, at least the pain won't be a bother anymore." Emerging from the darkness, that masked man's eye flashed crimson. "We've met before. And don't worry about Deidara. I am not your enemy."
Sasuke maintained the silence with which he awoke.
"I brought you here to tell you something important. Though I see you're not interested" He moved a little closer and paused briefly. "Maybe you'll pay more attention if I tell you what it's about."
Sasuke seemed indifferent, but when the masked man mentioned Itachi, his eyes widened slightly. In fact, the man, Madara, flashed his Sharingan to make sure Sasuke would hear him, but to no avail. In Sasuke's eyes, Itachi's Mangekyo showed itself, which activated the Amaterasu to kill Madara instantly, obviously that failed.
The next thing that happened, is Madara trying to convince Sasuke to hear the truth about Itachi. Everything that a certain person who listened silently from the darkness already knew. There came a time when Sasuke couldn't process what he was hearing and fainted. So Madara tied him with a rope and waited for him to wake up.
After that it was more of the same. Sasuke denying Madara's words. Mostly where Itachi was shown as a double agent who was used as Konoha's tool to eliminate the Uchiha clan.
"That night, Itachi left his old life behind and focused on the mission he was assigned."
Sasuke said nothing, but his face seemed calmer than when he woke up.
"Looks like you finally calmed down."
"What the hell are you trying to say with all this?"
"Hm... for it all to make sense, we'll have to reminisce about the founding of Konohagakure" He sat down on a nearby box and rested his hands on his knees. "Itachi was a sacrifice, part of an immense problem dating back to the first day of Konoha's existence as such. This decided the course in your brother's life and, as such, a rather long story, but I promise that every word I will say is true" For a second he looked out into the darkness of the hallway. "You should be interested in this too. You're also involved."
Sighing, touching his head painfully, Toru stepped out of the darkness and looked at Sasuke.
"T...To...ru?" Sasuke, confused, looked at the ground, as he didn't understand why Toru was in this place, moreover, wearing the clothes worn by the Akatsuki organization.
"As I said, he's also involved in this. And, well... I won't be able to have proof about what I will say. You can believe me or not, but still listen to me."
Understanding that this was escalating too fast, Sasuke nodded his head. "Okay, let's hear it..."
At the same time, Toru nodded his head and folded his arms. If there was anything to hear from the mythical Uchiha Madara, he could be of much use whether it was a lie or not.
Without further ado, Madara began.
***
Over 80 years ago, in an era of massacres and senseless violence. Nations clashed over rights, territory and that sort of thing you normally see in a war. In those times there were no villages like today, but shinobi families. Among the most feared, the most powerful, the most respected, were the Uchiha clan and the Senju clan.
The Uchiha had the Sharingan and immaculate talent. Within that clan, he, Uchiha Madara, was born. In that era, power was everything, so Madara exhausted all available resources to increase his power, friends, brothers, everything.
Thanks to that power, his fights were constant against the Senju clan, that was one of the reasons why Madara became famous in the Shinobi World. Even to the point of taking his brother's eyes to have a superior Mangekyo, an Eternal Mangekyo.
Although Madara only did what was necessary to protect his clan, or so he says. Even his own brother agreed to give him his eyes.
***
"Here the story fragments into two parts. This is what should interest you, Toru. Tell me, do you even know the origin of your own clan?"
Feeling a bit curious about it, he shook his head. "No, I never found any records that talk about my family's past beyond 40 years."
"In that case, listen carefully. You too, Sasuke. This part is where it all connects."
***
Constant wars, violence, death wherever his feet touched. His eyes looked at the world stained with blood. In fact, he enjoyed seeing it, in some sick way, he loved war. He loved the screams of suffering of his enemies, he loved the blood covering his body and his shinobi weapons.
His name was, at least that name used to be, Uchiha Toru.
***
Hearing this, Sasuke and Toru looked at each other. On the one hand, Sasuke had already heard this from Itachi's mouth, that Toru isn't exactly an Uchiha, but still carries some of the Uchiha clan's blood in his veins. And on the other hand, Toru was discovering new things about his already non-existent clan.
Madara continued.
***
Uchiha Toru, Madara knew him that way. A young shinobi who, by the misfortunes of war, in front of his eyes, covered in blood, with wounds all over his body, with weapons embedded in his vital organs, with a sad smile and tears on his face, his beloved died in his arms.
Right there, on the battlefield, Madara heard the boy's cry of pain. Surely Uchiha Toru felt that pain in his eyes and then, the Mangekyo Sharingan awakened, but he did not use it to take revenge and did not use it to attack others. Instead, he, with a shadowed look, took the woman he loved in his arms and retreated from the battlefield in silence.
After that, Uchiha Toru refused to return to the battlefield and devoted himself to preparing for the funeral of his beloved. For two days and two nights, he stood at the grave of that woman, mourning for what had happened.
This event generated a trauma in him, which turned him into an extreme pacifist who refused to enter combat or to touch a weapon again.
***
"This is where the origin of your clan begins, Toru."
***
A few watched that war-lover refuse to return to the battlefield and, little by little, began to take the same stance. They were mostly people with no talent for ninjutsu or in the art of war in general. Weak in both body and soul.
***
"Very few in the Uchiha Clan desired peace, we all thirsted for Chaos. I have to admit that even I was like that at the time. But back to the main topic. Uchiha Toru rebelled against the clan, fleeing along with everyone who agreed with his stance on the wars" Saying this, Madara folded his arms and looked at Toru. "What happened with Uchiha Toru after that is unclear to me, but I did see him again."
This was all quite interesting to Toru, as for a moment he forgot all the problems that lurked in the back of his heart and mind. "Still, this doesn't make sense, what does that person have to do with me? I don't even know his last name Asahi and he's not related to any person or ancestor of my clan either."
Madara nodded his head, at the same time Sasuke just listened silently. This was what Itachi was referring to when he said that Toru is also an Uchiha.
"That person has to do with you, of course. Not only do you carry the same name as him, but also physically you look like him. Only Uchiha Toru had black eyes. And this just keeps connecting to you, since that person is your ancestor."
To be Continued...
__________
And here's a bonus chapter. I'll put another goal of power stones, but this time I'll be a bit cruel. 300 power stones for the next chapter :D