[Time Remaining Until the Night of the Massacre: 1 Hour]
A full moon hung high in the night sky, its pale light casting a silvery glow over the buildings and streets of the Hidden Leaf Village in the Land of Fire.
Uchiha District.
Konoha Military Police Force—Detention Block.
On the rooftop, blood flowed like rivers. The bodies of numerous Uchiha Police Force members lay strewn across the ground. Every corpse had blood seeping from the eye sockets—each Sharingan forcibly removed.
At the center of the carnage stood a young man clad in the standard uniform of the Uchiha Military Police. With short black hair and striking features, he held a ninja blade in hand, standing tall and composed amidst the slaughter.
[Side Mission: Evolve the Sharingan]
[Condition: Absorb ocular power from 50 pairs of Sharingan]
[Mission Complete]
[Reward: Yasaka Spear — Mangekyō Sharingan]
Uchiha Inzuki panted heavily.
Suddenly, the three tomoe in his eyes spun violently, transforming into the jagged, blade-like pattern of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
An overwhelming surge of ocular power flooded his brain. Like an unstoppable torrent, the energy coursed violently through every nerve, every synapse—unstable and destructive. Inzuki's eyes bloodshot, his breath labored, but within seconds, he adapted to the searing spiritual energy now coursing through him.
His presence turned dark, sinister.
In his mind, an ability description surfaced automatically:
Yasaka Spear:
"The chakra of the Mangekyō Sharingan allows you to imprint a mark on others—either through direct eye contact or physical touch—regardless of distance. Once marked, you can manipulate their spirit and chakra at will via the link."
A wicked smile tugged at Inzuki's lips.
He crouched down.
With both hands, he carefully transferred the dozens of Sharingan he'd collected into a cylindrical fluid container.
The container was now filled with blood-red eyeballs, pressed against the glass in every direction—like an abominable, unspeakable entity from a nightmare.
Then—
He sealed the container into a storage scroll.
He had been in Konoha for just a week.
With the aid of the [System Tasks], he had finally obtained the mark of a true powerhouse in the shinobi world: the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Though the full extent of his new powers remained to be tested, he now had all the qualifications to defect from the Leaf.
At that moment, in a dark corner of the rooftop, one man was still alive.
Uchiha Dōka was slumped against a wall, covered in blood. His remaining left eye—bearing the three-tomoe Sharingan—was wide with horror as he stared at the scene before him.
"You bastard, Uchiha Inzuki… A captain of the Police Force, and you slaughtered your own clan for the Mangekyō?! You'll never meet a good end!!"
Inzuki slid the scroll into his cloak, checked the time, and calmly walked over to Dōka.
He crouched before him.
"Konoha's patrol teams will be here in about one minute," he said.
"So let's have a little chat… Dōka."
"You reported me for colluding with an S-rank rogue ninja, had me thrown into prison, and then took over all my duties in the Police Force. Finally, you show up here tonight to mock me."
"That must've felt pretty satisfying, huh?"
Dōka trembled, unable to respond.
He had indeed come tonight intending to use the dungeon's torture devices on the once-gentle and refined Inzuki, who had allegedly turned traitor. So long as he didn't kill him, he assumed the clan head, Fugaku, would turn a blind eye.
But Inzuki had gone berserk upon seeing him—his three-tomoe Sharingan flaring—and slaughtered every guard in the prison with just a blade.
Like a demon unleashed.
His strength was beyond anything Dōka had imagined.
"You're mistaken," Inzuki said. "I didn't kill them just to awaken the Mangekyō. Even if I had, it wouldn't have worked."
He paused, then chuckled.
"Oh, and those letters you intercepted—the ones linking me to a rogue ninja? I let you catch those on purpose."
Dōka's pupils dilated. His mind frantically replayed the entire sequence of events, connecting the dots. His face turned ashen.
"The guards stationed tonight were all your men. And the patrol team captains arriving in moments—Izumi, Nanami, and Tamayo—I arranged that rotation before I was even imprisoned."
Inzuki stood and added:
"I know your personality well. You'd only dare act if you had control inside and out."
As they spoke under the moonlit sky, nine dark figures bounded across the rooftops in the distance—Uchiha patrol squads rapidly closing in.
"What are you really after?!"
Dōka roared, hoping to stall for time.
Inzuki's gaze shifted from the incoming figures back to Dōka. He gently patted Dōka's shoulder, as if saying farewell to an old friend.
"To survive in the shinobi world."
"Don't worry. I don't like owing favors."
"As long as I live, so too will the Uchiha name survive—with dignity."
Without another word, Inzuki sheathed his blade, walked to the rooftop's edge, spread his arms, and fell backward into the night.
His final words echoed:
"Dōka… Use that remaining Sharingan of yours to witness what's about to unfold in the Uchiha District."
Mid-fall, Inzuki twisted in the air, landing in a crouch. In the next breath, he vanished with the Body Flicker Technique, darting through the streets toward the forest at the village's edge.
"He butchered so many of his own clan… and says it was for the Uchiha? You won't get away… Fugaku-sama and Itachi won't let you."
Dōka whispered, lips trembling.
Swish—
Nine figures clad in Uchiha Police uniforms landed around Dōka.
Men and women alike scanned their surroundings. Horror took root in their expressions. None dared to move.
The bodies of their fallen clan members lay strewn across the rooftop, the stairwell, and the streets around the prison.
The air reeked of blood.
Each corpse was killed with a single, precise strike—no wasted effort, no excess wounds.
It was the first time they had seen the Uchiha suffer such staggering losses in combat.
Dōka stared wide-eyed, his remaining Sharingan locking onto the arriving squad leaders.
His heart sank.
Just as Inzuki had predicted, the patrol captains were indeed Uchiha Izumi, Uchiha Nanami, and Uchiha Tamayo.
"What… what happened here?"
Izumi stood frozen, her face deathly pale.
She had waist-length hair, large expressive eyes, and a beauty mark beneath her right eye. Now, those eyes were filled with disbelief and fear.
"It was Inzuki," Dōka croaked.
Izumi trembled violently.
In her mind, she saw the captain who had guided her, always calm, always smiling—a gentle breeze in human form.
"There's no way… Captain Inzuki would never slaughter our clan!"
Uchiha Tamayo, veins bulging on his forehead, grabbed Dōka by the collar, pressed his blade to the man's throat, and snarled:
"Even if he did… he must've done it to free them from pain!"
"You're exactly the kind of lunatic Inzuki dragged out of the hospital psych ward! He could kill your parents and you'd still defend him, wouldn't you?!"
Dōka barked through gritted teeth, Sharingan glaring at Tamayo.
"Captain Inzuki doesn't like to kill unnecessarily!"
"…What?"
Dōka froze—he had forgotten. Tamayo's parents were already dead.
The others paused in awkward silence.
Suddenly, a dark figure shoved Tamayo aside—it was Uchiha Nanami, glasses glinting in the moonlight.
"Bastard!!!"
Tamayo raged, but Izumi quickly restrained him.
Unlike the others, Nanami hadn't trained under Inzuki.
"Enough!" Nanami snapped, turning to Dōka. "Where did Uchiha Inzuki go?!"
Dōka pointed toward the forest beyond the village walls.
"After him!"
Nanami's voice was ice.
But before he could act, Tamayo had already taken two comrades and Body Flickered into the trees.
No matter what happened tonight—
It was their duty, as patrol squads, to chase the one responsible.
Izumi and Nanami exchanged a glance, then led their teams in pursuit.
Dōka remained, unable to understand Inzuki's true goal.
The others ran forward with confusion, fury, and suspicion in their hearts.
Nine shadows danced across rooftops, vanishing into the moonlit forest.
Rustle—
A flock of startled birds took flight as the nine leapt from branch to branch, tension thick in the air. Each one sensed it—a powerful killing intent up ahead.
They stopped.
Drew their blades.
And held their breath.
Moonlight pierced through the leaves, illuminating a figure they all recognized.
He stepped forward from the shadows, lifting his head.
His Mangekyō Sharingan spun, sharp as blades.
"Long time no see, everyone."
"If we're going to catch up—let's save it for later."
"For now, help me test out… the power of my Mangekyō."
Uchiha Inzuki smirked.
His Mangekyō gleamed.
"Yasaka Spear—!!"