The moment Sasuke activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, he leapt off the cliff.
Shigeo Aburame quickly grabbed him mid-air and threw him back behind him.
"What's wrong with you? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" he scolded.
Sasuke didn't reply. Instead, he gazed at Shigeo with his blood-streaked Mangekyō Sharingan.
What kind of eyes were those?
Pain, sorrow, hatred, anger, regret… Shigeo had never imagined that one person's gaze could express such a tumult of emotions. But Sasuke had done it.
Shigeo sighed as he met Sasuke's piercing stare.
"I didn't expect to see you here. How much did you overhear?"
"All of it!" Sasuke's voice was cold as he ignored the blood tears streaming down his face.
"What did my brother mean by what he just said? What does Danzo have to do with this? What's the real truth behind the Uchiha massacre?"
Shigeo fell silent.
After a long pause, he finally spoke under Sasuke's intense gaze.
"The truth involves many secrets… and the dark struggles within the village. Itachi wanted to protect you; that's why he kept you out of it."
"But I'm already involved!"
Sasuke's voice trembled with barely suppressed grief and fury.
"The Uchiha clan is gone. My father, my mother, even my brother… they're all dead. I'm the only one left. I deserve to know the truth. Tell me!"
Shigeo sighed again and shook his head.
"No. You're too weak right now. Until you fully master your Mangekyō Sharingan, I won't tell you anything."
"Then I have no choice!"
Sasuke's left eye blazed with determination as he glared at Shigeo, blood tears streaming more fiercely.
"Amaterasu!"
Black flames ignited on Shigeo, engulfing him in an instant.
Amaterasu—the so-called "ultimate physical attack."
Its black flames, said to burn until the target was completely consumed, were impossible to extinguish by conventional means.
As Shigeo was swallowed by the black fire, Sasuke's lips curled into a cruel smile.
"Captain, if you promise to tell me the truth, I'll undo Amaterasu. Otherwise, you'll suffer. These flames—"
Before Sasuke could finish his threat, Shigeo calmly stripped off his burning coat and tossed it aside.
Sasuke froze.
The legendary "ultimate physical attack," the unquenchable flames of Amaterasu… defeated by simply removing his clothes?
His face twitched in disbelief as searing pain shot through his eyes, quelling any thought of using Amaterasu again. His instincts told him that if he pushed further, he might go blind in his left eye.
Violence was no longer an option, but Sasuke's thirst for the truth was unrelenting. For a moment, he was caught between despair and determination.
Shigeo, reading Sasuke's internal conflict, placed a hand on his shoulder.
"No need for such extremes. Once you've mastered your power, I'll tell you everything."
"Do you swear it?" Sasuke's voice carried a glimmer of hope.
"Of course," Shigeo replied with a faint smile. "Not only are you the son of my close friend Fugaku, but you're also my most important subordinate—the one I'll rely on in the future. Trust me. Whatever you want to know, I'll tell you."
"Fine!"
Sasuke turned his back on Shigeo, staring down at the river flowing below the cliff.
"I want to stay here for a while. I won't be reporting to the police force for the next couple of days."
"Alright."
Shigeo nodded in agreement before casting his gaze at the Nakano River below and sighing deeply.
"Shisui lost his life here, and Itachi awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan because of it. Now Itachi has chosen the same path… Sasuke, perhaps he knows you're watching."
Sasuke said nothing, tears silently streaming down his face as he stared at the river.
Seeing him like this, Shigeo hesitated, then sighed once more before vanishing in a blur.
Unmoved, Sasuke's tearful Mangekyō Sharingan remained fixed on the flowing water, as though paying tribute to the brother he believed had taken his life there.
What he didn't know was that the Uchiha Itachi who had supposedly "died and lost his eyes" had already climbed onto the downstream riverbank.
With a puff of smoke, "Itachi" transformed into Shigeo's wood clone, marked by its signature "凹" scar.
If Sasuke were there, he would've recognized it as the same wood clone that had earlier fought him using Sage Mode techniques.
After scaling the riverbank, the wood clone pulled out a blood bag, found a hiding spot, and stashed it away.
"My task is complete. Hopefully, the real me had no trouble handling things," it muttered before turning back into a lifeless piece of wood.
Meanwhile, Shigeo, who had used a teleportation jutsu to exit Sasuke's sight, paused mid-step.
"Oh? The clone's work is done?" He smirked, loosening his grip on two small stones in his bloody hand.
Those stones, roughly the size of bird eggs, had been painted to look like human eyes.
The grieving Sasuke had no idea that the "truth" he had seen—and Itachi's supposed death—were all orchestrated by Shigeo.
His goal? To provoke Sasuke into unlocking the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Of course, Sasuke couldn't learn the full story; it would cause far too much trouble. Shigeo knew Sasuke's temperament all too well.
For now, it was best to let Sasuke believe Itachi had truly died. Even if the brothers crossed paths later, Itachi would owe him a favor for this scheme.
And a favor from a powerful individual could prove invaluable at a critical moment.
**Not a bad deal at all.**
Shigeo's mood lightened as he pondered how to reveal just enough of the truth to Sasuke without giving everything away.
Telling half-truths, pinning blame on a scapegoat, and reaping the rewards—these were all basic political maneuvers in Konoha. Shigeo was no stranger to them.
Lost in thought, he soon arrived at his doorstep, only to find Naruto waiting with a massive backpack by his side.
"Hmm? Naruto, what's all this?" Shigeo asked, puzzled.
"Hehe, Dad Shigeo, I'm here to say goodbye!" Naruto grinned, scratching his head as he hoisted the enormous backpack onto his shoulders.
"I'm heading off to train. I might be gone for a long time. I've already said goodbye to Mom Konan and little sister Chion. You're the last one!"
"Is that so?"
Shigeo smiled, ruffling Naruto's hair.
"Take care of yourself out there. Train hard. Sasuke's strong now; don't let him look down on you!"
"I got it!" Naruto nodded firmly, flashing a thumbs-up.
"I'm gonna be the best, and I'll become Hokage one day. Believe it! That's my ninja way!"
**(End of Chapter)**