"I did kill my clan," Itachi asserted.
"He did kill them," Sasuke shouted at the same time, "I saw him. My father's blood was dripping from that sword!"
In the soul cage he pointed, not caring that no-one could see him. Jiraiya coughed to gain their attention.
"While it may be technically true that Itachi ended the lives of the Uchihas," the Toad Sage capitulated, nodding at the older brother, "The fact of the matter is, those were mercy killings. The rest of the Uchiha clan was beyond saving, and all Itachi did was spare them days of drawn out pain."
"It is still my fault," the elder brother insisted, "I failed the task I was given, and my clan, my family suffered for it."
"And that is why I am glad I did not take your body, Itachi," Orochimaru mocked, "Your streak of martyrdom runs too deep. I fear it might have tainted me. After all, you could just as easily say you bought your clan more than a decade of life. And your brother his very existence."
"What does that mean?" confusion tainted Sasuke's anger, "What is he talking about, Itachi? ANSWER ME!"
"It started when I was three," the elder son of Mikoto and Fugaku explained, "I had been told not to leave the village, but the woods beyond the wall had this mystical pull. And like most children that age, I thought I was invincible..."
With the evil rogue ninjas vanquished, the young boy dropped the stick that had served as his mighty sword, and plopped down against a tree. He unwrapped the rice balls he had snuck out for a snack, and bit into one. A chipmunk eyed him carefully, torn between hunger and curiosity, and fear of the much larger predator. Itachi smiled at the rodent's antics. He took off a small corner of the mochi, and tossed it gently towards his admirer. The chipmunk quickly grabbed the morsel, and stuffed it into its mouth, its cheeks puffing out. The son of the Uchiha clan giggled at the sight.
Then the forest seemed to grow cold, despite the warm July weather. The chipmunk scrambled away, spooked. Overhead, the twittering birds fell silent. Itachi pulled himself up, his hunger and entertainment forgotten. He pressed his back against the tree, nervous. His eyes darted from tree to tree, searching for what was causing the unnatural calm.
He spotted something. A figure, crouching on a branch a few dozen feet away. At first Itachi thought it was human, until he saw the eyes. There was no white to them; instead they were just soulless black pits, accentuated only by glowing red spirals, three crimson lines circling from the outside to the center. The Uchiha youth tried to push closer to the trunk behind him, frightened by unnatural being.
"Is this coincidence or providence?" the figure hopped down lightly, and walked boldly towards the boy, "My clan's time is chosen, and one of them comes to offer himself to me."
The boy wanted to run, but those pitiless, impossible orbs held him fast.
"You would be Itachi, the son of Fugaku," the monster told him, "How fitting that the first to fall is the last heir of the superior line. Goodbye, child."
The figure's hands began to move, and Itachi recognized the chakra seals he had only begun to master. He began to shake with terror, realizing the shadow intended to kill him.
'I don't want to die. I don't want to die,' the child chanted in his head, 'Don't what to die.'
"I don't want to die!" he suddenly shouted out loud. His eyes hurt, and he did not know why. Itachi seemed to lose control of his hands, and they began to mimic the monster's motions. As suddenly as he had begun, the figure stopped forming the Jutsu.
"Now that is interesting," the shadows around the demon faded, leaving a human ninja. The murder's eyes also changed, becoming a brown so deep it was almost black, but with a normal white sclera and black iris. The man knelt to look at him more closely. Itachi thought that the man looked like his father, close enough to be a brother or cousin.
"You have activated it at this tender age," the shinobi lifted his chin, staring into his eyes, "Two tomoe in the left, and all three in the right. Not even my offspring were able to do that. Maybe I have been premature..."
Itachi did not say anything; he just watched the man carefully, despite the burning sensation in his eyes.
"I think I will give them one final chance, if only to see where this potential goes," the ninja pondered, as if the boy wasn't even there. Then the man stood, and addressed Itachi directly.
"Know child, that the Uchiha clan has forgotten its purpose. They have grown complacent in their self-satisfaction. I had decided to finish them, but I see a glimmer of hope in you. So I will leave you be, for now. But you would do well to find a way to return the clan to its true goal. Or our next meeting will not be so pleasant."
"I told our parents," Itachi added after a moment, "But they thought it was a child's game, and scolded me for going into the forest alone. Then the war began, and I witnessed horrors far greater than a stranger threatening me. In time, I began to believe they were correct, that it was all my youthful imagination."
"But Madara did not forget about you," Orochimaru scoffed at his ignorance.
"No," Itachi said quietly, shaking his head, "He did not."
The leader of the ANBU completed his last set of kunai exercises, and looked up at the moon to check the time. He was scheduled to meet Shisui at ten, and decided he should at least take a quick shower before they went to the club. He wouldn't be much of a wingman otherwise.
"I am disappointed," a voice said above the teen. Itachi started, he was not easy to get the drop on, but whoever had spoken had gone completely unnoticed. But even more than simply being ambushed, the voice touched off an old fear in the pit of the Jonin's stomach.
"It has been not quite eleven years, and you have barely advanced your Sharingan at all," Madara Uchiha appeared in front of his descendant, "Nor have you been able to improve the clan's disposition."
He turned away, ignoring the younger warrior; "I suppose I was expecting to much of a child, and a follower of the Leaf."
"But I still have an interest in you, Itachi Uchiha," the co-founder of the Konohagakure looked back at the loyal shinobi, "So I will give you a little more time, and a push in the right direction. I think you should reflect on the flow of your life. So you can cross the bridge to true power."
He vanished, but Itachi was already running towards the village.
'Reflect, flow, bridge,' the Uchiha heir tried to contain his panic, 'He must be talking about the stream, where I'm supposed to meet Shisui.'
He raced past the guards at the gate without pausing. He did not slow until he reached the small stone bridge. He skidded to a halt on the structure, panting lightly. His eyes scanned the dim surroundings. For a second he felt relief, not seeing anything out of place. But just as he was about to relax, he noticed the disruption in the surface of the water. He hopped from the bridge, running on the surface of the water until he met the obstruction.
"Shisui?" he asked, kneeling on the surface of the water. His Sharingan pierced the surface of the liquid, making out the unmoving features of his cousin and only friend.
"no," Itachi said quietly, the burning sensation in his eyes growing, changing into a sharp prickling.
"no, no, No, No, NO!" he chanted, as unseen, the shape of his eyes changed. Engulfed in rage, Itachi ran back to where he had been training. But he could find no trace of his ancestor.
"Then you didn't kill our cousin?" Sasuke asked quietly.
"No. Madara did, both as a warning, and to trigger my Mangekyo Sharingan," Itachi dug his fingernails into his palm.
"After that I broke into the clan meeting hall, and found the hidden archives. I read Madara's journals, to learn about this mission he wanted our clan to fulfill."
"That was when you changed," the trapped younger sibling remembered, "You began to challenge father and the rest of the clan. You said they were too impressed with their abilities."
"I had no desire to support Madara's mad dream," Itachi told him, "But I hoped if I could change their attitudes, even a little, or cause anyone else to unlock the second level, it might stall Madara."
"Is that why you killed our family?" Sasuke ramped up again, "So that Madara couldn't? Is that what the old pervert meant by 'mercy killings'?"
"No, I was too late that night," Itachi whispered, "Madara had already made his move."
"Enough with the cryptic crap," the rogue Genin shouted impatiently, "Just tell me."
"There is a third level to the Sharingan," Jiraiya explained, "A legendary level, only ever achieved by Madara Uchiha. Itachi described it from his first encounter. It is called the Shin'en Sharingan."
"The solid black eyes with red spirals," Orochimaru interjected before Sasuke could ask.
"The Shin'en Sharingan has only one recorded technique, an upgraded version of the Tsukiyomi known as Susano-o," the Toad Sage continued, "Unlike the Tsukiyomi, the Susano-o does not require the constant participation of the user. Once the victim is trapped in the Genjutsu, Madara can just leave them, and continue on to other targets. Even worse, the Susano-o never runs out. Anyone trapped in the technique will remain there, sealed in an abyss of torment until their real body dies. It was nicknamed 'One Thousand Years of Pain', because it takes most victims almost five days to die. But inside the illusionary world, that equates to almost a millennium."
"Madara used Susano-o on every other member of our clan," Itachi said softly, "I tried to use my Tsukiyomi to break our father's sister free, but I was nearly trapped in her illusion for the effort."
"You didn't really have a chance," Jiraiya tried to comfort him, "Only two people ever survived being hit by that technique, and both of them technically broke free before the Genjutsu fully took hold. Even the Suigin Byakugan could not remove the Susano-o once it was connected."
"So you killed our parents, and all the others, to spare them pain?" Sasuke asked, and Itachi nodded, "Why? What mission did our clan fail to perform? Why would Madara destroy the clan he created?"
"The reason Madara created the Uchiha clan, the reason he agreed to join with Hashirama Senju in forming the Konohagakure; all of it was so he could take his revenge on the Hyuga Clan," Itachi explained.
"The Hyugas? Why?" Sasuke interrupted again.
"If you'd stop butting in, we could explain this a lot faster," the Toad Sage sprouted in annoyance, "Look, we can't know anything for sure. Many historical records were lost during the Second Great Ninja War. The only first hand source we have are Madara's rants, and we only have those because Itachi brought them to us. And we have to take them with a grain of salt, for obvious reasons."
"Madara was born into the Hyuga clan," Itachi expositioned, "His father, Isamu, was a great ninja, and was chosen to marry the Hyuga heiress. It was hoped they would produce a powerful heir. But when Madara was born without the Byakugan, he and his father were cast out, and the union annulled. This devastated Isamu, who had fallen in love with his bride. Madara grew up with a broken father, resenting his mother and her family. Despite that, he grew remarkably skilled."
"By age twelve, he was already a Chunin," Jiraiya picked up the tale, "But at that point he vanished. There is no record of him anywhere, and his journals jump ahead to age eighteen. Given the handful of missing pages in the earlier books, we suspect he censored his own past. At any rate, at age eighteen, Madara reappeared, now using the surname Uchiha. He now possessed his own Kekkei Genkai, and forcibly took the rank of Jonin. He married soon after, and produced five offspring. As his children became active shinobi, they started to be known as the Uchiha Clan, and quickly were regarded as one of the premiere ninja clans, rivaling even the Senju."
"And when the Sanctuary of the Flames was destroyed," Orochimaru purred in admiration, "and Hashirama Senju approached Madara with his innovative plan to unite the separate clans into a city, to create an army of ninja; well Madara saw his chance. He insisted the Hyuga clan be invited to join the new village, seeing the perfect option to get close to his enemy, to observe them."
"He knew the Uchihas weren't strong enough, yet," Jiraiya shot Sasuke's possessed body a dirty look, "His first grandkids had just been born, and the Hyugas still outnumbered the Uchihas by almost five to one. So at first, he contented himself to simply outshine those who tossed him out like trash. The Uchihas took the worst missions, and always tried to outperform the Hyugas in contests, especially the newly created Chunin Exams."
"But in time, even that was not enough," Itachi said, disappointed, "Even though the Uchihas' accomplishments were greater, every Hyuga victory burned like a brand against his soul. And when Hashirama Senju was chosen as the Hokage, it was the last straw. Madara decided that even if he could not watch the entire Hyuga Clan fall, he could at least take some personal revenge. He decided to kill the leader of the Hyuga clan, Hoshi Hyuga, his own, younger half-sister."
The elder brother took a breath before continuing, "That night, he snuck into the Hyuga Manor. He killed three random Hyuga shinobi he encountered, before finally making his way to his sister's bedroom. But he wasn't content to simply stab her in her sleep. Instead, he woke her, intending to use the Susano-o on her, to kill her in agony."
"Unfortunately, Madara miscalculated," the serpent noted, "His sister had the power of the Suigin Byakugan, and she deflected Susano-o back on him."
"The reversal hurt Madara, badly," Itachi recalled the journal entry, smuggled into the Uchiha clan hall years after Madara's escape, "Hoshi Hyuga escaped, and raised the alarm. Injured, and his treachery revealed, Madara ran. But Hashirama caught up with him, at the place now known as the Valley of the End. After the battle, Madara lost, and was presumed dead. He escaped, content to let his clan finish the job."
"Of course, the Hokage had other ideas," Jiraiya smirked, "He carefully approached the Uchihas, determining that only Madara's second son bore the same level of hatred. So he began to secretly indoctrinate them, channeling Madara's teachings of destruction into a friendly rivalry."
"Do you understand now, Sasuke?" Orochimaru sounded bored, "The Uchiha Clan was influenced by the First, and they gave up Madara's goal of destroying the Hyugas. Of course, Madara could not let that go unpunished, so he destroyed the clan."
"Itachi, why did you lie to me?" Sasuke raised his voice again, "Why didn't you tell me the truth?"
"Madara left you alive for the same reason he spared me. He wanted us to grow stronger, strong enough to serve him. I knew that hatred would spur your advancement. But I could not let you target Madara. An ancestor you did not know would not have been an adequate focus for your rage. But had you faced him, he would have destroyed you without mercy."
"So now you have the whole story, Sasuke," Orochimaru chided, "Will you be silent long enough for me to conclude this transaction? Your yowling is too distracting."
"What?" the younger brother protested, "No, I don't want this. Not anymore."
"That is unfortunate," Orochimaru shook his head, as if dismayed, "We have a bargain. Your body, in exchange for Itachi's life. We swore Blood Oaths."
"No, stop."
Orochimaru ignored the teen, assuming a fighting stance. Jiraiya and Itachi both tensed, as the body thief sprang forward.