"What?!"
"Sasuke!"
"Sasuke!"
Kakashi, Naruto Uzumaki, and even Sakura Haruno couldn't help but cry out when they saw Izumi Uchiha sever Sasuke Uchiha's limbs with a single stroke of her blade.
None of them could have imagined that Izumi would do something so brutal. Sasuke was supposed to be the last surviving member of the Uchiha clan well, had been, until now. Apparently, Izumi was another survivor. And instead of a tearful reunion between long-lost clansfolk, they'd just witnessed a savage betrayal. It made no sense at all.
Izumi didn't hesitate. After dismembering Sasuke, she reached down and seized him by the back of the neck, lifting his limp body like it weighed nothing.
"Kevin, we're leaving," she said to Kevin Cross before vanishing with Sasuke in the blink of an eye.
"Stop! Leave Sasuke here!" Naruto shouted, fury erupting in his voice. A strange, menacing chakra had begun to swirl around him.
"Why are you doing this? Aren't you both members of the Uchiha clan? Why would you attack one of your own? Sasuke's one of the few left," Kakashi said, his gaze locking on Kevin Cross.
"Why? Isn't it obvious? Revenge." Kevin gave a cold smile. "Kakashi, you can spread the word. Tell Itachi Uchiha that Izumi's revenge has only just begun. Honestly, I don't even know what she plans to do next. Oh, and this isn't just about Itachi. It's about Konoha too. Goodbye."
With that, Kevin also vanished, using the Body Flicker Technique.
"No! Bring Sasuke back!" Naruto roared as his chakra surged, the demonic energy of the Nine Tails bursting from within him. Kakashi had to immediately fall back and intercept Naruto before he lost control entirely.
By the time Naruto was subdued, Kevin Cross and Izumi Uchiha were long gone.
"Um... I think something's gone seriously wrong here. So, uh... what do we do now?" Tazuna, the bridge builder, asked nervously, still clutching his bottle of sake.
"I'm sorry. The mission ends here," Kakashi said coldly. "We'll return every coin of your commission."
"But, wait, you're from Konoha"
"No 'buts.' Sakura, we're leaving." Kakashi slung Naruto over his shoulder and issued the order without emotion.
Sakura was still frozen in panic. Sasuke had been captured no, mutilated and her mind couldn't process the shock. For her, nothing else mattered now. The mission, the bridge, all of it faded into irrelevance. All she had left to lean on was Kakashi and the village of Konoha.
"Kakashi-sensei... You will save Sasuke, right?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"We'll talk about it later. Right now, we need to get back to the village," Kakashi replied flatly before turning and sprinting away.
Sakura scrambled to follow.
Tazuna was left behind, pale and shaking. "Wait... wait! You can't just abandon me like this! If you leave, what happens to me? What happens to the Land of Waves?!"
No one answered him.
The moment Kakashi disappeared into the trees, another figure emerged a man with a massive blade strapped to his back and no eyebrows on his face: Zabuza Momochi.
"They've left, Lord Zabuza," said a masked accomplice.
"Looks like luck's finally on our side," Zabuza said with a sneer, raising his Executioner's Blade. "I thought we were in for a real fight when we ran into Copy Ninja Hatake Kakashi. Didn't expect things to take such a wild turn. But hey, works out even better for us."
"You... who are you people?" Tazuna asked, trembling.
"Time to die," Zabuza said casually.
His blade flashed. A head flew into the air.
…
"Why... why are you doing this to me?" Sasuke shouted, his voice trembling with pain and rage. "Don't tell me you're working for him too? That bastard! He destroyed the Uchiha clan! How could you side with him? Why?!"
Fury burned in Sasuke's eyes. His Sharingan had evolved, three tomoe now swirling in each iris. It was ironic when the massacre happened and he was tortured again and again under Itachi's Tsukuyomi, he had only awakened the single-tomoe Sharingan. Yet now, with his limbs hacked off, his eyes had broken through.
"Work with Itachi?" Izumi scoffed. "Don't make me laugh. I would never ally myself with that man."
"Then why attack me?!"
"Because this is revenge. Against Itachi Uchiha. Or did you really think he's always wanted you dead?" Izumi's smile was cold and mocking.
"What are you talking about? What do you mean by that?" Sasuke glared at her, hatred burning in his eyes.
"You really don't know, do you? Your brother made a deal with Konoha. He wiped out the Uchiha clan in exchange for one thing: that they let you live. That was his only condition. His only request. Isn't that touching? The older brother who loved his little brother so much, he slaughtered the entire clan including your parents just so you could live peacefully in the village."
Izumi's voice was chilling, her smile laced with venom. Of course she knew the truth: Sasuke's parents had taken their own lives. But why let facts ruin the story? Saying Itachi had killed them would only make Sasuke suffer more. That was the point.
"You're lying. You're making this up!"
"Am I? Then why did Itachi spare you? Because you were too weak? There were plenty of weaker members in the clan, even infants. He killed them without hesitation. So why let you live? Because you were his brother. Because you were the one he loved most. Can't you feel it? That twisted affection? His love for you burned brighter than his love for the clan, brighter than his loyalty to Konoha. He loved you more than anything. And long before he ever lifted a hand against the clan, he'd already decided how it would all end: someday, when you were strong enough, you would kill him. Then you'd become a hero. The one who avenged the Uchiha. The one who defeated the rogue ninja, Itachi Uchiha. A hero of Konoha."
"Shut up! You're lying!"
"Lying? Ha! I wish I was lying." Izumi chuckled darkly.
"No! That's not true!" Sasuke shouted, still trying to deny it.
Izumi stepped forward, blade in hand.
He never got to finish the sentence.
With one swift motion, Izumi sliced out his tongue.
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