The End of an Era

"Hello" -Talking

'Hello' -Thinking

"Hello" -Biju/Summon Speak

'Hello' -Biju/Summon Think

It was a quite chilly night, one could suppose. The sight of frosty mist protruding from the mouths of others was quite common this type of year, despite being in Konohagakure, known to be one of the warmer nations in the chaotic world they lived in. Cold was no stranger to anyone, but there was something different about tonight's cold. A particular chill that spoke of the evil doings of men, and the tools used to carry out such deeds. Uchiha Itachi considered himself to be one such tool. That was, after all, what shinobi were supposed to be. Tools to be used for their respective villages they put their lives on the line for. However, though tools are used for problems many times, some jobs will always be harder than others. That brought young Uchiha Itachi into the situation he was in now. Kill his family. His final mission as a shinobi of Konoha, to spill the very blood coursing through his veins. He looked over the Uchiha District using the pole he was on top of as a vantage point, and steeled himself, a fiery determination settling in his eyes.

/Flashback/

Uchiha Itachi kneeled before the leader of all of Konohagakure No Sato, Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Flanking the aged Hokage were advisors Koharu and Homura, along with Sarutobi's former teammate and right hand man, Danzo Shimura. The latter started to speak, adorning his signature glare which he somehow held through emotionless eyes.

"Do you know why we have summoned you here, Itachi?" The Uchiha stared right back into his glaring eyes with an equal ferocity.

"I imagine it is to hear about the newest information regarding the coup." The greedy glint in Danzo's singular eye didn't fade a bit as he replied smoothly.

"Then explain yourself. There is no use stalling the situation." Itachi struggled to keep the hatred out of his eyes. He would like nothing more than to attack him right here, Hokage's presence be damned. But he kept his cool. He always did. He looked at Danzo with an even stare.

"The coup is to be in exactly two weeks. The Uchiha are planning to attack when many of the Jounin are protecting the Fire Daimyo and his nobles at the ceremony of his anniversary."

The Elders in the room widened their eyes and gasped. Koharu in particular was scandalized. "Two weeks! You want us to get ready to stop a rebellion of the most powerful clan of Konoha in two weeks!"

And with that, the little semblance of civility was crushed. "We can't plan for a coup in two weeks!" The residents of the room were in uproar. Danzo and the advisors were trying to think of immediate, albeit harsh plans to quell the Uchiha's mutiny while Hiruzen was making placating statements, trying to soothe his former teammate's ire.

Itachi stayed silent, watching the exchange, however on the inside his brain was racing at top speeds. 'The Elders are getting agitated. They might do something rash.'

He thought about his Tou-san, Fugaku, who although could be rough around the edges, only wanted what was best for him and the clan. He thought about his Kaa-san, Mikoto, who's non-judging smile was always there to support him. He thought about Izumi, his only friend left after Shisui had been killed by the very man speaking to him now. Finally, he thought about Sasuke, his brother who he would die a thousand times for, a young boy who was innocent from the crimes of his family. Then, he thought of Konoha. He thought of her laughing children and content elderly. He imagined in his mind's eye eating pocky with Shisui at one of the restaurants. He imagined the view of the village from the Hokage mountain, the lights from the buildings casting a golden sheen on his home. And in that moment, he knew he'd do whatever he had to in order to keep that peace. However, he hoped with all his soul that it wouldn't have to come to the final option. Yet it did. The Sandaime spoke.

"After much contemplation Itachi, we're sorry to say that your final mission as a shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato, is to exterminate the Uchiha clan. Your mission begins in 3 days, when night falls."

Itachi got up and immediately left, his world spinning and muttering an 'understood' as more of a reflex than anything else. His last thought while leaving the room was, 'So be it.'

/End Flashback/

~/~

As he ran another one of his kin through, as he felt their blood splatter against his sword and clothes, he couldn't help but thinking that the stains would never come off his soul. No matter how spotless his clothes looked when he finished purging them of the blood of his comrades, his conscious could never be cleaned. It was on this matter of thought where he found his father, alone. It was as if he was being waited for. "Itachi! What lies behind this slaughter!" He waited before speaking again, but his twisted eyes spoke to him in the way his father never could; the Mangekyou Sharingan. "Are you going to show me… a different future from the one I showed you?"

Itachi's eyes were dead as he faced the man who raised him, knowing only one of them would walk out alive.

~/~

Elsewhere, while father and son faced a dangerous confrontation, the shadowy figure in the orange mask known as Madara had his own part in eradicating the Uchiha. He was walking out of the now corpse-filled Uchiha police building when he saw a trio of kunai flying in his direction. He batted them away as if it was child's play and turned to face his next target.

He saw a young and somewhat pretty kunoichi wearing the typical black turtleneck of the Uchiha. She donned a Konoha forehead protector and two forearm warmers on each arm. Murderous sharingan eyes looked back at him. 'I remember Itachi being quite fond with this one.' He thought.

The girl stood, with another kunai in hand as he commented to her, "Such nice eyes."

She hurled her kunai as fast as she could at the Masked Man, but to no avail. Her eyes widened in fear as she realized how outclassed she was. "No way!" she shouted, and turned to run.

She had made it less than two feet before the chain of the masked man wrapped around her torso and dragged her back to the killer. As she lay on her back, wrapped in chains and staring up into a single, menacing sharingan eye, she thought frantically. 'Help… Itachi-kun. Help me!'

Madara looked down at the girl help within his grasp. Now, time for the boy…

A little boy no older than ten looked in fear from the wall he was hiding behind. His thundering heartbeat seemed to be in sync with the footsteps of the horrifying man coming towards him.

~/~

Itachi stared at the numerous bodies strewn around the streets. "This is the future I see for the Uchiha."

Fugaku's warped Mangekyou eyes narrowed dangerously. " I see."

Fugaku's calm demeanor belied what he was thinking on the inside, his mind racing. 'Sasuke.' And he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

'Kage Bunshin?'

Itachi narrowed his eyes and thought. 'This isn't good. Tou-san was the worst possible enemy for me. This is going to be a battle of Mangekyou Sharingan.'

He pushed the thought out of his mind as he traveled to his home, where he knew his father would be, along with his mother. A quick shunshin got him outside of the house, where he walked toward the door cautiously, watching for any traps or surprises. He was trying to discreetly check their bedroom for them, when he heard a voice from the living room. His father's voice resonated throughout the dead-silent compound. "Come inside, there are no traps. I will not participate in a death match with my own son."

Itachi obeyed, but kept his guard up. He walked in to have his mind blown. His parents were kneeling on the living room floor with their back to him. No fighting positions, no weapon in hand, not even a clenched fist. They were truly prepared to die. That's when the gravity of the situation hit him. Could he truly end their lives, the very people who fed him, clothed him, and were even prepared to die for him? For a cause they didn't believe in, just because he supported it? It was impossible for Itachi to keep the sword from trembling in his hands as he stood behind his Mother and Father, tears rolling down his cheeks.

His father's strong, commanding voice he would never see again cut through him sharper than any blade.

"You've aligned with the other side."

He responded, his eyes getting watery. " Tou-san, Kaa-san… I…"

He was cut off by his mother's voice that held his heart in a vice grip. "We know, Itachi."

His father spoke again. "Itachi, promise me one thing. Take care of Sasuke."

Itachi felt like he was being given his own personal type of torture as he couldn't hold back the tears anymore. His heart constricted tighter than he thought possible as his teary voice stuttered. "I w-will."

Itachi readied his katana with a heavy heart he thought would simply give out because of how much pain he felt. His father spoke for the last time."Do not fear. This is the path you have chosen. Compared to your pain, ours will be gone in an instant. Even if our philosophies differ, I am proud of you. You are truly a kind child."

His silent sobs heard only by him increased as he drove his katana through their chests.

While witnessing the aftermath of what he had done, he heard footsteps approaching the door. He recognized them as his dear brother, Sasuke. He forced himself to look strong. He had to be cruel, if he would ever be redeemed. This was his plan. His end goal. The only way to escape this pain weighing him down like an anchor. He forced himself to stay silent after hearing Sasuke's yell, and as he heard, " Tou-san! Kaa-san!" yelled in fear, he stepped out of the shadows.

" I-Itachi! You have to help, Aniki! Kaa-san and Tou-san are…" When he heard no reply from the older boy he repeated again, shakily. "Itachi? Who could do this?" The raven-haired Anbu watched as horrifying comprehension settled into his brother's eyes as he saw the blood-stained katana held in Itachi's hands.

As soon as those words left his throat Sasuke felt as sting on his shoulder, and a shuriken imbedded in the wall behind him. He looked down to see a thin line of blood under his ripped clothing, and looked up in fear. "Wait a s-second, no!"

Itachi's eyes, despite their teary state almost instants before, were now as emotionless as a stone. He spoke in the cruelest voice he could. "Foolish little brother. I almost pity you. So weak."

For the next two words, Itachi had to gather up more resolve he ever had to in his life. "Mangekyou Sharingan!"

Sasuke yelled in agony as he had to relive the eradication of his kin over, and over, and over. Only when he fell to the ground in pain, did Itachi release him from the clutches of Tsukyomi. Sasuke's tortured voice ripped Itachi apart.

"W-Why! Why d-did you do this?"

Itachi spoke. "To test the limits…Of my ability."

Sasuke was gripped with the fiercest anger he had ever been in his life at those words. "To test…your ability? That's the reason you butchered every member of our clan! Of our family!"

Sasuke charged at Itachi as fast as he could, screaming. "YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR MIND!"

As he went to strike Itachi, a swift punch to the stomach stopped him cold in his tracks. Saliva was forcibly ejected from his mouth as he stood, suspended on his older brother's fist. The removal of that support sent Sasuke careening to the floor, face to face with his dead mother and father.

It was then Sasuke started to sob uncontrollably. The volume only matched by the booming sound of Itachi stepping toward him. He looked up in fear before realizing what he earlier had not. 'I'm scared.' He repeated again, audibly. "I'm scared!"

The younger Uchiha turned and ran out the door as fast as possible. His sobs echoed throughout the night as he screamed. " I DON'T WANNA DIE!"

He kept running through the streets of the Uchiha district, hoping it wasn't empty for the reason he knew it to be. He kept running, until the sound of Itachi's ninja sandal hitting the floor in from of him struck fear into every cell in his body. "P-Please. Don't kill me."

Itachi's hard voice answered him. "You're not even worth killing. Foolish little brother… If you wish to kill me one day, foster your hatred and despise me. By all means, run. Cling to your wretched life. And when you have the same eyes as me..."

His warped Mangekyou sharingan spun menacingly. "Seek me out."

With that Itachi disappeared toward his family's neighborhood to finish his job in the last house on the street. However, he turned as he heard the tell-tale sounds of two kunai racing toward him. After seeing it was Sasuke who threw them, he solemnly thought.

'It's there, the hate is already there. Everything is going according to plan.'

Oh, how he wished those thoughts were false. He swiftly blocked one with his katana, and caught the other one within his fingers, using it to scratch out the leaf symbol on his headband, erasing the last sign of his loyalty to Konoha right in front of his brother.

Sasuke watched as the last sign of the old Itachi and his old life was destroyed. But in the span of that very moment, he saw something he would later insist to be a genjutsu. He saw the watering of his brother's sharingan eyes that were so highly complimented. Right after this though, he felt a woozy feeling, as if the world was off balance. He was unconsious before he hit the ground.

~/~

Uchiha Izumi was in hell. It was the only possible explanation from the sheer amount of pain she was feeling. Her insides felt like they were on fire. Ever single cell in her body felt like it was being roasted on a flame. Some say that when in excruciating pain, your body just goes numb. They couldn't have been more wrong. All of the agony she was feeling was from a center point. The sword stuck in her chest. The mere thought of the man in the spiral mask was enough to send shivers down her spine. She cursed him with every fiber of her being. He hadn't even struck her in a vital area, just to see her suffer. To see the agony in her eyes as her life force was slowly sucked out of her. Laying there, her thoughts drifted in desperation to her prodigious friend.

'I wonder what happened to Itachi-kun...'

Indeed. She knew Itachi was a powerful fighter, incredibly so. But when faced with odds such as the orange masked man, could her really win?

She discontinued her thoughts in favor of more depressing ones. Even though that fight was arguable, she knew one than was not. Kazuto. Her little brother. The one she'd promised to take care of when her father died. The little boy she loved more than anyone else in the world. She'd told him to hide while she confronted the masked man, but considering the caliber of shinobi she suspected him to be, he had no chance.

With that realization, her dam holding back the tears broke loose. She wept. And wept. And wept. She had failed. Failed to protect the most important person in the world. So as she lay there, in a pool of her own blood and a mixture of tears, she begged death to take her in its embrace.

~/~

'Where could she be?' This thought was running through the forefront of Itachi's mind. Uchiha Izumi, the girl who had stuck by his side. His only friend after Shisui died. He had to spare her.

At first he wanted to think of her as the rest of the Uchiha. But he couldn't. She wasn't like the rest of the Uchiha. She was Izumi. And he had to save her. If all went as planned the Hokage and his council will never know. He already had a plan of action. He would erase her memories with genjutsu so she wouldn't seek him out.

Place her in a small, quaint town off the coast of the Land of Tea. She will live as a civilian for the rest of her life. Never to know the use of chakra. But she would be alive. That was all that mattered.

Perhaps it was selfish. It probably was. But he had to do this for himself, if not for her. However, all of this would be for naught if he couldn't find her. While on this train of thought, Itachi was jumping on the roofs of the left side of the Uchiha District. His side of the Uchiha District. The part of the Uchiha he was to massacre, while Madara took the right side, including the Uchiha Police Force building and the-

Itachi stopped running. 'The Police Force building.'

He felt his heart drop into his stomach and dread filled his mind.

/Flashback/

/One week before the massacre/

Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Izumi were on the bridge bordering the Naka River. Their legs were hanging off the side as they ate sweets and talked. That fact alone would surprise most people but it was true. Itachi dropped his ever-stoic act with Izumi, as he did with Shisui. At least, to an extent. It was his personality after all. It hadn't been like that at first, not by a long shot. But with Izumi's friendly personality and her infamous homemade pocky sticks, Itachi couldn't help but succumb to their friendship.

"-And then Aiku-taichou said that Kazuto-chan and I could take a trip to the military police force building next week! Isn't that cool Itachi-kun!"

Itachi faced Izumi with a blank stare. Izumi stared back at him as her elated smile turned into a pout. "Hey, not all of us get to be in Anbu black ops when we're 13! This is a big deal!"

Itachi, ever the polite one, responded. "You're right. I'm sorry for downplaying your achievement."

However there was one part of her story he didn't understand. "Kazuto-chan? Is he a friend of yours?"

Izumi was scandalized. "What! No! Of course not, Kazuto is only the most adorable little brother in the world! He even reminds me of you sometimes Itachi-kun. He's a really fast learner, and some people are even calling him the next prodigy of the Uchiha. He even got let into boot camp for the Uchiha Police force, so he doesn't have to go to the academy!"

At this Itachi was mildly surprised. The Uchiha Boot Camp was an organization created shortly after he made genin. They took only the most elite children in the Uchiha and crafted them into some of the Uchiha's finest shinobi. He himself was in the program before he had to leave due to him joining ANBU.

"Impressive to say the least."

Izumi took his words as a sign of approval and spoke. "I know right! I totally want to introduce you to him someday!"

/End Flashback/

Izumi and her brother are on the wrong side of town. Madara's side of town. And he had to get there, fast.

~/~

Uchiha Kazuto had felt fear. The trainers at Boot Camp were slave drivers and found many terrifying ways to give "Training" to its students. But that was nothing compared the fear he was feeling right now. This couldn't classify as fear. No, this was death given form. He couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't think.

He could only stand there as the other-worldly feeling gripped him. The masked man struck down Izumi-nee in a second. Even if he was in a better training program she was, he wasn't as experienced or powerful as she was. All these thoughts formed into one inside of his mind.

'I have no chance.' He watched as the man walked toward him, and he was paralyzed by fear. He didn't even put up a fight as the man slipped a lone kunai in his chest. He fell to the floor, first to his knees, and then on his stomach as he felt darkness overtake him.

~/~

Itachi got to the scene. Too late. He saw the sword, still stuck in Izumi's chest as she fought to stay conscious, as if to tell him something. He saw the betrayed look on her face as he approached Madara, with his katana sheathed. "Have you finished Itachi." Itachi responded with a nod.

"Good." He caught Itachi sending a glance at the soon-to-be corpse. "You aren't thinking of sparing them, correct?"

Itachi responded smoothly. "Of course not. I'm thinking nothing of the sort. Madara, you go on ahead. I will report to the Leaf Elders."

Madara nodded, and left the vicinity. However, the Man in the Orange Mask was many things, but a fool was not among them. He discreetly planted a clone in the trees to watch and see if Itachi would spare them. If he did, a very unfortunate fate would approach him. Itachi, unknowing of this, kneeled by Izumi's side. "I'm sorry. I had to do this. "

Izumi just blinked up at him. "But, there is a way I can save you. It is a forbidden technique of the Uchiha, requiring a high price but I will sav-" Itachi was cut off by Izumi's weak voice. The painful look on her face showed that she was forcing herself to speak. "N-No. No matter what, protect Kazuto. Prot-tect him at all c-costs."

And with that Uchiha Izumi let go, and fell to the floor, never to speak again.

Madara's clone watched as Itachi let the girl die, presumably waiting to see her last words. 'Good'.

Madara thought, and the clone dispelled itself, forgetting there was one more life not yet snuffed out.

Itachi was solemn. He wanted to grieve with every fiber of his being, but he couldn't. Not yet. There was one more job to do. He walked over to the boy, passed out from blood loss. This was Uchiha Kazuto. One out of two Uchiha surviving the massacre. However that would change soon if he didn't do something. There was only one thing to do. If there were anyone in the vicinity that wasn't incapacitated, they would've seen Itachi's eyes go from the regular sharingan to a tri-starred pinwheel shape. His eye started to bleed as he whispered. 'Izanagi!'

The young boy shimmered out of existence and a new one took his place. One without a hole in his chest. He shunshined out of the village and into the Uchiha hideout, where he placed Kazuto on a bed and shunshined back to Konoha,, in order to have his last talk with the elders of his former home.

Uchiha Kazuto's eyes opened. Wait, that wasn't right. Opened? He looked around the area and it definitely wasn't the afterlife. On second inspection he found Uchiha clan symbols carved into walls and ceilings. The bed he was placed in was soft, but not overly so. He felt as if he hadn't fought a day in his life. Weird, because the last time he checked, he had a kunai in his chest. He gave himself a once-over and found that he couldn't even find traces of medical ninjutsu. This wasn't right. Where was Izumi? Where was he? He knew that he likely wouldn't find any explanation by just sitting here, so he decided to look around. He turned to exit the room when he found an invisible wall blocking him. His eyes narrowed.

'Fuuinjutsu'. He had limited fuuinjutsu training. Everyone did, really. Fuuinjutsu was somewhat of dead ninja art and knowledge was obscure. He now wondered if he was a prisoner. He shuddered. He didn't know what he would do if he was a prisoner of the masked man. The very thought was horrifying. Faced with nothing to do, he decided to do the only thing he could do.

Wait.

~/~

Itachi walked into the Uchiha Hideout to see how Kazuto was doing. As soon as he walked into the hallway that held the boy's room, he took a breath. And walked in. He saw his charge's eyes widen as soon as he entered the room . "Y-You're, your-re!"

Itachi watched the boy fidget. "You're Uchiha Itachi!"

Itachi was confused, though he didn't show it. "Why should my name be so important?"

Kazuto looked up with eyes of admiration. "Are you kidding! Uchiha Itachi, genius of the Uchiha. Spoke kindly of by even those with the highest expectations. The youngest shinobi to awaken the sharingan in decades. Likely the strongest person in the clan, second only to Shunshin no Shisui! Joined the ANBU at the age of-"

Itachi had to stop him. "Kazuto-san, I know this will be hard to take."

Kazuto's eyes widened and Itachi let out a sigh. How could he tell someone he killed their clan when they were shell-shocked merely because he knew their name? "But the Uchiha are no more."

Kazuto froze. He couldn't have possibly heard the legend in front of him correctly. There was no possible way that the mighty Uchiha had fallen. That Fugaku-sama had fallen. That his clan had fallen. That Izumi-nee had fallen. He broke down and started to cry. He tried to stop himself. He didn't want to appear weak. But he was only 10, and the pain of losing one's family is one of the most heartbreaking experiences possible in this cruel world. He was inconsolable as his sobs vertebrated off the walls of the hideout. It felt like he'd been crying forever, when he looked up to Itachi with wide, teary eyes.

"Who did it?"

He waited for an answer, and heard none. His face started to adopt a furious look. One thirsting for vengeance. "Who did it? ANSWER ME!"

Itachi's eyes were as stoic as ever when he muttered, "It was me."

~/~

Kazuto's world was turned upside down. Uchiha Itachi. Role model for all Uchiha and shinobi outright, had betrayed that memory by being the executioner of his own clan. He killed the harmless man at the onigiri shop. He killed the kind old lady that would knit his scarves. He killed his family. And that would never be forgiven. "AAAAAARRGHH!"

Kazuto's battle cry was loud and his voice cracked from the grief. He ran at Itachi with full speed. The numerous titles he had told about Itachi would usually have him being extremely cautious, but all titles flew out of his mind as soon as he heard those three fatal words.

Itachi sighed as he blocked a high kick to come face to face with a punch. He slapped it away easily and struck toward Kazuto's abdomen. Usually, such a straightforward attack wouldn't work on the newest Uchiha prodigy, but the fist came so fast that one second it was deflecting his punch, and the next it was buried in his stomach.

Kazuto fell to the ground, but not for long as he started to get back up. He tried for a swift leg sweep that was jumped over by Itachi. However, using the same foot, he propelled himself in the air to meet Itachi. He threw forth a series of punches, all of which were blocked or dodged with minimal difficulty.

Itachi dodged the next hit, while pushing Kazuto forward and disrupting his balance. From there he followed up with a vicious uppercut and a series of powerful punches to the abdomen, leaving Kazuto barely standing in a haze of pain. The next elbow strike sent him crashing into the wall.

Kazuto wanted to give up. He wondered how it was possible that they were using the same taijutsu style yet Itachi was so much better than him. His moves were nothing but efficient, wasting no movements and avoiding all of his attacks as if they were nothing. He wanted to just lay down and accept defeat.

He looked at Itachi and in his sharingan eyes he remembered another pair. His sister's. 'No. I'll will finish this. I swear I will. For you, Izumi-nee.'

He ran to the left only to jump off a wall and shoot toward Itachi with a speed he didn't have before. He went for a punch on Itachi's left side which was immediately blocked. He didn't miss a beat. The punch immediately transitioned into a roundhouse with his right foot that was ducked. He then shot out his right fist and felt it connect-with Itachi's iron guard.

Itachi grabbed the fist and had to duck a left side kick. He slapped it away, putting it into an unnatural angle until he heard a sharp snap. He then took the captured fist and twisted it cleanly until he heard another snap. Snap. Snap.

As Kazuto lay on the floor, in a world of pain from having both arms and legs broken. He felt his eyes water once again. 'I couldn't do it. I'm sorry.'

He felt so helpless. He was helpless against the masked man and he was helpless against Itachi. He had to watch as his sister was killed because he didn't have enough strength to do anything about it. He eyes burned in intense self-loathing. Never. Never again would he be unable to save those he cared about. He vowed on the graves of his family. If he broke his vow, he didn't deserve to survive today. Never again would he be helpless. Never, ever again.

He looked up to Itachi standing over him, his usually stoic eyes showing a hint of compassion. But he hesitated. Could he really do this? The edges of his vision were dark, and he saw stars. He didn't have much time before he passed out. It was now or never.

"Teach me."

He let out those two simple words as darkness claimed him.