Naruto: Reborn with the Template System

The cold blade pierced the bodies of Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto in succession. Blood trickled down the edge of the sword.

At the same time, tears welled up in Itachi's eyes, mixing with the blood on his weapon.

"You've always been such a gentle child, Itachi..."

"Just promise me one thing...take care of Sasuke."

Their final words left behind lingering regret, before their bodies crumpled to the floor, never to rise again.

As tears blurred Itachi's vision, a surge of unfamiliar chakra erupted from deep within. His three-tomoe Sharingan twisted, reshaping into a triangular pinwheel.

Boom!

The door creaked open.

Startled, Itachi quickly wiped away his tears.

"Brother! What... what is going on?!"

Sasuke stumbled into the room. The sight of his parents lying lifeless on the floor drenched in blood struck him like a thunderbolt. He nearly collapsed from shock.

"You're so foolish, little brother..."

Itachi forced himself to sound cold, emotionless. His Mangekyō Sharingan activated—Tsukuyomi.

Elsewhere within the Uchiha compound, the air was thick with the metallic scent of blood.

Shisui, standing silently, felt a stream of tears trickle down his cheeks. As his heart broke, his own Sharingan transformed, the tomoe giving way to a four-pointed pinwheel.

He had awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan.

Pain, unbearable pain from the loss of his clan, became the key.

About five minutes later, at the entrance of the Uchiha district, Itachi arrived and met with Shisui.

"Sasuke... he—"

Shisui began, but Itachi cut him off, "I've arranged everything. Don't worry."

"You don't have to carry this burden alone."

"One person is enough. I won't let you sink into this swamp with me," Itachi replied firmly.

In that moment, a powerful voice echoed across all of Konoha:

"All units, capture Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui!"

The alarm bells blared.

Itachi and Shisui exchanged one last glance before vanishing into the night.

Back at the Uchiha compound, Guts and Namikaze Minato stood among the carnage.

Guts crouched beside a body, inspecting the intact Sharingan eyes.

"Looks like Obito didn't show up to claim them," he muttered.

Minato returned, carrying an unconscious Sasuke.

"He's in shock. I'll take him to Konoha Hospital. Are you sure about what Itachi asked us to do?"

Guts exhaled. "I won't argue either way. Leave it to you. The world will hear of the Uchiha Massacre soon and plenty of opportunists will stir."

"And Terumi Mei?"

"I'm heading to her now. We'll liberate Kirigakure together and establish a new alliance between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water. That should cool off the rest of the vultures."

Minato nodded. "Alright. I'll handle Sasuke and the fallout."

As Anbu teams began clearing the area, Guts turned to leave.

This seed of hatred, sown generations ago by the Second Hokage and perhaps even earlier, had bloomed at last.

He had changed many things but some tragedies were rooted too deeply to avoid.

"At least Danzo didn't get the Uchiha's eyes. That's something, at least."

With those words, Guts made his way to Terumi Mei's estate.

The next morning, he would lead her and the rebellion she built to reclaim Kirigakure from Yagura.

The news of the Uchiha's annihilation swept through Konoha, the Land of Fire, and eventually the entire Shinobi World.

Add to that the sudden "assassinations" of Danzo, Homura, and Koharu each pinned on Uchiha Shisui and Konoha stood at a volatile crossroads.

But Guts didn't concern himself with the politics. That was for Tsunade and Minato to clean up.

He preferred solving problems with his fists.

[Achievement Unlocked: "The Seed of Hatred That Finally Bloomed" — Template Character: Monkey D. Garp | Completion: 98.09%]

The system's voice echoed in his mind.

Guts was momentarily stunned, then smirked to himself.

"After Garp... there should be a new template character unlocked, right? I wonder who it'll be."

He could feel the progress bar creeping ever closer to 100%.

Only 2% remained.

"Yagura has full mastery over the Three Tails—he's not quite at the peak of a Kage, but close enough."

That kind of threat should push the final percentage forward.

"Two percent… that should be enough," Guts muttered under his breath, a faint glint of anticipation in his eyes.

He didn't know exactly what the system would do when it hit 100%, but he had a feeling...no, a certainty, that it wouldn't be small.

Meanwhile, deep in the forests outside the Land of Fire

Having escaped the pursuit of Konoha's forces, Shisui and Itachi finally paused to catch their breath by noon the next day.

Shisui wiped the sweat from his brow. "What now?"

Itachi hesitated. "We can still collect intel for Konoha, I think—"

Suddenly, both of them snapped to attention, weapons drawn.

"Who's there?!" they demanded in unison, turning toward the woods.

A voice chuckled from the shadows. "No need to be so tense, Mangekyō users."

A masked man with a single eyehole emerged from the trees, calm and composed.

"Who are you?!"

Itachi's Sharingan spun instantly to Mangekyō, fully prepared for battle.

"Relax, Uchiha Itachi. Uchiha Shisui. I come bearing an invitation, to a very interesting place."

Shisui narrowed his eyes. Guts warning echoed in his mind:

"If some freak in a mask approaches you, follow him. See what you can learn."

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