Chapter 45: The Wonderful Uses of the Book of the Vermilion Moon

Not knowing how many times she had woken up, Izumi found herself once again by the banks of the Naka River.

The setting sun dyed the sky crimson; wild geese glided through the twilight, and a flock of ducks played in the river, letting out rhythmic quacks.

Having been "killed" countless times, Izumi's eyes had gradually grown numb.

Under the continuous onslaught of genjutsu, she could no longer distinguish whether this was reality or an illusion.

On the first Night of the Massacre, she was killed by Itachi's Tsukuyomi within the Uchiha compound.

On the second Night of the Massacre, she attempted to seek help from the Konoha Police Force, only to find that they had also been attacked, ultimately being killed by the man in the tiger-striped mask.

On the third Night of the Massacre, she tried to call for reinforcements from the village, but before she could even leave the compound, she was ambushed and killed by a group of masked ninjas.

Following that, Izumi Uchiha entered an infinite loop of the Night of the Massacre. No matter how she struggled, she could not escape the compound, nor could she escape the endless cycle of that night.

Thus, Izumi decided to seek help from within the compound to find the truth.

She ran through every corner of the clan grounds, even going to the Clan Head's residence, only to repeatedly witness the nightmare scenario of Itachi Uchiha slaughtering his kin, sparing neither the old, the weak, nor the women and children.

She also tried to rush to the Konoha Police Force ahead of time to find more people to help, but no matter how fast she traveled, she could never arrive before the massacre began.

Either the man in the tiger-striped mask had bloodied the Police Force, or Itachi Uchiha had slaughtered the entire compound.

No matter who it was, no one could escape; the shackles of fate seemed long since predestined.

Even her own mother...

The only thing that left Izumi somewhat confused was that the mysterious figure wearing the white three-eyed fox mask had never appeared again after his first appearance in her genjutsu world.

Instead, Itachi Uchiha and the mysterious person who bloodied the Konoha Police Force appeared every single time.

"Who... exactly is that guy..." After experiencing the infinite loops of the Night of the Massacre, Izumi Uchiha finally realized that the key to this genjutsu world was likely created by that mysterious person she first encountered.

"What is his purpose in giving me this genjutsu world? Will the Uchiha... truly be massacred?" Unknowingly, the conclusion that the "Uchiha Massacre Night" was inevitable had been implanted deep within Izumi's heart.

She just couldn't understand—why Itachi! How could it possibly be Itachi!

Unable to make sense of it, Izumi mustered her courage once more and walked toward the compound with a solemn expression.

She intended to investigate the truth of the massacre and find a way to break the genjutsu world.

However, when she arrived cautiously at the Uchiha compound, she found that the sun had only just set.

"Yo, isn't that Izumi? You're back." Grandma Kuna approached from a distance, leading her grandson, Kitsuki, and waving to her with a smile.

"Izumi-姉 (Big Sister)!" Little Kitsuki bounded toward her.

"Good evening, Grandma Kuna, little Kitsuki..." Izumi's voice choked slightly, tears welling in the corners of her eyes.

After her father died, she had moved to the Uchiha compound with her mother and changed her surname to Uchiha.

Over the past three years, she had been accepted by the Uchiha clan, who placed great importance on bloodline and kinship; the clansmen treated her like family.

Although her grades at the Ninja Academy were not good and she had no intention of promoting to Chunin in the future, as a ninja who had awakened the Sharingan within the Uchiha clan, she received all the clan treatment and stipends she was entitled to.

"Izumi, why are your eyes so red?" Grandma Kuna stepped forward and affectionately placed a hand on her shoulder. "Is it because you're still getting used to your new ninja career? Come to my house for dinner tonight. I'll make you something delicious to celebrate you becoming a ninja!"

"Yay! Izumi-姉, come with us!" Kitsuki also circled around Izumi joyfully.

"Thank you, Grandma Kuna, I just..." Izumi wiped the tears from her eyes, feeling the warmth of this familial bond, yet fearing that this too might be another infinite loop of the Night of the Massacre.

Trembling with apprehension, Izumi followed Grandma Kuna and Kitsuki to their home as a guest.

She remained hyper-vigilant, her mind fully focused on her surroundings.

However, from Auntie Kuna preparing a sumptuous meal, to playing games with Kitsuki after dinner, to finally saying goodbye to Grandma Kuna and Kitsuki, nothing happened.

As she hurried back home, the streets of the compound were dotted with lights. In the neighborhoods and alleys, children played happily, their laughter drifting on the wind, while adults strolled in small groups, chatting about various things.

Returning home, Izumi opened the door with a mix of tension and confusion.

"Izumi, you're back." Her mother, Hazuki Uchiha, walked out from the kitchen.

"Mama..." Seeing that her mother was still alive, Izumi could no longer suppress her emotions and threw herself into her arms, weeping bitterly.

"You silly child." Hazuki Uchiha simply thought her daughter had encountered some grievance during a mission; she gently stroked her daughter's long hair, soothing her softly.

——————

"The Book of Shingetsu is truly useful." Under the cover of night, atop a roof within the Uchiha compound, Menma leaned against the ridge, quietly watching Izumi Uchiha in the distance.

The moonlight cast a cold glow upon his white three-eyed fox mask, and the night wind ruffled his fur collar.

The little Nine-Tails poked its head out from the fur collar, clutching an open bamboo scroll, looking here and there.

"Menma, there's nothing in this scroll!" The little Nine-Tails' small face was filled with confusion as she flipped through it for a long time, unable to find even a single character on the bamboo.

"Because it is the Book of Shingetsu," Menma chuckled softly, reaching out to take the scroll from the little Nine-Tails.

After the little Nine-Tails was resurrected in Menma's mental world, Menma had arranged the environment within his mental world to provide her with a better living space.

He had accidentally discovered the Book of Shingetsu in the depths of that mental world.

Through exploration, Menma discovered that this wordless bamboo scroll, the "Book of Shingetsu," condensed the essence of the "Limited Tsukuyomi World." It could serve as a ninja tool to trigger genjutsu comparable to "Tsukuyomi," and by holding the book, one could make various adjustments to the genjutsu world, causing people to sink into multiple layers of illusions.

To this day, Menma had not yet discovered the limits of the Book of Shingetsu.

Furthermore, the Book of Shingetsu came with genjutsu resistance, allowing Menma to be immune to certain illusions and resist the genjutsu of the Sharingan.

With the empowerment of the Book of Shingetsu, Menma's weakness in the field of genjutsu was compensated for, making it easier to deal with Itachi Uchiha in the future.

"You seem very interested in this girl, Menma." The little Nine-Tails tilted her head, feeling curious about this Uchiha clansman she had never seen before.

"I just want to see if she has any value to be utilized by me." Menma indeed had not seen her in the Limited Tsukuyomi World.

If one viewed the Limited Tsukuyomi World as a mirror image of reality, it was highly likely that Izumi's father had not died on the Night of the Nine-Tails; thus, he likely would not have awakened the Sharingan, she would not have moved back to the compound with her mother, and she would never have met Itachi Uchiha.

There were still a few years left before the Night of the Massacre. In Menma's grand design, there were three Uchiha members who might be utilized by him.

Izumi was merely one of them.

"Her Sharingan is indeed very beautiful." Menma recalled Obito's evaluation of Izumi and felt a sense of anticipation for her Sharingan as well.