These Fools!!

Within the Uchiha Clan Grounds, two figures sat facing each other in the dim Clan Head Residence.

Only a single candlestick cast a faint glow, throwing their shadows onto the walls.

Their shadows swayed and twisted with the flickering flame, much like the oppressive silence hanging over the room.

"Just as expected of my son. Being admitted into the ANBU means you have a boundless future ahead of you..."

Fugaku Uchiha spoke, breaking the stifling atmosphere.

Though his words were approving, there was not the slightest hint of joy in his tone.

"However, remember what I told you."

He stared solemnly at Itachi, who sat before him with his head lowered in silence. "You are not only Itachi of the ANBU—you are also Itachi of the Uchiha Clan!"

Itachi Uchiha slowly raised his head and answered expressionlessly, "...Yes."

Looking at his son, Fugaku felt somewhat comforted, and the pressure in his heart eased a little.

He had truly been exhausted lately.

Clan Meetings within the Uchiha Clan had become increasingly frequent.

The Radical Faction had also grown stronger, with more and more Uchiha clansmen supporting them.

Although he, as clan head, leaned more toward the Conservative Faction, the Uchiha Clan was not his alone to command.

Several highly senior elders secretly supported the Radical Faction as well, leaving him, caught in the middle as clan head, in a miserable position.

"Still, since the Third Hokage allowed Itachi to join the ANBU like Shisui, he must also intend to ease the relationship."

With Shisui and Itachi maintaining the relationship between the village and the Uchiha, it would at least not break down completely.

And at worst, if the day of rebellion truly came, Shisui and Itachi could serve as sources of intelligence for them.

However, Fugaku failed to notice the fleeting disappointment in his son's eyes.

"Father, can your eyes see nothing but the Uchiha Clan?"

In a daze, he seemed to see once again the scene from when his father had first brought him to the battlefield.

Konoha Ninja, Iwa Ninja, Cloud Ninja...

Countless kunai and shuriken tore through the air with piercing whistles as shinobi charged at their enemies with weapons in hand, roaring wildly.

Their eyes held nothing but hatred, rage, and fear. Even their hearts were filled with resentment.

After killing an enemy, they would in turn be killed by another enemy, over and over, without end.

On that battlefield, living lives vanished every moment.

Dark clouds swept across the sky. Cold rain fell ceaselessly from above, and the overpowering stench of blood made one want to vomit. The entire earth had been dyed a dark crimson.

That war had unfolded before the eyes of four-year-old Itachi.

He had stood there blankly, watching his father slaughter every enemy who came at them.

The gentleness and smiles that usually graced his father's face were gone, leaving only endless hatred and loathing.

Slash!!

Enemy blood splattered across Itachi's young, vacant face.

His bright black eyes reflected the incomparably cruel scene before him, and his young heart was deeply shaken by it.

"So this is... a Shinobi World War..."

That battle continued until the sun rose.

There were no victors. In the end, only countless corpses remained.

As Itachi walked among the bodies, an Iwa Ninja, grievously wounded and wailing in pain, caught his attention.

"Argh!!"

Under Fugaku's expressionless gaze, Itachi paid no attention to the man's identity as an Iwa Ninja.

He lifted the man's head and gave him his water.

"Th-Thank you..."

The Iwa Ninja slowly opened his eyes, only to notice the Ninja Tools at Itachi's waist.

He instantly came to his senses. Taking advantage of Itachi turning away, he thrust the kunai in his hand straight toward Itachi's vital point.

He did not care in the slightest that Itachi had just saved his life.

Slash!!

His exceptional instinctive reactions made Itachi Uchiha draw his kunai.

With a single strike, he slit the Iwa Ninja's throat.

"Father, why..."

Looking at the shinobi as he fell backward, Itachi's voice was filled with confusion and terror. "Why did this shinobi try to kill me? I clearly... didn't do anything..."

Fugaku slowly walked to his side and said coldly, "Because this is war."

"It wasn't a conflict between people, but a conflict between nations. That was why meaningless slaughter happened between strangers."

War...

"Is war... like this?"

Itachi Uchiha lowered his head and looked at the corpse with its twisted face, slowly clenching his fists.

A deep sense of disgust surged through him, bringing such intense suffocation that he nearly fainted.

Their deaths, their wills, were all for their own village, for the families behind them...

There was no distinction between justice and evil in such battles. They were utterly meaningless.

"This is the ninja world!"

Fugaku did not care about his expression and continued, "Listen, Itachi."

"Do not forget the sight before you."

His father's cold, merciless words slammed hard into Itachi's heart.

He could not understand.

What was the meaning of war?

Was conflict between humans truly unavoidable?

"War..."

Was this the world he lived in?

A world like hell...

Itachi's body trembled, and he could only desperately suppress the fear in his heart.

Yet the corpses strewn everywhere, along with those twisted, despairing faces, kept surfacing in his mind.

No!!

Using battle to solve problems was wrong.

No matter what...

This kind of world needed to change!

Knock, knock~

"Fugaku, Itachi, it's time to eat."

The sudden knock at the door interrupted Itachi's thoughts, pulling him back from the shadows of his childhood.

"Wait a moment. We'll be right there."

Fugaku answered, glancing at his silent, downcast son without giving it much thought.

He reminded him, "Sasuke will be enrolling soon as well. His talent is not as good as yours, so as his older brother, you should teach him more whenever you have time."

Only when his father mentioned Sasuke did a glimmer of life appear in Itachi's eyes.

"...Alright."

No matter what, he did not want Sasuke to live in a world filled with conflict.

No matter the cost.

After eating, Fugaku Uchiha left his residence and went to the captain's office of the Police Force.

Although the Police Force's duties had now been mostly swallowed up by the ANBU, there were still matters large and small for him to deal with every day.

By the time he had handled most of the documents, it was nearly evening.

Bang!!

Just as Fugaku rose to leave—

"Captain, this is bad!!"

A member of the Uchiha Conservative Faction burst straight through the door, his face filled with extreme anxiety and panic as he reported, "Our clansmen got into a conflict with members of the Sarutobi Clan. They've already started fighting!"

"What?!"

Fugaku Uchiha's heart clenched as he hurriedly asked, "What was the reason??"

"Some Sarutobi Clan members were talking about our previous violent law enforcement. Yashiro's men overheard them, and the two sides started arguing. In the end, they came to blows."

"Those idiots!"

Fugaku Uchiha cursed under his breath.

Some readers have said the plot has been a little bland lately (scratches head.jpg).

Don't be impatient, everyone. This is a transitional period; the main story is what comes next.

After all, the protagonist is not the sort of person whose head is filled with negative thoughts. He can't just fire off a Spiraling Ring and completely destroy the Leaf Village in one go—and besides, that is meant for Naruto and Sasuke.

Of course, war will be unleashed, but you have to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time~