The campfire crackled. Across from them, the giant snake had swallowed all eight children into its belly. Its body, already as thick as a water jar, had swollen another size, though it was now segmented into bulges, making it look rather comical.
After a puff of summoning smoke, the giant snake vanished. The best outcome was that nothing unexpected had happened.
"By the way, Itachi, you're six this year, aren't you? It's about time you went to the Ninja Academy, right?"
Having changed the subject, Uchiha Yoru asked with a casual smile, as though he were simply asking what rank someone had placed in an exam.
Though Uchiha Itachi was only six, he had been raised under the clan's teachings and was very polite. Despite the countless doubts filling his heart, he first nodded respectfully. "Because of the clan's special training last year, I'll be attending the village's Ninja Academy this year. But school won't start until March."
After answering, Uchiha Itachi hesitated. He had too many questions, and Brother Shisui seemed to treat him too much like a child. So, he looked toward the clansman whom even his father regarded highly.
"Why did this mission require these children?"
At last, Uchiha Itachi voiced the doubt in his heart. Uchiha Yoru gave a self-mocking smile upon hearing it. "Why else? If we don't use children from outside, then people in the village will naturally capture children from the Land of Fire, even Konoha itself. Between your own people and outsiders, what would you choose?"
The question stunned Uchiha Itachi. After hesitating for a moment, he softly said, "Naturally, I would protect my own people."
"Haha, right. To keep certain people in the village from laying hands on their own, we naturally have to lay hands on outsiders."
Just as Uchiha Shisui seemed about to offer some words of persuasion, Uchiha Yoru's expression turned solemn. He said heavily, "Shisui, Itachi is the clan head's eldest son! He bears the Uchiha's glory. From the moment he enjoyed the honor and material privileges brought by being the son of the clan head, he became different from other children. From birth, he was meant to shoulder the clan's burden."
"Heh, Shisui, don't give me that child nonsense. Hatake Kakashi graduated at five and became a Genin, then became a Chūnin at six! A Chūnin already has to lead a squad into battle. Do you think the Uchiha Clan is inferior to the Hatake Clan?"
Faced with that question, Uchiha Shisui immediately gave a bitter smile, shook his head, and sighed. "Brother Yoru, that's not what I meant."
Then, seeing Uchiha Itachi's calm expression, Shisui could not help sighing and shaking his head again. "Perhaps. But Itachi hasn't even attended the Ninja Academy yet, let alone become a ninja."
Seeing Shisui still defend Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Yoru simply smiled. Inside, however, he cursed him as an idiot. If he did not teach these two sooner, one would eventually flee and commit suicide, while the other would become a traitor. By then, no one would give him a chance to regret it.
"That's precisely because Itachi is about to return to the Ninja Academy. There are some things the academy cannot teach him, so you and I need to teach him in advance."
He raised a hand, signaling Uchiha Itachi to sit beside the fire. Itachi respectfully sat on his knees nearby, while Shisui gave a bitter smile, shook his head, and sat down as well, though he remained vigilant at all times.
Looking at young Uchiha Itachi's innocent, confused eyes, Uchiha Yoru shook his head with an exasperated laugh. "Itachi, you are fortunate. Because you are the son of the clan head, from the moment you were born, you received things that countless people could never obtain no matter how hard they struggled their entire lives. But likewise, you must shoulder the burden of protecting the clan."
"Some classified missions cannot be disclosed, but as the son of the clan head, there are certain dark things you must face. So let me tell you this: wherever there is light in this world, there is darkness. Sometimes, beneath the light itself is darkness."
Uchiha Itachi still looked somewhat lost, but Uchiha Yoru was not discouraged in the slightest. Instead, he smiled and nodded. There was no need to achieve everything in one step. He could take it slowly; there was no rush. The Nine-Tails' Rampage had only just passed. Uchiha Shisui had not yet become the Body Flicker Shisui who could see no hope at all, and Uchiha Itachi was still just a little brat.
If he still could not steer these two back onto the right track at this point, he might as well smash his head into a block of tofu. So many people who transmigrated into the Uchiha Clan desperately trained to change the Night of the Massacre, relying almost entirely on overwhelming strength. When the best method was obviously to turn these two into his own people first. A hero needed three helpers.
"Human Experimentation, expressly forbidden in the Shinobi World, has actually never stopped. Not only in Konoha, but also in the Five Great Nations and certain ninja villages. As for some Small ninja villages, it isn't that they don't want to conduct it—they simply lack the ability."
Human Experimentation!
Hearing that term, Uchiha Itachi could not help showing surprise. It was the first time Uchiha Yoru had seen such a change in his expression. Meanwhile, Itachi secretly recalled the eight children from earlier. Could it be that the clan had always been conducting Human Experimentation?
Naturally, Uchiha Yoru had no idea what Itachi was thinking. But it did not matter. Right now, while Itachi's understanding of the Hokage was still a blank sheet of paper, he intended to splash an indelible stain across it.
"The village has always been secretly conducting Human Experimentation. And now you know that after Nine-Tails Night, the clan has been isolated. To find outside support, we can only place our bets on Teacher Orochimaru."
When speaking of Orochimaru, Uchiha Yoru deliberately put on an excited, worshipful expression, his face filled with determination. "Itachi, you're still young, so you cannot understand the clan's current predicament. But I can tell you that Teacher Orochimaru's Prestige will soon be enough for him to become the Fifth Hokage. When that happens, the clan will definitely return to the center of Konoha's power and regain the trust of all Konoha."
At this moment, Uchiha Yoru looked completely like a fanatic, placing all future hope on the future Fifth Hokage. The greatest method of smearing someone was not direct slander, but praising another person and establishing a banner, thereby silently revealing the ugliness of the other.
Seeing this, Shisui also showed a determined expression and solemnly nodded. "Brother Yoru, don't worry. Once Lord Orochimaru becomes the Fifth Hokage, it will definitely happen. The clan will definitely return to Konoha."
He firmly believed this! Shisui silently shouted the words in his heart with solemn conviction. Beside him, Uchiha Itachi was hearing such claims for the first time, and the glorious image of the future Fifth Hokage, Orochimaru, whom he had never met, instantly appeared in his mind.
Since the clan's hopes were all placed on the future Fifth Hokage, Orochimaru, and since the clan, his father, and Brother Shisui all believed it, then it had to be right.
Having suddenly understood all this, determination appeared in Uchiha Itachi's confused little eyes. Though he still could not understand much or truly grasp everything, he knew that the Hokage in his understanding was a great person. Since Orochimaru was the future Fifth Hokage, then he must be a great Hokage.
Seeing Uchiha Itachi's determined gaze, Uchiha Yoru muttered to himself inwardly. Don't let me fool you stupid. You're the one who can kill Orochimaru with a glance, the snake's natural nemesis, Itachi. Don't turn into Orochimaru's loyal supporter for real.
Uchiha Yoru was no brainwashing master, but he knew the Uchiha needed hope right now, and the Fifth Hokage, Orochimaru, was that hope. Before then, he needed to endlessly magnify the virtues of the future Hokage in the eyes of Shisui and Itachi, these two important people. After all, if he said the Hokage was good, who the hell could say otherwise?
At the same time, he could use the radiant image of Orochimaru to strike at the remnants of the old era. Was that excessive? It did not matter if it was a little excessive; after all, there was still the future Hokage as a shining example.
This Hokage was hope—but what would happen when that hope collapsed? At that thought, Uchiha Yoru smiled. He did not know what would happen, but one thing was certain: the Hokage's radiant, sacred image was no longer spotless. Then he would see how Konoha could continue fooling the Uchiha Clan's traitors.
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