Orochimaru, the Light in Itachi's Heart

The campfire crackled and popped. The giant snake on the other side had already swallowed all eight children whole, its body, already as thick as a water vat, bulging even more in segmented lumps that looked somewhat ridiculous.

With a puff of summoning smoke, the snake vanished. No accident occurring was the best outcome.

"Speaking of which, Itachi, you're six this year. Time to head to the Ninja Academy, right?"

Changing the subject, Uchiha Yoru asked with a casual smile, as if he were just asking about someone's exam ranking.

Raised by the clan, Uchiha Itachi, though only six, was still very polite. Despite a mind full of countless questions, he first nodded respectfully and said, "Because of the clan's special training last year, I'll be attending the village's Ninja Academy this year, but classes don't start until March."

Having just answered, Uchiha Itachi showed a hint of hesitation. The questions in his heart were too many, and it seemed his elder brother Shisui still treated him too much like a child. So he turned his gaze to this clansman, whom even his father held in high regard.

"Why did this mission require those children?"

Uchiha Itachi finally voiced the doubt in his heart. Hearing this, Uchiha Yoru let out a self-deprecating laugh. "Why else? If we don't take children from outside, there are people in the village who will start grabbing kids from the Land of Fire, even from Konoha itself. Our own people versus outsiders—if it were you, which would you choose?"

The question made Uchiha Itachi pause. After a moment's hesitation, he said softly, "Naturally, protect our own people."

"Haha, right. To keep some people in the village from laying hands on our own, of course we have to act against outsiders."

Just as Uchiha Shisui seemed about to say something to dissuade him, Uchiha Yoru's face turned serious, and he said in a low voice, "Shisui, Itachi is the eldest son of the clan head! He carries the honor of the Uchiha on his shoulders. From the moment he was born and enjoyed the prestige and all the material benefits that come with being the son of the clan head, he became different from other children. From birth, he has had to bear the burden of the clan."

"Heh, Shisui, don't give me that 'he's just a child' talk. Hatake Kakashi graduated at five and became a chunin at six! A chunin already leads a squad on missions. Do you think the Uchiha are inferior to the Hatake Clan?"

At this rhetorical question, Uchiha Shisui could only smile wryly and shake his head with a sigh. "Brother Yoru, that's not what I meant."

After speaking, he saw the calm expression on Uchiha Itachi's face and couldn't help but sigh again, shaking his head. "Maybe so, but Itachi hasn't even gone to the Ninja Academy yet. He's not even a ninja."

Seeing Shisui still trying to protect Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Yoru just smiled to himself, inwardly cursing him an idiot. If he didn't teach these two early on, one would run away to commit suicide, and the other would become a traitor. By then, there'd be no chance for him to regret it.

"It's precisely because Itachi is going back to the Ninja Academy that you and I need to teach him some things beforehand—things they don't teach there."

He gestured for Uchiha Itachi to sit by the fire. Itachi knelt respectfully beside him, while Shisui, shaking his head with a bitter smile, also sat down, though he remained on constant alert.

Looking at young Uchiha Itachi's innocent, confused eyes, Uchiha Yoru couldn't help but let out a resigned chuckle and shake his head. "Itachi, you're lucky. Because you're the son of the clan head, you were born with things countless people spend their whole lives striving for and never obtain. But at the same time, you have to shoulder the burden of protecting the clan."

"Some things about classified missions can't be disclosed, but as the son of the clan head, there are certain darknesses you have to face. So I'll tell you this: no matter where you go in this world, wherever there is light, there is also darkness. In fact, what lies beneath the light is often darkness itself."

Seeing the flicker of confusion in Uchiha Itachi's eyes, Uchiha Yoru wasn't discouraged at all. Instead, he nodded with a smile. No need to go all at once. He would take it slow. There was no rush. The Nine-Tails' Rampage had just passed. Uchiha Shisui wasn't yet the "Body Flicker Shisui" who saw no hope, and Uchiha Itachi was still just a little brat.

If he couldn't steer these two back onto the right path at this point, he might as well go find a block of tofu and bash his head in. So many people who transmigrated into the Uchiha Clan just trained like mad to change the night of the massacre, relying purely on overwhelming strength. But the best method was clearly to get these two on his side first. One man alone can't do everything; he needs help.

"The shinobi world has an outright ban on human experimentation, but it's always been going on. Not just in Konoha, but in the Five Great Nations and some other ninja villages. As for the smaller villages, it's not that they don't want to—they just don't have the capability."

Human experimentation!

Hearing that term, Uchiha Itachi couldn't hide his surprise. It was the first time Uchiha Yoru had seen such a visible reaction from him. Itachi secretly recalled the eight children from earlier. Could it be that the clan had been conducting human experiments?

Uchiha Yoru naturally had no idea what Itachi was thinking, but that didn't matter. Right now, his goal was to stain Itachi's mind—still a blank slate when it came to the Hokage—with an indelible blot.

"The village has been secretly carrying out human experimentation all along. And now, as you know, after the Nine-Tails Night, the clan has been isolated. To find outside support, we had to place our bets on Teacher Orochimaru."

When he mentioned Orochimaru, Uchiha Yoru even put on a look of excitement and reverence, his face filled with conviction. "Itachi, you're still young. You can't yet understand the clan's current predicament. But I can tell you this: with Teacher Orochimaru's reputation, it won't be long before he becomes the Fifth Hokage. When that happens, the clan will surely return to the center of power in Konoha and once again earn the trust of the entire village."

At this moment, Uchiha Yoru was the picture of a zealot, pinning all future hopes on the future Fifth Hokage. The best way to discredit someone wasn't to slander them directly, but to praise another person, setting up a banner that would, by contrast, reveal the ugliness of the other.

Seeing this, Shisui also showed a determined expression and nodded solemnly. "Brother Yoru, rest assured. Once Lord Orochimaru becomes the Fifth Hokage, it will definitely happen. The clan will surely return to Konoha."

He believed this firmly! Shisui silently swore to himself. Beside him, Uchiha Itachi, hearing such talk for the first time, instantly formed a glorious image in his mind of the future Fifth Hokage, Orochimaru—a man he had never even met.

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 must be right.

Having pieced this together in an instant, the confusion in Uchiha Itachi's young eyes gave way to determination. Though he couldn't fully understand or grasp everything yet, he knew that in his understanding, the Hokage was a great person. Since Orochimaru was to be the future Fifth Hokage, he must surely be a great Hokage.

Seeing the determined look in Uchiha Itachi's eyes, Uchiha Yoru muttered inwardly, Don't let me brainwash him too well. You're the one who can kill Orochimaru with a single glance, the snake's natural enemy, Itachi. Don't end up becoming Orochimaru's loyal follower.

Uchiha Yoru was no master of brainwashing, but he knew that right now, the Uchiha Clan needed a hope. The Fifth Hokage, Orochimaru, was that hope. So before that, he would endlessly magnify the goodness of the future Hokage in the eyes of two important people: Shisui and Itachi. After all, if he praised the Hokage, who the hell could say he was wrong?

And using the glorious image of Orochimaru to undermine the remnants of the old era—was that too much? A little excessive was fine. After all, there was still the shining example of the future Hokage before them.

This Hokage was their hope. But what would happen when that hope collapsed? At the thought, Uchiha Yoru smiled. He didn't know exactly what would happen, but one thing was certain: the Hokage's glorious, saintly image would no longer be pure. And when that time came, he'd love to see how Konoha planned to keep fooling the Uchiha Clan's future traitors.