Itachi Uchiha

With Fugaku Uchiha already designated as the next clan head, it was naturally difficult to refuse the current young clan head's invitation. Besides, Uchiha Gen had intended to find an opportunity to discuss some matters with Fugaku Uchiha, so he readily agreed.

The invitation was for the afternoon, leaving him time in the morning. Uchiha Gen went to Konoha to enjoy himself, eating snacks, browsing the streets, soaking in hot springs, and so on.

By the time he returned to the Uchiha Clan Estate, it was nearly two in the afternoon. Uchiha Gen arrived at Fugaku Uchiha's home carrying a box of pastries.

Fugaku Uchiha's home was located at the center of the estate, in a position surrounded by all the others.

However, the house was not particularly luxurious. It was also a two-story wooden villa, merely larger, with a larger courtyard. It was not much different from the homes of other Uchiha clansmen.

The Uchiha Clan was unlike the Hyuga Clan. Although the clan head held considerable authority and status, the overall atmosphere was comparatively democratic.

In fact, the Uchiha Clan also distinguished between the main family and branch families. The difference was that while the main family held power, it did not heavily oppress the branch families.

That was because the Uchiha Clan's main and branch families were constantly shifting.

Any household that awakened the Sharingan was promoted to the main family. Those who had not awakened the Sharingan, whether shinobi or civilians, belonged to branch families.

Civilians made their living through other means and received the Uchiha Clan's protection.

Shinobi could work in the Military Police Force, though only as ordinary members. Still, they were far safer than other shinobi and could be considered under the clan's protection.

Members of the main family who had awakened the Sharingan were qualified to wield authority in both the Military Police Force and the clan, becoming squad leaders, Squad Vice-Captains, division captains, chief captains, elders, or clan heads.

If they possessed only combat talent and no management ability, they could not become officials. They could only serve as the clan's elite enforcers, though their treatment was excellent and they basically never had to worry about money.

This was the foundation accumulated over a thousand years by the Shinobi World's foremost great clan. Ordinary shinobi had to painstakingly take missions to earn money.

Shinobi were a group with high incomes and even higher expenses, and there were some things they could not afford to cut back on, or they would easily die.

Ding-dong...

Uchiha Gen stood at the courtyard gate and rang the doorbell. Before long, the front door opened.

A woman appeared, with long straight black hair, dark eyes, gentle and soft features, and a tranquil, graceful temperament.

"Madam."

Uchiha Gen smiled, gave a slight bow, and politely greeted her.

"Gen, you're here. No need to be so formal. Just call me Mikoto."

"Please, come in."

Mikoto Uchiha smiled gently. Her warm tone naturally made people feel fond of her.

Uchiha Gen went along with it. "Mikoto."

Mikoto Uchiha looked completely harmless, but Uchiha Gen did not underestimate her.

Mikoto Uchiha was also a shinobi, one who had awakened the Sharingan and possessed considerable strength.

Moreover, as far as Uchiha Gen knew, Mikoto Uchiha was Setsuna Uchiha's daughter.

Setsuna Uchiha was the inheritor of Madara Uchiha's will. He was deeply dissatisfied with Tobirama Senju's policies toward the Uchiha Clan and had always longed to reclaim sovereignty from the Senju Clan.

Later, the commotion he caused by inciting Uchiha clansmen to rebel was noticed by the Second Hokage. In the end, he was arrested by Anbu members dispatched by the Second Hokage and imprisoned, where he remained to this day.

Even so, Setsuna Uchiha remained a representative and leading figure of the Uchiha Clan's Hawk Faction. Many hawkish Uchiha clansmen admired him.

As Setsuna Uchiha's daughter, Mikoto Uchiha represented the Uchiha Hawk Faction.

Mikoto Uchiha's support had been indispensable to Fugaku Uchiha's secure position as the next head of the Uchiha Clan.

Uchiha Gen followed Mikoto Uchiha into the courtyard. After removing his shoes and entering the house, he saw a child coming down the stairs.

"Itachi, we have a guest. Call him Brother Gen."

Itachi Uchiha bowed properly and obediently called out, "Brother Gen."

Uchiha Gen smiled faintly. "Hello."

Who could have imagined that such a polite child would one day harden his heart enough to slaughter his entire clan?

To be honest, given his current position, he did not like Itachi Uchiha. After all, he too was a member of the clan. But there was no need to shout for the current Itachi to be killed.

He was still young, his way of thinking had not yet taken shape, and there was still a chance to turn him around. If he could not be turned around, then Uchiha Gen would simply have to find an opportunity to kill him.

Fugaku Uchiha was also insane. Why take a three- or four-year-old child to wander around a battlefield for no reason?

To experience the cruelest place in the world without even the slightest buffer—of course something would go wrong.

The Shinobi World did force people to mature early, but this was taking things far too far. The final result was that he had grown crooked.

In Uchiha Gen's view, Itachi Uchiha was far too naïve, far too extreme, and far too arrogant.

He thought he had seen through everything, thought he understood everything, thought he could control everything, and thought everything he did was right and just.

The Konoha higher-ups, who understood human nature all too well, had long seen through his essence. They exploited precisely this mentality, and he was played like a fiddle without realizing it.

In truth, without Itachi Uchiha's help, would Konoha really have dared to destroy the Uchiha?

No matter how suspicious the Konoha higher-ups were, they had no conclusive evidence proving that the Uchiha Clan had controlled the Nine-Tails.

The Sharingan was indeed the Uchiha's symbol, and the Uchiha were indeed the prime suspects, but the Uchiha Clan had endured for over a thousand years. Who could guarantee that no stray bloodlines remained elsewhere in the Shinobi World?

As long as there was no proof that Konoha's Uchiha had truly done it, it could not serve as an official pretext.

If Konoha dared wipe out the Shinobi World's foremost great clan without conclusive evidence, what would Konoha's other clans think?

If you Konoha higher-ups could destroy the Uchiha without evidence today, could you destroy us without evidence tomorrow?

If the Konoha higher-ups dared do such a thing, Konoha would inevitably lose the hearts of its people, and its collapse and disintegration would not be far off.

Even in feudal society, when exterminating someone's nine generations, they did not simply wipe them out immediately. They arrested them first, held a trial, obtained solid evidence, found a reasonable pretext, and only then carried out the sentence openly.

Any nation that dared kill people indiscriminately and wipe out entire families without reasonable justification was doomed to perish sooner or later.

Once rules and order collapsed, those at the top would sooner or later suffer the fiercest backlash!

Without Itachi Uchiha's help, Konoha could only have moved against the Uchiha once they formally seized power. But what were the Uchiha like?

They talked about seizing power, yet dragged it out for years, afraid of this and that, with even their concrete plan vague and childish.

If one said the Uchiha Clan was good at keeping its plans secret, all the Konoha higher-ups knew about it. If one said they were bad at it, the overwhelming majority of Konoha shinobi and villagers knew nothing.

In Uchiha Gen's eyes, the Uchiha Clan was more like a group of loud talkers. They made plenty of noise, but were not actually enthusiastic about seizing power.

More than anything, they wanted to use the threat of seizing power to force the Konoha higher-ups to compromise, change the Uchiha Clan's suppressed situation, and, further still, fulfill their ambition of escaping the Military Police Force and gaining greater authority.

Without clan infighting as an excuse, even if the Uchiha Clan continued to be monitored and suppressed, they could still endure. They would simply have a harder life.

Once the Fifth Hokage Tsunade, the Sixth Hokage Kakashi, and the Seventh Hokage Naruto Uzumaki came to power, the situation would gradually improve.

If Itachi Uchiha had not stood with Konoha but instead stood with his clan, Obito would not have been able to destroy the Uchiha Clan either.

The Uchiha's destruction was the result of three parties acting together. Only through the combined efforts of all three, along with Fugaku Uchiha giving up and surrendering, could the Uchiha Clan be silently annihilated.

After the clan massacre, Itachi Uchiha calmed down and lived in considerable pain.

Only after experiencing life and death, when he was brought back through Impure World Reincarnation during the Fourth Shinobi World War, did Itachi Uchiha finally understand everything.

Itachi Uchiha told Sasuke, "It's fine if you don't forgive me. No matter what you become in the future, I will always love you."

The implication was that even if Sasuke did not protect Konoha and still wanted to destroy it, he would still love him.

To hell with the Will of Fire, to hell with the village. His little brother was what mattered most!

He did not like the Itachi before Impure World Reincarnation—he even loathed him. He still did not like the Itachi after it, but he did not hate him quite as much.

That was Uchiha Gen's shallow opinion of the Uchiha Clan and Itachi Uchiha.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but Uchiha Gen revealed nothing on his face. Smiling, he waved goodbye to Itachi Uchiha, then followed Mikoto Uchiha to the reception room.

Children's senses were the sharpest, especially a child like Itachi Uchiha.

He could not reveal any hostility. If Itachi sensed it, becoming friends with him later would only become more difficult. Anyone would be wary of someone who harbored ill will toward them...

Just a shallow opinion. Please don't flame me if you disagree.