"We need your achievements to demonstrate whether you're suited for ANBU."
"Do you mean a mission?"
"The mission I give you will be commanded by this old man..."
The mission Shimura Danzō had prepared.
It was a mission that would never see the light of day.
And Itachi was already prepared for it.
"Do you remember the question this old man asked you before?"
Danzō suddenly brought up another matter.
Back then, Danzō had appeared at Uchiha Itachi's graduation ceremony and approached him.
"There are two ships. One has thirty people on it, the other twenty. Both spring leaks at the same time. Which one do you save?"
"..."
Itachi's answer at the time had been... to save the thirty people.
Hyuga Sho had been asked the same question when he graduated.
Hyuga Sho had chosen to save everyone.
Although Kakashi had gritted his teeth and chosen to save one, he had immediately realized his mistake because of Hyuga Sho's answer.
But Uchiha Itachi...
"My way of thinking won't change."
Uchiha Itachi said it.
His answer now was no different from the one he had given upon graduating from the Ninja Academy.
"Hmm..."
Shimura Danzō smiled in satisfaction.
This was the difference between Uchiha Itachi and Hatake Kakashi and Hyuga Sho.
A genius like this was suited to become his pawn.
Sooner or later, Uchiha Itachi would face...
The question of whether to choose the village or the Uchiha.
His way of thinking determined that when the time came, he could only choose the village and abandon the Uchiha Clan.
One's worldview determined one's actions.
One's actions determined one's life.
"There's a man in ANBU."
Danzō got to the point.
"He's thirty-four years old. In your eyes, he should be an old man..."
Danzō spoke without expression.
"Although he isn't