"War was unavoidable. Letting him witness its cruelty sooner is a good thing."
As Uchiha Fugaku spoke, he studied Qingye's young face and sighed with some emotion. "But you, Qingye—you've really become someone to admire in the few months we've been apart. If your parents could see you now, I'm sure they'd be pleased."
Uchiha Fugaku didn't think there was anything wrong with what he'd done.
Just look—here was a living example right before him!
He'd graduated from the Ninja Academy at nine, and just a few months later, he'd gone straight to the battlefield.
Faced with all kinds of difficult and dangerous missions, he'd never backed down. He'd been in danger countless times, even gravely wounded and on the verge of death!
And in return, his strength had soared, his Sharingan had evolved repeatedly, and at only twelve, he'd gained enough power to make even Fugaku take notice!
That had given Uchiha Fugaku an idea.
The Uchiha Clan's Sharingan really was best tempered in wars of blood and fire.
"Itachi, you should learn more from Qingye in the future."
"Yes, Father!"
Uchiha Itachi nodded obediently.
Qingye nearly rolled his eyes.
No, thanks!
It'd be best if you stayed far away from me!
Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Itachi were probably the most insane father-and-son pair in the entire Naruto world!
One took his four-year-old son to the battlefield, while the other personally wielded a blade to kill his parents and wipe out his entire clan... A perfect pair of schemers!
It was a wonder that a normal kid like Sasuke could come from a family like that.
After exchanging a few polite words, Qingye and Uchiha Fugaku headed together to the commander's tent.
They left Uchiha Itachi outside. Qingye lifted the tent flap and went in, finding more than twenty people packed inside. Some had been stationed on the Iwagakure front for a while, while others had just arrived as reinforcements. Every one of them was an elite jonin.
They sat in a circle, each in a chair.
At the center was the commander, Shikaku Nara. Minato Namikaze sat to his right, and two chairs on his left were still empty.
"Let me introduce them to everyone!"
Shikaku Nara rose to greet them. "Some of our comrades who just arrived may not know him yet. This is Uchiha Aoya. He killed hundreds of Iwagakure Ninja and captured Kitsuchi alive!"
The tent immediately filled with murmurs.
The Konoha jonin all looked astonished.
They'd heard Uchiha Aoya was only twelve!
A twelve-year-old with a record like that—was he even human?
"Aoya, Clan Head Fugaku, please take your seats. I'll go over the assignments for the next phase."
Shikaku Nara gestured for Aoya to sit on his left.
"..."
Aoya glanced at the two chairs in front and wondered if Shikaku Nara was messing with him on purpose.
Having himself sit in the middle, with Uchiha Fugaku beneath him, made it look as if he were the Uchiha Clan Head.
Aoya glanced at Uchiha Fugaku out of the corner of his eye.
Unfortunately, his own clan head still wore that same deadpan expression. Aoya couldn't read a thing on his face.
After a light cough, Aoya didn't bother being modest and sat down. Uchiha Fugaku sat a beat later, his expression unchanged.
After listening to Shikaku Nara lay out the plan, it all boiled down to one word:
Kill!
Kannabi Bridge had been destroyed, making it difficult to transport large amounts of supplies to Iwagakure anytime soon.
Konoha had just received reinforcements, too. There was nothing more to discuss. They'd attack directly and eliminate every Iwagakure Ninja still in the Land of Grass!
On the chaotic battlefield.
They'd only rested for two days before the fighting began again.
The Iwagakure commander had been captured, and his fate was unknown. Their supplies could no longer reach the front, and now they faced Konoha's newly arrived reinforcements. The tide of war had completely turned!
After several days and nights of fierce fighting, the battlefield was littered with the bodies of ninjas.
"So this is war..."
Uchiha Itachi stared blankly.
One group of strangers, another group of strangers, killing each other without knowing why. Everyone wanted nothing more than to kill the other side.
The dried blood on the ground had turned a chilling black.
As he walked across the battlefield, he occasionally came upon dismembered corpses.
Some had their heads and limbs hacked off by swords; others had been blown apart by Explosive Tags, their bodies shattered so badly that their entrails were visible.
When he accidentally stepped on entrails scattered across the ground, they felt sticky and horribly unpleasant.
With the charred stench of bodies burning in the flames, the place was like hell on earth.
"Wa... water..."
An Iwagakure Ninja lying on the ground stirred, his consciousness slowly returning.
Suddenly, his dry lips were moistened. A stream of life-saving water flowed into his throat. He gulped down a mouthful, then gradually came to his senses.
He managed to open his eyes. A child came into view.
So small?
He couldn't be more than four or five, could he?
Wait!
What was a child doing on the battlefield?!
The Iwagakure Ninja suddenly spotted the ninja pouch on the child's leg. His face changed, and he thrust the Kunai in his hand toward the child!
Shhk!
Blood sprayed!
Uchiha Itachi moved instinctively. His Kunai flashed, slitting the Iwagakure Ninja's throat.
Clap, clap, clap—
Qingye walked over, applauding as he praised him. "To react like that at only four years old—you really are the Clan Head's son."
He hadn't expected to see something like this as soon as he got back from a mission.
"Too softhearted."
Fugaku had appeared behind Uchiha Itachi at some point. He folded his arms and shook his head, disappointed. "You're still too soft!"
Don't worry, he'll get over that eventually.
Then he'll cut your throat swiftly and cleanly, without making you suffer.
Qingye felt he understood less and less how Uchiha Fugaku's brain worked.
Itachi was only four. He hadn't even developed his values yet, and Fugaku was already putting him through all this. Was he afraid his son might grow up normal?
"Why? Why did he try to kill me?"
Uchiha Itachi looked bewildered. "Why do people kill each other?"
He'd only been trying to save him.
He hadn't wanted to kill him!
"Because he thought you were a threat to Iwagakure."
Qingye looked down and kindly explained, "Konoha has lost too many people in this war, so we have to kill as many Iwagakure Ninja as possible and weaken the threat posed by Iwagakure."
"And he thought you'd become a threat to Iwagakure in the future, so he wanted to kill you. If he'd run into another Konoha ninja, he'd have died even faster. So you don't need to blame yourself for his death."
Uchiha Itachi furrowed his brow, as if he were thinking it over.
After a long while, Uchiha Itachi suddenly understood. His eyes lit up. "I get it! I didn't cause his death. The warring era did!"
As he spoke, Uchiha Itachi looked at Qingye expectantly. "Qingye, is that what you mean?"
"..."
Qingye said nothing. He simply crouched down and ruffled Uchiha Itachi's hair.
Kid, you're unstoppable!
Then Qingye remembered something and added:
"Oh, and don't forget to search his belongings. He might have some Explosive Tags or something. Those are worth quite a bit."
"Uh..." Uchiha Itachi froze.
Was that right?
He'd only just convinced himself not to feel guilty, and now he was supposed to loot a dead man?
Qingye smiled. "Think of it this way: he's already dead. If you don't collect his Explosive Tags and Shuriken for him, then won't he have died for nothing?"
Uchiha Itachi scratched his head, wondering if something about that logic seemed off.
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