"Not really," Dan replied.
Itachi continued speaking as if to himself:
"When I was eight, my companion Tenma was killed by the Masked Man, and that made me awaken my Sharingan.
"When my father found out, he didn't care about my feelings at all. He just fed the fish, happily congratulated me, and said I'd truly become a member of the Uchiha.
"Only later did I learn that, to the Uchiha, the death of a companion or loved one was a sacrifice they had to make to obtain the power of the Sharingan.
"Many clan members cast aside the lives of those they cherished, using the anguish of that moment to spur themselves into awakening their eyes.
"Those who could endure that pain were said to have 'true mettle.'
"That's the secret of the Sharingan among the Uchiha Clan. It's what we call our 'pride.'"
His words revealed his disgust and scorn for the Uchiha.
"So that's how it is."
Dan agreed, though he had a different opinion.
He hadn't suffered the pain of losing someone dear to him. Instead, he had awakened his Sharingan while feeling overjoyed after making a major breakthrough during a workout.
Happy Awakening.
But if he told his nephew that, the boy probably wouldn't believe him.
Itachi suddenly stopped and fixed his eyes on Dan.
"Uncle, did you move out here by yourself because you couldn't stand the Uchiha Clan's so-called pride and honor?"
He wanted to know what his uncle truly thought—whether, like him, Dan was disappointed and disgusted by the clan's prevailing attitude.
But Itachi was disappointed.
"No. I just wanted some peace and quiet. I didn't think that deeply about it," Dan replied.
At that, Itachi lowered his head.
They continued walking.
A while later, Itachi spoke again, asking Dan another question:
"Uncle, in Konoha, everyone—from the high command to ordinary civilians—hates the Uchiha. Are we really, as the Second Hokage said, a clan born evil?"
"Where did you hear that?"
Dan asked in return. Before Itachi could answer, he shrugged indifferently. "Why care what other people say? Even if we were born evil, we should just accept our true selves."
Dan had never cared what other people thought.
Even if everyone in the Ninja World cursed him, he wouldn't feel down. He'd eat and drink as usual and let it go. Likewise, even if everyone praised him, he wouldn't feel any different. He'd still be himself.
That was defining the inner and outer, distinguishing between honor and disgrace, and only then attaining inner freedom.
It was the philosophy of Daoism from a past life.
Itachi was taken aback by Dan's words, his brows knitting together.
"Uncle, your way of thinking is too profound. I can't understand it."
At that, Dan placed a large hand on his nephew's head.
"You're still young. It's normal that you don't understand. And don't spend all day thinking like an adult. There are things you don't need to worry about."
Things?
Itachi perked up at once. Was his uncle talking about the relationship between the clan and the village?
He caught the implication behind Dan's words and hurriedly pressed him for an answer.
"Uncle, where do you think the relationship between the Uchiha and the village is headed? Can they ever reconcile?"
Dan glanced at his nephew and shook his head, answering firmly, "Impossible."
"Why?"
"Ever since the Fourth Hokage died and the Third Hokage returned to power, the day the Uchiha were driven by Konoha's high command to the outskirts of the village, the rift between them became impossible to mend. It'll only grow wider until it breaks completely.
"These past few years, the high command has tried every means to suppress the Uchiha. Under that kind of pressure, the Uchiha will inevitably be driven to rebel and stage a coup."
Dan calmly stated his judgment (spoiler).
A coup?
Itachi was shocked.
Shisui had also told him that if the Hawk Faction gained power within the clan, the worst-case scenario would be a coup.
Before they knew it,
the uncle and nephew had followed the mountain path in a wide loop and reached the top of Kage Rock. Beneath their feet stood the imposing, powerful stone heads of the Hokage, lined up in a row.
The sun was setting, and a warm breeze stirred. A broad swath of brilliant Fire Clouds dyed half the distant sky red.
From here, the buildings of Konoha spread out in a fan shape, their magnificent scenery laid before them.
The streets below were lined with shops, bustling with people and full of life.
However,
the Uchiha Clan Compound lay in the upper-right corner of the fan, remote and quiet, utterly unlike the rest of Konoha.
As if they were outsiders.
A gust of wind swept by, gently stirring the uncle and nephew's hair and clothes.
Itachi had been gathering his thoughts for a long time. At last, he asked Dan his final question:
"Uncle, if the Uchiha ever decided to launch a coup, which side would you take—the clan's... or the village's?"
Dan didn't answer right away. Instead, he asked, "What about you?"
"I... I don't know."
Itachi looked lost.
In truth, the moment he said he didn't know, despite being an Uchiha, he had already made it clear he wouldn't side with the clan. He leaned toward Konoha instead.
In Itachi's heart, the clan members had long since fallen into narrow tribalism.
His guide was Uchiha Shisui, and the path he followed was the true Will of Fire that Shisui represented.
Dan wasn't surprised by Itachi's answer.
Though he'd decided to "correct" his nephew's personality, changing someone's long-held beliefs couldn't be done just by beating him up once.
It would take a few more beatings.
But today, Dan had no intention of beating his nephew.
"Me?"
As Itachi looked at him expectantly, Dan spoke two words. He gazed into the distance and paused for a moment.
Dan's thoughts hadn't changed.
As he saw it,
Konoha was a terrorist organization, like those bizarre little countries in his past life. There'd be nothing to regret about its destruction.
The Uchiha Clan weren't good people either. They were the very picture of arrogance and self-destruction.
However,
if the Uchiha were wiped out by Itachi and Obito just like in the Original Work, with Konoha paying no price at all, that would be far too boring.
For a transmigrator,
witnessing the Night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall would be like watching a movie he'd already seen. What was the point?
Dan wanted to see the Uchiha and Konoha's high command clash in a full-scale war, fighting one another on equal terms.
In this grand drama,
Dan had no intention of becoming the leading man. But he didn't mind being the behind-the-scenes screenwriter, personally destroying the Konoha high command's schemes to ensure that the Uchiha and Konoha would fight to the bitter end.
Fight.
Fight until both sides were crippled, or even wiped out entirely, leaving nothing but a blank, desolate wasteland as all their prosperity vanished into thin air.
Then the world would be quiet.
At the thought,
Dan wore an almost-smile and said to Itachi,
"I don't care about the Uchiha Clan or Konoha. But I sincerely hope they'll tear into each other. It'd be quite a sight, don't you think?"
Just imagining it filled Dan with anticipation, stirring a long-forgotten... delight within him.
It was exactly like the feeling he'd had when he first awakened his eyes.
Perhaps, when that day really came, he might be able to use that delight to awaken his Mangekyo.
Itachi's expression froze.
His uncle's answer had caught him completely off guard, leaving him utterly stunned.
"W-why?" Itachi asked faintly when he came to his senses.
"Because your uncle..."
Dan ruffled Itachi's hair with his large hand. The corners of his mouth slowly spread into a radiant smile. "Just wants to watch this world burn."
As soon as the words left his mouth,
whoosh.
Dan's eyes suddenly transformed into the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Both their eyes had three tomoe, but Dan's Sharingan was far more scarlet than Itachi's. Deep in those seemingly calm pupils lurked a madness no one had ever known.
"..."
Itachi trembled all over, staring blankly into Dan's eyes.
Reflected in his uncle's pupils, Itachi saw all of Konoha seemingly engulfed in crimson flames.
Konoha was beautiful and peaceful in the setting sun, yet it also looked like a fragile painting. Once set alight, it would burn fiercely until it was reduced to ashes.
At that moment, Itachi finally saw the abyss of darkness in his uncle's heart.
Uchiha Dan was an out-and-out madman.
Before you continue