Sasuke Uchiha

If he didn't change Itachi's way of thinking in advance, then one day, Itachi might still end up following the same path as in the original story.

Even if the Uchiha Clan Massacre unfolded differently, he might still become the sharpest blade in the hands of the Konoha High Command.

Shin-getsu wouldn't allow that to happen.

He would either change Itachi.

Or destroy the possibility of Itachi becoming a butcher's blade.

Itachi looked at Shin-getsu on the hospital bed and suddenly asked, "If one day the Uchiha and the village had to come into conflict, what would you choose?"

Shin-getsu smiled.

That was a very Itachi-like question.

But the Itachi of today wasn't qualified to ask him something like that.

Shin-getsu slowly sat upright. Pain tore through his wounds, but his gaze didn't waver in the slightest.

"I'd ask one thing first."

Itachi asked, "What?"

Shin-getsu stared into his eyes and said, word by word:

"Who drove the Uchiha into a conflict with the village?"

Itachi's heart jolted.

Shin-getsu continued, "If someone takes what's yours, kills your clansmen, gouges out your eyes, and then tells you that you have to endure it for the sake of peace..."

"That isn't peace."

"That's obedience with a blade at your throat."

Itachi fell silent for a long time.

For the first time, he realized that someone his age could look at the problem from this angle.

No.

Shin-getsu wasn't even his age.

He was younger.

Yet his words were as sharp as a blade.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door.

A childish voice called, "Brother?"

The door opened a crack.

A small head peered inside.

Sasuke Uchiha.

Sasuke was still very young, his face full of childish innocence.

When he saw Itachi, his eyes lit up.

"Brother, Father said you were here."

The calm on Itachi's face softened at once.

"Sasuke, what are you doing here?"

Sasuke pushed the door open and walked inside, speaking quietly. "I wanted to see the big brother who beat the bad guys."

He looked at Shin-getsu on the hospital bed, his eyes full of curiosity.

"Are you Big Brother Shin-getsu?"

Shin-getsu looked at the young Sasuke, his gaze shifting slightly.

In the original story, Sasuke was one of the greatest victims of the Night of the Clan Massacre.

Itachi personally pushed him into an abyss of hatred, and revenge drove him for the rest of his life.

But none of that had happened yet.

Sasuke was still just a boy who looked up to his older brother.

Shin-getsu smiled.

"That's me."

Sasuke's eyes shone.

"Did you really beat two bad guys all by yourself?"

Itachi furrowed his brow.

"Sasuke, don't disturb the patient."

But Shin-getsu said, "I didn't beat them."

Sasuke froze.

Shin-getsu replied calmly, "I killed them."

The room fell silent again.

Sasuke blinked in confusion.

Itachi, however, looked at Shin-getsu intently.

Shin-getsu looked at Sasuke, his voice quiet but clear.

"Sasuke, remember this."

"If someone wants to hurt you, your family, or your clansmen..."

"Don't just think about running away."

"And don't wait for someone else to save you."

"You have to get stronger."

"Strong enough that no one dares point a blade at you."

Sasuke seemed to understand, though not completely.

Itachi spoke up. "He's still too young."

Shin-getsu looked at Itachi.

"I'm only nine myself."

Itachi had no answer to that.

Sasuke looked at Shin-getsu, then suddenly nodded earnestly.

"I understand, Big Brother Shin-getsu."

"I'm going to get stronger!"

"Just as strong as my brother, and as strong as you!"

Itachi patted Sasuke's head but said nothing.

But Shin-getsu knew that a seed had already been planted.

He didn't need Sasuke to understand everything now.

He just needed Sasuke to know one thing from a young age.

The Uchiha shouldn't be pawns whose fates were controlled by others.

Just then, the System Prompt sounded in Shin-getsu's mind.

[Host has influenced a key figure: Uchiha Itachi.]

[Uchiha Itachi's original thought trajectory has shifted slightly.]

[Causality Points gained: 200.]

[Host has influenced a key figure: Sasuke Uchiha.]

[Sasuke Uchiha's original growth trajectory has shifted slightly.]

[Causality Points gained: 200.]

[Current Causality Points: 700.]

A glint flashed in Shin-getsu's eyes.

700 points.

Just enough to raise One-Tomoe to 100%.

It seemed that changing the thoughts of key figures was worth more than simply killing minor characters.

Now this was interesting.

Looking at Itachi and Sasuke before him, Shin-getsu slowly formed a plan.

If the Night of the Clan Massacre was a tragedy that had already been written, then the first thing he had to do was start with the two most important Uchiha brothers and tear the original script to shreds.

Inside the hospital room.

Uchiha Itachi stared silently at Shin-getsu.

He had the feeling that this clan member, who was even younger than him, was different from the other Uchiha.

Many people in the clan said similar things.

They said the village was marginalizing the Uchiha.

They said the Police Force was being isolated.

They said the Konoha High Command didn't trust the Uchiha.

They said the Uchiha shouldn't keep holding back.

But their words were mostly anger and resentment, an outburst after being suppressed for too long.

Shin-getsu was different.

His tone was calm.

So calm that it didn't sound as if he were venting hatred.

It was more like he was stating a result.

A result he had already seen through.

That made Itachi instinctively uneasy.

Because Shin-getsu didn't simply hate the village.

He was rejecting certain things.

Things countless people talked about, but few had ever truly thought through.

Things like peace.

Like the greater good.

Like sacrifice.

Itachi had always believed that ninja had to consider things from a higher perspective.

If they only thought of their clan, their family, and the hatred right in front of them, then war would only continue without end.

Yet Shin-getsu's question had just lodged like a thorn in his heart.

What if Sasuke were the one being sacrificed?

What if Sasuke were the one being treated as a test subject?

What if someone told him that Sasuke had to die for the sake of peace in the village?

Would he still be able to calmly say, "For the greater good"?

Itachi didn't know.

And that was exactly why he was silent.

"Brother."

Sasuke looked up at Itachi, his little face full of confusion.

He was still too young to understand why the atmosphere in the hospital room had suddenly grown so heavy.

He just thought that Big Brother Shin-getsu's words were impressive.

Even though he hadn't understood them completely.

But he had understood one thing.

He had to get stronger.

Strong enough that no one dared point a blade at him.

Sasuke clenched his little fists and said seriously, "Brother, I'm going to awaken the Sharingan too!"

Itachi came back to himself and looked down at Sasuke.

His gaze softened.

"You can't awaken the Sharingan just because you want to."

Sasuke protested, "But Big Brother Shin-getsu awakened his at nine. I can do it too when I'm older!"

Itachi had no response.

Leaning against the hospital bed, Shin-getsu watched the brothers without feeling much.

He wasn't here to ruin the bond between Itachi and Sasuke.

On the contrary.

He wanted Itachi to care more about Sasuke.

So much that if someone tried to use Sasuke to threaten him in the future, he would stop and think about whether the so-called "greater good" was worth it.

In the original story, the person Itachi cared about most was Sasuke.

But precisely because he cared about Sasuke so much, the Konoha High Command exploited that weakness.

What Shin-getsu had to do was plant a seed of doubt in Itachi ahead of time.

Make him doubt Danzo.

Doubt the Third Hokage.

Doubt whether the so-called peace really required the Uchiha to bleed.

As long as that seed took root, the Night of the Clan Massacre wouldn't go so smoothly in the future.