The Uchiha Clan's "Legacy"

Hearing Uchiha Shunichi's words, Jiraiya recalled the detailed intelligence regarding the Nine-Tails' Attack.

That intelligence did indeed mention the Fourth Hokage speaking of a mysterious man, but it was nowhere near as detailed as Uchiha Shunichi's account.

"Shunichi, this is very important intelligence," Jiraiya said solemnly.

"Is that so? Unfortunately, that is all I know. I do not know that person's true identity. I only know that he was extremely powerful and elusive." Uchiha Shunichi did not say anything more.

Jiraiya did not press further. He led the two of them directly into a secret chamber. Inside were several Uchiha Clan ninjutsu scrolls, along with more than a dozen Sharingan.

The sight surprised Uchiha Shunichi. He had not expected Danzo to still possess Sharingan.

But on second thought, it was only natural. After all, what Danzo had on his body was the product of experimentation, and such experiments would certainly have required test materials beforehand.

As one of the chief culprits behind the Uchiha Clan Massacre, Danzo possessed many assets that had belonged to the Uchiha Clan.

"These are what we found in Root after Danzo died. I can guarantee that this was Danzo's personal doing. No one in the village, including the Third Hokage, knew about it," Jiraiya explained. Though he had his own doubts, the situation had to be presented that way.

Although there were now many civilian ninja in the village, the major ninja clans remained Konoha's backbone.

Whether it was true or not, something like this should originally have been concealed. But Jiraiya could not bring himself to hide it.

"Though I am sorry, I hope you can keep this confidential. Something like this happening in the village..." Jiraiya felt rather embarrassed, but he still waited for the two boys' answer.

Uchiha Sasuke looked at everything before him with hatred, but he said nothing. At that moment, he did not know what he should say.

It was easy to infer the truth of the matter, and it would have been easy to conceal as well. So Sasuke believed Konoha was sincere, but it was still difficult for him to accept.

"They are only dead people. No matter what, Uchiha Itachi was the one who slaughtered the Uchiha Clan. I do not care about this. Sasuke, you decide what to do with this matter." Uchiha Shunichi spoke calmly.

He had never held much affection for the Uchiha Clan. Though the Sharingan looked impressive, the Uchiha Clan's temperament was too extreme. Even without Uchiha Itachi, something else would have happened eventually.

Of course, none of that had anything to do with Uchiha Shunichi.

Sasuke stared at the Sharingan soaking in jars and gave a bitter laugh. "The Uchiha Clan no longer exists. Since the enemy is already dead, let this end here."

"However, I do not want to see anything like this again."

Sasuke's choice surprised Uchiha Shunichi. It seemed his years of guidance had produced some results after all.

As a member of the Uchiha Clan, one could be arrogant, but one needed the insight to assess the situation. One could be extreme, but one also needed a steady mind to judge the true cause of things.

In Uchiha Shunichi's eyes, the exterminated Uchiha Clan had been deeply flawed. They had been far too easily used as pawns, without even realizing it.

"Since Sasuke has said so, then that is settled. Still, no matter what, thank you for not concealing this."

"Making mistakes is not frightening. After all, there will always come a day when things can be resolved. But concealment breeds even darker emotions."

"Root was far too dark," Uchiha Shunichi said pointedly.

"Shunichi, you need to understand. Even as Hokage, there are places one cannot reach." Jiraiya gave a bitter smile. In the end, he could not resist saying a word in defense of his late mentor.

Uchiha Shunichi gathered up everything in the chamber related to the Uchiha Clan, ignoring Jiraiya's defense.

"This matter ends here. I understand the village's difficulties. But sacrifice and sacrifice are not the same in nature. I can accept voluntary sacrifice, but I will never tolerate being forced to sacrifice!"

After packing away those Uchiha Clan "relics," Uchiha Shunichi left those words behind and turned to leave.

Like a little follower, Sasuke trailed behind Uchiha Shunichi. Jiraiya watched their departing backs and finally let out a breath of relief.

"Shunichi, you already knew about this, didn't you?" Sasuke finally could not hold it in any longer and asked Uchiha Shunichi midway down the road.

"There is no meaning in dwelling on this. There are many problems in the village, but the answers to those problems require your own strength."

"Do you think anyone would care about us if I were still an ordinary Genin?" Uchiha Shunichi asked calmly.

Upon hearing that, Sasuke immediately understood something. His desire for strength grew even stronger.

"I understand!" Sasuke answered solemnly.

Seeing Sasuke's expression, Uchiha Shunichi sighed. "Sasuke, remember this. What is past is past, and so is hatred. No matter when it is, remain calm. Otherwise, there are many obvious truths that you will never see."

"Uchiha Itachi is a criminal. That is beyond dispute. Whatever his original intentions were does not matter."

"Perhaps one day you will let go of your hatred, or perhaps one day you will be drowned by it. But regardless of the outcome, I will not remind you."

Sasuke looked at Uchiha Shunichi in confusion. He completely failed to understand what Uchiha Shunichi meant.

Though they were the same age, Sasuke always felt that Uchiha Shunichi before him was like an elderly man who had seen far too much.

"Shunichi, what exactly are you trying to tell me?" Sasuke finally asked.

"It does not matter if you do not understand. Just remember it." Uchiha Shunichi did not answer.

Telling Sasuke the truth behind the clan massacre would have been easy, but Uchiha Shunichi did not want to do that.

It was not because Uchiha Shunichi cared about Sasuke's development. He simply felt that it would be better if the future changed as little as possible.