Under Currents

"I heard an Aburame ninja attacked Kumogakure and was captured alive."

"Huh? I heard he attacked the Raikage and got captured."

"No way. He impersonated the Raikage's dad and got captured! Now Kumogakure is pressuring the village, demanding an explanation from the Aburame, or they'll start a war!"

"Either way, I don't want to see war break out. If paying a small price can prevent one, I hope the Aburame will consider the bigger picture, just like the Hyuga did back then."

The villagers buzzed with discussion. With someone fanning the flames behind the scenes, most of them believed this would turn out like the Hyuga incident: sacrifice one person to preserve stability and harmony.

At the Hokage's Office.

With a bang, Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his fist onto the desk in fury. Shimura Danzō, seated across from him, remained calm and composed. Their usual aggressor-and-victim roles seemed to have been reversed.

Hiruzen Sarutobi finally snapped. The negative emotions that had accumulated day after day, combined with the village's out-of-control public opinion, seemed to have become the last straw.

Konoha seemed cursed, with nothing going right. Recently, history had repeated itself: Kumogakure had captured Torune Aburame and demanded an explanation from the Aburame. For some reason, news of Torune Aburame's clash with Kumogakure had leaked within Konoha, and everyone was watching the higher-ups, waiting for their decision.

--This incident mirrored Hizashi Hyuga's case.

"Hiruzen, calm down. We're already at a disadvantage. My suggestion is to let the Aburame resolve this trouble themselves," Shimura Danzō said coolly.

"Shut up!" Hiruzen Sarutobi shot Shimura Danzō a vicious glare. He still dared to play his little games at a time like this!

Kumogakure demanded compensation: information on the Aburame's secret Kikaichū techniques, or war!

By Hiruzen Sarutobi's estimation, a war was impossible. Kumogakure was merely making empty threats. Yet this matter had pushed him into a dilemma with no way forward or back. Certain restless people would never let such a perfect opportunity pass by—Shimura Danzō, for one, and the fake "Itachi" who had attacked Torune Aburame, for another.

No matter what Hiruzen Sarutobi chose, it would become ammunition for his enemies' attacks. If he compromised, the stain of being a coward might follow him for the rest of his life. Besides, Kumogakure had already obtained the Nano Venomous Insects from Torune Aburame; they absolutely could not be allowed to lay hands on the Aburame's secret techniques as well. But if he responded forcefully to Kumogakure, then the matter of the Hyuga from back then would be difficult to explain. They were both ninja clans of Konoha, so why was the Third Hokage treating them so differently?

--The Hyuga themselves might not have the nerve to do anything, but Shimura Danzō and the mastermind who had planned everything were another matter.

Danzo would use public opinion to push for the Third's impeachment, while that hidden mastermind's goal was likely to stir chaos in Konoha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi knew Danzo's style all too well. He had no sense of the bigger picture. Even if the village were teetering amid storm and turmoil, Danzo would still cause trouble whenever he could, driven by the baffling confidence that only he could lead the village to new heights as Hokage.

"I contacted Itachi through a secret channel. Since infiltrating Akatsuki, he has never returned to Konoha. The person who attacked Torune Aburame that night was probably an impostor." Hiruzen Sarutobi took a drag from his pipe. "Danzo, this is no time to be willful!"

"Hmph!" Shimura Danzō snorted coldly. Clearly, he had ideas of his own.

"Could it have been Ōnoki?" Utatane Koharu offered her opinion. Provoking Konoha and Kumogakure against each other was very much the sort of thing the schemer Ōnoki would do.

Hiruzen Sarutobi said nothing, considering how to break the deadlock. If it came down to it, Danzo would just have to suffer a little more.

Rumors boiled throughout the village, and the Ninja Academy was affected as well. Sasuke keenly noticed that both Hinata Hyuga and Shino Aburame seemed to be in poor spirits.

In truth, Sasuke was delighted. Konoha's misfortune brought him pleasure. "I just wonder what the Third Hokage will do."

Black Shadow replied, "I don't know what he'll do either. But generally speaking, your enemies may understand your weaknesses better than you do. Hiruzen Sarutobi has ruled for too long—so long that the other Kage have thoroughly figured out his ways."

"He likes preaching lofty principles. When faced with a problem he cannot resolve, he convinces himself and others to sacrifice the small family for the greater good, then, burdened by guilt, turns a small number of people into scratches on memorial stones, calling it the 'Will of Fire.' To stabilize the situation, Hiruzen Sarutobi certainly would not mind sacrificing the small to protect the great. The only question is who that 'small' sacrifice will be this time."

"Sacrificing the few to protect the many" might appear right on the surface, but it caused endless future problems. What was sacrificed was "human rights." If a few could be sacrificed without hesitation this time, what about next time? Many people would become afraid, wondering whether they too would one day be discarded so easily. To avoid becoming the ones sacrificed, they might do many unimaginable things.

Unless there was truly no other way, a qualified leader would not use such a tactic lightly. Even if he did, he would never expose it to the public. Perhaps even ordinary people understood that they could be abandoned at any time, but such things simply could not be laid bare.

Once people's hearts scattered, they were difficult to unite again.

Sasuke sighed. "Anyone could be sacrificed. The Uchiha used to be so arrogant, openly plotting an armed coup as though afraid no one would notice their ambitions. Weren't they simply relying on their status as village founders, confident that the village would not dare do anything to them?"

Black Shadow nodded, only to hear Sasuke continue, "Itachi must be in great pain now, right? He destroyed his clan to preserve the village's stability, yet now the village is gradually descending into chaos because of the Uchiha massacre. Just imagining Itachi's heartbroken expression makes me... happy!"

Sasuke revealed a grotesque smile that could stop a child's night crying. "After stripping away those useless emotions, I realized I understand Itachi more and more. His understanding of this world is incredibly shallow. On the surface, he seems to bear immense suffering and guilt, but deep down, he hides a secret smugness, along with the pleasure of self-sacrifice and self-pity. Like ascetics from certain sects, he gains satisfaction and a sense of glory through sacrificing himself."

"I used to think killing Itachi would be revenge. But now I think that for someone like him, killing him would only give him the pride of saying, 'I died for peace, to protect my little brother.' That would be letting him off too easily. I want to turn him into a clown—a ridiculous, laughable clown cursed for eternity. Whenever his name is mentioned, it will be a joke known throughout the Shinobi World, until the end of time!"

Black Shadow felt nothing at Sasuke's declaration and even wanted to laugh. The Uchiha's rebellious streak was no joke. Who knew whether Sasuke would switch sides at a crucial moment and suddenly become deeply devoted brothers with Itachi?

Obito had switched sides on the battlefield!