Uchiha Yin felt a certain ache in his heart for Uchiha Itachi.
His expression turned serious. "Everyone has desires. When those desires grow out of control, they blind people to reason. They stop seeing the bloodshed and cruelty. People are selfish, too, so even when they do notice, sometimes they'd rather pretend they haven't!"
Yin's words were vague, and he couldn't tell whether Itachi truly understood. But Itachi's gaze did grow a little more somber.
After a while, Itachi asked softly, "Lord Yin, when will we finally have true peace? When will we no longer have to worry about war?"
As he spoke, Itachi looked nothing like the leader of ANBU. He looked like a child his age: innocent, earnest, and longing for a better world.
Itachi's question made Yin yearn for that day, too. He smiled and said, "Don't worry. Before long, we'll see a world like that!"
Yin wasn't lying. Those words were meant not only to comfort Itachi, but also to remind himself.
If he couldn't bring these frightening times to an end soon, he would never feel at ease about the women's safety.
Itachi admired Yin deeply. Hearing those words from him, he seemed to glimpse a world at peace already.
The worry vanished from his face. "I believe you'll lead us to that life soon, Lord Yin!"
He looked so cheerful that Yin could only smile helplessly. He patted Itachi on the shoulder without saying anything.
After a pause, Yin continued, "All right. Let's talk about why I came, shall we?"
Itachi's face immediately grew hot. He had forgotten that Lord Yin must have come here on official business.
"I'm sorry, Lord Yin. That was careless of me!" he said apologetically.
Yin found Itachi's sudden change of expression amusing. "Don't be so nervous. It's nothing