The genius whose worldview shattered

Uchiha Itachi froze completely.

He opened his mouth to argue further, but swallowed the words before they came out.

Why should they?

Just because someone shouted slogans about peace, did the Land of Fire have to give away everything it had for nothing?

If he was honest with himself, he would never agree to that either.

"But was it worth it?" Uchiha Itachi still could not hold back. "Just for some land and resources, did everyone really have to fight to the death?"

"With so many wars, how many people must have lost their lives?"

He could rack his brains all he wanted and still not understand.

What Jin had said at least helped him understand one thing—hatred actually played only a small part in these wars. The real reason was the struggle for resources and land.

And yet.

He still felt it was not so desperate a matter. If everyone sat down and talked, surely they could find another way to resolve it.

Yan Uchiha's expression barely changed.

"Worth it? Absolutely."

"Fighting over resources, land, even hatred—those are just little sparks that light the fire."

"It's just like the village wanting to deal with the Uchiha. Do you think the other ninja villages are completely united?"

"Drill this into your head: war is a continuation of politics, and its last resort."

"Take the Third Shinobi World War. The Third Kazekage's disappearance was the spark."

"But could Konoha really have been responsible?"

"Anyone with a functioning brain knows that's impossible."

What could Konoha gain by killing the Third Kazekage?

"Nothing at all."

"Not to mention that White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, had just died, and the Sannin had already left the village. Konoha was terribly weak at the time."

Were the people running Sunagakure idiots who couldn't see something so obvious?