At the Kazemori home, Satomi and Kagami Uchiha's wife, Maki, chatted about everyday family matters. In the adjoining room, Akemi, Asuna, and Mizuki were happily playing a card game Kazemori Masaki had made for their amusement. He believed children so young should not be exposed to the cruelty of the ninja profession too early, but should instead enjoy a healthy, happy childhood.
As someone from a traditional ninja clan, Satomi did not really agree with Kazemori Masaki. Even with her physical condition, she had already begun learning the fundamentals of being a ninja when she was Akemi and Asuna's age. But Kazemori Masaki rejected that argument on the grounds that times had changed, insisting that Akemi and Asuna should not begin studying ninja skills too early.
Satomi asked Kazemori Masaki to explain himself, and he replied, "Children this age can't understand what being a ninja really means if you teach them gently. But strict training will leave them with unnecessary psychological scars that might affect their lives later on. In wartime, I would say there's no other choice. But now that we have peace, we don't need to force children to grow up so quickly, do we?"
Kazemori Masaki felt that the old practice of training ninja from early childhood forced their development. It might quickly produce someone capable of fighting, but it could not produce a well-rounded person. Uchiha Itachi's example remained vivid in his memory. During the Third Shinobi World War, Itachi had followed his father onto the battlefield at just three years old, and its bloody cruelty had left him deeply scarred.
Kazemori Masaki had reason to believe that these childhood scars were part of why Uchiha Itachi would later go so far as to exterminate his own clan to preserve the village's peace. They had made