Yu and Itachi, a historic meeting

Following his senses back to their source, Itachi arrived in the mountain woods East of Konoha.

Under the brilliant moonlight, numerous small bats hung upside down from branches, their eyes glowing a ghostly gold.

In a clearing, a small figure dressed in white was busily digging with a shovel!

When Itachi saw who the Expert really was, he felt surprised, yet it also seemed perfectly natural. "It really was him..."

Scrape, scrape, scrape...

Yu kept digging intently, as though he had not noticed Itachi's arrival.

Itachi struggled to steady himself, approached, and tried to strike up a conversation. "What are you doing?"

Yu answered without lifting his head. "Digging up soil."

Itachi asked again, "What do you need the soil for?"

Yu gave a mysterious smile. "What do you think?"

Of course, he was collecting soil to smear over shit. He was a man of action.

Itachi, however, felt that Yu's actions must hold a deeper meaning.

He lowered his eyes and pondered. Yū Hyuga has been in Konoha for years, yet no one here, not even the Hyuga Clan, knows his true strength. Clearly, he takes great care to keep a low profile. So is he digging in front of me to remind me to know my place and mind my attitude? Is he saying he'll bury me right here if I say something wrong?

Still, I came here prepared for the consequences. Opportunity always comes with risk. I never expected to secure an Expert's help without paying any price!

All right, then. Let me see just what kind of violence lurks beneath that harmless exterior!

After collecting himself, Itachi raised his eyes and ventured, "You hinted to Shisui about Danzo's plot, didn't you?"

Yu gave an ambiguous reply. "Who knows..."

This only made Itachi feel that Yu was even more unfathomable, and he fell silent for a while.

When the shovel in Yu's hands stopped, the hole in the ground was just large enough to fit a person.

Itachi thought, Is he expressing his displeasure at my attempt to probe him?

He immediately adopted a more humble attitude. "I'm sorry. That was rude of me. I sincerely thank you for saving Shisui's life!"

"It was nothing. Hardly any trouble."

Yu resumed digging. He had only stopped because he was tired and needed a little rest.

Once again, Itachi was unsure what to make of it. Does he want me to continue? Or does he want a greater show of sincerity?

But this time, Yu spoke first. "Hey, aren't you surprised that I'm the one you were looking for? Your reaction seems a little too calm."

Itachi paused, then replied, "The fact that you're the Expert certainly shocked me. But it also makes sense."

Yu could not help feeling curious. "Oh? Why is that?"

Itachi said in a low voice, "People live by relying on their knowledge and perceptions, and are bound by them. That is what we call reality. But knowledge and perceptions are vague things. Reality might be nothing more than an illusion. Everyone lives within their own fixed beliefs."

"Just like me before. I was bound by the image of an 'Expert' in my mind. Even though I had once witnessed how extraordinary you were, I still ruled you out."

"In other words, human perception has its limits. Once you understand that, you can calmly accept a reality that falls outside your own understanding. What do you think?"

Yu smiled. "Not bad..."

This was why Itachi had never fallen from his pedestal, even in the later stages of Naruto, when all manner of monsters ran rampant!

No matter the circumstances, Itachi could always find his place and do the right thing!

The highly perceptive type... people like him would never become obsolete. In any fictional world, Itachi would surely thrive!

Yu continued, "Hey, if I told you I could see the patterns behind how things develop and intervene in them, would you believe me?"

"I would," Itachi said. "Because at heart, you and I are the same kind of person. We both like to look beyond appearances to find the essence, to see the whole through small details. The difference is that I lack your great power to change the situation. All I can do is struggle for a sliver of control within the torrent called the world..."

At this point, his eyes lowered. "If you hadn't appeared, the Uchiha Clan Massacre would have been inevitable. I would have accepted Danzo's proposal to keep Sasuke safe. After that, perhaps it would have been me who joined the Akatsuki, rather than Shisui."

"So..."

Itachi dropped to his knees and bowed his head to the ground before Yu. "Please save the Uchiha Clan! If you would grant us your protection, I'm willing to pay any price, even if it means spending the rest of my life repaying you with my very life!"

Clack!

Yu set down his little shovel, hurried over, and took Itachi by the shoulders to help him up!

"Don't do this. The Uchiha Clan's survival affects Konoha and the future of the Shinobi World as well. Strictly speaking, I'm not an outsider either. I've felt your sincerity. Let's discuss how to resolve this as equals!"

Yu's words undoubtedly reassured Itachi, but he still dared not show the slightest disrespect.

Itachi sat in the hole Yu had just dug, while Yu sat on the little mound of excavated soil.

The two looked each other in the eye.

Itachi said, "Expert..."

Yu said, "Just call me Yu."

"Mr. Yu."

"That sounds strange... never mind. That'll do."

Yu grew serious. "Itachi, why do you think the Uchiha Clan ended up where it is today?"

Itachi considered briefly. "Historical reasons are part of it. Certain members of the Konoha High Command exploiting those issues are another part. Of course... the Uchiha Clan itself also has undeniable problems!"

Unlike many Uchiha, he did not place all the blame on their circumstances and focus solely on the unfair treatment of the clan. Instead, he stepped outside his own position and examined the issue from a broader perspective.

Yu asked sharply, "Then do you think... the Uchiha Clan should be wiped out?"

Itachi clenched his hands. "In all fairness, I think Konoha might be more stable if the Uchiha Clan simply disappeared. But I'm still a member of this family. My loved ones and everything I hold dear are here. Emotionally, I can't accept it!"

Yu nodded. "Would you like to hear my thoughts?"

Itachi listened attentively. "Please, Mr. Yu."

Yu said, "Let's leave the historical issues aside for now. It's not as if we can dig up the Second Hokage and whip his corpse."

Itachi nodded. "True."

Yu said, "As for the Konoha High Command, honestly, even if Danzo were eliminated, someone called Enzo or Rizo would take his place. Why? Because the Third Hokage, Hiruzen, needs someone like him to maintain his rule. His conservative approach means he needs a hardliner like Danzo to clean up after him. Otherwise, his position would become unstable. That's also why Danzo has been able to take root in Konoha."

Itachi agreed wholeheartedly. "You're right, Mr. Yu."

Yu said, "So unless the Third Hokage's era ends and a new Hokage takes over, one who establishes a more sound system of governance without relying on a dark tool like Root, there's no way to ensure the Uchiha Clan won't face baseless persecution again."

Itachi lowered his eyes. "Then you approve of the Uchiha Clan's resistance..."

Yu shook his head. "No. Let's untangle this one strand at a time. You don't want either Konoha or the Uchiha Clan to suffer, do you?"

Itachi nodded. "Exactly."

Yu said, "Right now, the conflict between the two sides could erupt at any moment. It's practically a fight to the death. Konoha can't replace its Hokage overnight, and the Uchiha Clan can't change its ways overnight either. That makes the negotiations between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha the day after tomorrow an absolutely crucial step!"

Itachi looked up. "With all due respect, the clan sees those negotiations as little more than a formality..."

Yu shook his head. "They can't be a formality. My original plan required negotiations like these to buy us some breathing room."

"I see..." Itachi nodded. "The key to negotiations is finding a point where both sides can compromise. The clan wants my father to join the Konoha High Command, at least as one of its elders."

Yu smiled faintly. "Do you think that's possible?"

Even Itachi could not help smiling. "Wishful thinking."

Yu said, "Right? Then what does your father want?"

Itachi said, "My father isn't asking to join the Konoha High Command. He wants the Uchiha Clan relieved of its duties in the Konoha Military Police Force, at the very least. Those duties have already done far too much damage to the clan's reputation!"

Yu asked, "And what do you think?"

Itachi said, "I don't think it's the soundest solution, but it's probably the most achievable one right now. Leaving Danzo aside, surely the Third Hokage would at least be willing to concede that much..."

Yu asked, "Why do you think it isn't the soundest solution?"

Itachi went straight to the heart of the matter. "Because it shifts the conflict rather than resolving it! The Konoha Military Police Force is necessary. If the Uchiha step down, other clans will fill the vacancies. Then criminals and potential criminals will direct their hatred toward the clans that form the new police force. And those clans, forced to take this hot potato from the Uchiha, will hate us too..."

Yu smiled approvingly. "Exactly. That's the root of the problem! Simply shifting the conflict won't fundamentally resolve anything. So I believe that if the Uchiha Clan wants to break out of its current situation, it must not resign from the Konoha Military Police Force. Instead, it must face the challenge head-on!"

"Hm?" For the first time, surprise appeared on Itachi's face.

Yu's little face grew solemn. "Itachi, have you ever thought about this? Law enforcers punish criminals and protect ordinary people's lives and property. They ought to be loved. So why have they become universally despised?"

Itachi thought briefly. "Because the Uchiha Clan is too harsh in enforcing the law?"

Yu said, "That's part of it, but it isn't the most important reason!"

Itachi asked, "Then what do you think it is?"

Yu raised his little hand. "Because there's no objective 'law' to serve as a standard for sentencing. Whether someone has committed a crime and how they should be punished are left entirely to the enforcer's subjective judgment. That's why the Konoha Military Police Force struggles to win public acceptance!"

"For example, say Zhang San harasses Li Si's wife in the street..."

"Everyone knows Zhang San is in the wrong, but Konoha has no law stating that he can't harass Li Si's wife. Then the police force arrests Zhang San and beats him half to death..."

"Everyone feels satisfied at the time, but afterward, they inevitably start thinking the police force was too harsh. Surely Zhang San didn't deserve that?"

"In the end, even though Zhang San was clearly at fault, no one pays attention to that anymore. Their focus shifts to the police force."

"And although severely punishing Zhang San does deter crime, the police force will inevitably earn people's hatred, even from those who benefited from it."

"Why is that?"

Yu's gaze darkened. "Because there's a devil inside everyone's heart. Who knows when they might become Zhang San themselves?"

Itachi gained a great deal from Yu's words. "You're absolutely right. If we'd realized this sooner, perhaps things wouldn't have reached this point. Unfortunately, time is short, and legislation isn't something we can draw up in a moment..."

Yu smiled and pulled a thick book from inside his clothes. "It's all right. I already prepared it for you!"

Itachi took it, unable to hide his shock. "This... this is..."

Yu smiled. "I put this together over the past two days in my spare time after class, based on the current living conditions in Konoha. It includes definitions of criminal acts and sentencing standards. It's fairly objective and impartial, and should fill the gap in this area."

"At the negotiations the day after tomorrow, have your father submit this to Hiruzen!"

"I think that as long as Hiruzen hasn't gone senile, he'll recognize the Uchiha Clan's determination to negotiate peace once he sees this!"

Itachi looked at the dictionary-sized Konoha Civil Code: Draft for Trial in his hands, then at the little boy before him. Powerful emotions surged through his heart!

He put it away as though it were a priceless treasure, then looked at Yu with even greater reverence. He even... deactivated his Mangekyo Sharingan!

Yu straightened his clothes and composed his expression.

"This should allow the negotiations to proceed smoothly and at least buy Konoha and the Uchiha Clan some breathing room..."

"But what we plan afterward is what matters most. Itachi, you'd better prepare yourself first..."

Itachi said, "Mr. Yu, please, go ahead!"

Yu said, "Itachi, I want... you to become Hokage!"