After the mission aptitude assessment was retrieved, Fugaku's expression grew increasingly grim.
This assessment did not merely test ability.
It did, of course, include a section on ability.
Understanding of ninjutsu.
Observational skills.
Judgment in the field.
Teamwork.
Tolerance for pressure.
All of these could be considered normal.
But as they turned the pages, the content changed.
How would you handle a conflict between your clan's wishes and mission objectives?
Could you maintain the village's position if someone close to you within the clan made an error in judgment?
If the village's orders conflicted with your personal feelings, could you prioritize carrying out those orders?
These questions appeared to test a ninja's qualities.
In reality, they were testing the direction of Itachi's thinking.
After reading them, Gen said bluntly, "This isn't an ability assessment. It's an assessment of how he thinks."
Itachi remained silent.
He could understand these questions.
He could also sense the expectations behind them.
They were not trying to find out whether he could think.
They wanted to know whether, at some moment of extreme crisis, he would put the village before his clan.
Fugaku set down the assessment papers.
"Who drafted this assessment?"
The answer from the Anbu was carefully worded.
The questions came from the Anbu's aptitude question bank for underage prodigies.
Some questions had been transferred from Root's old question bank.
Root's old question bank.
The moment those words appeared, Shisui's gaze turned cold.
He had just seen, in his own contingency plan, how Root laid its groundwork.
Now, that same shadow had fallen over Itachi.
Danzo's argument remained steady.
"The Anbu needs to know whether gifted children can handle high-pressure missions. Ninja are not ordinary children."
Gen did not deny that ninja were different.
But being different did not mean they could be