Itachi refused that question for the first time.
He was not refusing the evaluation.
He was not rejecting the village.
Nor was he refusing to become a ninja.
What he refused was a question designed to force him to sever ties with one side.
When the Hokage Building arranged a new evaluation, every question was recorded by the Hokage's Anbu.
Shisui sat in the observers' seats.
Fugaku sat in the Witness Seats.
Crow handled the recording.
Danzo did not appear in person.
But everyone knew that Root would see the results.
The Anbu officer in charge read out the revised question.
"If a serious conflict arose between the village and your clan, how do you think a ninja should handle it?"
This was already much less harsh than the original question.
The original demanded a choice.
This one asked how to handle the situation.
The difference was enormous.
A choice would push Itachi into choosing one side or the other.
Handling the situation allowed him to investigate the causes first.
Itachi fell silent for a moment.
"First, establish the source of the conflict."
Crow wrote that down.
Itachi continued, "Verify whether the intelligence is true, whether someone is fueling the conflict, and whether both sides have been misled by incomplete records."
Fugaku's gaze shifted slightly.
Those words clearly came from the reviews conducted over this period.
Itachi was not reciting an answer.
He was applying the logic of the chain of evidence he had seen firsthand to this question.
The Anbu officer asked, "What if the conflict is already unavoidable?"
Itachi raised his head.
"Even then, a ninja who is still a minor should not have to decide alone who must be sacrificed."
The Conference Room fell silent.
Those words carried even more weight than his previous answer.
Because they