The Anbu's assignment came without a catch.
There was no order.
There was no threat.
There was not even anything the Uchiha could refuse outright.
The logistics office at the Hokage Building was simply short-staffed and hoped Uchiha Itachi could help organize the post-disaster death lists.
The reasoning was sound, too.
Itachi had clear handwriting and a steady, logical mind, and he had already helped at the missing-person registration station.
It sounded like an ordinary request for assistance.
But when Uchiha Gen saw the scroll delivering the assignment, he reached only one conclusion.
A test.
They wanted to see how Itachi reacted to the death lists.
To see whether he would break down.
To see whether he would stay calm.
To see whether he would, ahead of his years, arrange things like death, order, and sacrifice into some kind of logic they could exploit.
More troubling still, they could not refuse this assignment outright.
Refusing would make it look as though the Uchiha were unwilling to cooperate with the post-disaster accounting.
Accepting would mean sending Itachi alone into their sights.
When Uchiha Gen took the scroll to see Fugaku, Itachi was already standing in the Clan Meeting Hall.
He had clearly read the assignment as well.
There was no fear on his face.
Nor any resistance.
That calm only made Fugaku's expression darken further.
"What do you think?"
Fugaku was not asking Itachi.
He was asking Uchiha Gen.
Uchiha Gen set the scroll on the table.
"We can't refuse the assignment itself."
Itachi looked up at him.
"So?" Fugaku asked gravely.
"We change how it's carried out."
Uchiha Gen said, "The death lists need verification, and the Konoha Military Police Force has missing-person records too. We can send an adult with Itachi and take over part of the work in the name of cross-checking the police force's records."
An elder frowned. "Won't that make us look wary of the Hokage Building?"
Uchiha Gen looked at him.
"We're already under observation. All records need to be cross-filed. Death lists are more important than supply records. They have even more reason to be cross-checked."
That was difficult to argue against.
Fugaku looked at Itachi.
"Are you willing to go?"
Itachi did not answer immediately.
After a moment, he said, "If the lists need organizing, I can do it."
For an instant, a complicated look crossed Fugaku's eyes.
Itachi added, "But I'll follow the clan's recordkeeping requirements and have an adult accompany me."
Those words allowed Fugaku to relax a little.
At least Itachi was no longer silently taking everything upon himself.
An hour later, Uchiha Gen and Itachi arrived together at the Hokage Building's logistics office.
An Anbu member received them.
At the sight of Uchiha Gen, the Anbu's gaze visibly paused.
"The assignment was given to Uchiha Itachi."
"I know."
Uchiha Gen's tone was even.
"The Konoha Military Police Force's missing-person records need to be cross-checked against the death lists. Under the Uchiha clan's filing procedures and observation-period recordkeeping process, underage clan members may not handle death lists alone."
The Anbu did not step aside immediately.
"This is logistical assistance."
"Which is why we're cooperating."
Uchiha Gen handed over the filing document he had prepared in advance.
"Uchiha Itachi will assist with verification, and Uchiha Gen will accompany him as the Konoha Military Police Force's recordkeeper. All verification results will be signed by three parties: the logistics office, the Konoha Military Police Force, and the Hokage's Anbu."
The Anbu looked at the paper.
The stated purpose was aboveboard.
So was the procedure.
There was no reason to refuse.
Inside the logistics office, the death lists covered three entire tables.
Some names already had "confirmed dead" written beside them.
Others were only suspected deaths.
Some did not even have complete ages or addresses.
After Itachi sat down, the first thing he saw was a familiar neighborhood name.
South Street.
It had been one of the first places affected during the Night of the Nine-Tails.
He picked up his pen, his movements still steady.
Uchiha Gen sat beside him and did not stop him from looking.
He merely separated each list by its source.
Confirmed by the Medical Station.
Recovered at the scene by the Anbu.
Reported missing by civilians.
Missing-person records from the Konoha Military Police Force, pending verification.
"You can't just copy the names on a death list."
Uchiha Gen spoke.
"You have to look at the source."
Itachi said quietly, "If the sources differ, the results might differ too."
"Right."
"What if two sources conflict?"
"Mark the conflict. Don't declare them dead outright."
Itachi's pen paused.
"What if their families come asking?"
"Tell them it's still being verified."
Itachi looked up at him.
"Wouldn't that give them hope?"
Uchiha Gen looked at the lists.
"Until it's confirmed, we shouldn't decide for them that there's no hope."
Itachi fell silent.
The words were softly spoken.
Yet they differed from the way he had always handled things.
He had always felt that being calm meant accepting the worst outcome as quickly as possible.
But Gen was telling him that being calm did not mean assigning everything unconfirmed to the ranks of the dead.
Being calm could also mean leaving time to verify the facts.
Outside the logistics office, the Anbu quietly watched the two of them.
Uchiha Gen knew they were being watched.
So he made every step even clearer.
Which list Itachi copied.
Which list he verified himself.
Which discrepancies required confirmation from a logistics ninja.
Which entries could not be marked dead outright.
He recorded everything.
Partway through, a man with dust covering his face rushed to the doorway and asked hoarsely whether anyone had seen his younger brother.
A logistics ninja was about to tell him to wait outside.
But Itachi lowered his head and turned to a page in the lists.
"The name matches, and the age is close, but the address is different."
The man's eyes reddened at once. "Then is it him or not?"
Itachi held his pen without answering immediately.
Uchiha Gen glanced at him.
After a brief silence, Itachi pushed the list toward the logistics ninja.
"We need to verify the Forehead Protector number and the family's address. We can't confirm his death yet."
Those words seemed to give the man something to hold on to. Bracing himself against the doorframe, he slowly sank into a crouch.
Itachi watched him, and for the first time, he did not rush to voice the worst possible outcome.
He simply marked the entry "pending verification."
Half the afternoon passed before Itachi finally set down his pen.
His fingers were a little stiff.
Not from fatigue.
But because those names weighed too heavily.
Uchiha Gen asked quietly, "Do you still think facing reality means carrying all of it yourself?"
Itachi looked at the lists on the table.
"If no one carries them, will these names be forgotten?"
"Yes."
Uchiha Gen answered.
Itachi looked up.
Uchiha Gen continued, "That's why we keep records."
He tapped the tabletop.
"But keeping records doesn't mean one person carries everything. The Medical Station carries part of it, the logistics office carries part, and the Konoha Military Police Force carries part. Their families get a chance to speak, too."
Itachi said quietly, "Facing reality doesn't mean bearing every death alone."
Uchiha Gen looked at him.
"Right."
This was the first step he wanted Itachi to understand.
Not running from death.
And not pressing every death into a child's heart, either.
At dusk, Uchiha Gen took Itachi back to the Clan District.
Fugaku was already waiting.
Itachi placed the completed cross-checking records on the table.
"There are seven discrepancies between the death lists and the missing-person records. They've been marked pending verification."
Fugaku looked at the records.
The handwriting was still clear.
But for the first time, Itachi's steadiness did not fill him with simple pride.
He saw the weight behind that steadiness.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Fugaku spoke.
Itachi froze for a moment.
He seemed not to have expected his father to say that.
After a moment of silence, Fugaku added, "From now on, you don't have to do assignments like this alone."
Itachi lowered his head.
"Yes."
This time, his reply did not come quite so quickly.
Uchiha Gen stood beside them without speaking.
He knew Fugaku was changing too.
Very slowly.
But things were indeed changing.
At the same time, a report from Root reached Danzo.
"Uchiha Gen intervened in the death list mission."
"Itachi did not compile the list alone. The Konoha Military Police Force accompanied him under the pretext of cross-checking."
"The observation results were compromised."
Danzo's gaze turned cold as he finished reading.
"He isn't just protecting Shisui."
"He's protecting Itachi too."
The Root ninja lowered his head. "Should we continue assigning solo missions?"
Danzo fell silent for a moment.
"Hold off."
He placed the report on the desk.
"Uchiha Gen is undermining our observation of the Uchiha prodigies."
"In that case, observe him first."
In the shadows, the Root ninja silently acknowledged the order.
Danzo's voice was low and cold.
"A man who always manages to get in the way ahead of every critical juncture warrants more caution than the prodigies themselves."
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