Itachi did not leave the training ground right away.
The night breeze passed through the shadows of the trees, softly rustling the copy of the filed report in his hand.
The real danger is letting one person make an irreversible choice for everyone.
Those words kept weighing on his heart.
They were not a reprimand.
Yet they hurt more than one.
Because Itachi had indeed considered it.
If one day, the Uchiha and the village reached a point of no return.
If war was certain to break out.
If more people would die.
Then should someone take on the most painful choice ahead of time?
The thought was vague.
So vague that he had never spoken of it to anyone.
But it existed.
Like a kunai hidden in his sleeve.
He would not draw it until the very end.
But he knew it was there.
"Aren't you cold, standing here so long?"
Uchiha Gen's voice came from behind him.
Itachi turned.
Gen did not ask how much he had heard.
Nor did he pretend not to know.
That made Itachi fall even quieter.
After a while, he asked softly, "Gen, if the Uchiha and the village ultimately can't trust each other, must someone make the most painful choice?"
Uchiha Gen looked at him.
The question had finally come.
Itachi had asked it too early.
Yet it was no surprise at all.
This child always saw the worst possibilities sooner than others.
And he was more likely to mistake them for the only possible destination.
Uchiha Gen did not immediately deny it.
"The worst could happen."
Itachi looked up.
That answer surprised him.
He had thought Gen would tell him that day would never come.
But Gen did not lie.
"But the worst possibility doesn't mean that's already the only path