Itachi did not go home that night.
He sat in the corridor outside the clan meeting records room, holding a transcribed copy of the torn page.
A young prodigy.
Cultivate in him a village-wide perspective that transcends his clan.
He had read that sentence many times.
The more he read it, the more unfamiliar it felt.
Because it sounded so much like praise.
Like a path he had once been willing to believe in, even.
Stand higher.
See farther.
Do not be bound by the clan's emotions.
Make harder decisions for the village.
But if those words ultimately meant calmly placing his clansmen among the "special targets," then that supposedly higher perspective was just another way of using him.
Uchiha Gen walked over and sat beside him.
"Still thinking about that piece of paper?"
Itachi nodded.
"What if I really can see farther than they can?"
"That still doesn't give you the right to decide who should be sacrificed for everyone else."
Gen answered without hesitation.
Itachi looked at him.
Gen said, "You can be smarter than others your age, calmer than many adults, and recognize the danger of war sooner. But that doesn't mean you can take the judge's seat and classify your clansmen as targets to be eliminated."
Itachi fell silent.
Those words carried weight.
Because he had truly entertained similar thoughts before.
What if sacrificing a few could bring peace to the many?
What if the clan's obsession would cause a war?
If I suffered enough, could I bear everyone's guilt for them?
Those questions had not vanished entirely.
But now, he could no longer give cold answers as readily as he once had.
Shisui came over as well.
"I used to think I could shoulder the choices for a lot of people, too."
Itachi looked up.