He had spent some time sorting through his memories.
He realized that the Third Shinobi World War had been truly brutal.
First, Sasori killed the Land of Wind's Third Kazekage, triggering the Third Shinobi World War.
Holy shit, thinking about it that way, it seemed like Konoha was to blame again.
Ultimately, Sasori had done that because "Konoha's White Fang," Hatake Sakumo, had killed his parents during the Second Shinobi World War, sending a perfectly good child down a path of no return.
Ahem. Next, the Land of Lightning's Third Raikage died in battle.
The Land of Earth's Mahiru, Kakkō, Taiseki, Sumashi, Higashi Shibito, and every other Iwagakure ninja present died in battle.
The Land of Water's first Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist picked on Konoha genin, only to push Konoha's mild-mannered Duy too far. Four of them died and three fled, while every Anbu member present died in battle.
Of the Land of Fire's defense force, only Mimura Hamaki and his three subordinates survived. All the other Konoha ninja present died in battle.
Might Duy died in battle (reducing the first Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist to three swordsmen, with four dead and three fleeing).
Obito Uchiha went missing and was presumed dead by Konoha (in reality, Madara rescued Obito).
Rin Nohara died (willingly dying to Kakashi's Lightning Blade to protect the village).
Seiichi took another sheet of paper and began writing.
1. Obito Uchiha went missing during the Battle of Kannabi Bridge and was presumed dead by Konoha. Kakashi Hatake obtained the Sharingan and would later become renowned throughout the shinobi world as "Kakashi of the Sharingan."
2. Madara Uchiha rescued Obito Uchiha.
3. Rin Nohara died, and Kakashi and Obito awakened their Mangekyō Sharingan. Madara manipulated Obito Uchiha into falling into darkness, laying the groundwork for the later founding of the Akatsuki, the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha, and the Fourth Shinobi World War.
4. The young Uchiha Itachi witnessed the brutality of war, laying the groundwork for the development of his personality.
5. Thanks to his outstanding performance during the Third Shinobi World War, Minato Namikaze was appointed Fourth Hokage shortly after the war ended.
Obito Uchiha!
Seiichi narrowed his eyes as he looked at the name.
At first, Seiichi had actually considered changing Obito's tragic fate.
But he gave up after he happened to see Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki interacting with Obito.
Obito had far too many character flaws. Most importantly, no amount of kindness could earn his loyalty.
There were two people he cared about most in his life.
One was his grandmother, but the old woman had already passed away.
The other was Rin Nohara, who had fucking died too, right before his eyes, with his best buddy's fist through her heart.
Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki treated him very well. Kushina, in particular, treated him like her own little brother.
Seiichi did not think he could possibly treat Obito any better than Minato and Kushina did.
Yet once Obito turned to darkness, he struck at the couple without the slightest hesitation.
He showed no regard whatsoever for their past bond.
He even attached explosive tags to the infant Naruto without hesitation to achieve his goal.
That was the only son of the teacher who had treated him best.
Anyone who did not know better would have thought, from his actions alone, that Minato and Kushina had murdered his father.
Everyone knew how that turned out: he succeeded in getting Minato and Kushina killed.
It made clear that he was not merely putting on an act. He really had gone for the kill.
So, after thinking it over carefully, Seiichi ultimately gave up.
Someone whose loyalty could never be earned was not worth wasting his time on.
He just needed to be careful later and recover Kakashi's eye for the clan.
With only one eye, Obito would not even have his Gundam, so he would not be much of a threat.
After finishing everything, Seiichi frowned slightly at the fourth entry.
After burning the two sheets of paper to ash and flushing the ashes down the drain,
Seiichi left the laboratory and headed home.
He had only just stepped through the entrance
when he saw three-year-old Itachi sitting on the steps by the veranda, gazing up at the sky.
He walked over, blew the dust off the step, and plopped down beside him.
"Big brother, what do you think the people who start wars are thinking? Wouldn't it be better for everyone to live together in peace?"
After a long while, Itachi's somewhat childish voice broke the silence.
"Because people worry less about having little than about having less than others," Seiichi said thoughtfully, looking up at the sky as well.
Itachi looked up at Seiichi, his expression puzzled. He had not understood what Seiichi meant.
"The Land of Fire sits at the center of the shinobi world, occupying its most resource-rich stretch of land. Konoha, in turn, occupies the most resource-rich land in the Land of Fire. We can live well, and we long for peaceful lives."
"But what about the other Shinobi Villages?"
"Never mind the smaller Shinobi Villages. Look at the other four great Shinobi Villages.
The Land of Water is surrounded by sea. It has nothing people need, just fish and more fish.
Most of the Land of Earth is rocky cliffs, with little water or food.
The Land of Wind is much the same. It's all desert, and its people can only pick desert oases to settle in. Even survival is a problem for ordinary residents.
The Land of Lightning has very unusual terrain, all towering mountains and steep ridges, with peaks everywhere. Simply put, it's all rocks.
None of those four countries has abundant resources. You could even call them barren. To them, the resource-rich Land of Fire is a big, juicy piece of meat."
"Put bluntly, it comes from feeling that things are unfair.
Why should the people of the Land of Fire and Konoha have everything they want while they have nothing? If you were in their place, could you put up with that unequal treatment?"
"But lots of people will get hurt that way, or even lose their lives..." A trace of sadness appeared on Itachi's little face.
"That's right, but that's the cruel side of human nature.
At first, when people can't survive, all they want is simple: to stay alive. But once they survive, they want to live better.
Why shouldn't I have what others have? The human heart is never satisfied."
Seiichi sighed. "Still, we can't just sit around waiting to die. We have to grow stronger to protect the people we love.
Besides, don't you want peace? As long as you're strong enough, you are peace.
Take the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. He longed for peace too, so while he was alive, there were no wars in the shinobi world!"
Itachi nodded, his gaze firm. "I understand. I'll work hard to get stronger, big brother!"
Looking at Itachi, Seiichi felt a sense of responsibility well up within him. He also could not help marveling at how simple children were.
Itachi was still young. There was no rush to fill his head with too many ideas.
First, he would give him a goal, a direction to work toward. That would also keep him too busy to think about all sorts of nonsense. From now on, he only needed to think about how to grow stronger.
He patted Itachi's head and smiled. "Yes, I believe you can do it."
Just then, a breeze swept past, lifting their hair. They sat quietly, enjoying that moment of peace.
Mikoto had noticed when Seiichi came home.
Seeing the brothers getting along so well, she smiled faintly. Without disturbing them, she turned away to prepare dinner for the family.
From that day on, Seiichi drew up a study plan for Itachi.
Every day, Itachi began diligently studying, training his body, and extracting chakra.
His schedule was packed so tightly that, to exaggerate a little, he would have had to split even a fart into several installments. Every day was full.
He no longer had time to brood, either.
Time passed, little by little.
The atmosphere in Konoha grew bleaker by the day.
Bad news arrived every day.
People died every day.
The Uchiha Clan suffered heavy casualties as well.
Before you continue