Itachi's mission

Hearing the villagers' talk, Feng Yao, who was hiding in the shadows, finally revealed a cold smile.

Sure enough, the villagers had long since stopped trusting the Uchiha.

That was also why he had not simply wiped out the Konoha F4.

What? Even after I take control of Konoha, we Uchiha still have to swallow our pride and beg for your approval and understanding?!

Since they did not welcome the Uchiha, he would not stick around.

The world was vast. With the Uchiha's reputation, where couldn't they go?

When the time came, he only needed to find an opportunity to leave Konoha with the Uchiha.

Feng Yao activated Kamui, and the next second, he arrived at Uchiha Fugaku's home.

A six-year-old boy was practicing with shuriken for all he was worth.

He was the reincarnation of Indra's Chakra in this lifetime-Sasuke Uchiha.

Last night, the school had suddenly added extra classes, leaving Sasuke to head home very late.

But halfway home, several ninja from his clan had taken him away.

With undisguised disgust in their eyes, they had told him that his older brother, Itachi, had betrayed the Uchiha.

Sasuke had thought they were jealous of his brother, only for them to beat him mercilessly.

After returning home and getting confirmation from his mother, he could not believe that Itachi really had betrayed the clan!

Later, Itachi had come home severely wounded, supported by their father.

He had gone to demand answers, only to be met with Itachi's silence.

Overnight, his father was no longer the clan head, and his brother had betrayed the clan.

The intense surge of emotion had awakened his clan's kekkei genkai, the One-Tomoe Sharingan...

Then he had passed out.

Now, Sasuke was consumed by anger and wanted to distract himself by practicing with shuriken.

"Who are you?!"

Sasuke noticed the man who had suddenly appeared in his home.

His expression was wary.

This man looks a little familiar...

"Sasuke, don't be rude!"

Just then, Fugaku came out and reprimanded Sasuke, his expression stern.

"Father!"

At the sight of Fugaku, Sasuke immediately became like a mouse facing a cat, stiff and apprehensive.

"Sasuke, this is the new clan head, Uchiha Fengyao. He visited once with Shisui before, and he even held you when you were little..."

Fugaku introduced him to Sasuke.

"Haha, Fugaku, don't be so stern. Look, you've frightened Sasuke."

Feng Yao was not so particular about such things and spoke casually.

"Yes, Clan Head."

Hearing Feng Yao say that, Fugaku felt slightly more at ease.

But he still had to observe the proper etiquette.

Feng Yao could now be called the strongest of all the Uchiha.

Itachi had now made a grave mistake, though Feng Yao did not intend to kill him.

But Itachi's betrayal of the clan was a fact, and every Uchiha knew it.

Although many elders had forgiven Itachi at the time, they had only refrained from saying anything because of Feng Yao.

The clansmen probably still deeply resented Itachi.

Especially some of Itachi's peers.

As his father, all Fugaku could do was try to reduce the clansmen's hostility toward Itachi.

Sasuke learned that this was Uchiha Fengyao, the man who had taken his father's position as clan head and had stopped and severely wounded his brother.

A strange feeling arose within Sasuke. He resented him for taking his father's position as clan head and injuring his brother, yet he also felt other, complicated emotions.

Sasuke was also somewhat curious.

"Clan Head, let's talk inside."

Fugaku could tell that Feng Yao had something to discuss.

"All right."

Seeing that Feng Yao had come, Mikoto thoughtfully brought over a tea set.

Before long, Itachi came as well.

"How are you doing...?"

Looking at the injuries he had inflicted on Itachi, Feng Yao asked.

"After a day's rest, I've almost recovered."

Hearing this, Feng Yao nodded.

"I assume Fugaku has already told you my plan."

"Yes..."

Itachi nodded silently.

"Don't feel that the Uchiha owe Konoha anything. Ever since the village was founded, the leadership has never trusted us. In that case, why should we Uchiha keep playing along with them?"

"After all the effort you and Shisui put in for so long, you should know how the villagers view us."

"The Night of the Nine-Tails only intensified those feelings."

Fugaku fell silent.

Deep down, he had known it too. But before, he had been too weak to resist and had not dared question the leadership that represented Konoha's supreme authority.

So he had despaired and put on a calm, stern mask to conceal his panic and helplessness as the situation slipped out of control.

In truth, he had also realized that he was not suited to being the clan head at all.

Itachi also nodded silently.

He had barely slept that night. Ever since recognizing his own stupidity and ignorance, he had come to understand a great deal.

He had always been very intelligent.

Just as Feng Yao had said, distrust existed between the village leader and the Uchiha.

In fact, it had begun when they founded Konoha with the Senju Clan.

The so-called Will of Fire was nothing more than a means for the leadership to control people.

That's right. Since the village never trusted the Uchiha to begin with, why should we keep swallowing our pride and trying to deal with it?

Still, he truly felt some reluctance to leave. After all, he had always lived in Konoha...

It was enough for Feng Yao to see that Itachi had figured things out.

Izanami had merely allowed Itachi to recognize himself and face the part of his heart that he had not dared contemplate or defy.

He looked at Itachi.

"Now you have a chance to atone for your crimes through service..."

"..."

Fugaku and Itachi watched Feng Yao leave.

The atmosphere instantly grew heavy.

"Father... I'm sorry..."

"You don't need to blame yourself so much. I should be the one responsible for all of this."

"I was the clan head, yet because of my incompetence..."

"I placed all the hopes of the clan and the village on your shoulders!"

With tears streaming down his face and his voice breaking, Fugaku gripped Itachi's shoulders.

"If not for Clan Head Feng Yao, I don't know what path you would have taken..."

"I'm truly sorry, Itachi..."

Itachi looked at Fugaku and remained silent for a long time before showing a smile he had not worn in ages.

"Father..."

Iwagakure.

The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, finished reading the urgent intelligence delivered by a spy, a cold sneer in his eyes.

Having held power as Tsuchikage for so many years, how could he fail to notice that something was wrong?

"What nonsense about Shimura Danzō launching a coup and you, Hiruzen Sarutobi, successfully stopping him!"

"According to the intelligence our spies sent back, it was clearly a conflict between the Uchiha and you, Hiruzen Sarutobi!"

Suddenly, Ōnoki revealed a smile he had not worn in a long time.

"Hehe, fine by me. Conflict is good. Conflict is good!"

Konoha produced geniuses in abundance: the Sannin, the White Fang, Dan Katō, Might Duy, the Yellow Flash, Body Flicker Shisui...

It also occupied land with the richest resources in almost the entire Shinobi World.

If not for Konoha's endless infighting, the other four great hidden villages would not have known how to face so many powerful fighters!

Kirigakure.

After breaking free of Obito's control, the Fourth Mizukage had explained the situation to Genji, Mei Terumi, and the other senior figures.

They could not believe that the Mizukage, a leader of one of the Five Great Nations, had actually been controlled like a puppet for over a decade.

Yacang also knew his own failings. He relinquished almost all his authority, his heart consumed solely by the need to restore the village.

With things having reached this point, they could only suppress the news and begin putting all their effort into cleaning up Kirigakure's mess.

When Konoha's urgent intelligence reached Kirigakure's leadership, they merely glanced at it before tossing it aside.

No matter how much Konoha wore itself down through infighting, it was still stronger than Kirigakure.

Their kekkei genkai clans had been all but wiped out, there was a gap in their younger generation, and many of their geniuses had fled.

Could Konoha possibly be worse off than they were?

But they, too, hoped Konoha would remain mired in infighting.