Uchiha

Chapter 26: Uchiha

"May I ask what you need, Uchiha?" Ayato looked up at Sasuke, who stood before him wearing a cool expression. He did not feel offended at all; if anything, he found the little guy rather cute.

As for the legendary sort of rivalry over attention, Ayato simply could not muster any interest in competing with these children. Personalities might be shaped by one's environment, but not to the point where he would act like a child himself.

Sasuke stared at Ayato, his dark eyes filled with unwillingness. In the end, he said only one thing. "Next time... next time, I'll definitely surpass you!"

With that, Sasuke turned and left without looking back, returning to his seat.

Ayato paused, then could not help smiling. Sure enough, even in the world of Naruto, children were still children. That serious expression and that attempt to look cool were truly adorable.

Ayato even wanted to use a camera to record it all, then show it to them after they grew up. He could probably make a nice profit that way.

Still, Sasuke's declaration would not affect Ayato in any way. He would not be surpassed so easily. Although Sasuke was also one of the world's cheat users, his cheat clearly had not arrived yet.

Besides, Ayato had quite a favorable impression of Sasuke Uchiha. He was hardworking and ambitious. Though he possessed the pride of the Uchiha Clan, words like the ones he had just spoken were probably driven by his self-respect.

But Sasuke's pride was actually not so bad. Compared to the other Uchiha, his was child's play—he was even fairly decent.

After all, Sasuke would not resent someone for surpassing him, much less secretly target others because of his status. It was merely a declaration that he would work hard, and it was difficult to dislike him for that.

However, Ayato remembered disliking Sasuke Uchiha when he had watched this as a child in his previous life. Sasuke had seemed arrogant and mean to Naruto. Back then, his simple younger self disliked anyone who treated Naruto badly, not to mention that this guy shouted about revenge every day.

Thinking about it now, Ayato realized that he had truly been naive back then. When he watched it again after growing up, he no longer disliked Sasuke.

Sasuke Uchiha was prideful, yes, but not to the point of looking down on everyone else. Moreover, his hard work and talent were genuine. More importantly, compared to the other Uchiha, Sasuke was truly quite good.

As for Sasuke and Naruto's relationship, their bad relationship was only superficial. In truth... those who knew, knew.

Finally, there was Sasuke's obsession with revenge. Wasn't that perfectly normal? His entire clan had been killed, and he was not allowed to want revenge?

If Ayato were Sasuke, he would never forgive Konoha. Danzo dying would mean it was over? Dream on!

If Sasuke had faced the destruction of his clan and still acted as though nothing mattered, then he would have been a truly worthless, hopeless ingrate.

What was more, even under such circumstances, Sasuke had not gone astray. He merely called himself an avenger whenever he got the chance. Compared to what he had endured, Ayato felt that he had probably been influenced by that legendary Chakra.

As for Sasuke's older brother, Itachi Uchiha, his Sharingan Genjutsu was unrivaled, but...

Ayato simply could not understand him. Wanting to ease the conflict between the clan and the village was one thing, but when that failed, how did he turn around and slaughter his own clan?

Ayato could not understand it, nor did he want to.

He only knew that if anyone from Konoha ever dared to touch Sinai, no matter who they were—whether Konoha's higher-ups or its elders—if he lacked the strength, he would endure for now. But once he was strong enough, he would overturn the entire village along with them!

When that day came, no one would be able to stop him.

This way of thinking also restrained Ayato in return, because Sinai lived well in Konoha. The village treated her fairly well. She had a relatively easy job with decent pay, as well as subsidies for ninja families.

Though they were all minor benefits, they had indeed allowed Sinai to raise Ayato. For Sinai, that was enough.

That was why Ayato had no intention of betraying the village. He knew there was much, much darkness within it, some of it so unbearable that even he found it difficult to endure after seeing it.

But what did any of that have to do with him? Ayato was not some saint who wanted to address every injustice in the world. He was merely an ordinary person who wanted to grow stronger and protect himself and those he cared about.

Besides, Konoha might contain frightening darkness, but were the other villages clean? It was only the pot calling the kettle black. In this world, wherever ninja existed, there was no truly clean place.

As for the things he could not stand, if he had the ability, he could try to see whether he could change them. If he did not, then they simply should not affect him or the people he cared about.

Ayato had known from the very beginning that he was a selfish person, but he did not wish to change that. That was all.

Therefore, Ayato absolutely could not understand Itachi Uchiha's actions. He could only say that perhaps people in the Naruto world had their own way of thinking...

And what did any of that have to do with Ayato? Sasuke and Konoha's higher-ups could worry over Itachi's affairs. It had nothing to do with him.

Still, after thinking about the timeline, Ayato could not help glancing at Sasuke. Then he thought about what had been happening in the village. He did not pay much attention to village affairs, but it seemed that the relationship between the village and the Uchiha had indeed grown increasingly tense.

So, was it nearly time for the Uchiha Clan Massacre?

Ayato pondered it. He only knew that it happened, but not when it would occur. From the looks of things, it should be soon.

Ayato had absolutely no intention of changing the Uchiha Clan Massacre, nor did he want to get involved. What kind of insignificant nobody was he right now? Was he supposed to run over there and seek death?

With that in mind, Ayato considered Sinai's usual routine. She would basically have no contact with the Uchiha, which reassured him. Then he thought some more about the Uchiha.

In the end, Ayato still felt that they were beyond saving. Let them die.

It was only a pity about Fugaku Uchiha, that relatively dovish Clan Head. If he had not encountered someone like Danzo, perhaps the relationship between the Uchiha and the village could have eased somewhat. Even if it remained tense, they probably would not have been driven into rebellion.

Unfortunately, that was Danzo. As long as Danzo remained, reconciliation between the Uchiha and the village was basically a fantasy. Even easing their relationship would be difficult.

Still, perhaps Shisui Uchiha's Mangekyo had briefly clouded Fugaku's judgment and led him to choose rebellion?

But Ayato did not think so. He was, after all, the head of a clan. Could he really have believed that one Mangekyo would be enough to successfully oppose the village? And this was the strongest village, at that.

Therefore, he must have been forced into a dead end, then seen Shisui's Mangekyo and decided to take a gamble.

Then he was betrayed by two traitors, and even had his clan wiped out by an unfilial son...

It was truly miserable.

In any case, Ayato felt fortunate that he had not been reborn into the Uchiha Clan. Otherwise, he would first have to consider how to escape Konoha. He could not think of any way to change the relationship between the Uchiha and Konoha. Should he first urge Shisui to secretly kill Danzo?

Forget it, forget it. Thinking too much would kill brain cells. It was all speculation anyway, completely impossible to verify. There was no point in thinking about it.