"Danzō."
Uchiha Fugaku was in an exceptionally foul mood.
The news he'd just received was deeply unsettling.
His son's crushing defeat alone had already left him dissatisfied.
It wasn't that he believed his precious eldest could contend with the Flying Thunder God.
As clan head, Fugaku knew the history all too well—Uchiha Madara's younger brother, Uchiha Izuna, had been killed by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, using that very technique.
And back then, Izuna had possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Itachi was what—ten, nearly eleven?
The fact that he couldn't withstand the Flying Thunder God was completely normal.
Fugaku had absolute confidence that his son would not repeat history in the future.
In his view, Izuna hadn't lost because the Mangekyō was weak.
He'd lost because he was careless.
The Mangekyō Sharingan was one of the Uchiha's greatest powers—without question.
But now, Uchiha Itachi had been forced to face the Flying Thunder God and be decisively defeated by it, right in front of everyone.
How could Fugaku possibly feel at ease?
"Even for a standard evaluation… was it really necessary to put Itachi through something like that?"
His mood was already dark—but when they returned home, Itachi delivered another piece of news that left Fugaku stunned.
The examiner—the boy who wielded the Flying Thunder God—had asked Itachi a deadly question.
And from that question alone, Fugaku instantly understood everything.
That boy had done it on purpose.
Konoha had done it on purpose.
This was retaliation.
"Itachi, I'll ask you one more time," Fugaku said gravely after taking a deep breath.
"Are you absolutely certain that's what he said?"
"Yes, Father."
Itachi sat obediently across from him, lowering his head slightly as he repeated it.
"He asked me whether I still remembered the Root ninja I once defeated."
After a moment, Itachi looked up again, hesitated, and asked quietly,
"Father… what exactly is Root?"
"Root…"
Fugaku hesitated.
He didn't know whether he should tell Itachi the truth yet.
There was simply too much involved.
But one thing was certain—
From beginning to end, Danzō had harbored nothing but hostility toward the Uchiha.
Fugaku could never forget that on the night of the Nine-Tails, it was Danzō who personally intervened—blocking the Uchiha from going to reinforce the village.
And afterward, during the post–Nine-Tails restructuring of the ninja clans, it was Danzō again who presided over the arrangements and forcibly relocated the Uchiha to this remote corner of Konoha.
All of it had led to countless consequences.
Rumors claiming the Uchiha were connected to the Nine-Tails—
otherwise, why hadn't they gone to reinforce the village?
Resentment boiling within the clan—
because the forced relocation had allowed the radicals to seize the narrative.
Everything.
Every single thing—
Led back to Danzō.
The thought alone made Fugaku's anger surge uncontrollably.
Yet tragically, at no point did he consider whether he himself bore any responsibility.
"This question… I can't answer right now," Fugaku said at last, forcing himself to calm down as he looked at his son.
"There's far too much involved."
"Perhaps one day, you'll understand. But for now, it's too early for you."
"I see. I understand, Father."
Itachi nodded and didn't press further.
He was already used to this.
From a young age, his father had emphasized that a true ninja could ultimately rely only on himself.
And so Itachi had grown accustomed to thinking on his own—questioning, judging, and deciding for himself.
His father's silence didn't trouble him much.
After a moment's thought, however, he still asked,
"Then… should we warn Shisui-niisan about this?"
"Shisui is in ANBU," Fugaku said after a brief pause, shaking his head.
"He's that boy's teammate. I trust he can handle it."
Shisui served as a bridge within ANBU—a way to pass certain messages to the Third Hokage.
For now, it was best not to change anything.
"I understand, Father."
Itachi didn't dare say more. He nodded, stood, and bowed slightly.
"Then I'll take my leave."
"Mm. Go get some rest."
Fugaku nodded gently.
As he watched his son walk away, his fist slowly clenched.
"Third Hokage… what exactly are you thinking?"
There were things he didn't want to say in front of his son—but his mind wouldn't stop turning.
That Shihara Ren was Danzō's man.
Did the Third Hokage really not know that?
If he did, then why allow Danzō's man to evaluate his son?
Why assign Danzō's man to the same team as Shisui?
Unless—
"You still don't trust us… do you?"
Fugaku closed his eyes.
He had always tried to ease the conflict through peaceful means.
But this was the result.
And for the first time, his heart began to waver.
Moonlight drifted hazily over Konoha's cemetery.
Uchiha Obito stood quietly before a gravestone.
It belonged to Nohara Rin—the resilient, smiling girl who lived on in his memories.
After witnessing Rin's death back then, Obito had been utterly hollow.
Yet he hadn't forgotten her wish.
So he hadn't taken her body.
Instead, he let Konoha bring her back—
to be honored as a hero, and to rest here.
"Soon," Obito murmured softly.
"The time until we meet again isn't far now, Rin."
His brows suddenly furrowed.
From the ground beside him, a grotesque, pitcher-plant-like creature emerged. Its white half-face smiled as it spoke.
"Obito, I've checked. In a few days, that Uchiha kid—Itachi—will be going on a mission. I think it'll be your chance."
"Oh? He's leaving the village?"
Though his communion with the soul of his beloved had been interrupted—something that irritated him deeply—Obito still kept his emotions in check.
"And what about that brat, Ren?" he asked.
"If he has a mission too, things will get troublesome."
"He doesn't seem to have any missions coming up," the shadowy voice replied.
"Even if he does, it'll likely be inside the village. We can just draw his attention deliberately. That should do it."
"…Mm."
Obito nodded.
Deliberately attracting Ren's attention and pulling him to the scene wasn't a bad idea at all.
Being discovered would only make things better.
And even if he had to withdraw, it wouldn't matter—he had follow-up plans.
His mood lifted.
After all, whether it was obtaining Shisui—or Shisui's eyes—or nurturing the seed he had carefully planted…
Every outcome benefited him.
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