"Itachi… after coming back from the battlefield, you seem like a completely different person."
Uchiha Ryu withdrew his hand from Itachi's shoulder and looked into the boy's lifeless eyes, his voice filled with complicated emotions.
He truly couldn't understand his elder brother's way of thinking.
Even he himself had firmly refused to go to the battlefield as a teenager—
yet Fugaku had taken a child who wasn't even five years old to experience war.
What was a five-year-old supposed to understand on a battlefield?
Ryu guessed that Fugaku wanted Itachi to realize that the peaceful life he enjoyed in Konoha was built upon the deaths of countless people.
He wanted Itachi to understand how hard-won everything he had was, and to push himself to train harder.
But Ryu did not agree with this method of education at all.
"Uncle… what is war?"
After hearing Ryu's words, Itachi's dull eyes slowly regained a hint of light.
He looked up with an expression of hope and asked quietly.
On the battlefield, Itachi had once encountered a dying enemy ninja.
The man, barely able to speak, kept asking for water.
Itachi gave him water.
The ninja thanked him—without even seeing his face clearly.
But when the man opened his eyes and noticed Uchiha Fugaku standing beside Itachi, his expression changed instantly.
Without hesitation, he drew a kunai and slashed toward Itachi.
Instinctively, Itachi also pulled out his own kunai—
And killed the man who had just thanked him.
Afterward, Itachi asked his father why the man had suddenly tried to kill him when he hadn't done anything wrong.
Fugaku's answer had been simple.
Because this is war.
Not a war between individuals—
But a war between countries.
Itachi wanted to understand.
Why did people who didn't even know each other become mortal enemies the moment they met?
Facing the uncle he respected most, Itachi asked his question without holding anything back.
"War?"
Ryu sighed softly.
"Itachi… you really are different now."
Then he looked at the boy with interest.
"Everyone sees war differently."
"I'll tell you what war means to me."
"Yes."
Itachi nodded gently.
"In my eyes," Ryu said calmly,
"war is a dirty game."
"A… game?"
Itachi was shocked and asked hurriedly,
"Why is war a game?"
In his understanding, games were nothing more than ways to pass time.
He had barely come into contact with such things at all.
"Yes," Ryu replied.
"War is a dirty game."
"The rulers of nations are the players."
"And the ninjas fighting each other…"
"…are merely tools used to win."
"Uncle," Itachi asked after thinking for a moment,
"why do you compare war to a game?"
He couldn't understand how Ryu reached such a conclusion.
Ryu chuckled softly.
"Itachi, do you know why wars break out between countries?"
Instead of answering, he asked a question of his own.
"I don't know."
Itachi thought for a while before answering honestly.
"Itachi," Ryu said,
"there have already been three Great Ninja Wars."
"And there has only ever been one reason for them."
"Greed."
"Greed?"
Itachi repeated the word in confusion.
"That's right—greed," Ryu said calmly.
"When the First Great Ninja War broke out, it was because Konoha lost the God of Shinobi, the First Hokage."
"Konoha still possessed enormous resources, and the other great nations grew jealous."
"So they all attacked Konoha together."
"The Second Great Ninja War was similar."
"The Land of Rain refused to remain a minor power, so it waged war against the Land of Iron, the Land of Fire, and the Land of Wind to compete for resources."
"And the Third Great Ninja War followed the same pattern."
"The Land of Lightning launched a sneak attack on the Land of Wind when the Kazekage disappeared and seized a massive amount of resources."
"Then the Land of Lightning declared war on the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire."
"The Land of Water, which had been watching from the sidelines, joined in as well, hoping to take a share of the spoils."
"That's how the ninja world descended into chaos."
After listening carefully, Itachi thought for a moment before asking,
"Uncle… if they don't do this, can they not survive?"
"Is that why they're willing to sacrifice so many lives?"
In Itachi's mind, this was the only explanation that made sense.
Otherwise—
Why would nations willingly send countless soldiers to their deaths just to plunder resources?
Ryu shook his head.
"Itachi, it's good that you thought this far."
"But this time, you guessed wrong."
"The resources of the Five Great Nations have always been sufficient."
"Their people were never close to starving."
"Then… why?"
Itachi asked anxiously.
"If that's the case, why would they fight like this?"
"Itachi," Ryu said softly,
"did you know that the Land of Rain was once nothing more than a weak, insignificant region?"
"There was no real nation—just villages caught between the battles of stronger countries."
"The people there could barely find enough food to eat."
"At that time, it wasn't even called the Land of Rain."
"It was simply known as Amegakure."
"All the people wanted… was to fill their stomachs."
"That simple wish was fulfilled by a single man."
"A man named Hanzo the Salamander."
"With Hanzo's overwhelming power, Amegakure rapidly annexed surrounding ninja villages and became the Land of Rain, a nation second only to the Five Great Countries."
"For a time, everyone in the Land of Rain had enough to eat."
"But even then…"
"They still launched wars against the great nations."
"And in the end, they suffered catastrophic losses."
Ryu stopped and looked at Itachi.
"Itachi," he asked,
"why do you think they still went to war?"
"I don't know."
Itachi answered honestly.
He truly couldn't understand it.
If their people were already fed—
Why sacrifice so many lives?
Ryu's gaze sharpened.
"Because," he said slowly,
"human greed can never be satisfied."