[Uchiha Itachi—the eldest son of Uchiha Fugaku, head of the Uchiha clan. He was born in the final years of the Third Great Ninja War and was brought to the battlefield by his father at just 4 years old.]
[Never mind a young child, even many adult Shinobis would break down from fear on the battlefield, some even developing war syndrome. And this single experience made Itachi's way of thinking fundamentally different from ordinary people.]
[While other children were still playing, he was already contemplating the bond between "Shinobi, clan, and village," and even went so far as to ask Orochimaru what the meaning of life was. From this alone, you can see how indifferent he was toward concept of life.]
[Generally speaking, precocious children often mature late, and proud people tend to be impatient. Under Fugaku's forced cultivation, Itachi's personality was a fitting reflection of his education.]
---
[Konoha, Year One. Outside the Village on the Cliffside]
Madara listened to the Sky Screen's description and was momentarily stunned, his lips twitching.
He really wanted to know, just what in the world was Fugaku, that later clan head, thinking?
He and Hashirama had worked so hard, precisely to bring peace to the Shinobi World and allow children to grow up safely.
So that they wouldn't have to go to war at four or five years old, or kill at seven or eight, like they had in their own childhood. The painful memories of the Warring States era—he never wanted any child to experience that again.
Based on the information revealed earlier, although Hashirama's peace had ultimately failed and war still existed in the world, children of later generations could generally grow up to become Genin.
Konoha had a Ninja Academy, a Chūnin Exam, and various systems in place to protect children. And Itachi was the son of the Uchiha clan head—at such a young age, no one would have ever demanded that he be sent to the battlefield.
And given the Uchiha clan's status, given Fugaku's authority, he could have easily kept Itachi at home and trained him when he was older.
But Fugaku did the opposite, even though the Warring States era was long over, he still carried on its traditions and deliberately brought a 4-year-old child to the battlefield!
The battlefield wasn't just a simple word; it meant mountains of corpses and seas of blood, screams and wails, a place where death could come at any moment.
And a 4-year-old child—let alone fighting—just seeing those scenes would be enough to cause psychological damage.
Wasn't that just pure insanity?!
---
[Konoha, Year 52. Uchiha Clan Grounds]
Fugaku sat at the tea table, his hands resting on his knees, a bitter smile on his face.
So all of this was his fault after all?
Before the Sky Screen had appeared, he had actually felt proud—believing that under his guidance, Itachi had grown quickly and had always been a benchmark for the next generation of the village.
And even after the screen revealed that it was Itachi who had slaughtered the clan, he had always wondered, even if Itachi stood on the Village's side, how could he bear to kill so many clansmen, not even sparing the elderly and children?
Perhaps if the Konoha High Command had done it themselves, they would have left some bloodlines behind.
Unexpectedly, the root cause of everything was that he had taken young Itachi to the battlefield, causing him to develop so-called war syndrome? And that was why he was so indifferent to life!
Fugaku suddenly felt dizzy, almost unable to sit steady. It wasn't until Mikoto, noticing something was wrong, supported him that Fugaku slowly composed himself.
Although Mikoto's hand was warm, Fugaku felt cold. He panted heavily, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
He then turned his head to look at Sasuke in Mikoto's arms, feeling a sudden sense of failure.
Sure enough, he was simply not suited to educate children. Even though Sasuke had so much talent, he'd struggled to teach him; he should send him to Kakashi as soon as possible.
While the Sky Screen narrated, the scene abruptly shifted to a somewhat dark room.
The room was spacious, dimly lit, with only a few oil lamps flickering faintly in the corners, casting swaying shadows on the walls. On the wall directly ahead, a massive character for "fox" and a spiral pattern hung vertically, standing out vividly in the dim light.
And below the pattern, on a stone chair engraved with the Uchiha clan emblem, sat Uchiha Itachi, his eyes tightly shut.
He wore the Akatsuki's black cloak with red clouds, his hands crossed and resting on his knees in a relaxed manner, as if waiting for someone.
The lamplight fell across his face, shadows and light intertwining, making his complexion appear even paler.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, his eyes snapped open—revealing a pair of three-tomoe Sharingan.
He spoke calmly to the approaching figure: "That Sharingan… How much can you actually see?"
"How much can I see with these? What I'm seeing right now, Itachi… is your death!" The figure answered as he steadily advanced toward Itachi, each footstep echoing distinctly in the silent room.
As the screen fully revealed the newcomer's appearance, it was unmistakably Sasuke, wrapped entirely in a black cloak, with bandages around his head. In his eyes, too, was a pair of three-tomoe Sharingan.
"My death, huh?" Itachi closed his eyes, a hint of emotion in his voice.
"Well then… make it happen." As his words faded, he had already appeared beside Sasuke, the two standing back to back.
Sasuke smirked at that, turned halfway, and threw his right arm back to block Itachi's kunai-wielding arm. Then, with his left hand, he partially drew the Kusanagi blade and used its flat side to block Itachi's follow-up downward slash!
In a flurry of movement, the two exchanged multiple blows with their hands. Itachi suddenly kicked toward Sasuke's chest—luckily, Sasuke blocked it instantly with his Kusanagi blade—but Itachi's other foot followed through, striking Sasuke's head with an incredibly graceful kick.
Bam!
Sasuke stumbled back several steps. And in a hurried motion, he fully drew the Kusanagi blade and swung it forward, but Itachi evaded it easily and landed behind Sasuke, grabbing his cloak with one hand and flinging him away.
Sasuke was tossed like a ragdoll.
"Chidori Nagashi!" Sasuke landed, used the momentum to spring back, and attacked Itachi once more.
Itachi also leaped high to evade, but just as he looked up toward the ceiling, another Sasuke was already hiding there, Kusanagi blade in hand.
Squelch!
On the screen, Itachi, unable to dodge in time, was pierced clean through by Sasuke.
"You've become… strong." The fallen Itachi remarked once more.
Those watching the Sky Screen felt something was off. Itachi's performance this time, compared to his earlier fight against Kakashi in Konoha, was far too strange.
How could Itachi be this weak? There's no way it ends this easily, right?!
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Tazuna's House]
Sasuke watched the battle on the screen, his excitement surging, his face brimming with exhilaration and satisfaction.
"Yes! That's it! That's exactly how that man should die!" He even felt that Itachi's death was too merciful.
But Kakashi knew something was wrong. Itachi was far too passive, completely unlike a Kage-level fighter. And given Itachi's character, how could he possibly be killed so easily?
"Sasuke, calm down. Keep watching, I don't think it's over yet."
Sure enough, as Sasuke on the screen began to say, "Itachi… there's one last thing I want to ask you…"
Uchiha Itachi, pinned to the ground beneath him, raised his right hand, index and middle fingers pressed together, and gently pointed to the left.
When Sasuke instinctively looked in that direction, he saw Itachi—completely unharmed—still sitting casually on the stone chair, eyeing him with an air of boredom.
And when Sasuke looked down again, the fallen Itachi had transformed into a flock of crows, which scattered and vanished in an instant.
The people watching the Sky Screen were collectively speechless.
So this was the Uchiha way of fighting? Always leading with Genjutsu. Itachi had done the same against Kurenai. And Obito had done the same against Kakashi.
The only different one was Sasuke, who charged straight in with his blade and didn't seem to favor Genjutsu at all.
*****
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