Chapter 22:- Questions For Itachi (1)

Extending hand toward Izumi, motioning Izumi to give him a kunai.

Izumi froze for a moment, then realized, hastily taking out a kunai from her backpack and handing it to Ryosuke.

Then Ryosuke, just as Uchiha Itachi had just said, tilted his body slightly, controlled the direction of the kunai in his hand, and with a flick, it landed steadily in the middle of the tree.

Izumi exclaimed in surprise, "Ryosuke-nii, you're amazing too!"

Ryosuke couldn't help but smile, "When you reach Chunin, you'll also master kunai-throwing techniques like this. What I just used was Itachi's method, and it's pretty impressive."

Uchiha Itachi, hearing his words, felt very puzzled, because the last time the other party faced him, it was as if he had eaten explosives.

Now he was actually praising him, which made him a bit uncomfortable.

Seeing Ryosuke like this, Izumi felt happy in her heart. Sure enough, letting the two get along was the best way to ease their relationship.

The remaining time was spent with Izumi taking the kunai from her backpack and starting to train diligently.

Although throwing kunai according to Itachi's method, there were still occasional mistakes, where the thrown kunai completely missed the target and flew deep into the forest.

She immediately became upset. "This mistake is huge!"

Itachi comforted her, saying, "With more training, such situations won't happen."

Izumi nodded and resumed her training. Soon, all the kunai in her backpack had been thrown out. She said to Itachi and Ryosuke, "I'll go retrieve the kunai first."

Then her body darted into the forest like a small rabbit.

Because quite a few kunai had landed inside, her family's financial situation wasn't rich enough to afford losing all these kunai. So, she had to retrieve them.

Now, only Ryosuke and Uchiha Itachi were left, and the atmosphere instantly became quiet.

Seeing the timing, Ryosuke planned to speak, as the matters they were about to discuss were better left unknown to Izumi.

Izumi was unsuitable for discussions about such major family matters. Such issues were still too complex for a little girl to deal with, and there was no need to let her fall into such a dilemma.

Ryosuke looked at Uchiha Itachi and said with a smile, "If a conflict were to occur between the clan and the village's higher-ups, which side would you take?"

Uchiha Itachi, hearing this, felt a slight jolt in his heart. Currently, he was a member of the Anbu.

But in fact, he had been sent by his father to spy around Hokage-sama and report the higher-ups' information to the clan.

However, he didn't actually do that and had already promised Hokage-sama to be a spy for the village within the Uchiha clan, leaking clan information to the higher-ups.

Hokage-sama had assured him that he would properly handle the relationship between the village and the Uchiha clan. He was doing all this to maintain peace in the village.

Now Ryosuke suddenly asked this question, probably suspecting that he had already sided with the Hokage. Whether the other party was a moderate or a radical, his identity as a double agent could not be exposed.

He smiled and said, "Of course, I'd side with the clan; after all, I'm a member of the Uchiha clan."

Ryosuke observed Uchiha Itachi's bright smile. Although Itachi was smiling, Ryosuke knew that this guy had learned how to fake expressions since childhood, never truly showing his inner feelings.

If he hadn't known that Itachi would one day personally annihilate the Uchiha clan, he might have believed him. There was no way Uchiha Itachi would be so easily swayed just by being asked a question.

Ryosuke wasn't sure whether the other party had already been thoroughly brainwashed by the Will of Fire and completely leaned toward Konoha.

Normally, a person of the clan would lean toward the clan, but this guy, Uchiha Itachi, abandoned the familial and romantic bonds of the clan to maintain Konoha's peace instead.

Frankly speaking, without relatives and loved ones in Konoha, why would Konoha's peace have anything to do with Itachi?

At the age of three, Uchiha Itachi had been taken to the battlefield by his father, Uchiha Fugaku, to witness the cruelty of war. That's when he started pondering the meaning of life.

At such a young age, he already understood how to think from the Hokage's perspective. Now, he was likely contemplating the relationship between the clan and the village, striving for true peace.

Then, believing he had transcended mortals and acting in a saintly manner, he destroyed his own clan. But frankly, even if the Uchiha clan made mistakes, did it warrant the annihilation of the entire clan?

Even women, children, and not even a single dog were spared. The conflict between the Uchiha clan and Konoha's higher-ups stemmed from power. The village leadership feared the powerful Uchiha clan would take over their positions.

That's why they targeted the Uchiha clan at every turn. But why did the Uchiha clan not qualify for a place among Konoha's higher-ups?

With the decline of the Senju clan, the Uchiha clan had naturally become the undisputed strongest clan in the ninja world. The clan had produced geniuses like Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui.

At the same time, the Hokage faction's backbone, the Sannin, had dispersed or left.

Tsunade had been deeply affected by the loss of her loved ones in the Second Shinobi World War, developing hemophobia and losing her ability to serve as a ninja, now wandering as a gambler.

Orochimaru, after engaging in various human experiments, defected from the village when discovered.

Jiraiya was traveling outside, writing books like Icha Icha Paradise and searching for the so-called Child of Prophecy.

With the decline of the Hokage faction and the Third Hokage stationed in the village, witnessing the rise of the Uchiha clan, he naturally felt a sense of crisis. 'Wouldn't it be better to replace the incompetent leadership with the strong Uchiha clan?'

Ignoring anything else, with the clan's strength and geniuses like Shisui and Itachi, Ryosuke couldn't believe they wouldn't make other villages cry for mercy.

But the disgraceful Third Hokage viewed the Uchiha clan as an unstable factor in the village, and Danzo outright regarded them as an evil clan.

To be honest, both the Third Hokage and Danzo were just scared of losing their power. What's more, the Third Hokage, being old and unproductive, didn't contribute during the Third Shinobi World War, instead hiding in the rear to enjoy the benefits.

By contrast, shadows of other villages fought on the frontlines, making the Third Hokage look disgraceful.

Not to mention Danzo, who was essentially the "Shadow of Blame" in the Naruto universe, the source of every problem. Ryosuke sincerely believed Itachi had no reason to work for such people.

To change his mindset, Ryosuke continued, "Actually, our Uchiha clan rising to the higher-ups would likely protect the village's peace better than the aging Third Hokage."

"Itachi Uchiha, do you agree with my viewpoint?"

This statement caused Itachi's pupils to shrink, his inner thoughts shaken. This guy was clearly a radical, aiming for power, which made him feel very disgusted.

The Uchiha clan was selfish, and if they rose to power, it would undoubtedly be detrimental to Konoha.

Once, when he awakened his Sharingan due to his teammate Tenma's death and sadly shared this with his father, he was met not with comfort but with congratulations, which left him deeply disappointed in his clan.

Now, the Third Hokage was doing well enough, leading the village toward peace.

He slowly spoke, "Words like these can't be said lightly. The Third Hokage has brought prosperity and peace to the village. Hokage-sama isn't aging; on the contrary, he remains the village's strongest force."

Ryosuke felt speechless at Itachi's words.

Maybe the Third Hokage still had power, not the strongest but certainly among the top tiers.

However, during the Third Shinobi World War, he stayed completely off the frontlines, cowering in the rear.

Meanwhile, the Uchiha clan held the east against the Hidden Mist, and Namikaze Minato, then still a Jonin, led Konoha ninjas to fight against Iwagakure and Kumogakure.

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