"Itachi, the day you were born, my eyes saw a vision of your future…"
Mysterious patterns slowly emerged in Uchiha Fugaku's eyes as a cold, oppressive aura of pupil power filled the small room.
"I understand your doubts. On the battlefield, you witnessed the terrifying power of Uchiha Kazuki, and you lost confidence in yourself."
Uchiha Fugaku let out a cold sneer and spoke in a deep voice: "But do you know? Uchiha Kazuki is an enemy of our clan! These Mangekyō Sharingan of mine awakened because of him!"
Itachi's heart trembled violently.
Kazuki? An enemy of their clan?
Don't be ridiculous!
To young Itachi's mind, the most unforgettable sight—etched into his very bones—was seeing Kazuki massacring enemies with a flurry of taijutsu and ninjutsu, hurling a Tailed Beast Bomb that mushroomed into the sky, casually slaughtering several jinchūriki, and finally bestowing the title 'Three Survivors' upon the Third Raikage, Hanzō, and Ōnoki.
In a sense, Itachi could honestly say—
"I grew up watching Kazuki kill."
Because of that, Itachi harbored a deep reverence—almost instinctual—for Kazuki, born of his bloodline and human nature's awe of the strong.
Before returning to Konoha…
Itachi had simply felt that the village was fortunate to have Kazuki—and that he was one of their own, a fellow Uchiha.
But after returning to Konoha…
When Uchiha Fugaku began muttering about how Itachi had to surpass Kazuki, Itachi's entire mindset began to tilt—
"Me? Surpass Kazuki-sama?"
And now, in this room, what Fugaku said completely shattered his son's mental defenses.
Ha… So Kazuki is our enemy, huh?
"Enemy!? Why would he be the enemy…?"
Itachi stared wide-eyed in shock. The Sharingan he awakened from watching Kazuki slaughter enemies sprang to life unconsciously, the jet-black tomoe spinning chaotically.
"He is the enemy, Itachi!"
Fugaku snorted coldly and said in a stern tone, "Steady your footing. How are you going to accomplish great things if you fall apart like this?"
But Itachi had already sunk into deep panic. Fugaku's reprimand had no effect whatsoever.
If Kazuki's the enemy…
To Itachi—and in fact to a large part of the Konoha shinobi—Kazuki was like a biting winter wind to his enemies, and like a warm spring breeze to his own people.
And now, just as Itachi had begun to enjoy the security Kazuki's presence brought…
He had fallen from heaven straight into hell.
"Itachi, our bloodline—our branch—is the true, legitimate line of clan leadership…"
Fugaku suddenly slammed the table, producing a loud crack, and barked, "Do you know how I awakened my Mangekyō Sharingan?!"
"That bastard Kazuki never once showed me—the clan head—the slightest respect! He quietly drew in all the people close to me, completely undermining my authority as head of the clan. He didn't even give me a chance to bargain!"
"What was I supposed to do? Sit and wait for him to strip me of everything I have? Roll over and beg for mercy like a whipped dog?!"
Fugaku's eyes were bloodshot.
He recalled Uchiha Yakushi—his once closest friend—cutting ties with him without mercy.
It was at that moment—when Yakushi walked away—that Fugaku awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan…
"I loathed this situation, but I had no idea how to change it! And in the pain and despair of that struggle, I awakened a dōjutsu that could see the future… its name is Subi Chii!"
The patterns in Fugaku's eyes spun wildly. He spread his arms and declared in a piercing voice: "Long before the Third Great Ninja War, I saw it. Uchiha Kazuki would one day fall… And you, Itachi, would become the one who—through blood and fire—would shoulder the banner of the Uchiha Clan and the Shinobi World!"
Itachi's heart was full of shock and confusion.
He finally seemed to understand why Fugaku had been acting so strangely all this time…
"I'll admit it. Uchiha Kazuki's strength once made me doubt my own Mangekyō Sharingan—made me think it was showing me illusions," Uchiha Fugaku muttered to himself, pressing his hand to his forehead.
"But the Mangekyō doesn't make mistakes… I thought he would die in the Great Ninja War, and yet he didn't. Instead, he slaughtered all of his enemies and became a legendary shinobi."
"But so what?"
Fugaku let out a twisted laugh.
"He still fell, didn't he! Do you know why, Itachi?"
Itachi shook his head blankly.
Kazuki-sama… fallen?
How could someone so powerful have fallen?
"You're already aware of the recent unrest within the clan grounds," Fugaku said slowly.
"I was there too. From a distance, I saw the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama—resurrected! He had even awakened a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan. And ever since the war ended, Uchiha Kazuki still hasn't returned…"
"Why was Kazuki so absurdly talented? Able to master Senju Tobirama's Water Release while still a student at the academy, later becoming a genius of ninjutsu development, and at such a young age, an expert in political maneuvering… He left me suffocating under his pressure."
"So many mysteries I couldn't understand… finally make sense now."
"The answer is this—
Uchiha Kazuki was nothing more than a vessel for Senju Tobirama's possession!"
Itachi's pupils quaked, his mouth falling open as he instinctively protested: "That's impossible!"
"Just today at the Academy… Jonin Asuma was telling us stories about Kazuki-sama's Will of Fire!"
Fugaku gave a cold, disdainful laugh.
"Of course they were. Sacrificing yourself for the Second Hokage—what could better embody the Will of Fire?"
"Itachi, do you really think Konoha would bury Kazuki's name in silence just because he died at Tobirama's hands? Not a chance. They'll do the opposite—put him on a high pedestal and sing his praises."
"He's already dead. No longer a threat to their political power. What does fame matter at that point?"
"This is the political savvy of the Second Hokage. If it were Shimura Danzō, maybe he would've tried to ban stories about Kazuki like an idiot. But Tobirama is in a league of his own…"
Fugaku went on talking, as if entranced: "All they have to do is make up a story, and people will believe it. Say something like: 'Kazuki used a forbidden life-draining technique to fend off the Allied Shinobi Forces and died young…'"
"Then, when the time comes—like another war breaking out—they'll say they need outside help, use some excuse like a reanimation jutsu… and Tobirama can step into the spotlight again with a clean slate!"
"Itachi, there's no such thing as the Will of Fire in this world. There's only self-interest and collective agendas."
"Do you know what would've happened to our clan if Kazuki hadn't died?" Fugaku stared into his son's eyes, locking onto him with a terrifying Sharingan glare. His voice spiraled into madness: "The Uchiha Clan would've torn itself apart."
"The stronger the Uchiha, the more likely they are to kill each other!"
"Back in the Warring States Era, those who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan became consumed by greed. They slaughtered their own kin with three-tomoe eyes, stealing their Sharingan without hesitation."
"You think Uchiha Madara's eternal Mangekyō Sharingan just fell from the sky? No. He ripped them from his younger brother, Uchiha Izuna. That's the kind of hatred that breeds never-ending power!"
Fugaku's voice slithered like a demon's whisper: "You've probably heard the name Uchiha Obito… the youngest in history to awaken the three-tomoe Sharingan. Do you know what the elder hawk, Uchiha Setsuna, once planned to do to him?"
"He had a lover—Uchiha Rin. A sweet, beautiful girl…"
"Setsuna told me—his eyes full of malice—that he wanted to use that girl as the trigger to help Obito awaken his Mangekyō. Do you understand what I'm saying, my son?"
"After hearing all that, tell me—if Uchiha Kazuki truly was the strongest Uchiha in history… If Senju Tobirama hadn't taken him out, and our family had remained his former enemies…"
"What do you think someone of his power would have done to me, to you, and to your mother?"
Itachi's mind turned to mush.
The sheer amount of information Fugaku had just dumped on him—so much of it related to the clan's darkest history—was overwhelming.
The foundations Itachi had built for the Will of Fire, for the clan, for his own sense of belonging… were shattered before they'd even fully formed.
Off to the side—
Kaguya, who had originally thought she was here to listen to Fugaku and his son praise Kazuki…
Was equally stunned.
What the hell is going on?
"Kazuki, you… what did you do to that man?" Kaguya asked hesitantly.
But before Kazuki could reply, Itachi voiced a question similar to hers: "Father… but all of this is just speculation! What has Kazuki-sama ever done to you? Did he ever threaten you in any way?"
"Why… why have I never heard any of this before?!"
Fugaku glared at his son, his voice laced with fury and disappointment: "By the time you hear of it, Kazuki will have already made his move!"
"I'm not telling you this so you can sit around judging whether Kazuki is good or bad. I'm telling you: in this world of shinobi, aside from your family, no one can be trusted!"
"Only I will never harm you, Itachi. I'm your father!"
"Kazuki's death proves my eye technique's visions of the future are never wrong… I'm telling you this so that you'll be cautious."
"Your future is to surpass Uchiha Kazuki! But until that day comes, you must conceal your talent. Don't let those watching from the shadows—people like Tobirama—discover it. Understand?!"
Fugaku seized the back of Itachi's head and pressed their foreheads tightly together.
In the reflection of Itachi's eyes, Fugaku's crazed and twisted expression was perfectly clear…
Kazuki chuckled softly.
This scene… felt all too familiar.
In the original timeline, Uchiha Itachi, in order to provoke—or 'inspire'—Sasuke, had deliberately emphasized the madness and darkness of the Uchiha Clan, even distorting the story of Uchiha Izuna and Madara.
But now, it seemed that the pressure Kazuki had put on Fugaku had pushed the man past his breaking point—
To the point of embellishing everything even further.
He had even discerned Uchiha Setsuna's improper intentions toward Uchiha Rin…
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