"Following the Fourth Hokage's death sixteen years ago," Obito said meaningfully, looking directly at an oblivious Naruto, "the Third Hokage reclaimed the office he'd been hounded from after his disastrous handling of the Third Shinobi World War and its aftermath. His cronies on the Konoha Council— Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu— gladly reclaimed their now unchecked political power."
Sakura made a face, which Obito did not fail to notice.
"As the Fifth Hokage's disciple, you've doubtless met them," he added with false sympathy. "My condolences."
"Those three really are the worst," Sakura admitted begrudgingly. "I'm also pretty sure Danzō tried to have Lady Tsunade assassinated."
Obito folded his arms in front of him and nodded in understanding.
"The Fourth Hokage was the Uchiha clan's last and only hope for reconciliation with the village," he explained. "His wife Kushina— Naruto's mother— was your mother Mikoto's best friend, Sasuke. They sympathised deeply with the Uchiha."
Naruto continued nodding to himself and looking very thoughtful.
"Naruto, you dummy," Sakura sighed. "Madara basically just told you your dad was the Fourth Hokage."
"Uh-huh, uh-huh, I'm listening," said Naruto, continuing to nod smartly… until at last, the ryō dropped. "Wait, whaaaaaa—!?"
Obito also very conveniently neglected to mention that he was directly responsible for Naruto's parents' deaths.
"Have you ever wondered why those three council members always seemed to hate you without reason, Sakura?" Obito asked, turning to her. "Those three— and the Third Hokage— were the Second Hokage's direct disciples, bound to him as you are to the Fifth, and none hated the Uchiha more than Senju Tobirama…"
Under the Third Hokage's second reign, the Uchiha clan's oppression intensified relentlessly. They were banished to the village's worst quarter, placed under constant surveillance by Danzō's ANBU Black Ops, which he still controlled at the time. Tensions mounted until, seeing no future for themselves in such an environment, the clan began plotting a coup d'état.
"And so, through their unreasonable distrust of the Uchiha, the Konoha Council made their worst nightmare a reality, thus justifying the oppression they'd imposed thus far, and with that, the clan's scrutiny intensified thousandfold… which is where Itachi enters our story."
"Wait, hang on!" Naruto blurted out. "My dad was the Fourth Hokage? Why did nobody tell me!?"
Obito chuckled.
"Were he still alive, I'm sure the Third Hokage would claim your hidden parentage was to shield you from your father's enemies, but I doubt that was the real reason," Obito said. "Danzō spread rumours about you through the village: that you were the Demon Fox reborn, culprit in your own father the Lord Hokage's death. He had hoped that the Third would hand you over, for him to forge you into a living weapon... but the Third refused; playing the kindly old grandfather suited him far better. Sarutobi Hiruzen ensured yours was a world where the only soul you'd ever trust was his, and his alone…"
Naruto fell silent, reeling at the thought his Grandpa Hokage could do such a thing. He couldn't believe the masked man's words, but a small voice whispered from his earliest memories' depths: why hadn't Grandpa helped him more, back when he was a starving, bullied child alone in that vast, empty apartment?
"Let's get back on topic," Obito went on. "Itachi was a true patriot, an anomaly within the Uchiha clan; having lived through the horrors of war, he loved peace and the Hidden Leaf Village more than anyone. The Third Hokage and his cronies saw this and inducted him into the ANBU Black Ops, and ordered him to spy on his own clan... all the while your own father ordered him to spy on the village's higher-ups."
Sasuke said nothing. "…"
Long-buried memories of parental disputes; unwelcome neighbourly visits from fellow clan members, barely veiled threats and raised voices were bubbling up from the subconscious recollections of his childhood into his mind. It was impossible to be consumed with rage 24/7, so he'd conjured this perfect childhood to console himself when his hatred for Itachi ebbed, leaving something to fill his sad, empty, revenge-driven life… but now, he was beginning to remember.
"Your father Fugaku was a man plagued by the weakness of indecision, but in the end, he allowed himself to be convinced by his peers that a coup d'état was the only way forwards," Obito explained. "Itachi faithfully reported his father's decision to the village's higher-ups… and just like that, the die was cast. They forced him to make an impossible decision; to choose between the village he cherished and the family he loved more than anything. In the end, he sought me out, and together, we…"
Obito's voice trailed off. It was obvious which path Itachi had chosen that night.
"Nobody could be allowed to find out the truth behind the annihilation of the Uchiha clan," he continued after a meaningful pause. "The higher-ups already had the perfect person to pin the crime on, the man who'd done the job in the first place… but they knew that the secret would inevitably come to light as long as he lived. Though he had served them well, Uchiha Itachi was now an eyesore, a stain on the village's reputation of invincibility, and he needed to die."
Sasuke's expression was unreadable.
Especially to Sakura.
Since she was blind.
"However, Uchiha Itachi was too convenient a pawn to discard; it was a waste of his talents to kill him off right away," said Obito. "He was ordered to join the Akatsuki and spy on my organisation; I knew this, and yet I accepted him nonetheless, for the information he sent back paled in comparison to the usefulness of his strength."
Sasuke's knuckles turned white as he unconsciously clenched his fists.
"The higher-ups had long known his usefulness would run dry sooner or later. He'd awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan two years before, after all, so they meant squeeze him for all he was worth before he kicked the bucket," Obito explained. "Yet despite the continuation of his services, Itachi remained an eyesore to them, and when his strength finally waned, his worth as a spy no longer outweighed the danger of the Uchiha Massacre's secret slipping free."
Obito looked directly into Sasuke's eyes.
"To bring the Uchiha fiasco to an end, the village needed to dispose of Itachi in a manner that would convince the public," he said gravely. "The higher-ups decided that one of Itachi's own would have to do the job; the little brother would slay the elder and claim his vengeance, and in a final act of patriotism, the elder would strike down the younger's lover— who had, by then, grown far too powerful to be controlled… and before you ask, no, Tsunade knows nothing of these behind-the-scenes arrangements."
Obito sighed.
"The plan might have worked flawlessly, had Itachi not found himself unable to kill his own little brother from the very beginning," he said melancholically. "Before departing on his final mission, Itachi warned the Third Hokage and Danzō that if they so much as laid a finger on you, he would hand every bit of intelligence he'd learned about Konoha during his time in the ANBU to rival nations. He even snuck back into the Hidden Leaf to give Danzō a scare following the Third's passing, to help him remember their arrangement."
"…"
"By all rights, Itachi should have been a hero… but despite having saved the village from civil war, he would never be allowed to return to the Hidden Leaf of his living, and as a spy in the Akatsuki, neither would he be allowed to commit suicide," Obito said quietly. "His life ending at his beloved little brother's hands was the duty Konohagakure gave him, and in the end, he failed the village's final mission when he failed to kill Miss Sakura."
Warm tears slipped down Sakura's cheeks, falling from eyes that could no longer see.
Forever after, Itachi would be reviled as a monster who had wiped out his kin, and as a monster with no honour who had betrayed his village. The world would never be allowed to learn what had truly happened that night, but at least, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto would know the truth, and Itachi's name, legacy and noble sacrifice would live on in their hearts.
"…You're lying," growled Sasuke.
Or maybe not.