Chapter 175 – The So-Called War
Uchiha Itachi stood quietly before the gates of the Konoha Police Force headquarters, watching members of the force come and go. Yet, he never stepped inside.
Though he was here as a student visiting his teacher, Itachi knew there was a proper way to approach the matter—even if this place wasn't his teacher's home, and even though his father clearly disapproved of him having too much contact with Uchiha Kei.
But there were too many questions gnawing at his mind—questions only his teacher, a decorated war hero, might be able to answer.
So when Itachi learned in advance that his father wouldn't be at the headquarters today, he decided to come. He would try to speak with this teacher of his, even if that teacher had never shown the slightest interest in him.
While he waited quietly, the doors of the headquarters opened. Uchiha Kei emerged, walking alongside another clansman.
Itachi immediately lowered his head. He didn't look at his teacher's face, but the faint chill radiating from Kei's presence was enough to tell him everything.
Although Itachi didn't understand why this teacher disliked him, he kept those doubts buried deep inside.
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"Why are you here?" Kei frowned at the respectful young boy before him. "Does the clan leader know you came?"
"My father doesn't know, sensei," Itachi replied, still looking down. His voice held a trace of nervousness. "I came of my own accord. If I've disturbed you, I ask for your pardon."
Kei's frown deepened. The boy's manner was impeccable, but his words carried implications Kei didn't appreciate. Speaking like this in public essentially broadcasted their relationship to everyone nearby.
He suspected Itachi had done it deliberately.
Kei sighed. The boy had already gone this far; pretending ignorance now would be pointless.
"If you have questions, ask," Kei said, folding his arms across his chest. "I'll answer as best I can."
"Sensei," Itachi began, finally raising his head, "I've been thinking about something for a long time, but I can't figure it out. Why does war exist? Is hatred between people truly impossible to erase? And… about you and my father—"
"Stop." Kei cut him off. "Kawa, handle the assignments. I have something to discuss later. Itachi—come with me."
"Yes, Kei-sama." / "Yes, sensei."
Both Itachi and Uchiha Kawa replied in unison, then followed Kei's instructions.
---
Kei walked ahead in silence, with Itachi following. They made their way toward the forest beside the headquarters—a place Kei remembered well.
It was here that he had once ambushed Uchiha Yuu. From that battle, he'd even obtained data on Yuu's Mangekyō Sharingan. In a sense, this forest had been a place of fortune for him. And even now, simply being here stirred a faint, restrained killing intent in his heart.
"Here will do," Kei finally said, stopping. His voice carried a cold edge. "What do you want to know? Speak."
"Yes, sensei." Itachi sensed the change in Kei's tone but pressed on.
"Since my father entrusted you with my instruction, I haven't found the right time to visit you. But there are so many questions I hope you can answer. As a war hero—how do you view war?"
"War?" Kei glanced at him, then shook his head.
Did this boy really understand what war was?
Thinking was good—but thinking independently was even better.
Kei recalled that when Itachi was just seven, he'd already sensed the tension between the Uchiha clan and the village. More interestingly, he had started considering matters from outside the clan's perspective.
That was what people called a "Hokage's mindset"—not bound by clan or village lines. But Kei suspected that mindset wasn't truly Itachi's own, independent conclusion.
No—it was shaped by influence, and by a misunderstanding of a single crucial truth: the nature of war. The influence? Obvious—Hiruzen Sarutobi's kindly mask could be quite persuasive.
And the misunderstanding? Believing that war was simply the product of "hatred" and "mutual incomprehension."
"Yes, sensei," Itachi said firmly, sensing Kei's disdain. "I've been on the battlefield myself. Why must people fight? Is hatred between them truly impossible to overcome? Why must it always end in death—"
"Because war," Kei interrupted coldly, "has never been driven by hatred. Understand that, boy? Where did you even hear such nonsense?"
"It's… not?" Itachi was stunned. Kei's words shattered his assumptions.
His whole life, the teaching he'd heard—from family, from the village—framed war as the result of hatred toward other nations and their shinobi. Such rhetoric was widely accepted in Konoha.
Yet Kei had just dismissed it outright, leaving Itachi struggling to reconcile the contradiction. He'd seen with his own eyes the hatred other villages bore toward Konoha. How was he supposed to make sense of this?
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"Of course it's not," Kei said with a shake of his head. "You're just a child. Telling you the truth now is pointless. Go home. Your current position and perspective only allow you to see what's in front of you. What lies behind it all… is darker than you can imagine. That's probably why your father doesn't want you near me."
With that, Kei turned to leave without looking back.
Uchiha Fugaku's reason for keeping Itachi away was probably fear—fear that Kei might use his son as leverage, or instill dangerous ideas in him. Kei didn't particularly care what the real reason was. For now, it served well enough to dismiss the boy. In that sense, he almost felt like thanking Fugaku.
Still… if Itachi were older—if he were already the version molded by Hiruzen and Shisui—Kei might have considered killing him outright.
Kei was ruthless and steeped in darkness, but even he had certain lines he wouldn't cross.
Rather than solving a problem on the surface, it was better to address its root.
"Kei-sensei."
Uchiha Itachi suddenly stepped forward, blocking Uchiha Kei's path. He bowed deeply, his posture filled with sincerity.
"I hope you will grant me your guidance."
"Guidance?" Kei scoffed, shaking his head in disdain. "Even if I told you, what could a brat like you possibly understand?"
"Go home. You've already caused me enough trouble today. And while your father may have said I'm your teacher, it seems he's not so sure about that anymore." Kei's gaze sharpened. "And more importantly—you don't have my recognition."
"Please, sensei… teach me."
Itachi remained rooted in place, voice steady, eyes unwavering. His stubbornness was plain to see.
Kei tilted his head slightly. This personality—stoic, unyielding, yet prone to dangerous extremes—was likely one of the seeds that would one day shape Itachi's twisted nature… and indirectly, the downfall of the Uchiha clan.
Kei had no interest in wasting words with him. But the boy clearly wasn't going to give up.
Besides, wasn't Fugaku afraid that he might "fill Itachi's head with dangerous ideas"?
Kei suddenly stopped, a mocking smile curling his lips. "You really want to know?"
"Yes, sensei!" Itachi bent even lower, his voice firm.
"Don't call me 'sensei.' I told you, I haven't recognized you." Kei shook his head. "But fine. I'll tell you what war really is."
His tone dropped lower, colder.
"Remember this: war is nothing more than politics carried on by other means."
"Politics… continued?" Itachi froze. The words didn't fully make sense to him.
Kei didn't let him dwell on it.
"That's right. Wars arise from specific political circumstances, driven by political motives. Simply put—war is just one part of political interaction. It is never an independent phenomenon."
"Then… what is politics?" Itachi asked, still dazed. The foundation of his understanding seemed to be crumbling.
"Politics…" Kei turned his gaze toward the Hokage Building.
"It's the sphere of the ruling structure in which different power holders act to protect their own interests, forming specific relationships in the process.
In this village, the 'ruling structure' is the Hokage and the interest group around him. Other countries and villages have their own 'Kage'—and their ways of protecting and expanding their interests aren't much different."
Kei silently thanked the teacher from his previous life—being a liberal arts student, he'd learned political theory. He hadn't studied it deeply, but enough to see through many illusions in this world.
Itachi, however, had never touched these concepts. As Kei saw it, the boy was far too naive. His position and limited perspective blocked his view of the larger truth.
"So… war is something the village starts to gain benefits?" Itachi's sharp mind pieced together the thought.
"Close enough," Kei said with a shrug. "Hatred? That's just a tool to start a war.
They spread hatred to stir the army's fighting spirit, to unite the villagers under a common cause.
But at its core, war is about acquiring benefits. From ancient times to now—that has never changed."
"Then… what about wars we don't start—wars that come to us?"
"Those are counterattacks to protect the village's interests. And if you think a little darker—you could also see them as actions to protect one's own rule, one's own power."
Kei sighed. "Kid, you're too naive. Go home."
He turned away, his lips curling into a cold smile.
He had spoken words that perhaps should never have been said—planted a seed in the boy's heart. What kind of branches and thorns it might grow into in the future… that would be interesting to see.