After dinner, Itachi was with Sasuke, Mikoto was washing the dishes, and Tōshirō and Fugaku were having a secret conversation in the room.
"Tōshirō, I'll pick a time to hold a meeting at the Naka Shrine. It's about..."
"I understand," Tōshirō interrupted. "That's fine. During this time, I'll walk around and get a good understanding of the current situation in the village."
Fugaku understood Tōshirō's actions, as some things could only be better understood by seeing them in person. "Then I'll have Itachi accompany you during this time."
"Is that okay?"
"It's fine."
"..."
"What is it?"
Tōshirō glanced at him. "...Fugaku, you and Itachi are in a conflict, aren't you?"
Fugaku sighed. "As expected of you, you noticed so quickly."
Having Itachi accompany Tōshirō to understand the current situation of the village was secondary; the main reason was to let the two of them interact more so that Tōshirō could find a way to get Itachi's thoughts back on track.
Tōshirō raised his chin and smiled. "Tell me about it. I'm listening..."
Fugaku sighed again and told him about Itachi's situation.
After listening, Tōshirō understood the general situation, which was similar to the original story. "This is really complicated. It's connected to that matter."
Fugaku looked troubled. "I don't understand when Itachi and I started to drift apart and our relationship gradually worsened."
"Tell me about the event that triggered Itachi's Sharingan," Tōshirō said, intending to learn more about Fugaku's son.
Fugaku looked confused as to why Tōshirō was asking this question.
Tōshirō squinted his eyes, and his gaze became meaningful. "You should know what awakening the Sharingan means..."
Fugaku understood the hidden meaning in his words and said thoughtfully, "...I don't think it was a big deal for Itachi."
Tōshirō returned to his previous question. "Anyway, tell me the whole story from the beginning."
Fugaku thought back carefully and then told Tōshirō.
Just as Tōshirō expected, he sighed and said, "I knew it..."
Fugaku's expression was puzzled.
"I just heard from Mikoto that Itachi learned the Great Fireball Jutsu at the age of four just by watching it once. If that's true, then it's understandable that you would have had high expectations for him."
"Is there something wrong with that?"
"There's nothing wrong with that in itself, but you forgot that even a genius is still a child. When their minds are not mature, it's easy for them to go astray.
"Especially a genius like him, who tends to be arrogant. This isn't something they're born with, but rather, as they grow, they realize that their abilities far exceed those of their peers, and they gradually develop a style of only trusting themselves to solve everything perfectly, and then they become bad at communicating."
These views were new to Fugaku. Suddenly, some things he didn't understand in the past became clear.
Tōshirō continued, "If it were a normal genius, it would be fine since there are always limits, and they would soon realize that individual ability has its limits and get back on track.
"But Itachi is different. With his talent, it's safe to assume that he never experienced failure during his growth. Naturally, he became more and more arrogant. Of course, your personality, being bad at expressing yourself, also contributed to the problem."
After hearing all these explanations, Fugaku finally understood the real reason why he and his son had grown so distant. "It seems I was wrong..."
Seeing that Fugaku was listening carefully, Tōshirō felt a little relieved.
If anyone else had explained it to Fugaku, the effect would not have been so good, and it might not have even made a ripple.
This was something only someone like Tōshirō, who had left a deep impression on Fugaku since childhood, could do.
"I can't believe I still have to trouble you now." Fugaku gave a wry smile. "As expected, you should have been the one to inherit the position of clan leader."
Tōshirō hummed in agreement and didn't refuse.
Fugaku looked at him with surprise.
Tōshirō laughed in response. "Did you think I would refuse?"
Fugaku spoke his mind. "Yes."
"I can't always run away from my responsibilities..."
"In that case, in a few days, I'll announce that I'm giving the position of clan leader back to you at the Naka Shrine meeting. This position was supposed to be yours to begin with."
By giving the clan leader position to Tōshirō, Fugaku could live a more relaxed life and have more time to spend with his children and Mikoto.
"You can continue to be the clan leader for now. In the meantime, I have some personal business to take care of."
"What is it?"
"Revenge."
After saying those two words, Tōshirō's calm expression instantly turned gloomy.
Fugaku's pupils suddenly dilated.
Tōshirō sneered. "Why do you think I've become this way?"
Fugaku said in a deep voice, "What exactly happened to you?"
"The higher-ups framed me and wanted me to disappear from this world to achieve their despicable goals."
"Wh-what..."
Fugaku had suspected this in the past, but hearing Tōshirō admit it in person still shocked him.
"So many years have passed. I don't need to tell you what attitude the Konoha higher-ups have towards us, do I?" Tōshirō's voice was cold.
"...Can you tell me the cause and effect of it all?"
Tōshirō closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Alright, I'll tell you everything."
Fugaku listened with a solemn expression.
Tōshirō reminisced. "This story has to start with a kidnapping case."
"Kidnapping?"
"Do you remember the notorious case where the son of the Fire Daimyō was kidnapped and extorted by a bandit?"
"I think so. It seemed to have caused a big stir back then, and the Daimyō spent a lot of human and material resources to bring the criminal to justice."
Fugaku thought for a moment and asked in confusion, "But what does that have to do with you being an accomplice?"
Tōshirō curled his lips and gave a sinister sneer. "Heh... Of course, it's related, because... I was the one who planned the kidnapping of the Fire Daimyō's son."
Shock!
Fugaku's expression could only be described as shocked. "You're not kidding me, are you?"
Tōshirō gave a cold laugh and retorted, "Do you think I'm joking?"
Fugaku was stunned and swallowed. "I don't understand. Why would you do that?"
"Why? Of course, it was for revenge."
"Revenge?"
"Back then, to save my life, I chose to abandon a mission, which resulted in the death of the client. The Fire Daimyō wanted me to atone with my life, and the village was also planning to hand me over. It was only because Elder Uchiha spoke out against the majority that I was barely saved and given a light sentence. But I had to spend time in prison and was only just released."
With Tōshirō's reminder, Fugaku remembered that there was indeed such a thing. "So, you were thinking of revenge?"
"Exactly," Tōshirō said bluntly. "It was just a mission. Besides the fact that the payment was so low, I also look down on these people in high positions. I must be crazy to risk my life for these pieces of garbage."
"I see, so there was a connection like that. Wait a minute..."
Suddenly, as if something occurred to him, Fugaku's eyes widened. "How old were you then... That's a huge guts."
"It has nothing to do with guts. From beginning to end, I don't think I did anything wrong. I was just getting justice in my own way."
Fugaku remembered what Tōshirō had been doing for those six months. "So, you're saying that your travels were all a pretense to plan this kidnapping?"
"Exactly."
Fugaku's mouth twitched uncontrollably. "But what does that have to do with you disappearing for so long afterward?"
He realized that he might have underestimated Tōshirō all this time.
With such a vengeful personality, it was a good thing Tōshirō was on their side; otherwise, as an enemy, he would be a nightmare.
Tōshirō asked in return, "What do you think the village would think if they found out about this?"
Fugaku's eyes widened, and he was silent for a moment. "I think the village, considering your personality, would not have just let it go. And to ensure the stability of the village, secretly killing you would probably be the best way to explain it to the Fire Daimyō."
Tōshirō's face turned cold, and he growled in a tone that sounded like he was about to crush something. "I can understand the village doing such a thing for the sake of its reputation, but I don't understand why they had to involve Tsunade."
"Tōshirō..."
Fugaku called out his name, wanting to comfort him, but the words caught in his throat. The pain Tōshirō was feeling now was something an outsider like him couldn't understand.
Tōshirō squeezed a sarcastic laugh out of his throat. "But then I figured it out. It was because of my identity and my strength, which threatened the higher-ups. Those guys probably had been hoping I would die for a long time, they just never had a chance.
"Now that they had this opportunity in front of them, the higher-ups naturally had to seize this rare chance to kill me, even at the cost of Tsunade's life, because they knew my personality and that they couldn't kill me without using Tsunade as leverage."
Fugaku: ...
"They used that to plan an ambush for me. But they probably never dreamed that I would use a secret technique to survive and come back for revenge, filled with resentment and new power."
Tōshirō's green pupils turned red, a snowflake pattern appearing in them, and he clenched his fist in the air, making this declaration.
The air was filled with a murderous aura. Fugaku looked at the snowflake pattern in Tōshirō's eyes.
As a clan leader, unlike ordinary clan members, he knew the price of awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Tōshirō must have witnessed Tsunade's death with his own eyes, which was what caused him to awaken those eyes.
Fugaku had a bad feeling. "So, what are you going to do now..."
"You asked me how I was going to get fair treatment for the Uchiha clan, right?"
"I'll tell you clearly right now." Tōshirō raised his chin, and his piercing eyes, filled with a strong murderous intent, said word for word: "The higher-ups and their family members, I will kill them all, leaving none alive."
(End of Chapter)
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