Tōshirō looked at Itachi's surprised expression. "It's strange, isn't it? Why I would categorize Danzo like that."
Itachi nodded, asking for guidance like a student. "Yes."
"Are you familiar with the term 'black glove'?"
"Black glove?"
Tōshirō had an "I knew it" expression. "It's normal for you not to know at your age. In this world, there are some jobs that are not convenient to do in public because people are afraid of getting their hands dirty. At this time, the black glove was born. If they are ever exposed, they can shift all the blame and even use the excuse of being kept in the dark to gain sympathy and clear their name."
Itachi made a connection. His voice was low. "Root..."
"That's right. Root was an organization that was created for that purpose. Do you think Root would have thrived without the Third Hokage acting as a shield for Danzo?"
"..."
"Danzo has done so many things over the years. Who do you think benefits the most? It's Hiruzen Sarutobi."
Tōshirō spoke in a disdainful tone.
"I think when Danzo gave the order, Hiruzen Sarutobi was probably right there. For example, Danzo might have sternly said that he would kill our entire clan. At that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi would have put on a righteous face and said something like, 'Stop! The Uchiha clan are our comrades. I don't want to use this method. Please, Itachi, help me buy some time. There's still a chance to resolve this. I'll also do my best on my end,' and then... there would be no 'then'."
Itachi was shocked.
What Tōshirō said was very consistent with what happened during the meeting at that time. The dialogue was almost identical.
Tōshirō smiled. "From your expression, it seems I guessed correctly."
Itachi nodded. "It's almost exactly the same."
Tōshirō's mouth twitched, and he said with disdain, "Hmph, they're both putting on a show. It's truly shameful."
Itachi's expression was pained.
"You think the elders wanted to kill me to give the Daimyo a reasonable explanation, but I'm telling you, they've wanted to kill me for a long time. What I did just gave them a perfect excuse."
"Why... why go to such lengths?"
"Why?"
Tōshirō sneered. "Isn't it obvious?"
"It's because my surname is Uchiha. The village has been targeting the Uchiha for a long time. You can't deny that, can you?"
Itachi nodded.
Tōshirō continued to express his values. "Don't answer so decisively. In your heart, you probably think the Uchiha clan is narrow-minded and that they deserved to be treated this way, right?"
Itachi was stunned by the question. He pondered for a moment. The black and white of his eyes turned blood-red, and three tomoe appeared. He seemed to want to see through Tōshirō with his Sharingan.
The feeling Tōshirō gave him was that he knew him even better than he knew himself. It was unbelievable.
How long had they even known each other?
Tōshirō shrugged and chuckled. "Don't look at me like I'm a monster. The reason I know you so well is that we're the same kind of person. We both showed maturity far beyond our peers from a young age. We just took different paths."
Itachi looked at Tōshirō in confusion.
"I think you've already secretly investigated my past, right?"
Itachi nodded truthfully.
"Then you should also know what kind of person I used to be."
Itachi thought about the results of his investigation. He didn't know much at first, but after a deeper investigation, he realized that Tōshirō as a child was an anomaly. It was hard to connect that child with the person Tōshirō was now.
A hint of self-deprecation appeared on Tōshirō's face. "Back then, I deliberately did those things because I didn't want to be a ninja. Looking back now, it's truly an unspeakable past."
"Deliberately?"
Tōshirō teased, "Although it might sound like I'm bragging, I think I was a genius. If I had shown my talent from a young age, what do you think would have happened to me?"
"..."
"I think I would have been sent to the battlefield at a young age... An eagle that hasn't grown up is just a hatchling. My brain must have been smashed by a door to go to the battlefield so early. Isn't that just a death wish?"
Itachi: "..."
He felt that Tōshirō was talking about him. He was the one whose brain was smashed by a door. But he had no reason to refute him. After all, he almost died because of an accident back then.
Tōshirō sighed. "But there was nothing I could do. I was like a firefly in the dark. I shone so brightly, and my brilliance was too obvious to hide. I hid it for so long, but in the end, I was still discovered. Alas, those adults in the clan were so annoying..."
Itachi: "..."
Tōshirō's smile disappeared, and he became more serious. "Although there's a bit of sarcasm in what I said, it was this experience that gave me more time to think independently about this world. It prevented me from becoming like you, feeling a sense of superiority as a pawn and feeling good about yourself even when you're being used."
Itachi: "..."
Tōshirō clapped his hands, bringing the conversation back to the topic. "Alright, let's get back to the point. Where was I?"
He waved his finger and continued. "Oh, right, we were talking about being narrow-minded. This is something we need to talk about properly."
"Don't think that only the Uchiha clan has this. Everyone has it because it's human nature. Just like how a person's feelings for their own children are always stronger than for strangers."
Tōshirō retorted, "Am I right?"
Itachi nodded.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi probably subtly instilled in you a way of looking at things from the perspective of the village's overall interests."
Tōshirō said with a sarcastic smile, "Like he told you to look at problems from a Hokage's perspective."
Itachi was stunned.
He guessed it again.
When he was seven years old, the Third Hokage did say that about him: that he could look at problems from a Hokage's perspective.
"Judging by your expression, I must have been right again. No way, right?"
Tōshirō curled the corner of his mouth and sighed with a hint of boredom. "I really did get it right."
"How do you know so much?"
Because I've read the manga...
Tōshirō said flatly, "That's nothing. It's just a basic move for a politician."
"..."
"Itachi, do you know? The phrase 'look at problems from a Hokage's perspective' is actually a very sinister phrase."
"Sinister?"
Itachi was naive and didn't quite understand the phrase.
"It's a way of killing someone with flattery, you know?"
"Killing with flattery?"
Itachi looked surprised. This was the first time he had encountered this phrase, but the meaning was not hard to understand from the literal translation.
Tōshirō said, "I think when you heard that phrase, you must have felt a little smug inside. Although you might not have thought so yourself, you subconsciously felt that way. For no other reason than it's human nature."
Itachi: "..."
"The highest level of persuading someone is not to talk about a bunch of grand principles, but to guide the other person to come to a conclusion on their own. This way, that person will firmly believe that they are right, and even stubbornly believe that everyone else is wrong."
Tōshirō pointed at Itachi and said meaningfully, "And that's your situation right now, you know? Think about it, and see if what I'm saying is right."
Cold sweat dripped down Itachi's face. The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it was.
"If you still don't understand, then let me explain to you what it means to look at problems from a Hokage's perspective."
"To be honest, I'm getting a little hoarse from talking so much. If it weren't for the fact that you're Fugaku's and Mikoto's son, I wouldn't be saying all this to you. I would have killed you a long time ago."
Tōshirō's cold voice was filled with killing intent.
Itachi felt the temperature around him drop suddenly. He knew that Tōshirō was not joking. He was serious.
Tōshirō exhaled and put away his killing intent. "The phrase 'look at problems from a Hokage's perspective' translates to 'look at problems from the Hokage's interest'."
"Interest..."
Itachi muttered, chewing on the meaning of the words. Although only a few words were changed, the meaning of the entire phrase changed completely.
"As your elder, let me teach you a lesson. Remember it well."
"What is it?"
"When your enemy praises you, you'd better think about what stupid thing you've done."
Itachi silently repeated the words. He thought about it carefully, and it seemed that the elders always praised him and complimented him on his sense of justice and the greater good.
Tōshirō looked at him. "You've been fooled by the elders for so long. You've probably never looked at things from the Uchiha's perspective, have you?"
When he heard that, Itachi looked down in shame, ready to think about it.
Tōshirō interrupted him coldly. "Don't bother. I'll tell you directly. It will save time."
Itachi listened.
Tōshirō said, "The Uchiha and the Senju created the Leaf Village. Then, through hard work, we made this village prosperous. Logically, our clan should have gained honor and status, but what happened?"
"Not only did we not, but things got worse and worse. We were gradually viewed with strange looks by the villagers. The gap grew wider, and we were less and less recognized. The culprits behind this were the elders' intertwined schemes. The seemingly glorious Leaf Village police force was actually just security guards with no real power. Our clan had to do all the bad things, and we didn't get any of the benefits. It's not an exaggeration to say that we were dogs of the Leaf Village."
"No, that's not..."
Itachi's expression was uneasy, and his voice was abnormal.
At that moment, even he didn't know what he was denying. Perhaps it was because Tōshirō's words had hurt him so deeply that his subconscious was protecting him.
Otherwise, everything he had believed in for all these years would have been a joke, and he would have been living like a clown.
"No, we were dogs. And we were dogs that had to bring our own food."
Tōshirō's complaint was not just personal. It was the emotions that the Uchiha clan had suppressed for so many years. At this moment, he was not just representing himself, but the entire Uchiha clan.
"The Uchiha tried to solve the problem peacefully through politics, but was it useful?"
"It was completely useless. The political ladder was completely blocked off, and even discriminating against the Uchiha gradually became a political correctness. We felt a deep malice and even despair."
"We couldn't see any hope in this generation, and we couldn't see any hope for the future either. At this point, what could we do? We could only make a desperate struggle with force, not just for ourselves, but for our descendants. All we wanted was fairness."
"Perhaps you think that what we did would cause huge turmoil in the village and a lot of casualties, and that we lacked a bigger picture."
"A flag bearer can decide the fate of a chess piece for the victory of the bigger picture, but we are not chess pieces. We are living people with emotions. I am not willing to accept what is happening. We want to change."
"Now, you tell me, what is the bigger picture? Is the bigger picture that the Uchiha were born to be like this? To be subservient and passive, like trash?"
(End of Chapter)
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