Itachi didn't know how to respond.
The world is wrong, not me?
Is that something a normal person would say?
"The nobles of this world are nothing more than useless vermin who only eat and die. I don't want to risk my life for such garbage."
Tōshirō's face was frosty, and his furious voice was filled with a strong killing intent. "If I really did anything wrong, it was thinking too highly of Danzo. He didn't hesitate to use Tsunade to set a trap just to kill me."
At this point, Itachi understood that the conflict between Tōshirō and Danzo was irreconcilable. It was clear that a person with Tōshirō's personality would only be satisfied after killing Danzo. The only question was how he would kill him.
As if to confirm his suspicions, he asked, "What are you going to do next?"
"What am I going to do?"
Tōshirō curled his lip and laughed sinisterly. "What do you think I'm going to do?"
"..."
Before Itachi could answer, Tōshirō gave him a clear answer. "What else? An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Since the elders planned to kill all my clan members, it's only natural that I would do something in return."
Itachi's eyebrows furrowed slightly. From what Tōshirō was saying, it seemed he was planning to destroy all the elders and their clans, which was a bit extreme. "If you want revenge, you should only have to deal with Danzo, right? The order came from Danzo..."
"Itachi Uchiha..."
Tōshirō said his name and forcefully interrupted him from defending the elders.
Itachi stopped talking when he was interrupted.
Tōshirō was genuinely angry. "Honestly, if you didn't have the Sharingan, I'd seriously wonder if Fugaku got the wrong child at the hospital. Why are you always siding with those old men?"
"..."
Tōshirō held up his hands and said exasperatedly, "Okay, let's not talk about anything else. You're not naive enough to think that Hiruzen Sarutobi knows nothing and is as pure as a white lotus, are you?"
Itachi didn't actually think that, but his upbringing and education made it hard for him to believe it. He might even be subconsciously unwilling to believe it. Some things can only be understood after you've experienced them yourself.
Tōshirō sighed. "Seeing how naive you are, I guess Fugaku never gave you a political education."
"Or maybe Fugaku himself doesn't know, so he can't give you any guidance in that area."
Itachi: "..."
"Alright... Since you're Fugaku's son, I'll take on the responsibility of an elder and teach you a lesson. It will save you from being sold out while still feeling good about yourself. To be honest, I don't really want to say this. It's very difficult to convince people."
Tōshirō held his head. "But it can't be helped. Fugaku and Mikoto are like a younger brother and sister to me. In a way, you're my nephew. There are some things that I can turn a blind eye to, as long as a huge mistake hasn't been made. You should be grateful to your parents."
With that, Tōshirō sat down on the ground, rested his chin on his hand, and spoke in the tone of a teacher. "So, how should I tell you this? To be honest, Hiruzen Sarutobi has a ton of issues. I really don't know which one to choose. I could talk all night and still not repeat myself."
Tōshirō's sarcastic tone completely subverted Itachi's perception of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
He knew that Hiruzen Sarutobi was a little corrupt.
But he didn't expect that Hiruzen Sarutobi was such a problematic person in Tōshirō's eyes. Was he so problematic that Tōshirō couldn't even choose which issue to talk about?
Tōshirō stroked his chin and said to himself, "Oh, let's start with something small."
Itachi was all ears. He wanted to know what kind of person Hiruzen Sarutobi was in Tōshirō's eyes.
Tōshirō looked at Itachi. "I remember you went to the Ninja Academy for a year, right?"
Itachi nodded.
"Do you remember the introduction of the Third Hokage in the ninja textbook?"
Itachi had a very good memory. Even after so long, he remembered it clearly. He recited the content from the textbook word for word. "The Third Hokage is the strongest of all past Hokage and is respectfully called the 'Professor of Shinobi'..."
Tōshirō listened quietly to the introduction of Hiruzen Sarutobi and then asked a question. "I have a question. Can you answer it for me?"
Itachi looked confused. "What is it?"
"The First Hokage is known as the 'God of Shinobi'. Who is stronger, him or this 'Professor of Shinobi'?"
Itachi was taken aback and found that he couldn't answer. He had never really thought about this question.
The First Hokage's strength was universally recognized as the best without a doubt. Because of his existence, other villages kept to themselves and didn't dare to cause trouble. It was only after he passed away that other villages became restless and even started wars.
In comparison, there was one war after another during Hiruzen Sarutobi's time. There was no way he could be called the strongest Hokage.
Tōshirō smiled. "Can't answer, can you?"
Itachi: "..."
"It's simple. Hiruzen Sarutobi is not the strongest Hokage at all." Tōshirō scoffed. "That old man crowned himself the strongest Hokage."
"Crowned himself?"
"Do you think that old man wouldn't review an important thing like a ninja textbook before it was published? So, I'm saying that he crowned himself. At the very least, he approved of it."
Crack.
A piece of Itachi's image of Hiruzen Sarutobi shattered.
Tōshirō continued to ask, "Okay, let me ask you again. What was his purpose for doing this?"
Itachi couldn't answer. It couldn't be due to vanity, could it?
"It's simple. It's because of vanity..."
Itachi: "..."
"Of course, that's just a secondary reason. There's a more important reason."
"Another reason?"
"Yes. Besides what I've said, it's also to consolidate his rule over the village."
"Consolidate his rule?"
"It's simple. If you think about it for a bit, you'll understand. No matter when, worshiping the strong is a human instinct. Using this can effectively reduce the cost of control. Especially when it's ranked, it makes it even more obvious."
Hearing him say that, Itachi somewhat understood. "Especially with naive children, when they hear that the Third Hokage is the strongest of all time, they'll feel a sense of admiration after a comparison. They might even feel that living under the management of the strongest Hokage of all time is something to be proud of, right?"
"Oh? You actually understand it quite well?" Tōshirō teased. "It seems your brain isn't in your butt after all. You're just naive and easily fooled."
Itachi: "..."
Tōshirō scoffed, "The title of 'strongest Hokage' can only fool the naive people in the village. The enemy villages don't even care about that title, otherwise, they wouldn't have started a war with the Leaf Village, would they?"
"If the First Hokage, the strongest Hokage, was still alive, do you think these enemy villages would have dared to cause trouble and start a so-called Ninja World War?"
Itachi didn't want to admit it, but Tōshirō's words were reasonable and well-supported.
Tōshirō said, "If you want to refute me, you can find a reason to."
"No need." Itachi had enough judgment to know that.
Tōshirō continued, "That's just the first reason. Now, let me tell you the second reason."
Itachi pricked up his ears and listened carefully.
"Why do you think Naruto, the son of the Fourth Hokage, was treated so unfairly? In fact, strictly speaking, Naruto is a hero."
Uma had told Itachi about this before. It was to attract hatred and stabilize the public.
So, he told Tōshirō the original words.
Tōshirō nodded. "That's just what it looks like on the surface."
"The surface?"
"Yes. Before I answer this question properly, let me ask you a question first."
"Please do."
"If a child is lonely and despised by everyone around them, but then one person goes out of their way to care for them and defy everyone's opinions, and this person also has a high status, what do you think the child would think of this person?"
Orochimaru was a master of this, and this theory had lured countless people to his side.
Upon hearing this, Itachi thought of a person. "I think that child would be completely obedient to that person."
Tōshirō smiled. "Then I don't need to say anything more about Naruto, do I?"
Itachi exhaled.
"Conspiracies are not impressive," Tōshirō sighed. "What's truly impressive is an open conspiracy. Um..."
At this point, Tōshirō looked at Fugaku's naive son. "Open conspiracy, do you understand that term?"
"I do." Itachi's face darkened. He vaguely felt that in Tōshirō's eyes, he was an idiot.
Tōshirō was afraid he wouldn't understand and continued, "An open conspiracy is something where you know he's doing it for himself, but you have no reason to refute him. And Hiruzen Sarutobi is a master of this."
Itachi was silent, deep in thought.
Tōshirō continued, determined to completely change Itachi's perspective today. "I've already told you two reasons. Now, let me tell you the third one."
Itachi nodded and continued to listen.
Tōshirō asked, "What do you think of Danzo?"
"Danzo?"
Tōshirō continued, "I don't know what you think, but in my eyes, that guy is just a scapegoat."
"A... a scapegoat?"
Tōshirō's angle was so strange that Itachi was completely baffled. He had thought about what (End of Chapter)
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