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The bonfire crackled and popped, and across from it, Orochimaru had already swallowed the Eight Children into his belly, making his already barrel-thick body even thicker, but in a segmented and somewhat comical way.
After a puff of summoning smoke, Orochimaru disappeared, and the fact that nothing went wrong was the best thing that could have happened.
"By the way, Itachi, you're six this year, right? You should be going to the Ninja Academy, shouldn't you?"
Uchiha Yoru casually smiled and asked, as if he were asking someone about their exam results.
Uchiha Itachi, raised under the guidance of his family, was only six years old but was very polite. Despite the countless questions swirling in his mind, he nodded politely and replied, "Last year, I was training with the clan, so this year I have to go to the village's Ninja Academy. However, the term doesn't start until March."
After answering, Uchiha Itachi showed a hesitant look. He had too many questions, and his older brother Shisui seemed to treat him like a child. Therefore, he looked at the clan member who even his father respected.
"Why did we need those children for this mission?"
Finally, Uchiha Itachi voiced his confusion. Uchiha Yoru chuckled bitterly in response, "Why else? We couldn't find children outside the village, so naturally, there would be people inside the village who want to capture children from the Land of Fire or Konoha. It's a choice between our own and outsiders. What would you do if you were in my shoes?"
This question made Uchiha Itachi pause, and after a moment of hesitation, he softly said, "Naturally, protect our own."
"Haha, exactly. To prevent some people inside the village from targeting our own, we have to target outsiders."
At this point, when Uchiha Shisui seemed to want to persuade, Uchiha Yoru's face turned serious, and he said sternly, "Shisui, Itachi is the clan leader's eldest son! He carries the honor of the Uchiha clan. After enjoying the privileges and honors of being the clan leader's son, he is different from other children. From the moment he was born, he has to shoulder the burden of the clan."
"Heh, Shisui, don't talk about him being a child. Hatake Kakashi graduated at five and became a Chunin at six! A Chunin already leads a team in battle. Do you think the Uchiha are inferior to the Hatake clan?"
With this rhetorical question, Uchiha Shisui sighed and shook his head, "Big brother Yoru, that's not what I meant."
After saying this, he saw Uchiha Itachi's calm expression and sighed again, "Perhaps, but Itachi hasn't even gone to the Ninja Academy yet, let alone become a ninja."
Seeing Shisui still defending Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Yoru laughed and inwardly cursed him as an idiot. If he didn't teach these two early, one might end up committing suicide to escape, and the other might become a traitor. There would be no chance for regret then.
"It's precisely because Itachi is going to the Ninja Academy that there are things he won't learn there. That's why I need to teach him in advance."
Waving for Uchiha Itachi to sit by the bonfire, Itachi respectfully knelt beside it, while Shisui, with a bitter smile, also sat down but remained on guard.
Seeing the young Uchiha Itachi's innocent and confused eyes, Uchiha Yoru laughed and shook his head, "Itachi, you are fortunate. As the clan leader's son, you were born with things that many people strive their whole lives to achieve. But you also have to shoulder the responsibility of protecting the clan."
"Some classified missions can't be disclosed, but as the clan leader's son, you will face some darkness. So, I'll tell you, in this world, where there is light, there is also darkness, and sometimes the light itself is the darkness."
Seeing the hint of confusion in Uchiha Itachi's eyes, Uchiha Yoru was not discouraged but smiled and nodded. He knew he couldn't do it all at once. He needed to take it slowly. The Nine-Tails Incident had just passed, and Uchiha Shisui was not yet the hopeless Shisui the Body Flicker. Uchiha Itachi was still just a child.
If he didn't set these two straight now, he might as well bash his head against a wall. Many people who reincarnated into the Uchiha clan focused on intense training to change the Uchiha Clan Massacre, relying almost entirely on their superior strength. But the best way would be to make these two his allies first, as one good man needs three helpers.
"Human experimentation, which is officially banned in the ninja world, has always been ongoing, not just in Konoha but also in the Five Great Nations and some other ninja villages. As for the smaller ninja villages, it's not that they don't want to, but they lack the capability."
Human experimentation!
Hearing this term, Uchiha Itachi's eyes widened in surprise. Uchiha Yoru had never seen such a reaction from him before. Itachi recalled the Eight Children from earlier. Could the clan have been conducting human experiments all along?
Uchiha Yoru didn't know what Itachi was thinking, but it didn't matter. What he needed to do was taint Itachi's perception of the Hokage while his view was still a blank slate.
"The village has been secretly conducting human experiments. Now you know that after the Nine-Tails Incident, the clan has been isolated. To find outside help, we had to bet on Orochimaru-sensei."
When mentioning Orochimaru, Uchiha Yoru feigned an excited and reverent look, his face showing determination, "Itachi, you are young and can't yet understand the clan's current predicament, but I can tell you that Orochimaru-sensei will become the Fifth Hokage in no time. When that happens, the clan will return to the center of power in Konoha and regain the trust of the entire village."
At this moment, Uchiha Yoru was a fervent believer, placing all his hopes on the future Fifth Hokage. The highest form of defaming someone isn't direct slander but praising another, thereby setting up a flag and subtly highlighting the other's ugliness.
Seeing this, Shisui also showed a determined look and nodded solemnly, "Big brother Yoru, rest assured. When Orochimaru-sama becomes the Fifth Hokage, the clan will certainly return to Konoha."
He firmly believed this! Shisui silently affirmed in his heart. Uchiha Itachi, hearing such words for the first time, immediately conjured up the image of the future Fifth Hokage, Orochimaru, in his mind.
Since the clan's hope was placed on the future Fifth Hokage, Orochimaru, and since his father, Shisui, and the clan all believed this, it must be true.
Realizing all this, Uchiha Itachi's once confused eyes showed determination. Although he couldn't fully understand or experience everything, he knew that the Hokage was a great person. Since Orochimaru was the future Fifth Hokage, he must be a great Hokage.
Seeing Uchiha Itachi's determined eyes, Uchiha Yoru inwardly mused, hoping he hadn't overdone it. After all, Itachi was someone who could kill Orochimaru with a single glance, the nemesis of snakes. He didn't want Itachi to become a loyal supporter of Orochimaru.
Uchiha Yoru wasn't a brainwashing master, but he knew the Uchiha clan needed hope, and the Fifth Hokage, Orochimaru, was that hope. Before this, he needed to amplify the future Hokage's virtues in the eyes of Shisui and Itachi. After all, who could say he was wrong about praising the Hokage?
At the same time, using the glorious image of Orochimaru to undermine the remnants of the old era, was it too much? A little exaggeration was fine, especially with the future Hokage as a shining example.
The Hokage was hope, but what if this hope crumbled? Thinking about this, Uchiha Yoru smiled. He didn't know what would happen, but one thing was certain: the Hokage's once pristine and holy image was now tainted. He wanted to see how Konoha would continue to deceive the Uchiha clan's traitors.
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(End of Chapter)