"Father, do you know what Sasuke was saying? He said only those Uchiha with Sharingan can be the strongest ninja." Itachi told his father, who was in his study room, reading something.
"Did he? He is correct, though." Fugaku said lightly.
"How could you say that?" Itachi was shocked. He didn't expect his father to say that.
"Itachi, we are the strongest clan in the world," Fugaku said, closing his book. He looked at Itachi with his Sharingan open. "Don't forget, we are the descendants of the Sage of the Six Paths. With Sharigan, we are a formidable adversary. Sasuke wasn't wrong; our ancestor, Madara Uchiha, was the strongest ninja in the world."
"So, should we become like Madara to become the strongest? Should we all kill our brothers and sisters so that we can have that power to launch a coup against the village?" Itachi shouted. Madara was considered taboo within the clan for several decades, but now clan members admire him. This was enough to tell him the mentality of the rest of the clan. They were foregone.
"Third Hokage and his advisors know about our planning for the coup. They ask about the Uchiha clan repeatedly. Shisui and I have been convincing them that we will not let that happen. If not for that, all of the clan would have been killed by now." Itachi warned Fugaku.
"Even though the fourth Hokage and Aunt Kushina died. The village is still strong. There is a third Hokage and Jiraya as the strongest wall to protect the village. There are also ANBU, root, and other ninja clans. Do you know how strong ANBU is and how dangerous Root is? Do you think we can fight against all of them and win? If we did win, then what? Do you think Konoha will remain after the fight?"
Fugaku remained silent without answering Itachi. He knew Itachi was correct.
"Don't try to include Sasuke in this, and don't try to install these dangerous ideas into Sasuke." Itachi left after saying that. He doesn't have the delusion the rest of the clan has. He does not want to see the demise of the Uchiha clan, but he knows the side he should choose for his and Sasuke's safety.
"Why do you act like this? Why don't you tell him the truth?" Mikoto asked as she entered the room.
"I have to act like this because of my duties, the duty of a father and the duty of the clan leader," Fugaku sighed. "I don't want to act this way. After years of fighting in the war, who doesn't want peace? Who doesn't want a happy and peaceful family?"
"But years of distrust and marginalization have caused the clan members to hate the village's top leadership. The recent Nine-Tails incident and the hostility from civilians have only increased their hatred. On top of that, Danzō has always tried to sow discord between the village and the clan."
"The Nine-Tails incident was like a gift from the gods for him. Minato's death shattered our only hope of a good relationship with the village's upper management. The Sharingan pattern in the Kyūbi's eye, and the masked man with one Sharingan, have convinced the Hokage's advisors that we were behind it. I've tried to speak with the Third Hokage, but he's too passive and too quick to succumb to the pressure of his friend."
"The clan members are becoming more and more extreme. I can't control them, so I can only go with the flow. If we win, Itachi and Sasuke will become the sons of the new Hokage. And if we lose, they will be spared because they were always on the village's side."
"Of course, this is nothing more than wishful thinking, both mine and the clan's. Even if we win, the village will be destroyed. The other clans will not submit to us, and the other hidden villages will not miss the chance to crush Konoha. The clan members can't see this, so all I can do is delay things until both we and the Hokage's side can find a solution."
"We have no choice but to continue like this," Fugaku concluded.
"I'm sorry to you and the children. I haven't been a good husband, a good father, or even a good clan leader," Fugaku said, holding Mikoto's hand.
"If the Nine-Tails incident hadn't happened, then with Minato's help, everything might have gone in the right direction. But after that day, everything began moving the wrong way. The Third isn't the same as he used to be—the Hyūga incident says everything about that. We can't place our hope in him. Our only hope died with many Uchiha on that terrible day."
For him, as the head of the Uchiha clan, that day was a nightmare he never imagined, yet one he was forced to live with in its aftermath.
*****
The rest of the morning was extremely quiet in the household of the Uchiha clan leader. They had breakfast like a normal family, but nobody talked. After having breakfast, Itachi offered to go academy together with Sasuke. Sasuke accepted it happily. Sasuke talked with Itachi the entire way with a big smile on his face. After they reached the academy, Itachi left Sasuke and met with Kakashi.
"I will keep watch on her. You can rest, Captain." Itachi said to Kakashi.
"Ok, you will keep a watch on her till the evening, then change shift with Shisui." Kakashi left after giving instructions to Itachi.
Itachi saw his target immediately. A photo of her was attached to the mission scroll, so he saw her immediately. He also looked at the other kids present in the class. He could see the clan heirs of the Hyuga, Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans. That's why many ninjas and ANBU were around the ninja academy protecting them silently.
He saw Sasuke enter the class and sit on the second bench. The target was sitting on the second last bench and talking with the heirs of Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi. But the Yamanaka heir was looking towards his brother from time to time. The Hyuga clan heir and an Aburame kid were sitting on the last bench on the other side.
Then he saw Naruto enter the class. He was energetic and had a smile on his face. While other kids seemed to look at him differently, he didn't mind and sat on the first bench. Seeing Naruto, Itachi became emotional. He was, after all, the son of the Fourth Hokage and Aunt Kushina, but he had to face a huge burden and hatred of the whole village for something he hadn't done. His father and mother died protecting the village, but he is receiving hate.
In some sense, he is like the Uchiha clan, but unlike the Uchiha clan, he can smile and accept it. Still, he wishes to become the next Hokage and protect the same village that hates him and wants him to die. Because of this, to some degree, he hates the villagers. He thinks the villagers are stupid and ungrateful, like the Uchiha clan. But, as a ninja of Konoha, he must protect this village and its villagers, no matter how stupid they might be.
The rest of the day was peaceful and passed quickly as he observed his brother. Sasuke would listen to the class carefully, while Sakura would listen carefully in some classes and sleep in some. Except, during the break, the kids from Sasuke's class and other classes talked badly about Sasuke, Naruto, and, strangely, Sakura too. However, when she stepped forward, all of them retreated and ran.
Shisui came before the academy ended and offered a break to Itachi, giving him a chance to spend more time with his brother. Itachi tried to refuse, but Shisui took his remaining shift at the end. According to him, he doesn't like to spend any more time in the Uchiha clan compound except to sleep and rest.