In the central district of Konohagakure, within the Uchiha Clan Compound—
"Ren-senpai!"
"Brother Ren!"
"Ah, Little Ren is back! Want to come over for dinner tonight?"
…
As Uchiha Ren walked along the main road of the compound, he greeted the Uchiha clansmen passing by.
At this moment, the Uchiha—who were usually perceived as arrogant and aloof—looked no different from ordinary villagers of Konoha.
Or rather, the ones who appeared cold and prideful were mostly the Uchiha shinobi.
The ordinary civilians of the clan simply carried themselves with a bit more pride when interacting with other Konoha villagers.
But wasn't that only natural?
After all, they were members of a clan that had existed for thousands of years, and part of Konoha's most powerful noble clan.
Shouldn't they feel proud?
The same way ordinary villagers of Konoha felt proud when facing citizens from smaller nations, simply because they belonged to the strongest shinobi village in the world.
The Uchiha might be proud, but they had never used their status to bully the weak.
So what exactly had the Uchiha Clan done wrong?
With such thoughts passing through his mind, Ren politely declined several invitations from clansmen and continued toward the clan head's residence.
Ever since Ren had made a name for himself on the Kirigakure frontline, his popularity within the Uchiha Clan had skyrocketed.
In the past, only the clan's civilians treated him warmly.
Now even the Uchiha shinobi greeted him with the same enthusiasm.
That was simply how the Uchiha were.
If your strength was great enough, their pride would never be shown in front of you.
When Ren arrived at Uchiha Fugaku's home, he saw Uchiha Shisui sparring with Fugaku's eldest son—
Uchiha Itachi.
Meanwhile, Fugaku stood nearby watching.
This year, Itachi had just turned five.
Despite his young age, under Fugaku's deliberate training he had already witnessed the cruelty of war. His mind had matured quickly, and he had begun learning to think independently.
In terms of ability, although Itachi was only five, he was already far stronger than most children in the Ninja Academy.
Under Shisui's guidance, he could even exchange several rounds with him during training.
"Ren, you're here."
Although Fugaku appeared to be watching the sparring match, the lingering gloom between his brows and the distant look in his eyes made it clear that his thoughts were elsewhere.
When he saw Ren arrive, a flash of urgency appeared in his eyes.
Clearly, he had something important to discuss.
It seemed that something must have happened when he went to report to Hiruzen Sarutobi earlier.
"Mm."
Ren nodded in greeting but did not immediately ask about it.
Instead, he looked toward the training pair in the courtyard.
"Itachi's improved a lot. He probably already has the strength of a genin."
"Thank you for the compliment. Itachi still—"
"Don't misunderstand," Ren interrupted calmly.
"I wasn't praising him."
Fugaku froze.
He had instinctively felt proud hearing someone compliment his son and had been about to modestly deflect it.
But Ren's next sentence hit him like a slap.
Ren shook his head.
"I opposed you bringing Itachi to the battlefield from the very beginning."
"Look at him now. Does he still resemble a five-year-old child?"
Fugaku frowned.
"What's wrong with that?"
"As the son of the Uchiha Clan Head, he was never meant to grow up like ordinary children."
"Maturing early only means he can shoulder his responsibilities sooner."
Although Fugaku respected Ren greatly in many matters, when it came to raising children he firmly believed in his own methods.
And in this area, he felt that Ren—who was still single—was hardly qualified to lecture him.
Ren smirked slightly before continuing.
"A newborn child is like a blank sheet of paper."
"As they grow, the world gradually stains that paper with different colors."
"Some of those colors are good. Others are not."
"So the most important part of raising a child is teaching them judgment."
"They must learn to distinguish right from wrong so they don't stray onto the wrong path."
"But a child's capacity to understand the world is limited."
"Developing their judgment is a long process."
"Yet you shoved the darkest colors of the world into Itachi's mind before he even had the ability to judge for himself."
"That's nothing but forcing growth prematurely."
"Without learning the fundamentals first—without the knowledge needed for comparison—the judgment you've forced him to develop will inevitably go wrong."
"And because of that early bias, everything he learns and experiences afterward will also become distorted."
"If his worldview is wrong…"
"The more talented he is, the greater the disaster he may become."
In the original timeline, Uchiha Itachi had clearly grown up warped.
Fugaku brought him to the battlefield so he could witness the cruelty of war.
Then he told him: war is cruel and inevitable.
That planted a powerful idea in the young Itachi's mind—
War is terrible. War must be prevented.
The concept took root and grew.
Everything he later learned or experienced revolved around that belief.
Eventually, in order to prevent the conflict between the Uchiha Clan and the village from escalating into another war…
Itachi chose to raise his blade against his own clan.
It had to be said—
Itachi truly became something abnormal.
But the one who had shaped him into that person…
was Uchiha Fugaku himself.
"Is it really that serious?"
Confusion flickered across Fugaku's face.
He felt that Ren's words made sense.
He had indeed taken Itachi to the battlefield in hopes of cultivating his judgment.
Had it really been too early?
"If Itachi were an ordinary child, it wouldn't matter much," Ren replied.
"But he's extremely gifted."
"So yes—it's very serious."
He paused before adding calmly,
"Besides…"
"Early brilliance often burns out quickly."
"Those who feel too deeply seldom live long."
"And those with overwhelming talent are often the ones most easily destroyed by it."
"At such a young age, Itachi has already begun chakra training."
"The combined pressure on his body and mind will eventually crush him."
"He won't live long."
Fugaku: "???"
Fugaku's fists clenched tightly.
If anyone else had dared to curse his son like that, he would have already thrown a punch.
But the one saying it was Uchiha Ren.
Fugaku respected Ren's judgment greatly.
And more importantly, as the head of the Uchiha Clan, he had to maintain his composure.
Of course…
the most important reason was simple.
He wasn't Ren's opponent.
Fugaku knew very well—
If he attacked, Ren would definitely hit back.
So in the end…
he endured it.
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