"Ah…"
Before Itachi could speak, a faint whimper suddenly came from the forest not far away.
His expression changed, and he immediately rushed over.
Akashō froze for a moment, pulled up his pants, and followed after him.
He wanted to see what kind of side quest he had triggered this time just by relieving himself out in the open.
After passing through the forest, what came into view was a ground littered with corpses—it seemed a small-scale battle had taken place not long ago.
The Uchiha child was holding the upper half of a Hidden Stone Village ninja in one hand, while using the other to pour water into the man's mouth.
"You'd better stay a little farther away from him," Akashō said, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed.
But Itachi acted as if he hadn't heard him and continued pouring water.
Only when the Hidden Stone Village ninja seemed to regain some consciousness did Itachi pull back the water flask.
But at that very moment, the ninja suddenly sprang up, grabbed a kunai, and stabbed toward Itachi's neck.
Akashō watched coldly, making no move.
"Slash!!!"
Without even turning his head, Itachi's kunai had already cut across the man's throat.
Blood sprayed as the ninja's body collapsed limply to the ground.
Akashō raised an eyebrow. Not bad, kid.
Even though the ninja was exhausted and injured, he still managed to strike first despite the sudden ambush.
So he'd been on guard the whole time?
Itachi glanced at the corpse, then looked toward Akashō, who stood unfazed in the distance.
"Who are you?"
"Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking someone else's name?"
Itachi stood up. "Uchiha Itachi."
"Akashō?"
Akashō turned his head in surprise. Not far behind him stood Uchiha Fugaku, looking at him in astonishment.
"Why are you here?" Fugaku asked as he walked over.
"Father, you know him?" Itachi asked, puzzled. His father was the clan head of the Uchiha and a renowned powerhouse—why would he know a child about his age?
"Father?"
Akashō was also confused. He randomly ran into a kid, and it turned out to be the Uchiha clan's crown prince?
For a moment, the three of them just stared at each other in silence.
…
Not long after, Akashō followed Fugaku to the Hidden Leaf Village camp on the Earth-Fire battlefield.
"I see," Fugaku nodded thoughtfully after hearing Akashō's story.
Akashō wasn't worried Fugaku might have ulterior motives. The man already knew about his connection with Kokushibo, yet hadn't told anyone else—clearly, he had no intention of doing so.
After all, the Uchiha clan had never gotten along with the Third Hokage. First they were tricked into going to the Wind-Fire battlefield, and just after finally ending that war with Jiraiya's support, they were sent here again as expendable labor on the Earth-Fire battlefield.
"In that case, it's actually not bad. Kokushibo and the others are very strong. All the major villages are wary of them now. Unless they go around stirring up trouble and exposing themselves, they won't be in danger."
Fugaku glanced at the somewhat silent Itachi. His previously gentle expression in front of Akashō suddenly turned stern.
"Still thinking about that ninja just now?"
Itachi came back to his senses and nodded.
"Why think so much about it? He repaid kindness with betrayal. What's wrong with killing him?"
Itachi glanced at Akashō and said quietly,
"I just don't understand… he was already on the verge of death. Why would he still try so desperately to kill someone?"
"Because this is a battlefield."
"Then why does there have to be war?"
"Because of interests."
"Is it really worth sacrificing so many lives for the sake of interests?"
Itachi stared straight at Akashō.
Akashō gave a faint smile. "What, you think it's wrong? That it's not worth it? That the world shouldn't be like this?"
"Yes."
"What you think doesn't matter—what matters is what others think. If you believe there's something wrong with this world, then go change it. The prerequisite is that you have the strength to do so."
"Only with strength will you have status—and only then will you have the power to negotiate with this world."
"And before you have that strength, your words won't even attract the attention of a single person."
Itachi stood there in a daze, then lowered his head.
"Strength… is it…"
Fugaku watched their conversation silently from the side, saying nothing.
That's right. Without strength, everything is nothing more than empty talk. Just like how he awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan after losing a close friend on the Wind-Fire battlefield—clearly a legendary power of the Uchiha, yet he still dared not reveal it easily due to his fear of the Third Hokage's faction.
Uchiha Fugaku, clan head of the Uchiha… heh. In truth, he was nothing more than a coward who dared to be angry but not to speak.
Itachi… you are a genius, with talent that can surpass mine. I hope that in the future, you'll have both the strength and the resolve to change the current state of the Uchiha clan.
"Oh, right—Akashō, what are you planning to do now? Want to stay here a few more days?"
Akashō shook his head.
"No need. I just came to mooch a good meal. I'll leave after dark."