In the small town on the outskirts of Konoha Border.
Under the cover of night, inside a simple house, three ordinary warriors dozed off amidst the haze.
With a creak, the wooden door pushed open, revealing two adults and a child. The leaders, in particular, had bloodshot eyes, and the shorter one had clearly visible three comma-shaped tomoe, while the taller one, seemingly a leader of sorts, had one tomoe.
It was an unusual phenomenon. Normally, the leader would be the strongest, but this time it was different.
Uchiha Shisui, who was always cautious, raised his hand and swiftly threw three senbon needles, piercing the necks of the three sleeping warriors and sending them into a deep slumber. If anyone was pretending to sleep, they would also be discovered.
After completing these actions, Uchiha Shisui carefully surveyed his surroundings, particularly his Sharingan eyes with three tomoe, fixed on the eight children who were tied up one by one with grass ropes.
"Yoru-niisan, these three are the Yam mercenary group members. According to the intelligence, these eight children were collected by them to be sold in the Land of Iron," Shisui reported to Yoru.
Listening to Shisui's report, Uchiha Yoru nodded lightly, while Uchiha Itachi, who accompanied them, looked bewildered and uncertain.
At six years old, Uchiha Itachi hadn't attended the ninja academy yet. Although he had witnessed the brutality of war at the age of four, he was even more confused now.
As Uchiha Itachi looked at the scene before him, especially the children tied up like livestock with grass ropes, his hesitation grew. Seeing this, Shisui couldn't help but sigh and lower his head, saying in a solemn tone, "They were all abducted from the civilian population or found as orphans. They all have a special characteristic: they possess a body with chakra, which makes them highly sought after by various powers."
"Besides the Five Great Nations, there are some powerful countries that need to purchase children from the civilian population to maintain the number of ninja."
Those who can gather chakra are always a minority, especially in war-torn small countries. They naturally need to find fresh blood to join their ranks, and children are the best candidates.
After hearing Shisui's explanation, Uchiha Yoru sneered and said, "Shisui, It's not just the Five Great Nations; you should say that the Five Great Nations have the greatest demand."
With the danger resolved, Uchiha Yoru squatted in front of the fire and roasted the dry rations prepared by the three warriors. Meanwhile, Shisui shook his head helplessly after hearing this, walked over to Itachi, and gently stroked Itachi's young head, sighing, "Itachi, this world is cruel."
However, when Uchiha Itachi, who had completed everything, saw this group of children, his eyes quickly shifted. He immediately started forming hand seals in front of Itachi—Boar, Dog, Rooster, Monkey, Sheep.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
In an instant, a puff of white smoke appeared, revealing a brown snake. Uchiha Yoru, looking down with the snake as his messenger, pointed to the children in the distance and hoarsely said, "The children are over there. Remember to take these eight children to Orochimaru-sensei."
Seeing the greedy look in the snake's eyes, Uchiha Yoru coldly snorted and exuded a killing intent as he said, "If you dare to take even one bite, I will roast and eat you. You know the consequences!"
Under the threatening tone filled with killing intent, the large snake shrank its head in fear and reluctantly slithered towards the group of children. Itachi, witnessing this scene, couldn't believe his eyes. He finally asked the biggest question in his mind.
"Shisui-niisan, why is this mission about finding children who have chakra?"
Itachi was still full of confusion, especially as a child filled with uncertainty about the future. It was because of this confusion that, at such a young age, he went to the ninja academy, where he was indoctrinated by the so-called Will of Fire, filling the void in his mind.
Uchiha Yoru, naturally seeing Itachi's confusion, understood it deeply. It was clear that as the eldest son of the Uchiha clan leader, when was he brainwashed into the ideals of Konoha? Only at the ninja academy, after all, as Itachi's identity, he could not be easily approached by outsiders, let alone be influenced.
I have to say, in this regard, Uchiha was too careless, or perhaps the tactics of the Hokage series were too advanced, making it a case of the pot calling the kettle black. The Uchiha clan was too preoccupied with watching over the other Uchiha children, while the clan head, Fugaku, let his guard down, resulting in a negligent oversight of Uchiha Itachi. No one would have expected that the clan head's eldest son would actually turn against them.
After analyzing it in his mind repeatedly, Uchiha Yoru immediately decided that he must leave a deep impression on this naive child at this opportune moment. He absolutely couldn't let Itachi become a pawn like in the original story.
Uchiha You're gazed at the bonfire, and inside the house, only the snake remained with his greedy mouth wide open, slowly swallowing the few children, creating a sickening sound.
"Shisu, Itachi is not an ordinary child. He was brought to the battlefield by the clan head when he was only four years old, experiencing the brutality of war. He is truly a genius of the Uchiha."
After a series of praises, it was also to help the young Uchiha Itachi relax, considering that despite his early maturity, he was still just a six-year-old child at heart.
Sure enough, Itachi's furrowed brows relaxed, Uchiha Yoru smirked at this.
"The future of these children has already been determined. Either they become tools for other forces or they perish on this path. Don't think that the so-called neutral Land of Iron is great, and don't expect the Five Great Shinobi Villages to be all sunshine. Reality is cruel and indifferent like this."
"Yoru-niisan!" At this moment, Shisu's worried expression spoke up, seemingly suggesting that talking about these things with young Itachi might be too early.
However, upon witnessing this scene, Uchiha Itachi fiercely glared at Shisu, feeling frustrated. It's because of your existence that if you were concerned about the child's young age, why let him experience the battlefield at a young age? After personally experiencing the brutality of war, why didn't you teach this child the right values? Teaching someone halfway is to be blamed for him becoming a pawn.
In the original story, the young Uchiha Itachi even contemplated suicide. It is evident that experiencing war at such a young age without developing his own life philosophy and values resulted in a part of Itachi's soul being lost, which the Hokage series exploited. One can only say two words: Deserve it.
"The future of these children was always cruel. But if we don't show cruelty to other nations, that cruelty will fall on the heads of Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves."
Looking at Itachi's puzzled gaze, Uchiha Yoru revealed a smile. "Your calm expression truly befits a little adult who has been on the battlefield and is also worthy of being the clan head's eldest son."
After another round of praise, Uchiha Yoru changed the topic and looked at Uchiha Shisui, shaking his head. "After we return this time, make sure to tell Itachi about the customs and traditions of each country. If he wants to enjoy certain things, then naturally, he must also make certain sacrifices."
As the eldest son of the Uchiha clan head, when you enjoy all these honors, you also have to bear some important responsibilities.
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Notes:
(The phrase "making it a case of the pot calling the kettle black" is an idiom that means someone is criticizing or accusing another person for a fault or behavior that they themselves are guilty of. It implies hypocrisy or inconsistency in their actions or words.)
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