After leaving the shrine and walking for a few minutes alone, Akira looked at a dark alley with nothing to be seen and opened his mouth.
"Come out", he said
After hearing this, a figure enveloped by darkness slowly stepped out the alley, the light of the full moon illuminating his face.
It was Uchiha Itachi, the most pitiful puppet of his era along with Uchiha Obito, deceived into slaughtering his entire family by a filthy sinner filled with greed, his trauma was used against him and while he longed for peace, his idea of who to protect was wrong in first place.
"As expected of you, even an experienced Anbu can't hide in front of your keen perception", Itachi said
Naturally, Akira's perception after ten years increased from one kilometer to a whopping 10 kilometers, unless one could hide their chakra, in other words the font of life within them, it'd be impossible to hide from him.
"What do you want?", Akira said with a cold voice
Since he was killed by him in the last simulation, although he knew Itachi couldn't be totally blamed, he still has lingering resentment in his heart, who wouldn't have?
"This...", Itachi didn't expect Akira's sudden hostility towards him, so he wasn't sure about what to say.
"Oh yeah, you may not be sure about why i'd be so mean towards you, after all you did nothing to gain enmity with me this time around", Akira said a sarcastic voice
"What do you mean?", Itachi said while looking confused
He only came here to discuss with Akira about what he could do to solve his Clan's conflict as he once did with Shisui, but when he started to talk to Akira he seemed to be hostile towards him for no reason, rendering him perplexed.
"I have a question for you my friend", Akira said with a faint smile and closed his eyes
"What is the village for you?", he continued
"The village is like a huge family for me, everyone works for and protects each other", Itachi answered honestly
"So what is your family for you?", Akira asked once again
"My family is...", Itachi was about to answer but stopped
If the village is a family for him, then what is his family for him? just the group of people that he has to live with?
"When you get an answer for my last question, you can come to me again", Akira said and left
Itachi stood there for a moment and also left after a few minutes.
The next day, Hokage Office.
"Is everything you said true?", Sarutobi Hiruzen tapped the arm of his chair with an contemplative expression.
"Yes, Hokage-sama", Itachi stood there while kneeling and answered
"Summon Uchiha Akira on my office for me", soon after, Hiruzen said to the Anbu next to him
...
"It's been a while...", Hiruzen said to Akira while smiling
Akira answered with silence, prompting the Hokage to stop beating around the bush, Hiruzen's face then turned serious.
"I want to hear your thoughts on the conflict about our village and your Clan", Hiruzen said
"It's impossible to be fixed in the current circumstances", Akira calmly replied
"So you mean that it could be fixed in different circumstances?", Hiruzen quickly grasped Akira's words meaning and replied with an inquiring expression
"Do you really want to know my opinion in order to solve the problem, or do you want to know how much i know in order to deal with me?", Akira asked honestly
Hiruzen's eyes suddenly showed a hint of surprise, but he smiled and answered, "Naturally to solve the issue"
'His stance changed, i guess i could try something then'
"The current conflict roots long ago, just a bit after Konoha's establishment", Akira said
Continuing, he said, "The differences between Hashirama and Madara gave root to an epic battle that changed the destiny of the ninja world, Senju Tobirama, worried about the power of the Uchiha thanks to Madara's power, became wary of them, and this wariness was passed to his disciples through the form of beliefs"
"Even though the Uchiha Clan chose to stay in Konoha, betray their most powerful leader and proved their loyalty in the most crucial moment, a thing that not many Clan's would dare to do, the village's higher-ups still stood wary of them"
"Eight years ago, in the disaster of the nine tails, instead of letting the most powerful Clan help in holding off the nine tails, the village chose to hold on to their grudges and this led to heavy unnecessary losses, but most importantly this exacerbated the conflict between the village and the Uchiha"
"Now, Danzo keeps inducing artificial conflicts between the village and our Clan, aggravating the issue even further, and our only choice is to fall into self doubt, rebellious thoughts are bound to happen and the problem is not easily solvable, but the issue ifself truly lies within the village, not the Uchiha", Akira finished speaking and looked down
The more Hiruzen heard, the more shocked he became at Akira's profound insight at the situation, his words cleared his mind and gave him the most knowledgeable picture of the current conflict, rendering him speechless.
"We are bound to be annihilated, i alredy accepted this destiny long ago... but I'm still fighting for a slight sliver of hope, who knows if we can still survive this cruel destiny?", Akira added his final words
"All the words he said are classified as S-Rank secrets of the village, do not let this be exposed", The Hokage came to his senses and ordered
Hiruzen looked at Akira's back with pity and took a while to absorb all that he said.
"What are the circumstances you first talked about?", Hiruzen asked
"If for example the Fourth Hokage was still the acting Hokage, the problem would be fixed by itself, or if the Fifth Hokage were elected that too would help alot", Akira said
"So you saying the problem lies within us, the higher-ups?", Sarutobi Hiruzen asked with a profound look in his expression
"Yes", Akira answered
Soon after, Akira was allowed to leave under the promise that he wouldn't reveal today's content to anyone.
Tired, Akira headed to Ichiraku Ramen's shop that was near in order to have a quick meal.
"Hello, what would you like to eat today?", Uncle Teuchi asked with a smile
"The same as last time", Akira asked
After a while, a bowl of hot ramen appeared and Akira ate slowly to make sure his tongue didn't burn.
'This place really comforts me when I'm feeling down, now i know why Naruto always comes here after feeling depressed, sure enough Uncle Teuchi is worth being called the strongest of the Otsotsuki Clan', Akira laughed inwardly
...