By now, everyone else had already left, leaving only Sakura and Sasuke behind.
The two of them stood atop the Hokage Rock, looking out over Konohagakure—a village they could take in entirely with a single glance from this height. This was the very spot where Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha had stood when they first founded the village.
"Sakura..." Sasuke looked out at the familiar scenery before him. "Can you tell me the truth about the Uchiha clan?"
He had heard what Danzo Shimura said moments ago. Instead of exploding with rage on the spot, he had suppressed his anger deep down, intending to wait for Sakura to give him an explanation. Danzo had claimed that the Uchiha had plotted a coup, and that those stolen Sharingan were his war trophies. Danzo was utterly untrustworthy; Sasuke chose to believe Sakura instead. He would wait for her to tell him everything.
"Sasuke..." Sakura had long anticipated this day. Calming her racing thoughts, she spoke slowly. She had no intention of deceiving him; she chose to tell him the absolute truth. "The Uchiha attempted a coup d'état. That part is true."
Sasuke stared at the girl before him in sheer disbelief. The honorable Uchiha. The glorious Uchiha. The clan Sasuke had always been so fiercely proud of... were traitors?
"During the Night of the Nine-Tails, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, sacrificed his life," Sakura explained. "Because of that catastrophe, the Uchiha were thrust into the eye of the storm. After all, the Sharingan reflecting in the Nine-Tails' eyes was undeniable proof. Consequently, the village higher-ups relocated the Uchiha compound—which by all rights should have been in the heart of Konohagakure—to the very outskirts of the village. As co-founders of the village, the Uchiha were already deeply dissatisfied that four consecutive Hokage had come and gone without a single Uchiha holding the title. This forced relocation only caused their resentment to fester further."
Sasuke remained silent, listening quietly as Sakura continued.
"Over the years, Sasuke, did you ever actually look into the duties of the Konoha Military Police Force?"
Caught off guard by her question, Sasuke's expression stiffened slightly. Truth be told... he never had.
Noticing his awkwardness, Sakura didn't press the issue and simply continued. "The Police Force possessed legislative, judicial, enforcement, and arrest powers. It was an incredibly powerful department, but with great power came immense responsibility. The Uchiha held sway over a massive portion of everyday life in Konohagakure. But the Uchiha were never known for their people skills, let alone maintaining good public relations with the villagers. Friction became a frequent occurrence. Combined with their resentment toward the higher-ups and the lingering suspicion from the Night of the Nine-Tails... whispers of a coup d'état began to spread within the clan."
Hearing this, Sasuke pressed his lips into a thin, tight line.
"And that brings us to someone who cannot be left out of the story." Feeling a bit tired from standing, Sakura casually sat down on the ground, and Sasuke silently took a seat right beside her.
"Is it... Itachi Uchiha?" Sasuke asked after a long silence. He was no longer the child whose mind was consumed solely by blind vengeance. He had learned to think critically, and he knew that for Itachi to slaughter the entire Uchiha clan single-handedly was fundamentally impossible.
"Yes, it's him," Sakura nodded. Looking into his eyes, she knit her brows slightly. "Sasuke, do you actually know what the Sharingan is?"
"It's a Kekkei Genkai derived from Yin Release power," Sasuke answered almost instinctively, though he wondered why she was suddenly changing the subject.
"And what exactly is Yin Release power?" Sakura pressed.
"Spiritual energy," Sasuke replied.
"And if someone is overwhelmed by an excess of spiritual energy, what happens to them?"
"They'll—" Sasuke started to answer, but the realization hit him like a physical blow. He snapped his head up, staring at Sakura in absolute shock.
"They become unstable. A lunatic," Sakura said, confirming his horrific realization. "Itachi Uchiha was taken to the battlefield by your father, Fugaku Uchiha, when he was only four years old. He witnessed the full, unadulterated cruelty of war at an age when he shouldn't have. By age seven, the old man praised him for already thinking like a Hokage. By thirteen, his extraordinary talent earned him the rank of ANBU captain. On top of that, he awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan. To be honest, Itachi's genius as a shinobi was undeniable."
Sakura acknowledged his sheer capability first before continuing, "But that genius was strictly limited to being a tool for war. Awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan at such a young age caused his mind to twist into deep paranoia and extreme self-centeredness. He came to believe that everyone else was wrong, and that he alone held the right answers."
Hearing this, Sasuke's expression shifted uncomfortably.
"The situation with the Uchiha back then had never truly escalated to a point that required complete annihilation," Sakura said. "Even if the Uchiha had gone through with the coup and failed, what of it? At worst, the extremist faction would have been executed, while the peace-loving and innocent members of the clan would have survived."
Even now, Sakura fundamentally could not comprehend why Itachi had chosen such an extreme path.
"In reality, both your father, Fugaku Uchiha, and the old man were moderates. They genuinely wanted both sides to sit down and negotiate peacefully."
Sasuke's fists clenched tightly at her words.
"But instead, Itachi went behind their backs and approached Danzo Shimura."
Sasuke snapped his head up to look at Sakura, his eyes wide with absolute shock.
"He traded the lives of the entire Uchiha clan just to secure yours. Touching, isn't it?" A mocking smile played at the edge of Sakura's lips.
Seeing the sarcasm written all over her face, Sasuke swallowed back the sudden surge of emotion welling up in his chest.
"Sasuke," Sakura said softly, slowly standing up and gazing out over the village below. "Humans are defined by the community they belong to. The clothes on your back, the food you eat, the tools you use—they are all products of a collective society. You might think you earn these things through your own hard work, that they inherently belong to you. But could you single-handedly weave your own cloth, harvest your own food, forge your own weapons, grind your own spices, and sustain every single facet of your life?"
"Itachi Uchiha was entirely too arrogant. He was thirteen—an age defined by rebellion and delusions of grandeur. What do you think happens when an angsty, rebellious teenager wields enough absolute power to look down on the rest of the world? Instead of working with the old man, who was actively trying to broker peace between Konohagakure and the Uchiha, Itachi went straight to Danzo. Perhaps he thought the old man's diplomacy was moving too slowly, so he opted for a much faster, bloodier solution."
"Danzo cooperated by sealing off the Uchiha compound. Itachi wanted nothing in return except for your survival, while Danzo craved the Sharingan."
As Sakura spoke, Sasuke suddenly cut her off. "He couldn't have killed the entire clan by himself."
Sakura nodded grimly. "Exactly. That's where the second Mangekyo Sharingan came into play. Obito Uchiha."
Hearing this name, Sasuke's eyes flickered. He knew that man—the masked bastard who had ambushed Sakura on the battlefields of the Land of Frost, and the very reason Sasuke had awakened his own Mangekyo Sharingan.
"He wears a mask, plays mind games, and calls himself Madara Uchiha," Sakura scoffed. "And remarkably, Itachi bought it hook, line, and sinker. He didn't even stop to use his brain—how could someone as fiercely proud as Madara Uchiha ever hide behind a mask to conceal his identity?"
"On that night... Itachi Uchiha, Obito Uchiha, and Danzo Shimura pooled their efforts..."
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