Uchiha Fugaku’s response caused Sasuke to completely deflate, unable to even maintain his fierce expression.
His father had already made a decision, making his desperate resistance suddenly feel weak and futile.
Once again, his father had chosen his brother over him.
A sense of self-loathing and reckless abandon suddenly welled up in Sasuke’s heart; it felt as if the final outcome no longer mattered to him at all.
However, Sakura felt that Uchiha Fugaku’s attitude was actually quite good.
The more he took ignoring Sasuke for granted, the more unforgettable the “explosion” Sakura had prepared would be for Sasuke.
Looking at Uchiha Fugaku from the perspective of the Uchiha Clan Leader or the Captain of the Konoha Military Police Force, he was undoubtedly a trustworthy and reliable figure who always kept his mission and responsibilities in mind.
But looking at him as a father, Uchiha Fugaku appeared to be quite a failure.
He took it for granted that Sasuke’s pursuit of Uchiha Itachi was correct, never considering that even if the two brothers seemed similar on the surface, their inner longings were different.
He staked everything on Uchiha Itachi and ignored Sasuke’s efforts… only realizing Sasuke’s brilliance after belatedly discovering the reality that Uchiha Itachi was no longer of one mind with the Uchiha Clan.
It seemed as if these “responsible” fathers felt that as long as they were fulfilling their “duties,” ignoring their children’s lives became excusable.
Sakumo Hatake, Minato Namikaze, Rasa, and Uchiha Fugaku… these fathers, bound by their identities as “Ninja,” were identical even in the way they failed.
Sakura could not understand their behavior.
If the “responsibility” they believed in was to protect the future and the things they held dear… then how did they define the pain their own children experienced because of their actions and thoughts?
Was it a necessary sacrifice?
Was it truly necessary to make such a useless sacrifice?
“Why are you not speaking?”
Uchiha Fugaku was waiting for Sakura’s answer, but she remained silent for a long time.
Feeling strange, he couldn’t help but ask the reason for her silence.
Sakura met Uchiha Fugaku’s gaze.
Since the head of the household requested her to speak, she would naturally comply.
She reined in her silent thoughts and opened her mouth, but what she said was not the story about Uchiha Itachi that Uchiha Fugaku wanted to hear.
“I don’t think I’ve told Uncle Fugaku yet why we came for such an abrupt visit today.”
Sakura shifted her gaze from Uchiha Fugaku to Sasuke, and before Uchiha Fugaku could press her, she directly gave the answer:
“The initial cause was a quarrel between Sasuke and Naruto at school today.”
After speaking, Sakura fell into a brief silence, waiting for Sasuke to respond to her gaze.
But Sasuke did not react.
He was currently in low spirits, perhaps even harboring endless resentment toward Sakura in his heart.
During the gap in Sakura’s silence, Uchiha Fugaku picked up the conversation.
Uchiha Fugaku’s gaze swept over Ino, Naruto, and Sakura as he said, “So you’ve come to hold me, the parent, accountable?”
“I assume Senior Itachi wouldn’t have caused you such trouble?”
“Itachi is a child who puts one’s mind at ease.”
Uchiha Fugaku didn’t know why Sakura was bringing up his eldest son regarding this matter, but he felt that his proud eldest son would never let such a thing happen.
“I see. You don’t actually want to talk to me about Itachi.”
Uchiha Fugaku now understood.
Sakura using his eldest son as a topic was merely a lead-in; the one she truly wanted to discuss with him had always been his younger son.
“What do you want to talk to me about?”
Uchiha Fugaku asked.
He didn’t ignore her thoughts because of her age, likely because the talent and thoughts Uchiha Itachi displayed in his childhood had taught him that “children” could also hold mature perspectives.
Yet he always ignored Sasuke.
Was it a case of the bystander seeing clearly while the person involved was blinded?
“Do you acknowledge Sasuke?”
“Sakura!”
Having had her true motive perceived by Uchiha Fugaku, Sakura didn’t beat around the bush and went straight to the point.
As soon as Sakura’s question was out, Sasuke finally couldn’t hold back again and spoke up to stop her.
He hadn’t expected Sakura to be so direct.
So direct that even he, who had already somewhat resigned himself to fate, found it unacceptable.
“Sasuke, this is what you’ve always wanted to know, isn’t it?”
Sakura spoke bluntly.
“I didn’t ask you to speak for me.”
“Of course you wouldn’t ask me, because you don’t dare to open your mouth and ask at all.”
The atmosphere between the two was tense and explosive.
This was the first time Ino had seen Sakura and Sasuke like this, and even Naruto sensed that something was wrong.
“What does it matter to you whether I dare to speak or not? What right do you, an outsider, have to interfere in this matter?”
“Sasuke!”
Sasuke’s words were becoming increasingly extreme.
Before he could lose control and say something irreversible in his agitation, Uchiha Fugaku, as his father, sternly shouted to stop him.
“Your behavior right now is far too rude!”
Uchiha Fugaku only showed a hint of his fatherly authority, yet it was enough to leave Sasuke breathless from the pressure.
Forced back into silence by his father, Sasuke would no longer be a source of noise in the conversation between Sakura and Uchiha Fugaku.
“As you can see, compared to Itachi, Sasuke still has a long way to go on the path of becoming a Ninja.”
Uchiha Fugaku answered Sakura’s question.
“I wonder if he will be able to become as excellent a Ninja as his brother in the future.”
A predictable answer.
If it were Uchiha Itachi, even if it concerned himself, he wouldn’t have shown such intense emotion like Sasuke just did; instead, he would have remained silent and expressionless.
Only then would one live up to the Uchiha name and be considered a qualified Ninja.
Sasuke is still far from it…
Uchiha Fugaku looked at his immature younger son and sighed inwardly. This story is hosted at g.com.
Then, he heard a heavy sigh.
That sigh came from Sakura.
“From the moment you returned until now, you’ve only spoken of Senior Itachi. Even now, while we are discussing Sasuke, you still insist on comparing Senior Itachi and Sasuke.”
The pink-haired girl broke through the heavy aura of authority surrounding the Uchiha Clan Leader and head of the Konoha Military Police Force, looking Uchiha Fugaku straight in the eye as she asked:
“Senior Itachi is Senior Itachi, and Sasuke is Sasuke. As the father of both, can you not even fulfill the basic responsibility of distinguishing your own sons?”
Sakura’s words were like thorns, their very purpose being to sting others.
“If, in your eyes, the only standard for acknowledging Sasuke is for him to become a second Senior Itachi, then Sasuke is better off without your acknowledgment.”
“When the day comes that Sasuke surpasses Senior Itachi, it will not be because he caught up to him, but because Sasuke was inherently stronger than Senior Itachi to begin with.”
Sakura spoke without reservation, one might even say she was being somewhat insolent.
She was defending Sasuke; compared to Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke was far superior in every aspect.
His father’s wordless expectations, Sasuke’s own pursuit, Uchiha Itachi forcing Sasuke onto the path of an Avenger on the night the Uchiha were massacred, and Uchiha Obito’s deception after the brothers’ final battle—all of these made Uchiha Itachi’s shadow over Sasuke grow stronger and stronger.
For a long time in the original story, Sasuke ceased to be himself, as the values imposed on him by countless others suppressed his own kind nature…
“Sasuke will not be a second Senior Itachi. He will always be himself, never anyone’s substitute.”
The Uchiha Clan would soon face a bloody end, and Sakura was still powerless to change that.
It was the result of decades of accumulated conflict between Konoha and the Uchiha, a scheme by the Konoha high-level Hawks led by Danzo Shimura, and a conspiracy against the Uchiha Clan by Black Zetsu and Uchiha Madara, with Uchiha Obito as the executor.
But at the very least…
Sakura was determined to pull Sasuke off the cruel path Uchiha Itachi had laid out for him!
Sakura already knew the final chapter of that Avenger’s fate; the hardships of that path only led to Sasuke’s ultimate failure.
That was why Sakura had ventured deep into the Uchiha Compound and, after the interlude of meeting Naruto and reflecting on the inseparable destiny between Ashura and Indra, decisively pulled Naruto into the fray as well.
Her own strength was limited, but Naruto’s was not.
Naruto possessed not only a powerful, heart-stirring strength but also literal power that would be unparalleled in the entire Ninja World in the future.
Sakura intended to start while the three of them were still at the Ninja Academy, gradually consolidating the bonds of Team 7 to an unbreakable degree.
She glanced sideways at the restless yellow figure beside her.
This fellow, whose reactions were always a beat slow, had probably finally begun to piece together an understanding of Sasuke’s suffering at home.
And most of the time, he was the outspoken type.
Over to him.
Sakura could only start the “Talk-no-Jutsu”; when it came to real talking, she had to leave it to the professional with a proven track record.
“Sakura is absolutely right!”
Finally unable to endure it any longer, Naruto sprang up from his seat and shouted angrily at Uchiha Fugaku:
“You guy, Itachi this, Itachi that—you’ve never once truly looked at Sasuke’s hard work and dedication!”
Naruto completely forgot that “this guy” was Sasuke’s father and “Itachi” was Sasuke’s brother.
He could only think of standing up for Sasuke, furious that everything Sasuke did was belittled and ignored by those closest to him.
To put in all one’s effort and yet receive no recognition, or perhaps even be met with denial—Naruto understood that specific pain in Sasuke’s heart.