(2) 25: Chapter 25: Itachi’s Realization: I Want to Be Clan Leader!
(2) Kurenai looked first at Itsuki wrapped in bandages, then turned to look at Shisui, who was also wrapped in bandages.
Yep!
Confirmed!
True brothers!
Never mind the Uchiha—in all of Konoha, they were the only pair of Uchiha who had both lost their eyes at the exact same time.
Looking at the two of them, she couldn’t help but want to laugh for some reason.
*Get those eyes back in as soon as possible,* she thought, *or I’m going to have to hold back a burst of laughter every time you two show up together.* “Yo, *oniisan*, you came too!” Itsuki said with a beaming smile.
“How was Itachi talking nonsense?
Don’t tell me you think what I said didn’t make sense?
Point out where I went wrong and I’ll fix it!” Shisui “glared” at him.
A battle that intense had broken out in the hospital room right next door—how could he not know?
The Foundation ninja had been careless; when setting up the barrier, they had actually encompassed his room as well.
Mainly, Shisui hadn’t been easy in his mind about Itsuki, so he had been keeping an eye on the room all along.
The moment he noticed a barrier, he rushed straight in.
As he watched the fight unfold, he had wanted to intervene several times, but Itsuki’s strength caught him completely by surprise.
Comparing their abilities, he suddenly realized with a shock that without his noticing, his younger brother had already surpassed him.
At the very least, if he himself had faced twelve Foundation ninja, there was a high probability he would have been severely injured or even killed.
Unless he used Susanoo!
While Shisui was lost in thought, the battle ended, and Itsuki actually wanted to go back to sleep?
Did he have no idea how dangerous his situation was right now?
Having no choice, he had secretly followed Itsuki to protect him, which was how he ended up hearing what Itsuki said to Itachi.
Unlike Itachi, who had been left dazed and confused, Shisui felt his scalp go numb as he listened.
Itsuki was shaking the very core of their beliefs—their faith itself!
“Itsuki, don’t talk recklessly.
The Lord Hokage has his own considerations.
We are merely low-ranking ninja.
We don’t understand the Hokage’s thoughts, nor do we need to.
All we must do is obey orders.” “Wrong!” Itsuki suddenly bellowed.
The thunderous roar made Shisui flinch.
All the formidable aura he had just built up, along with his stern expression, vanished instantly.
*Bang!* Itsuki launched a kick, sending the table in front of him flying.
With a grim expression and clenched fists, he declared with righteous indignation, “Konoha is my home, and everyone must protect it!
Protecting Konoha is everyone’s responsibility!” “The Hokage is everyone’s Hokage, not the Hokage of a single person or a single clan!
Do not narrow your vision to just one clan!
First and foremost, we are ninja of Konoha!
Shisui, has the Lord Hokage never said such words to you?
Do you even truly understand what the Will of Fire is?” *Holy crap!* Shisui was struck dumb.
A phrase Itsuki had once uttered flashed through his mind: *Use magic to defeat magic.* He hadn’t understood what it meant back then.
Itsuki had clarified: *Think of it as using Ninjutsu to defeat Ninjutsu.* He had still been somewhat confused at the time.
Now, he finally understood.
What Itsuki was saying were the exact words the Lord Hokage had always preached to him.
Itsuki was using the Hokage’s own rhetoric to refute him.
And he couldn’t object—because objecting would mean opposing the Hokage himself!
Shisui was thoroughly thrown into confusion.
He had been backed into a corner.
How had this happened?
He felt bewildered.
Could the Will of Fire really be interpreted this way?
Itsuki looked at the silent Shisui, smiled slightly, and said, “If we cast aside narrow thinking and vision, and look at things from the perspective of the entire village, isn’t Itachi becoming Hokage the best possible choice?” “The Lord Hokage himself said that when Itachi was seven, he could already view problems from the perspective of a Hokage.
Isn’t that an acknowledgment of his potential?” “Taking all this into account, can you still call Itachi a low-ranking ninja?” Shisui’s lips trembled.
“I…
I…” “Therefore…” Itsuki raised a single finger and said, “Both we and the Will of Fire require Itachi to become Hokage.
Whoever stands in the way is a traitor to Konoha.” “You…
you…” “Alright, I understand!” Itachi suddenly spoke up.
“Itsuki-niisan, Shisui-niisan, I understand now.” “Good that you understand!” Itsuki looked at Itachi with gratification and said, “Good kid.
Remember this: as long as an Uchiha becomes Hokage, every single problem will be solved!” In his mind, he added two words: *…
my ass!* An Uchiha becoming Hokage was utterly impossible.
Hiruzen Sarutobi would never agree!
Danzo Shimura would never agree!
Neither would Homura Mitokado or Koharu Utatane.
As long as those four old bastards refused, getting an Uchiha to become Hokage was hardly any easier than preventing the Uchiha Clan’s total destruction.
Sarutobi, Shimura, Utatane, and Mitokado.
These four shinobi clans had originally been small clans, but after Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others came to power, they gradually grew into major clans in Konoha.
The Sarutobi clan in particular was a top-tier powerhouse, boasting three thousand Sarutobi troops within its ranks!
What did they eat?
What did they drink?
Where did their cultivation resources come from?
If the Uchiha—the number one clan—took power, wouldn’t they touch these four families’ slice of the pie?
Besides, the suppression of the Uchiha by Konoha’s four senior figures was something anyone with eyes could see.
Once an Uchiha became Hokage, wouldn’t they seek revenge?
Thus, these four clans stood as the primary obstacle to an Uchiha becoming Hokage.
Itsuki estimated that combined, they possessed at least seven thousand ninja!
And that was just right now.
By the time the main plot began, their numbers would swell dramatically.
Furthermore, Konoha’s resources were almost completely carved up; there was no room for any shinobi clan to make another step forward!
That was why in the original timeline, after the Third Hokage died, Elders Mitokado and Utatane wanted to push Jiraiya into office, and later Tsunade took the position.
Because whether it was Jiraiya or Tsunade, both were lone figures without a large clan behind them.
They wouldn’t touch the pie in anyone else’s hands.
The same logic applied to the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and the Sixth Hokage, Kakashi Hatake.
Were there really no other candidates suitable to be Hokage besides them?
How could that be?
Torifu Akimichi of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio was a senior veteran.
Shikaku Nara was more than qualified too!
However, as leaders of major ninja clans, they could never become Hokage.
What did any of this have to do with Itsuki?
Whether an Uchiha became Hokage had nothing to do with him either.
He had his own plans, which he was implementing step by step.
Getting Itachi Uchiha to compete for Hokage was merely a ploy to make the turmoil hit even harder.
The more chaotic things got, the easier it would be to carry out his plan!
“Become Hokage?” Itachi smiled slightly and said, “That’s a matter for later.
Right now, I have something more important to do.” “Hmm?” Even Itsuki was stunned by those words.
To say nothing of Shisui, who was already questioning his entire existence after Itsuki’s verbal barrage.
“Something more important?” “Yes!” Itachi said with resolute eyes.
“I want to become clan leader—the leader of the Uchiha Clan!” *Clack!* Shisui’s jaw dropped.
What did Itachi just say?
Had he misheard?
The current leader of the Uchiha Clan was Itachi’s father, Fugaku Uchiha.
He had been clan leader for quite some time.
Although he hadn’t achieved anything extraordinary during his tenure, he hadn’t made major mistakes either.
Overall, the Uchiha clan members were fairly satisfied with him.
Most importantly, his strength was sufficient!
Besides, he was only forty years old this year.
No, to be precise, the man hadn’t even celebrated his fortieth birthday yet—he was barely thirty-nine.
For a ninja, he was in the prime of his life.
Not to exaggerate, but continuing for another five or six years would be child’s play for him.
Was Itachi saying this now because he wanted to launch a rebellion against his own father?