Itachi fell silent for a moment upon hearing those words.
"A dear friend of mine once told me that while those who break the rules are scum, those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum," Kakashi said, looking at Itachi.
Itachi was visibly moved, yet he followed up with another question: "Kakashi-senpai... how do you define a 'comrade'?"
In Itachi's heart, the concept of a comrade was indeed somewhat blurred, or rather, he was lost. He didn't know how to draw that line. Was it the Uchiha Clan? Or was it something else?
Kakashi pondered this for a moment before replying, "The definition is different for everyone, isn't it? But in my view, the people you want to protect... those are your comrades."
"The people I want to protect..." Itachi murmured softly.
Is what I want to protect Konoha? The village? Or the Uchiha?
Shisui's ideology had been inherited from Kagami, and Itachi's ideology was, to a large extent, derived from Shisui. Thus, within the Uchiha Clan, they were "outliers," people who had transcended the narrow-mindedness of the clan. In everything they did, they preferred to view issues from the perspective of the village.
Itachi reflected for a long time. He slowly began to feel that what he wanted to protect was indeed the village. He wasn't entirely certain, but he felt a vague sense that this was the answer.
…
Meanwhile, in Konohagakure, at the Uchiha Compound.
Fugaku was sitting on his home's veranda, watching his wife water the lawn. He looked quite at peace. Suddenly, the sound of running footsteps echoed from nearby.
Fugaku turned to look and saw his youngest son, Sasuke, running toward him with his schoolbag on his back. However, upon seeing his father, Sasuke's expression turned slightly panicky. He slowed his pace, hesitated for a moment, and then walked over.
It was evident that Fugaku was somewhat strict with Sasuke. In Sasuke's memory, his father was always praising his older brother, while his mother told him that his father actually talked about him the most.
"Father," Sasuke greeted Fugaku.
Fugaku nodded and asked, "Home from school? How was your day?"
At the mention of this, Sasuke's expression relaxed. He said enthusiastically, "I ranked first in my class again!"
"Oh? Is that so? Keep working hard," Fugaku nodded calmly.
This caused Sasuke, who had been hoping for praise, to feel a bit crestfallen.
Fugaku hesitated for a moment before asking, "By the way... how is the child from the Lord Fourth's house doing?"
"Naruto?" Sasuke blinked, then said, "Despite being the son of the Fourth Hokage, he can't seem to learn anything. He's a total loser."
A flicker of emotion passed through Fugaku's eyes. It seemed the son of the Fourth had not yet mastered the power within his body.
In truth, Naruto was not living a very happy life at the moment. This wasn't due to material scarcity or environmental factors. In fact, as the son of the Fourth Hokage, Naruto was highly regarded in the village, and no one harbored ill will toward him.
This was a result of the village's public relations. In the original story, the Konoha leadership, whether it was Hiruzen or the upper echelons, had clearly made things difficult for Naruto. A perfectly fine son of a Hokage was turned into the "demon fox" by rumors, resulting in him being shunned by the village.
But now, Kushina was not dead, and Naruto was no orphan. Hiruzen often returned to visit the widow and child. Therefore, the village did not tarnish Naruto's reputation. There had been some bad rumors once, but they were quickly quelled.
Currently, the people of Konoha viewed Naruto as the son of the Fourth Hokage. Since the Fourth had sacrificed himself to protect the village, his son was naturally the "Son of a Hero." As for his status as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, some leaks had occurred recently, but public opinion was quickly guided toward the narrative that: "To protect the village, the Fourth Hokage was forced to seal the Nine-Tails within his newborn son before he died. Therefore, both father and son are heroes bearing the heavy burden of protecting Konoha."
This proved that Konoha had the capacity to protect Naruto through public opinion, but they simply chose not to in the original timeline. Considering Naruto's childhood experiences there, the fact that he didn't turn dark and wipe out Konoha is a testament to how incredibly kind-hearted he was!
In terms of public perception, environment, and material needs, Naruto's life was good. Yet, he was still unhappy. He felt immense psychological pressure; being the son of the Fourth Hokage while being a "loser" at school was deeply embarrassing.
He wasn't naturally brilliant, so his studies were only average. His theoretical test scores weren't as abysmal as they used to be, after all, the original Naruto struggled even to eat and drink, consuming expired milk and cup ramen. He was either having diarrhea or on his way to having it. Had he not inherited the powerful constitution of the Uzumaki Clan and the Nine-Tails' chakra, a normal kid would have died. It was impressive enough that he survived; demanding he study was a bit excessive.
Now that he was well-fed, his brain was the bottleneck. He wasn't smart, but his theoretical grades were decent, at least he wasn't among the failing students.
The problem was his mastery of ninjutsu and his own chakra. It was terrible. He couldn't even perform the Basic Three Jutsu, and his chakra was constantly in disarray.
Those privy to the secrets understood that this was because Naruto's chakra reserves were too massive, combined with the power of the Nine-Tails, making it extremely difficult for him to control his chakra. If you can't control your chakra, how can you use ninjutsu?
But these people knew it was just a phase. Once Naruto began to master the power within him, his strength would grow exponentially. Most people, however, including his classmates like Sasuke, didn't know the truth. In the eyes of the Academy students, Naruto, the son of the Fourth Hokage, was an embarrassment who couldn't even master the Basic Three.
Fugaku didn't go out of his way to dig for news on Naruto; he had just asked out of a passing thought. He said to Sasuke, "Even though you ranked first, don't be too arrogant. You must get along well with your classmates. Do you understand, Sasuke?"
Sasuke nodded. "I understand, Father."
Compared to Naruto's somewhat miserable state, Sasuke's life was exceptionally pleasant. Although his father was slightly strict, making him a little afraid at times, overall, he had a father and mother who loved him, and an older brother who doted on him. Born into the Uchiha, one of the top elite clans in the shinobi world, he had never lacked for anything.
More importantly, as the youngest son of the Clan Head, he was cherished within the clan. He was gifted, intelligent, and ranked first in both theoretical and practical exams, earning him the title of "prodigy." While other kids were still learning the Basic Three at school, Sasuke had already learned the Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu within the clan. At school, due to his grades, strength, and looks, he had a massive group of fangirls.
He was, thus far, the archetype of a "winner in life."
"Father, is onii-san back yet?" Sasuke asked after a thought.
Fugaku didn't speak, but Mikoto walked over, ruffled Sasuke's hair, and smiled. "Your brother is out on a mission and hasn't returned yet, but it should be soon."
"When he gets back, I'm going to tell him I got first place again," Sasuke said excitedly.
"Good," Mikoto said with a laugh.
Just then, an Uchiha clansman approached from a distance and said gravely, "Fugaku-sama, it is time for the meeting."
Fugaku's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, as if he were resistant to the matter. However, he didn't voice it. He simply waved his hand at the Uchiha shinobi and said, "I understand."
The shinobi nodded and turned to leave. Fugaku sighed, his expression a mix of helplessness and internal conflict. Mikoto reached out and took his hand, whispering, "Fugaku..."
Fugaku glanced at his wife, then at his son, and said, "Don't worry. It's fine."
With that, he stood up and walked out of the courtyard.
"Mom, what's wrong with Father?" Sasuke asked curiously.
Mikoto smiled and shook her head. "It's nothing. He just doesn't want to work; he's feeling a bit lazy."
"Hahaha! So Father has thoughts like that too? I thought it was just me," Sasuke said happily.
Mikoto smiled and nodded, but deep within her eyes, there was a trace of worry.
After the clan meeting ended, Fugaku returned home appearing very displeased, even skipping dinner. It seemed a suffocating atmosphere was descending upon the entire Uchiha Clan, making even the head of this prestigious family feel as though he were being crushed.