Especially the Uchiha Clan—this kind of Kekkeigenkai Ninja Clan that uses negative emotions to awaken their eyes—makes it all the more necessary to give them emotional guidance.
Using negative emotions to awaken the eyes makes it far too easy for the darkness in one's heart to take advantage, and once you suddenly gain power that's too strong, an extreme and arrogant mentality naturally takes control.
This is a common problem shared by many Ninjas of the Uchiha Clan of Konoha.
"I've already started making arrangements. So, how is the investigation into the truth behind the Uchiha Clan's extermination going? Was it Uchiha Itachi, or was it Konoha that made the move?"
Ruri's tone hardened; even though she claimed not to care verbally, she was still brooding over it in her heart.
No matter how stupid the Uchiha Clan of Konoha might have been, they still carried Uchiha blood. To be wiped out by the hands of their own people—what the hell is that supposed to be?
So, to outsiders, the Uchiha extermination is already history, but in Ruri's view, that doesn't mean it's over.
She wants to know the whole truth of the Uchiha extermination.
"According to the intel provided by our informants in Konoha, most of it can be reasonably reconstructed. Among it, there are two things worth mentioning."
Hakushi recalled something and spoke.
"Which two things?"
"Kakashi only learned this recently as well. Because he became Minister of the Anbu, Danzo values him even more than before. So Kakashi took the opportunity to look through past records of Root operations. Around seven years ago, Root began to take an interest in Uchiha Itachi."
"Seven years ago? At that time, Uchiha Itachi should still have been in school, right?"
Ruri frowned.
She and Hakushi hadn't known about this. They had planted people inside the Anbu, but Root's screening methods were far too strict; it was basically impossible for someone who betrayed Danzo to appear.
Root not only needs to erase people's emotions, they also use Sealing Techniques for control.
Root and the Anbu are completely different departments, even if Root is nominally a branch of the Anbu.
"Strange as it is, there really is such a record inside Root. The person in charge was Aburame Ryuma of the Aburame Clan. After Orochimaru defected from Root back then, he served as Root's Deputy Commander and was Danzo's trusted right hand. Not only is this the result of Kakashi's investigation, but the Konoha Jonin Minazuki Yuzuki, who recently defected to us and used to be Uchiha Itachi's Instructor Jonin, also revealed that Root ordered him to monitor Uchiha Itachi."
One can imagine: things that had still been uncertain suddenly became clear all at once.
And it completely confirmed that Uchiha Itachi bore traces of having been used by Root.
This was probably related to his experiences from childhood—too much negative consciousness had taken root. Someone like that, once targeted by Danzo, this Dark Ninja, and turned into a tool, made for an all-too-natural development.
"And the second thing?"
"Three years ago, Uchiha Itachi took the Chunin Exams alone, and not long afterward, he was recruited into the Anbu by the Third Hokage."
"Taking the Chunin Exams solo doesn't conform to the standards of the Konoha Chunin Exams. Even joining the Anbu must be premised on team-based cooperation. Uchiha Itachi hadn't yet grown to the level where he didn't need teammates."
Ruri offered an objective assessment.
She had heard about this from her daughter Ichihime as well, but back then Uchiha Itachi was merely a relatively outstanding Ninja of the Uchiha Clan of Konoha, so she hadn't paid it much mind.
"Not only that, Kakashi recently found that after Uchiha Itachi joined the Anbu, there were signs of him being in contact with Root. So, judging from the indications before and after the Uchiha Clan's extermination, we can basically conclude that this was a plan long in the making by Danzo of Root. The Third Hokage's attitude was hesitant and indecisive; he indulged Danzo's actions and, at the critical moment, still prioritized 'balance'… Probably because he was too old and could no longer keep the Uchiha Clan with a mind for a coup under control."
So, the Uchiha extermination was the product of the Third Hokage's inaction.
Danzo exploited this gap, exploited the Third Hokage's weakness, exploited the darkness in Uchiha Itachi's heart, and completed the plan to exterminate the Uchiha.
The plan was tightly interlocked at every step.
If it hadn't been aimed at their own people, Hakushi himself would have slammed the table in admiration at such a plan for wiping out an enemy.
But cutting off one's own arm like this, Hakushi for a while didn't even know how to evaluate Danzo.
Should one say it was truly for Konoha's peace, or that it was to carry out the policies left behind by the Second Hokage?
But then again, was the will left by the Second Hokage really that he hoped the later Hokage would exterminate the Uchiha Clan?
That kind of thing can no longer be verified.
"Then what about Akatsuki? After Uchiha Itachi exterminated the clan, he immediately joined Akatsuki. Akatsuki's intel is a bit too well-informed, isn't it?"
Ruri was puzzled by this.
Unlike them, who were originally from Konoha, for Akatsuki to plant its own agents in Konoha was not such a simple matter.
Unless it was through the Orochimaru connection.
But according to Kakashi's report, Orochimaru's former subordinates had been behaving very honestly around the time of the Uchiha extermination, without any abnormal movements.
"It's simple. I had a hypothesis before. Either Akatsuki is secretly colluding with Danzo, or, like us, Akatsuki has also planted informants in Konoha. But the latter is less likely. Therefore, using Uchiha Itachi to wipe out the Uchiha was very likely a joint decision by Danzo and Akatsuki. They were colluding behind the scenes. That sort of cooperation may well have continued even after the Uchiha extermination."
"So in the end, they still died at the hands of their own people, huh?"
Ruri didn't care who was pulling the strings from behind the scenes. What she found a waste was that the Uchiha Clan, under the instigation of outsiders, had actually let one of their own annihilate the entire clan.