After leaving the prisoner camp, Setsuna saw an unexpected sight at the edge of the encampment-
Fugaku was squatting on the ground, playing with a boy who looked barely over a year old.
The child had black hair and black eyes, but his gaze was unnervingly calm… far from the confused look ordinary toddlers usually had.
Setsuna approached, raised a brow, and asked:
"Fugaku-senpai, this child is…?"
Fugaku looked up, and a rare softness appeared on his face:
"My eldest son, Uchiha Itachi."
Setsuna stared at the toddler for two seconds… then it suddenly hit him.
In the original work, the reason Uchiha Itachi hated war so deeply was that his father took him to the battlefield at age four.
This time was even more outrageous… he was being brought to war at just over one year old.
Seeing Setsuna silent, Fugaku assumed he was angry about bringing a toddler to the battlefield and hurried to explain:
"Commander Setsuna, although Itachi is young, he has strong opinions and talent far beyond his peers. As the clan leader of the Uchiha, I must nurture his leadership from an early age."
"-Leadership?" Setsuna's mouth twitched.
"You mean letting him witness blood and corpses on the battlefield at one year old?"
Fugaku was indifferent:
"The cruelty of the Ninja World is better recognized early."
Setsuna internally raged:
'No wonder Uchiha Itachi became so extreme later! The root is right here!'
Despite the overwhelming urge to complain, he didn't want to interfere with someone else's parenting. He forced a smile:
"Fugaku-senpai's parenting philosophy is… certainly unique."
After Setsuna left, several Uchiha Clan's members quickly gathered around.
"Clan head, why didn't you report the missing prisoners to the Commander?" One Uchiha Ninja whispered.
"Some prisoners are already spreading rumors that their companions were eaten by terrifying beasts."
Fugaku's eyes turned cold:
"Such trivial matters can be handled by ourselves."
"But what if-" The Ninja tried to argue.
"There is no 'what if'. Reporting it will only make the Commander question our competence." Fugaku said flatly.
"Don't forget… Commander Setsuna is highly likely to be the next Hokage. We must show him our worth."
Bringing Itachi, a child barely over one year old, was precisely to show Setsuna the Uchiha Clan's potential and loyalty.
For Konoha, he was willing to bring even his baby son onto the battlefield.
The clan members looked at each other, then fell silent.
…
Two weeks later, at the border of the Land of Rain
Under a gloomy, drizzling sky, Roshi, the Four-Tails' Jinchuriki, paced anxiously before a hidden cave entrance.
His red cloak was soaked with water, but he didn't seem to notice.
"Han, are you sure Konoha hasn't discovered our movements?"
This was the third time Roshi asked the question, his voice low.
Han didn't mock him… he too feared Setsuna deeply.
"Relax. Konoha shifted many troops to reinforce the Kirigakure front. Their western defense lines have shrunk by nearly thirty percent… tracking us won't be easy."
Roshi's tense brow relaxed a little.
"Is the fight with Kirigakure that intense?"
Han's voice, muffled through his helmet, was heavy:
"They say the Soragakure's Ninja, which was annihilated in the last great war, have reappeared and are cooperating with the Land of Water. Konoha is being overwhelmed. Even their commander, Shimura Danzo, faced the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and was nearly hacked to death."
Roshi was shocked.
"To escape alive from all seven… that bastard Danzo does have skill."
"He should thank Chiaki Setsuna for eliminating Kurosuki Raiga beforehand, otherwise he'd be a corpse." Han shook his head.
"Anyway, enough. Our mission is to ensure the destruction of the organization called 'Akatsuki'."
"I know." Roshi waved impatiently.
"I just didn't expect that one day we'd collaborate with that old fox Hanzo."
Two hours later, at the temporary negotiation site outside Amegakure.
Yahiko scanned the surroundings, his orange hair plastered wetly against his forehead.
"Hanzo-sama, why are there only representatives from Iwagakure and Amegakure? Weren't we supposed to mediate peace between the Land of Rain and the three great nations?"
Before he finished speaking, Konan was shoved forward like a hostage.
"What's going on? Konan should be at the base!" Yahiko shouted in shock.
"Because-" Hanzo's icy voice came from behind his mask,
"Today was never about peace."
In an instant, thousands of Amegakure's Ninjas emerged from all directions, surrounding the Akatsuki's members completely.
Yahiko stared at Han beside Hanzo, stunned:
"Why? We cooperated perfectly before!"
Han sighed, steam armor humming softly:
"I admire your ideals. But refusing to become tools for Iwagakure and dreaming about peace every day… too naive."
"Red hair. Kill Yahiko."
Hanzo pressed his kunai deeper against Konan's throat, his voice cold as iron.
"Or you all die."
"No, I can't do that!" Nagato struggled in agony.
"Yahiko! Nagato! Run! Don't worry about me!" Konan screamed.
Yahiko closed his eyes:
"Perhaps my dream really doesn't belong in this cruel world… Nagato, kill me."
Nagato trembled violently, trapped in a nightmare.
"Nagato!!!" Yahiko and Konan's voices overlapped, making Nagato scream as he clutched his head.
"What… what should I do?"
Just as the scene played out like a tragic drama, a blinding beam of light suddenly pierced through both Hanzo and Konan's chests!
"What!?" Hanzo staggered back, his face twisted in agony beneath the mask.
'Do they actually not care about the woman's life?'
'Were they acting on purpose!?'
Even Hanzo could no longer distinguish reality from deception.
In his moment of shock, a figure flashed like a ghost behind him-
A fist wrapped in a sonic boom smashed into his back.
Hanzo barely dodged, but his shoulder armor shattered.
He stared in horror at the sudden attacker.
Though it was their first meeting, the youth's appearance was already burned into his mind through countless drawings:
"You're Chiaki Setsuna?"
Yahiko caught the collapsing Konan.
Kirina rushed from the ranks:
"Let her bite my arm!"
But Konan no longer had the strength to bite. Blood poured endlessly from her mouth.
"Healer! Now!" Yahiko roared, but Akatsuki had no real Medical-Nin, and basic Healing Jutsu couldn't repair wounds like this.
No one cared about Akatsuki's crisis anymore.
Every Iwagakure and Amegakure's Ninjas stared fixedly at the black-haired young man at the center of the battlefield-
as if they were witnessing the last monster they ever wanted to face.