The glow of the sunset gradually faded as moonlight spread across the land.
After training the entire afternoon, the Uchiha brothers sat together in the courtyard to enjoy the cool night air after finishing the delicious dinner their mother had personally prepared.
Sasuke reclined lazily while staring up at the moon with a satisfied expression. The afternoon's training had left him feeling fulfilled, and he was just about to excitedly chatter to his brother about it when he suddenly realized—
At so point, Itachi had already disappeared, leaving him alone beneath the moonlight.
anwhile, the departed Uchiha Itachi was currently inside his father's room.
In Itachi's mories, ever since his father had brought him back from the battlefield, Fugaku would occasionally do this.
During dinner, he would give Itachi subtle signals that neither his mother nor Sasuke could understand, summoning him afterward for private conversations.
"You encountered the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki today?"
Uchiha Fugaku—
The father of Itachi and Sasuke, as well as the head of the Uchiha clan.
He was naturally a stern and imposing man.
"Yes."
"He is one of the village's highest-priority subjects. Once you beco involved with him, all of your actions will attract Anbu surveillance."
Fugaku stared at his lowered-headed son and spoke in a deep voice.
"Our Uchiha clan already attracts enough attention within the village. You should minimize any actions that might draw the Hokage's notice."
"Yes."
"Good."
Fugaku's expression softened slightly after hearing Itachi's response.
"You've always been a sensible child, Itachi. I trust you."
"Because of the Sharingan, suspicion surrounding the Nine-Tails Incident has continuously weighed upon our clan."
"In other matters, it's manageable. But when it cos to anything involving the Nine-Tails, we must completely distance ourselves from it."
Then Fugaku paused briefly.
"And I have another task for you."
"A task?"
Itachi raised his head slightly.
Fugaku slowly looked at his son before speaking.
"Join the Anbu, Itachi."
The Anbu.
Every major shinobi village possessed a special force directly under the authority of its Kage, separate from the normal Genin, Chūnin, and Jōnin hierarchy.
In this era, shinobi primarily served as military power hired out by the villages for countless different tasks.
But the Anbu were different.
Joining the Anbu ant abandoning one's identity and na, becoming a blade hidden within darkness that obeyed only the village leadership.
A tool stripped of self.
Naturally, Itachi understood what the Anbu represented.
But he couldn't understand why his father wanted him to do this.
The Uchiha clan was Konoha's largest clan.
Whether in terms of strength or the village's history, that fact remained unchanged.
Yet despite their reputation, their actual standing within Konoha did not match their fa.
The Uchiha clan oversaw the village police force.
But that position itself was little more than a facade.
Because of the shinobi system, most actual security requests were handled through the mission assignnt structure operated by the Hokage's office.
The Uchiha police force mostly handled the role of "villains."
The unpleasant and thankless tasks often fell to the Uchiha clan, which only caused their relationships with the villagers to worsen over ti.
Under such circumstances, Fugaku—despite being clan head—always emphasized patience and restraint during clan etings, warning everyone not to stand out and create further trouble.
And yet now…
His father wanted him to join the Anbu?
"Itachi, you've always been intelligent. You should understand how passive our clan's current position has beco."
As though sensing what Itachi was thinking, Fugaku calmly explained.
"The war has ended. There will be a period of peace."
"The number of capable clan mbers will continue increasing."
"But while more mouths appear… the amount of available resources shrinks."
"Our Uchiha clan is feared by Konoha's leadership. Because of that, they will inevitably continue weakening the clan's influence within the village."
"The clearest example is how I've repeatedly submitted requests to increase the number of clan mbers allowed to participate in shinobi examinations…"
"And every request has been rejected."
Fugaku tapped the ground lightly with his finger.
"The police force is ultimately only an internal village duty. If our shinobi cannot leave the village and gain experience, then over ti dissatisfaction will inevitably grow."
"We need soone capable of learning what the people within the Hokage's office are truly thinking."
Spy.
The word instantly surfaced in Itachi's mind.
It was an incredibly common concept on the battlefield.
In many ways, it was practically synonymous with shinobi themselves.
His father wanted him to join the Anbu…
And secretly relay the Hokage's orders back to the clan?
Had the tension within the village already reached such a dangerous point?
At this mont, the thoughts occupying the mind of this boy—only four years older than Naruto—had already surpassed the concerns of ordinary children.
He understood what truly lay behind the task his father had entrusted to him.
Still, Itachi's expression did not change.
He simply replied calmly:
"...Understood."
At the sa ti, the topic he had originally intended to bring up—Naruto's remarkable shuriken skill—was quietly buried deep within his heart.
This boy, who had just accepted the clan's request to beco an Anbu spy, already found his thoughts consud by countless possibilities.
As a result, he failed to consider sothing else—
If Naruto truly was the heavily monitored Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki his father described…
Then how had he learned such shurikenjutsu?
After the conversation ended, Itachi respectfully bowed to his father before backing out of the room.
Throughout the entire process, he never once looked directly into Fugaku's eyes.
Although nothing showed on his face, Itachi felt a heavy pressure inside his chest.
He wanted to talk to soone.
Yet he also understood these matters could never be spoken aloud.
So he returned to the courtyard.
Upon seeing the small figure there, he instinctively called out:
"Sasuke, you—"
Itachi's voice abruptly stopped.
Sasuke had already fallen asleep face-first on the ground.
A gentle look appeared in Itachi's eyes.
Shaking his head slightly, he walked over and picked his younger brother up.
After glancing once at the bright moon overhead, he carried Sasuke back inside and tucked him into bed before quietly leaving the house once more.
Beside a roadside lamp, Itachi casually scratched the pole with a shuriken while no pedestrians noticed.
A signal.
After finishing that, he relaxed naturally and wandered through the streets like an ordinary child taking a walk after dinner.
When he reached a dark, empty alleyway, a familiar voice sounded behind him.
"You called for this urgently. What happened?"
Standing there with a faint smile was Uchiha Shisui—
Both ntor and friend to Itachi.
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