Hearing Sasuke's question, Kakashi's expression instantly became complex.
The fingers holding 'Icha Icha Paradise' unconsciously tightened, as if he were pondering something.
Kakashi didn't answer immediately.
He remained silent for a long time, so long that Sasuke thought he wouldn't speak again.
Finally, in a deliberately slowed tone, he said, "At that time, both Sandaime and Yondaime Hokage were on the front lines holding off the Kyubi. The order was a decision made by other higher-ups in the village. It was a unified dispatch from the command center at the time."
An answer so official it couldn't be more official.
It could have been anyone. Or no one.
This answer might have been sufficient for an ordinary child.
But for Sasuke, this conversation meant something else entirely.
He didn't press Kakashi further. There was no point in doing so.
'During the village's most chaotic moment, the Uchiha Military Police Force, one of the village's strongest combat units, was sent to do logistics?'
'It made no sense. Unless... Konoha's higher-ups had never trusted the Uchiha Clan from the very beginning.'
'But why?'
'Weren't the Uchiha Clan the Konoha's Uchiha? Why would Konoha's higher-ups reject the Uchiha Clan like this?'
Seemingly reading Sasuke's thoughts, Kakashi slowly began to explain, "Sasuke, don't overthink it."
"When the higher-ups issued that order, it was because the Kyubi was being controlled by a Sharingan. It was normal for the Uchiha Clan to be under suspicion."
'Indeed, being isolated under such circumstances was understandable. It could be said it was for the overall safety of the village.'
'But in the end, the Uchiha clan probably never cleared themselves of the suspicion of rebellion.'
'Otherwise, it was inexplicable why, after that night, Konoha's higher-ups exiled the Uchiha Clan to the outskirts of the village during the post-war planning process.'
'This, however, only proved that the village higher-ups' suspicion of the Uchiha Clan wasn't spur-of-the-moment. This move was likely intended to isolate the Uchiha Clan.'
'Even the sole authority granted to the Uchiha Military Police Force was probably meant to ruin the Uchiha Clan's reputation within the village.'
Thinking this, Sasuke suddenly snapped back to reality. He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil inside.
He didn't look at Kakashi again, instead turning his gaze to the cold moon outside the window. His voice became unusually calm.
"I see."
He only said these two words, then fell completely silent.
Immediately after, he left, leaving a stunned Kakashi behind.
Seeing the complex expression on Sasuke's face, Kakashi instinctively wanted to chase after him. But after glancing at the empty ward, he ultimately chose to stay and look after Naruto.
His eye was filled with unresolved worry.
…
Stepping out of Konoha Hospital, Sasuke glanced back at the room he had just left, his feelings complicated.
'Faced with the injustice and oppression from Konoha's higher-ups, their dignity trampled, would the proud Uchiha Clan truly just swallow their grievances?'
'Was the reason for Uchiha Itachi's massacre of the clan really just as he said… to test his own capacity?'
Sasuke had a vague feeling there was some connection between the Kyubi Attack and the Uchiha Clan's massacre, but something was always missing, preventing him from connecting them.
The information Kakashi had revealed in the ward replayed in his mind.
He could sense that Kakashi wasn't lying, but he was definitely hiding information crucial to him.
"So annoying..."
Sasuke's instincts began to stir with irritation.
This agitation urged Sasuke to simply draw the sword hanging at his waist.
Since he is uneasy...
Then he'll just expend this inner agitation through training.
This was Sasuke's usual method for dealing with his emotions.
"Takemikazuchi..."
The moment his hand touched the sword's hilt, its appearance began to change. The blade, which was originally silver-white, turned a pale blue.
He raised his head, using the moonlight to identify the direction of the training grounds.
A very faint sound, like the tearing of space was heard, and Sasuke's figure blurred for an instant before vanishing from the spot.
…
The next morning.
Kakashi went to the Uchiha Clan's compound as usual to find Sasuke, planning to proceed with the next phase of Lightning Release Chakra Nature training.
But the room was empty, with no signs of anyone having been there.
"Such an impatient little brat."
Kakashi scratched his head helplessly, though he wasn't really surprised.
With Sasuke's personality, he had definitely gone to the training ground early.
He turned around, his figure flickering as he headed towards their usual Training Ground 3.
However, when he arrived at the training ground as usual, the scene before him froze him in his tracks.
His one visible eye widened sharply, his pupils contracting violently.
"What's this?"
Kakashi's voice was dry. He even wondered if he had fallen under some Genjutsu.
The Training Ground 3 before him could no longer be called a training ground.
It had become scorched earth.
Centered on the middle of the training ground, the earth looked as if it had been plowed through by some terrifying force.
The originally flat ground was covered with countless bottomless slash marks, crisscrossing each other.
The edges of each slash were exceptionally smooth, as if cut instantaneously by something impossibly sharp. They even retained a palpably unsettling aura of lightning.
The massive rocks and trees used for Ninjutsu practice had vanished without a trace, not even a speck of debris remaining.
The huge crater in the very center of the training ground was pitch black at its core. The surrounding earth had taken on a strange, glass-like texture, clearly having been subjected to unimaginable heat.
'Could it be... this was caused by Lightning Release?'
The thought flashed through Kakashi's mind but was immediately dismissed by himself.
'Impossible!'
'Even my Raikiri, at full power, would only blast a large hole in an enemy.'
The scene before him, like divine punishment, completely exceeded Kakashi's understanding of Ninjutsu's destructive potential.
This level of destruction was simply not achievable by human power.
Kakashi's heart sank. A sense of foreboding enveloped him.
'What had happened here?'
'Where was Sasuke? Had he encountered danger?'
Suppressing his shock and worry, he flickered forward, landing on the ravaged scorched earth, and began to investigate carefully.
Then, he saw him.
On the branch of a certain tree, Sasuke was lying quietly, his arms pillowing his head, fast asleep.
His clothes were slightly torn, but his breathing was even, his face carrying a rare tranquility.
Beneath the tree, two swords were planted upright in the ground, their blades reflecting a faint glow in the morning light.
Kakashi's footsteps halted instinctively.
He looked at this bizarre scene, an absurd thought abruptly rising from the depths of his heart.
'Could it be...'
'He did all this?'
Kakashi's Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty. His gaze fell back on that slender figure.
---
Check out My Patreon For 40+ Advanced Chapters:
Pat reon.com/IamPoorGuyToo