Ever since the conversation with Shisui Uchiha that day, Itachi Uchiha had been troubled by the words the other party had said.
"Mere shinobi cannot defeat those who rewrite the rules of the world."
At only five years old, he had not yet seen a career with greater prospects than being a shinobi, nor had he seen the scenery of the world outside Konoha. Because of that, he could not understand what difference there was between the "world rule makers" and "shinobi" Shisui Uchiha had spoken of.
This confusion lasted until one morning a week later.
That day, as usual, he carried the lunchbox his mother had prepared and went to the temporary hospital to visit his father, who would soon be discharged.
Then, when he arrived outside Fugaku Uchiha's ward and was about to push the door open, he heard Fugaku Uchiha's incredulous question from inside.
"What!? Elder Kaito, is what you said true?"
"Mm. Yuto, who participated in the early negotiations with Kirigakure, brought back news. He said Kirigakure added a new condition. They want to jointly organize an exchange program with Konoha. Every year, they would select some students from the Ninja Academy and send them to the other side's village for two to three months of exchange…
"That Mei Terumi specifically emphasized that she hoped Konoha would show sincerity and ensure that every batch of exchange students included members from Kekkei Genkai clans and secret technique clans. If Konoha can do that, Kirigakure will also have their Kekkei Genkai clans send exchange students of suitable age to Konoha to study."
"Have the people of Kirigakure gone insane?"
Fugaku Uchiha leaned back against the bed behind him. His brows furrowed so deeply that he looked as if he had suddenly aged into an old man in his seventies or eighties.
"This… this is practically a plan to openly send spies into another village and collect intelligence. Why do they think it could possibly be approved?"
"Exactly."
Uchiha Kaito smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"If they send exchange students, they will need accompanying teachers and guards to ensure their personal safety, right? With that many people accompanying them, inserting a few intelligence personnel would not even require blinking…"
"But… but the teachers and guards we send could also collect some intelligence on Kirigakure in return, right?"
Itachi Uchiha, who had been listening outside the door, hesitated for a moment. In the end, he could not help pushing the door open and entering. In a small voice, he asked the two people in the ward his question.
"If both sides can obtain intelligence on the other, logically speaking, our gains should be greater, right? After all, Kirigakure's environment is very closed off. It is harder to infiltrate intelligence personnel and gather information there… isn't it?"
"Oh, it's Itachi…"
Seeing Fugaku's eldest son capable of such thought at such a young age, Uchiha Kaito nodded with slight gratification.
But immediately afterward, he shook his finger at Itachi Uchiha and slowly said, "Your thinking would indeed have been correct in the past… but now, it is not so suitable."
"Why?"
"Because one of the Water Release techniques the current Mizukage of Kirigakure is best at is the Hidden Mist Technique, which comes with chakra sensory ability."
As one of the witnesses and victims of Rei Kaguya's mastery in the Hidden Mist Technique, Fugaku Uchiha spoke with lingering fear.
"In an environment like Kirigakure, where mist rises all year round, as long as he wants it, no movement from any infiltrator can escape his eyes."
"And if intelligence personnel cannot avoid the Mizukage's eyes, then what they see will only be what Kirigakure wants us to see."
Uchiha Kaito continued Fugaku's explanation.
"Only being able to see what the enemy wants you to see is even more dangerous than seeing nothing at all."
"Is… that so?"
Itachi Uchiha nodded thoughtfully.
He moved his short little legs and delivered the lunchbox he had brought into Fugaku Uchiha's hands. Then he looked at Uchiha Kaito and asked, "Then, Grandpa Kaito, do you think Kirigakure's condition has a chance of being accepted by Lord Hokage?"
"…The chance of it being accepted is not small."
As an old man of Konoha who had fully experienced two Hokage administrations, Uchiha Kaito was not very optimistic.
"If the aging Third Hokage makes this decision, then with Konoha suffering such severe damage, conservative as he is, he should agree to sacrifice some benefits in exchange for time to let Konoha rest and recover. And if the young Fourth Hokage makes the decision…"
"The person on Konoha's side who most wants to see Kirigakure and Rei Kaguya clearly should be Minato."
Fugaku Uchiha smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"Even knowing that the people sent to Kirigakure will most likely only see what Rei Kaguya wants them to see, Minato should still be very willing to let the trusted people he sends seriously and deeply understand the things Kirigakure displays."
"In other words… by next year at the latest, the first batch of people going to Kirigakure as exchange students will appear?"
Itachi Uchiha counted the corresponding time on his fingers while asking.
"Yes. And considering that this will be the first exchange program between both sides, Konoha, which is in the weaker position, will inevitably have to make concessions regarding the choice of exchange students. If things go badly, even the next heads of various clans may be added to the exchange student list."
Fugaku Uchiha shook his head and opened the sumptuous lunchbox his wife had carefully prepared for him.
At the same time, he looked somewhat thankfully at his eldest son, who was still too young to enter the Ninja Academy, and began considering whether to have Itachi enroll one year later to avoid this first exchange program.
Then Itachi Uchiha's relieved murmur nearly made him throw the lunchbox straight out of his hands.
"That's great. If it's next year, I can still make it in time to enroll…"
Similar to Fugaku Uchiha's loss of composure, Uchiha Kaito, who had also heard Itachi Uchiha's murmur, suddenly widened his eyes.
With a face full of disbelief, he bent down and pressed his hands on Itachi Uchiha's shoulders. The Sharingan in his eye sockets spun rapidly as he asked with extreme urgency, "Y-You said what!? Itachi, if I heard correctly, are you planning to enroll in the Ninja Academy before Konoha and Kirigakure's exchange student program begins!? Do you know that in order to attract enough attention to this exchange plan, Kirigakure will absolutely not let you go once you appear in their sight!?"
"I know. Of course I know."
Itachi Uchiha's answer was very calm, as if he were speaking about someone else.
He gently pulled away Uchiha Kaito's trembling hands, then looked at Fugaku Uchiha, whose brows were tightly furrowed, and calmly explained his thoughts.
"But if I miss this opportunity, I probably will not have another chance to visit Kirigakure without any worries… Father should understand very clearly that the Ninja Academy curriculum no longer holds any meaning for me. I also cannot forcibly remain in the Ninja Academy and waste my time just to participate in this exchange student plan."
"Itachi…"
Fugaku Uchiha understood his eldest son's talent very well.
But precisely because of that, he temporarily did not know how to refute Itachi Uchiha.
After a long silence, he finally asked quietly, "Is it because of Shisui, Itachi?"
"Yes, Father."
Itachi Uchiha nodded and said seriously, "That day, Shisui told me that Kirigakure would become the one to rewrite the rules of the shinobi world in the future. And if Konoha's shinobi cannot obtain a perspective beyond one village and one nation, then even if Konoha returns to its peak, it will still only be a ninja village that trains shinobi…"
"I want to know what exactly is different between Kirigakure and Konoha, a Kirigakure that could make him believe in it with such confidence, pride, and unwavering conviction."
"But Itachi, you are only five years old! Even next year, you will only be a six-year-old child!"
Uchiha Kaito could not help trying to dissuade him.
"Even if you see the Kirigakure that Shisui saw, your life experience and knowledge will not be enough to support you in understanding everything you see… Even a precocious child like Shisui, who is older and more mature than you, was brainwashed by the Mizukage into becoming his… his believer. We cannot risk losing you and let you appear before the Mizukage too!"
"Does Father think the same?"
Itachi Uchiha did not answer directly. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Fugaku Uchiha and waited for his response.
"I do not know."
In Fugaku Uchiha's mind, the image he had seen through Kūjikishiki—the image of the Fifth Hokage, Shisui Uchiha—flashed once again.
He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.
"Looking back on the future I saw from the perspective of the current situation, the scene related to Shisui instead seems to have gained a possibility that can be explained… If that is the case, then letting Itachi see the world outside Konoha earlier may not necessarily be a bad thing."
"Shisui? You mean…"
Uchiha Kaito was stunned at first.
Then, after realizing what Fugaku Uchiha meant, he could not help opening his mouth wide and stammering, "B-But, but, but… th-this, this, this has no path of retreat…"
"With Kirigakure's current strength and Rei Kaguya's age, do we truly need a path of retreat?"
Fugaku Uchiha laughed self-mockingly.
Then he raised his head, looked at the pale white ceiling above him, and murmured to Uchiha Kaito, "It is not necessarily only my eyes that can see the scenery of the future, Elder Kaito… At this very moment, perhaps other sufficiently intelligent people are also thinking about questions similar to ours."
"Are we truly leaving no way back, Fugaku?"
Uchiha Kaito took a deep breath and asked seriously.
"Aside from Itachi, we still have Sasuke, do we not?"
Fugaku Uchiha looked at Itachi Uchiha, whose expression had suddenly become serious, and sighed with a subtle expression.
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