Chapter 53: Need Some Attendant Crows
ANBU is the watershed between elite ninjas and ordinary squads. Every ANBU member is one of Konoha's finest. Whether on the battlefield or behind enemy lines, ANBU can be called the pillar of a ninja village.
The threshold for Konoha's ANBU is very high. How high?
Might Guy couldn't get in even by pulling strings and using connections... His fiery enthusiasm was truly unsuitable for ANBU.
It could also be considered that Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura were rather fearful of the Youth Club contagiously expanding its membership...
The possibility of Uchiha clan members entering ANBU was even lower.
Since the founding of the village, despite the Uchiha's vast ninja population, only one Uchiha Kagami was ever taken as a disciple by Tobirama Senju and permitted to enter ANBU and the Hokage Guard Platoon.
Currently, the only one with a possibility of entering ANBU was Kagami's junior, Uchiha Shisui... And, due to the ANBU assault incident manufactured by a certain crow, Shisui's enlistment time had been temporarily postponed by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
After all, in this matter, Shisui preventing Kakashi from killing the crow resulted in the Konoha leadership's conflicts being exposed before the Uchiha clan head, forcing Hiruzen Sarutobi to make concessions to Fugaku.
Originally, he could have directly packed up the Uchiha clan and the Konoha Military Police Force and thrown them into a corner of Konoha. To make Fugaku keep the secret, the Third Hokage could only allow the Police Force to maintain its original state.
Actually, Uchiha Shisui's actions would soon be proven correct; his kindness to Kakashi, and even to all of Konoha, was practically life-saving...
"Dad, is it really that important for the Uchiha clan for Shisui to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan?"
Uchiha Itachi confidently stated that he would definitely be able to enter ANBU. After a brief moment of warmth between father and son, the topic inevitably returned to its origin.
"The Mangekyo Sharingan is the most powerful ocular jutsu in the ninja world..." Fugaku nodded, then immediately shook his head, "But... even with an additional pair of Mangekyo, it's hard to say if it can change the current situation."
"Then you can't..."
"Itachi, I was once like you..."
Fugaku interrupted his son, his gaze turning to the night sky, "If the clan members need to use such methods to exchange for power... to exchange for survival... it would be better to slowly fade away in history..."
"Dad..."
"Alright, the situation isn't that dire yet..." Fugaku softly comforted his son, "Besides, the Mangekyo Sharingan has significant flaws. I will stop them."
"Don't worry, I'm not that muddled yet... Moreover, Shisui is also a friend of our own family..."
"In short, Itachi, grow into a true man quickly! When that time comes, Dad will support all your ideas!"
The old father still had some things unsaid. The Mangekyo Sharingan of the Warring States period were all obtained by killing one's own friends...
He also hadn't mentioned to Itachi the dirty dealings between Konoha's leadership and the Uchiha clan. Those who once tried to change the Uchiha's ideas had long been crushed by Konoha's leadership and thousands of clan members...
When every clan member looked at him with eyes full of hope, when those Konoha leaders looked at him with unease and hostility, the pressure on Fugaku increased bit by bit...
He didn't have enough determination to change the status quo and could only pin his hopes on his son being able to change everything one day.
A father who needed to see his son succeed, facing a longed-for genius son, yet possessing the heart of a doting father.
The rift between father and son unknowingly vanished once more...
Late at night.
Uchiha Itachi tossed and turned, unable to close his eyes. The little boy, heavy with thoughts, looked at the crow sleeping with its wings spread in a very peculiar posture, pondering a question...
During summer, crows wouldn't be particularly prone to oversleeping, right?
A pair of small hands reached out, nudging the crow's body, "Kitahara... Wake up... Kitahara..."
"...Caw..."
Kitahara sleepily opened its eyes and saw Uchiha Itachi looking at it eagerly... Cub, when did you become so inconsiderate?
Seeing the crow awaken, the little boy's eyes became somewhat innocent, "I can't sleep..."
Kitahara: "Caw..."
You can't sleep... but I can! Is it that you got used to keeping watch in the wild and now you can't adapt back home?
"Kitahara, how long until I can join ANBU..."
"Shisui said he would join ANBU, but it's already been two years... I heard he's still in a ninja squad in the village..."
"Tonight, I feel like Dad hid many things, just like the ANBU he encountered. But he promised me he would tell me everything after I join ANBU..."
Uchiha Itachi seemed to have returned to the time of their first meeting, chattering endlessly to the crow whenever he had something on his mind.
The unreliable crow had once taught him many ninjutsu and had also taught him not to keep things bottled up inside.
The crow would also intermittently tell him many useless things, like how sleeping in again after waking up was the happiest thing in the world, lazing in bed was the most loving thing in the world, and napping was the most important thing in the world...
"...Caw..."
Kitahara squinted its eyes, helplessly expose the truth... Even joining ANBU wouldn't change anything.
It understood Uchiha Itachi's desire to share Fugaku's pressure, but facts had proven that the old father's predicament was a dead knot.
Unless...
Its crimson eyes suddenly lit up. Kitahara seemed to have thought of something, staring fixedly at Uchiha Itachi's eyes.
"Caw!"
Cub, become Hokage! Become the Uchiha's first Hokage! A ninja who doesn't want to become Hokage isn't a true ninja.
A person must have dreams... What if they come true!
"...Kitahara..." Uchiha Itachi's face gradually darkened, "I just want to know what Dad hid... At my age, no matter how you look at it, becoming Hokage is still a distant prospect!"
"Didn't the Sage of Mount Myoboku say you can know all the secrets of the ninja world? Kitahara, tell me first..."
"Caw..."
The crow desperately shook its head in refusal. Talking about those damn things would be endless; it wouldn't finish even by dawn... When Shisui returns to the village, can't you just ask him?
Besides, those so-called truths from Shisui's careless mouth are what the cub really needs to understand now. Its own dark history is too shocking; it's afraid of discouraging the cub...
After all, the Konoha Village Head can serve as Itachi's next goal... It can't just launch a map-wide taunt, saying the ninja world is weak and pitiful, and everything happening now is just... child's play?
Uchiha Itachi's mood was somewhat low. He recalled some of his friend's actions, "Wait until Shisui comes back..."
"Caw..."
The crow nodded and turned over, closing its eyes... Actually, there were still many unresolved matters. Given Itachi's age and strength, he would sooner or later become a target for everyone to win over.
Whether it was the arrogant and fallen Uchiha clan, or Danzo Shimura far away in the Land of Grass, or even the Third Hokage in the Hokage Building, they would all become stumbling blocks on the little boy's path of growth.
In any case, there would always be a solution. Then let's solve the Uchiha first... As a Great Sage, it needed some attendant crows...
As for Danzo, when he returned, he would find that there were still many black pots waiting for him in the village...
(End of this chapter)