Chapter 022: Sasuke’s Family — The Situation Is Dire

When Sasuke returned home, he was still fuming.

“Brother! Next, you’ll help me with special training!”

Seeing his elder brother Itachi, Sasuke rushed forward and threw himself at the teenager’s neck:

“I want to learn shuriken throwing! And taijutsu! And, and, it’d be best if you taught me some ninjutsu too…”

Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke’s elder brother, was helpless under his younger sibling’s relentless requests.

He had just finished an ANBU mission and returned home, his body utterly exhausted.

Along the way, his clan’s senior, Shisui Uchiha, had spoken at length with him, leaving him mentally drained as well.

At this moment, Itachi was truly worn out in both body and mind.

He had originally intended to confide in his father, hoping to ease his inner pressure and rest, but unexpectedly, his younger brother latched on.

Fortunately, someone came to his rescue.

“Sasuke!”

A stern voice rang out.

That shout made Sasuke unhappy, but he had to climb down from his brother, looking miserably in the direction the voice came from.

A middle-aged man emerged from the living room, the one who had called out.

He was Sasuke and Itachi’s father, and the current head of the Uchiha clan, Fugaku Uchiha.

Perhaps burdened by the fate of the clan, the weight of such a mission seemed too heavy for this man.

Fugaku Uchiha was the same age as Naruto’s father, Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage. Both had children in the same year—Sasuke and Naruto were born the same year.

Yet Fugaku looked much older than Minato, as if belonging to a different generation altogether.

“Sasuke, your brother just got home from work and is very tired. Let him rest for now,” Fugaku said to Sasuke. “After dinner, I’ll train with you.”

“Oh.”

Sasuke left his brother in disappointment.

He disliked his father’s instruction. Fugaku’s talent was not on par with Itachi’s, nor was his understanding of ninja techniques.

Fugaku taught Sasuke mechanically, and when Sasuke couldn’t grasp something, he would simply fall silent, forcing Sasuke to figure it out on his own. Every time he trained with his father, Sasuke felt clumsy and inadequate.

Itachi, on the other hand, could break things down patiently, explain everything clearly, and take care of Sasuke’s feelings, helping him avoid a sense of failure.

Watching Sasuke disappear into the depths of the house, Fugaku folded his arms and walked over to Itachi, sitting down beside his eldest son.

“How was work today?” Fugaku asked.

Itachi put away his shoes and lowered his head.

“ANBU operations have become much more frequent lately. The situation outside is changing rapidly, and the Intelligence Division can’t keep up, so ANBU has to move as well. Right now, the Third Hokage’s greatest headache is that Root is too active; they’ve crossed the line in many matters, and we have to find ways to rein them in.”

Fugaku nodded, though it was unclear if he truly listened or what conclusions he drew.

Itachi continued, “Root has recently set their sights on the Aburame clan. Apparently, there have been some changes among them. The whole clan has become extremely closed off—even more than before. They hardly take on missions, instead procuring large amounts of various materials and recruiting many craftsmen from the daimyo’s city. Jonin Shimura wants to know what the Aburame clan is up to.”

“The Aburame clan… Isn’t Danzo always fond of forcibly recruiting their talented young members? Are those youngsters no longer in contact with their clan?”

“No. Reportedly, Aburame Jonin declared publicly that he considers those who joined Root as dead, so presumably there’s no contact anymore.”

“What do you think the Aburame clan is planning with such a big move?”

“There’s too little information; I can’t be certain. That clan is at the village’s edge, and no one else wants to interact with them. Nobody knows what they’re doing.”

“Just make a guess. I know your guesses are usually spot on.”

“If it’s only speculation, I think the Aburame clan’s activity might be related to developing new jutsu or ninja tools. Their secret techniques may have made some breakthroughs. They’re only procuring materials, not food, so it’s unlikely to be a defection or rebellion.”

After a moment of silence, Fugaku skipped over this topic and moved to the next.

“What’s happened outside the village to make you all so tense?”

Itachi hesitated before replying, “It’s about the Land of Rice Fields. More precisely, it concerns Jonin Orochimaru and the organization he founded, Ryuzo-kai. Ryuzo-kai recruits and shelters many wandering ninja, including clans like the Yuki and Kaguya, those failed ninja clans expelled and wiped out by other villages. Orochimaru has also gathered quite a few scattered members of the Uzumaki clan.”

Fugaku was surprised. “Why would Orochimaru’s actions make the village so nervous? He’s just recruiting some ninja to strengthen his organization, isn’t he? Why does the Third Hokage care so much about Orochimaru?”

“I’m not sure. Perhaps it’s caution.” Itachi said, “Ryuzo-kai’s rise was inevitable. Suddenly, a powerful ninja faction emerges near the Land of Fire; it’s understandable that the Third Hokage would be wary.”

Fugaku snorted coldly. “Hmph. So, with a major threat at hand, they still refuse to trust us. They keep half of Konoha’s strength excluded from the core, suppressing us on a grand scale.”

Itachi fell silent. He remembered what Shisui Uchiha had said to him before he returned home—also about the village and the clan.

In the past, when Shisui spoke of such matters, Itachi merely found him annoying.

Back then, though Itachi worried about the way the village and clan interacted, he never agreed with Shisui’s way of thinking.

He also felt that Shisui seemed intent on pulling him to his side, trying to control his thoughts.

But as time passed and they spent more time together, Itachi realized that Shisui simply didn’t understand boundaries.

Shisui’s intentions were sincere and passionate; he truly wished for harmony between the clan and the village.

Even though Itachi believed he had his own perspective on the world, his own views on the relationship between clan and village, he had to admit that Shisui was right.

The relationship between the clan and the village was already at the brink of collapse; the fiercest conflict between them could erupt at any moment.

And the Uchiha clan was doomed to have no hope of victory.

Because the clan was alone, with no allies whatsoever.

A heavy silence hung between father and son, making the mood somber.

Until…

“Dinner’s ready!” Fugaku’s wife, also the mother of Itachi and Sasuke, Mikoto Uchiha, poked her head out from the kitchen and called, “Big and small, hurry up and wash your hands for dinner!”

Only then did the family leave their separate worlds, gathered around the table to enjoy their intimate time together.

“You mean, in your first practical lesson today, you lost to a classmate?” Lady Mikoto looked at Sasuke’s sulky little face, surprised.

“There are such talented students in your year? Someone actually beat you.”

Sasuke nodded gloomily, and Fugaku snorted.

“Must be this boy underestimated his classmate. He’s terribly arrogant, always thinking no one’s his match.”

Sasuke’s face puckered like a bitter melon. Mikoto smiled and patted his head.

“That’s perfectly normal. Our Uchiha clan has many geniuses; a little pride is no surprise. Weren’t you like that before you met Minato Namikaze?”

Mikoto mercilessly exposed Fugaku’s past.

Itachi, however, asked Sasuke, “Is that why you want me to help you train? Who was the classmate that beat you, what’s his name?”

“Uzumaki Naruto,” Sasuke mumbled. “His name is Uzumaki Naruto.”

“Naruto?” Fugaku and Mikoto were both stunned.

They never imagined they would hear that name from Sasuke’s lips.