Chapter 74: Akimichi Guaitai: Are Itachi Idiots?

Looking at the utterly dejected Shisui, Itachi’s heart was deeply complicated.

Even…

He could hardly believe his own eyes—why had all these ninja clans defected to the Uchiha?

He couldn’t understand it!

Finally.

He suddenly spotted a fat man and walked straight up to him.

“Guaitai?”

“Itachi?”

Akimichi Guaitai, on his way home, froze upon seeing Itachi blocking his path.

Yes!

The two had once been classmates, though Itachi had graduated earlier.

After graduating from ninja academy, since his cohort couldn’t form a Pig-Deer-Butterfly team, he was reassigned to assist his clan.

“Yeah, Guaitai.”

“Can Itachi tell me why Itachi joined the Uchiha?”

“I really don’t understand!”

Uchiha Itachi asked, puzzled.

Though he had been aloof during academy days, he was actually sharp-witted and knew everyone in his class.

So.

Seeing a classmate, he naturally asked outright.

And as for this—

Akimichi Guaitai looked at the Uchiha before him; though he didn’t fully know Itachi’s situation, his father Nara Shikaku held high rank and often mentioned basic village affairs at clan meetings.

The Pig-Deer-Butterfly clans were closely allied, so he naturally knew a little.

Therefore,

Upon hearing Itachi’s question, his eyes instantly turned strange.

Thinking that the Uchiha were now allies, he cleared his throat and said carefully: “The rumors the Uchiha have been spreading around the village lately—Itachi’ve heard some of them, right, Itachi?”

“Aren’t those just rumors?” Itachi asked, innocent.

And yet—

Akimichi Guaitai instantly froze, staring at him as if he were a national treasure panda: “Itachi actually think those are rumors?”

“Aren’t they?” Itachi countered.

Akimichi Guaitai’s lips twitched.

But finally,

He let out a helpless sigh and said reluctantly: “Itachi, your strength is formidable, but Itachi’re terrifyingly naive—those rumors are absolutely true!”

“Those events are practically an open secret; even without the Uchiha spreading rumors, every ninja clan already knows.”

“But the village’s situation is too complex—we clans stay out of it to protect ourselves.”

“Since we’ve defected to the Uchiha, I won’t lie to Itachi—the village is targeting the Uchiha. While the Second Hokage’s influence plays a role, the main reason is that the Uchiha are too powerful and too uncontrollable!”

“The Uchiha, like the Senju, must either become the village’s leader—or be utterly destroyed. There is no third path!”

“The strong have no right to surrender!”

“Unless the Uchiha dismantle themselves—either weakening to just a few members, or splitting into ten or more factions, and those factions must be mortal enemies.”

“Otherwise, whoever sits in the Hokage’s seat will inevitably move against the Uchiha—and the village’s previous strategy was exactly that: to lure and divide the Uchiha, creating more factions.”

“But unfortunately—”

“Hiruzen Sarutobi may have only wanted to split the Uchiha, but Danzo—somehow—intends to completely exterminate them. Fortunately, your clan produced Uchiha Jin.”

“Otherwise, with Danzo’s ruthlessness and Hiruzen’s methods, your Uchiha clan’s future is bleak!”

“As for why we joined the Uchiha? Because the village pushed us too hard.”

“The Root demanded that each of the Pig-Deer-Butterfly clans send seventeen members to the Root—and Itachi know what the Root is like: they treat us as cannon fodder and expendable pawns.”

“What else could we do but flee?”

“Previously, we ninja clans remained neutral—even if we were slightly dissatisfied with Hiruzen and others, we refused to interfere in your internal wars.”

“Now, however, with our own survival at stake, we must fight for it!”

Akimichi Guaitai spoke at length.

Though he wasn’t a core clan leader and only knew surface-level intelligence, his knowledge far surpassed Shisui’s and Itachi’s.

So,

After this speech, Itachi fell completely silent.

Shisui, standing beside him, couldn’t hold back and blurted out: “Though the Root is strict, everyone’s doing it for the village—some sacrifice is normal, isn’t it?”

“We’re all serving the Will of Fire—how can we fear minor sacrifices?”

This was Shisui’s lifelong belief, his foundational conviction.

And now?

He was hearing not a single trace of “Will of Fire” from the mouth of another ninja clan—only calculations, schemes, choices.

It left him momentarily shattered.

Yes.

If an Uchiha had said this, he’d have dismissed it as petty self-interest. But now—the speaker wasn’t Uchiha. It was a member of another clan!

“Will of Fire?”

“Is that just a slogan the ruling class uses to fool the commoners?”

“Itachi actually believe it?”

“No way. No way!”

“Is there really someone this stupid who believes such a ridiculous slogan?”

Akimichi Guaitai stared in utter shock.

His face was filled with confusion and disbelief—he looked at them as if they were fools.

Itachi: “...”

Shisui: “...”

Both men were suffocating.

Especially Guaitai’s look of pity—his worldview had been shattered.

There was no choice!

If an Uchiha had said this, they’d have treated it like a fart and ignored it.

But now—

The one speaking was an Akimichi!

“Could the Will of Fire… really be wrong?” Itachi croaked.

And in response,

Akimichi Guaitai rolled his eyes: “Here’s the simplest question—have Itachi ever seen the Hokage go to the front lines?”

“But the Hokage must control the overall situation!” Shisui tried to justify.

Unfortunately,

Akimichi Guaitai shot back: “Don’t other villages’ Kage need to control the overall situation? Don’t they fear ambushes?”

Shisui was instantly bewildered.

After a sigh, Akimichi Guaitai couldn’t help speaking: “Wake up, both of Itachi!”

“The Will of Fire claims to burn oneself to create space for children to grow—but the village never does this.”

“Itachi’ve lived through the Third Shinobi War—every batch sent to the battlefield were children, while the elders stayed safely in the village.”

“Have Itachi ever seen the Hokage or those two elders personally fight on the battlefield?”

“The ones who actually fought and died on the battlefield? All of them were the village’s children!”