The words "wipe out the clan" exploded in Itachi's mind like a thunderclap. His pupils shrank as his eyes widened in shock.
He never expected to hear such words from an ordinary civilian.
The hidden conflicts between ninja were rarely, if ever, exposed to the common people.
Yet, with just a few words and some scattered rumors, Hatake Satoru had asked the most crucial question.
He didn't care about Itachi's current status. He didn't care what Itachi was doing.
He simply forced Itachi to face the worst possible outcome.
Itachi didn't want to think about it, but deep down, he knew this was indeed the worst-case scenario.
A direct order from the Hokage: massacre the Uchiha.
If he disobeyed, he would be siding with his clan.
If he followed the order, he would be standing with the village.
— ¶ —————————————————————
Was he also asking himself which side to take?
A storm surged in Itachi's mind.
"Just from a few words, you figured out all that?"
Itachi put down the dango in his hand and took a deep breath.
"Sometimes I think that just being a civilian teacher might be a loss for the village."
Hatake Satoru nodded without hesitation and said:
"Oh, that's right. You've got a good eye."
"What loss? Bringing him in is just adding another person to die."
A cold voice came from nearby.
A black mask covered most of the boy's small face, and messy silver hair sat on his head.
The boy, with only one visible droopy eye, looked at the two of them with furrowed brows so tight they could probably crush a fly.
Though they were both still growing, Kakashi was clearly a size smaller than Satoru.
"Ah, Kakashi-senpai."
Itachi hadn't expected to run into Kakashi here and was momentarily caught off guard, looking around in confusion.
He remembered that these two brothers didn't get along well. Kakashi rarely approached on his own.
Hatake Satoru pulled a face, shrugged at Itachi, and pointed at Kakashi with his thumb.
"Ah, people like him just have bad judgment."
Kakashi clearly couldn't be bothered to argue. After a full day of missions, he was exhausted and had no energy for Satoru's banter.
He just reluctantly held out his hand.
"Give me the laundry ticket. I need to pick up the clothes."
"I already checked at home. It's not there."
Satoru raised an eyebrow and rummaged through his pocket.
He pulled out a crumpled receipt and waved it in front of Kakashi.
Kakashi took it without another word and, before they could say anything else—
He lightly jumped up, stepped on the nearby rooftops and walls, and quickly disappeared into the distance.
Itachi stared at Kakashi's back in a daze. Normally, Kakashi only ran that fast during urgent missions.
Itachi was friends with Satoru and colleagues with Kakashi. Both of them were generally easy to get along with.
He had heard rumors that the brothers didn't get along, but seeing them act so cold in person—this bad?
They were blood brothers.
"So this is what being a teenager is like."
Hatake Satoru nodded knowingly, as if long used to this kind of relationship with Kakashi.
"Is your relationship this bad because of Uncle Sakumo?"
Itachi thought about it. What could make two brothers, after losing their father, not rely on each other but instead treat each other like strangers?
It had to be related to their father, the White Fang of Konoha, and his suicide.
"More or less."
"He still holds a grudge against me for not stopping our dad from killing himself. Even now."
Hatake Satoru looked indifferent, resting his hands behind his head.
But it wasn't that he hadn't stopped him—it was that he couldn't.
Satoru lowered his gaze, lost in thought.
Back then, he and Kakashi were only six or seven years old.
That day, the sky was overcast, looking like it could rain at any moment.
Since their father had returned from his mission, he had become more and more withdrawn, barely remembering to bring in the laundry.
Satoru wasn't a genius like Kakashi, so he had skipped class early and run home.
Maybe… maybe if he hadn't gone back, things would've been different.
That's what he thought at the time.
But before he could reach the house, he was suddenly grabbed by members of the Root.
They all wore similar masks, and in the dim light, Satoru couldn't tell them apart.
Before he could panic, a hand covered his mouth and a blindfold was wrapped around his eyes.
"Hope you understand what Danzo-sama means. After all, we don't want to do this either."
"You don't want to put the Hokage in a difficult position, do you?"
"Your children will be well taken care of, don't worry."
A cold, emotionless voice echoed through the rainy night, blending with the distant thunder. Hatake Satoru's heart pounded like a drum.
He desperately shook his head against the ground, trying to rub off the cloth covering his eyes.
But the moment he managed to pull it down, Hatake Sakumo's voice rang out.
"I understand."
A blinding flash of lightning lit up the entire room for an instant. In the roar of thunder, Hatake Satoru glared fiercely at the masked figures before him.
"It'll be a problem if this kid sees us. White Fang is dead anyway, so let's deal with him too."
"There's still that genius named Kakashi, isn't there? Keeping him should be enough."
A masked man leaning against the wall lit a cigarette.
That night, in the pouring rain, Hatake Satoru died alongside White Fang.
And of course, someone else took his place after his death.
It was only then that he completely became an ordinary civilian, one without a trace of chakra, modeled after Gojo Satoru.
Gojo's Reverse Cursed Technique barely managed to heal his wounds and bring him back to life.
But for Hatake Sakumo, there was no saving him.