Chapter 24: Needed talk
Itachi finally regained his calm but before he could say anything Mukai started speaking in annoyance " what's' a kid doing here now".
Before I replied I went to Shisui and gave him Itachi while saying "don't use that for now" causing Shisui's eyes to shrink and Itachi didn't miss this change.
After I finished with this I looked at Mukai and approached him with a smile "hi Mukai, I heard a lot about you".
Mukai looked at this kid that doesn't seem afraid of him and it reminded him of his little kids that he knows he can't meet anymore making him sigh and said "kid are you trying to buy time for Itachi to recover?"
'Oh what a careful man' I thought as I looked at Shisui trying to help Itachi recover quickly from his chakra pathways getting blocked and I simply shook my head "No, today you were destined to die, and you should understand with your family in Konoha they will definitely be used against you mercilessly with someone like Danzo there even if you survived Itachi and Shisui's assassination".
Mukai took out a cigarette, put it on his mouth and lit it up. as he exhaled the smoke he sighed while thinking about his situation ' this kid doesn't seem to be lying, so if he's not trying to buy time, that means what he said to that kid Shisui about not using 'it' is probably true and my life was in danger, and from the surprise they both showed it seems he's specifically here for me and doesn't seem to be worried about these two, sigh'.
Mukai quickly finished his thoughts with another sigh and said " so what do you want from me?"
"Relax I am here to help you" I said and someone quickly interjected.
"Bakorio do you understand what you are doing? Helping a traitor is the same as betraying the village" Itachi said.
I looked at him the same you would look at an idiot, a look very unfamiliar to him since he's always considered a genius "I heard a lot from your father but seeing the real thing is really amusing".
Shisui simply kept looking at me warily after I revealed his secret and Itachi said "were you sent here by father?"
"Stop trying to gather information, and for your knowledge you said Mukai was a traitor and need to be killed right?"
"Yes, he's endangering the world and the information he leaked might cause a new war" Itachi replied seriously.
"I see... this is what Danzo told you right" I said
Itachi's eyes flickered a little before he nodded.
"Let me then explain to your stupid mind how the reality of this corrupted village works, want to hear it or do you want to stick to your close minded view?" I said to him with a cold look, a look reminding him of his father's eyes making Itachi irritated but this time Shisui was the one that replied
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"If what you are going to say doesn't convince us, we will have to report you to the village" he said calmly while ready at any moment to use his Mangekyo Sharingan.
"This is a question to both of you and I hope you don't answer it naively. As a member of Anbu and knowing how strong some of the members are like Mukai, why do you think orochimaru can escape from the village after he was caught doing human experiments using kidnapped people from the village" I said with a smile.
They both pondered for a bit and Itachi remembering Orochimaru's cunning gaze said " Orochimaru probably prepared an escape root beforehand" and Shisui nodded in agreement and I couldn't help but laugh out loud.
I turned to Mukai observing us and said "hehehe, Mukai you wouldn't mind leaking more secrets right?"
He looked at me with a bottle of wine now in his hand and said "what do you want?"
"You were trusted a lot by Hiruzen so you should know what happened, please tell these two idiot what happened the day of Orochimaru's escape" I said with a grin and we all waited for his answer.
"Well it's quite simple he fought the Hokage and lost, but because he was his student he couldn't punish him and let him leave in the end, although with some injuries" said Mukai indifferently and took a swig from his wine.
Both Itachi and Shisui couldn't bring themselves to believe this because human experimentation with ones follow villagers is one of if not the most heinous crimes anyone can commit.
They struggled to believe the Hokage can act like this and allow someone like this to leave just because he's his student but I said with a shrug " it's the truth , he acts this way with all his students and friends , the same way no one punished Tsunade for not coming to help the village during the nine tails incident , or for all the terrible things Danzo did , because they were close to him no one punished them, although Tsunade and the Senju clan were terribly wronged by the village and she barely earned this privilege after she lost everything, this is the reality".
"What's your answer, you two love peace and you want to bring peace so badly even at the price of ignoring the humiliation and the struggle your clan is going through" I said coldly at both of them.
"These are just the words of a traitor and a kid with unknown motives, we have no reason to believe what you say" Shisui said trying to convince himself while Itachi was struggling to settle the raging feelings in his heart.
'Was I only foolishly dreaming for peace?' Itachi thought and this idea kept burning in his heart.
"Stop being in denial Shisui, this world isn't just rainbows and sunshine and Itachi, I can see that you are questioning your belief right?" Itachi looked at me shocked that I can see through him "how did yo-".
I cut him off "yes, I can see through you quite easily, your dream for peace isn't wrong, I actually like it, what I don't like is the way you are trying to do it"
Itachi said with doubt "what do you mean?"
I sighed and approached Mukai causing him to raise his vigilance but I simply extended my hand for his jug of wine which he retrieved away and said seriously "no drinking for kids".
Itachi and Shisui looked at my interaction with their deadly enemy speechlessly.
"Tch, anyways , Itachi you should understand that everything comes with a price , and the price tag for peace is very high , you turn a blind eye at the mistreatment the clan is suffering because you want peace and you even started hating your father because he started getting fed up with this situation and might start fighting back soon, unfortunately what you don't understand is even if the Uchiha clan doesn't retaliate at all , those elders ruling the village won't leave it alone and sooner or later will find a way to antagonize us more" I explained to him as clear as possible.
"But if the situation continue like this peace will be broken and many lives will be lost" Itachi said with anguish in his voice , remembering a scene from his childhood when his father took him to the battlefield with piles of dead bodies everywhere during the third great ninja war...