XX-level Hokage

"I see." Upon hearing this, Shiro didn't ask any further questions, quietly looking at the intelligence report in her hand. After a moment, Shiro put down the intelligence report.

Pinching Bai's cheek, he said, "Bai has been to the archives and read the chronicles of Konoha, so he should know about the night the Uchiha clan was massacred, right?" Bai nodded slightly.

"Does Haku know why Itachi Uchiha chose to slaughter the entire clan, leaving only Sasuke Uchiha alive?" Haku asked softly.

Bai pondered for a moment and said, "The files don't contain a detailed account of this matter, but when I visited the Third Hokage before, he mentioned it."

The fact that the Uchiha clan once harbored rebellious intentions is probably due to this reason.

"You actually think that way?" Mashiro looked at Shiro with some surprise.

"Master should remember that I was born in Kirigakure, during the era of the Blood Mist Village, when many bloodline clans were slaughtered on trumped-up charges. I..."

"The Mizuki clan is a prime example. There are many members of their own bloodline who slaughter their own clans for the benefit of the village. If Itachi Uchiha were on Konoha's side, I could understand him helping the village exterminate his clan after learning of their rebellious intentions. But why he spared Sasuke Uchiha is beyond my comprehension," Bai said softly.

Chapter 205: The End of the Uchiha Clan

"Well, what you said is very close to the truth, but it's not quite the same. Itachi was indeed a member of Konoha, but he was also the head of the Uchiha clan."

Their children are basically the next Uchiha clan leader.

Logically, he wouldn't have slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan. The reason he did it is simple: Konoha already knew about it, and they had long wanted to eliminate the Uchiha clan. The Uchiha had no chance of winning, so to preserve their last remaining life, he became an undercover agent, sacrificing the entire clan in exchange for Sasuke's life. "Mashiro said softly.

“That makes more sense,” Bai said.

"If it were you, Shiro, what would you choose to do?" Shiro asked with a smile.

"As for me, I would first try to stop the rebellion within the clan. If I fail, then I don't know what else to do," Shiro said after a moment's thought, shaking his head. "Actually, the Uchiha clan wasn't without a chance of winning at that time," Shiro suddenly said.

"If there was a chance of winning, why choose this method? In that situation, resistance would have been the best outcome," Bai said, somewhat puzzled.

"Because someone who could have given up the chance of victory for the sake of peace." Mashiro said softly. "Peace?" Hyaku asked again, puzzled.

"At that time, there were two people in the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi. Shisui had a special ability, and the two of them working together had a real chance to change the situation, but for the sake of Konoha's peace, they chose to give up, and Shisui even died because of it," Mashiro said, stroking Haku's hair.

"Well, it's a bit strange. When I was wandering around with Lord Zabuza, I saw a lot of chaos. After coming to Konoha with my master, I also witnessed peace and stability. That's why I have a new understanding: resistance is a necessary condition for achieving peace." Haku gently rubbed Mashiro's palm and said.

“There are significant differences between people. People with high IQs often come up with clever ideas when dealing with special events, but intelligence alone isn't enough for many things. Haku, you should have heard about the First Hokage's deeds. He didn't choose to unify the ninja world; instead, he chose to capture the nine tailed beasts and distribute them to the other villages to strengthen them. Do you think unifying the ninja world or balancing the power among the villages is more conducive to peace?” Mashiro said softly.

After thinking for a while, Bai said, "I believe that unifying the ninja world is conducive to peace, and the First Hokage's decision to distribute the nine tailed beasts to other ninja villages was also a mistake."

"Unification does not mean peace. Even after unification by force, when the First Hokage was alive, he might have been able to maintain a superficial peace, but what about after he passed away? Could the Second Hokage maintain the unified situation?"

This Hu Jie Empire, which relies on force to unify the world, will collapse instantly, giving rise to an endless war.

The First Hokage never sought a superficial peace such as "no war." He saw that for ninjas, maintaining a balance between villages was the greatest hope for lasting peace.

The First Hokage generously distributed the Tailed Beasts to other ninja villages as a result of balancing interests in a diversified ninja world, preventing Konoha from becoming a bad Konoha. He originally intended to send all nine Tailed Beasts away, but the Second Hokage kept the Nine-Tails.

"So all you smart people think the same way, using your intelligence to look at problems," Mashiro explained.

“But the balance won’t last long, and war will eventually break out. And if all the remaining units are given away, wouldn’t Konoha be at a disadvantage?” Haku still didn’t quite agree with Mashiro’s point of view.

"Equilibrium certainly cannot last forever, but a new equilibrium will always emerge, and the duration of equilibrium will increase until someone can resolve the issue of peace. If it is unification, then no new ideas will ever arise."

Moreover, even if all the tailed beasts were sent out, Konoha would not be at a disadvantage. Konoha has the Uchiha clan, whose Sharingan can control the tailed beasts. With Konoha possessing the Sharingan, the tailed beasts that are sent out would only be forces that can be restricted.

The First Hokage granted Konoha the right to supervise other ninja villages, and Konoha the right to supervise other ninja villages as well. However, for various reasons, the power and oversight structure established by the First Hokage was ultimately broken. "Mashiro said softly.

She once thought that the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, was a naive and innocent person, but after constantly reflecting on the ninja world and peace, she came to appreciate Hashirama's wisdom more and more.

For the oppressors, pure peace is never possible; success is only possible under supervision and coercion.

In a sense, Hashirama's ideas were the same as Nagato's, except that Hashirama's was about mutual supervision between Konoha and other ninja villages, while Nagato transformed himself into a god to supervise the entire ninja world alone.

Hashirama thought more deeply than Nagato. Nagato never considered what would happen after his death. Even if he cultivated the next god before he died, who could guarantee that the next god wouldn't be a vicious and ruthless individual?

"Therefore, Itachi, being a clever person, became trapped in his own clever view."

He believed he could see everything clearly and that only he could find the best outcome.

Thus, they embarked on a wrong path, leading to the tragic deaths of all the elderly, weak, and women of the Uchiha clan, as well as their own and Sasuke's miserable lives. "Mashiro said with some emotion.

Who benefited from the night of the massacre?

Obito and Danzo obtained the Sharingan, and Sarutobi eliminated the unstable factors and also gave Danzo a warning.

As for Itachi, Sasuke, and all the innocent members of the Uchiha clan who died tragically, no one benefited. "Then, Master, if it were you, what would you have done?" he asked with some curiosity. "I've already tried," Mashiro said with a light laugh.

In his previous life, after obtaining Shisui's Kotoamatsukami, he used it to control Sarutobi and then saved a portion of the Uchiha clan during the massacre.

Then they created a tragic character for the Uchiha clan to gain sympathy from the common people of Miyawaki.

He then used Sarutobi and his own Uchiha power to assassinate Danzo, gradually rising to the position of ruler.

What a nostalgic past. After hearing the truth as it was recounted.

Izumi frowned, while Sasuke lowered his head and remained silent.

“If it were me, I couldn’t do what you did,” Izumi said softly.

"After leaving Konoha, I thought countless times about whether I had done the right thing, and tried every possible way to convince myself," Itachi said calmly.

“But, Itachi, you are too selfish. You have never told your father about these things, and you have not told anyone in the clan except Shisui. You made the decision on your own and decided the death of all the clan members.”

Not every member of the tribe wanted to see a rebellion; most didn't even know what was happening, and yet you sentenced them to death.

"Hey, Nii-san, exchanging the lives of all the humans in the clan for my life is a bit too much." Sasuke raised his head, a tear falling from the corner of his eye, and said. Rong didn't speak; he didn't know how to answer this question.

"The moon was very bright that day. I was reading a book in my room when I suddenly heard my parents scream. Then I was bound by a masked man with chains."

Just as I was about to be killed, Zero saved me.

I followed him to the clan's residence, where many bodies lay on the ground, familiar faces lying in pools of blood.

"After that day, I had a very long dream, and the entire tribe's territory seemed to be filled with the smell of blood," Quan said softly.

“Just like Sasuke said, both you and Shisui are too arrogant. You crave peace, but that’s all you want,” Izumi said calmly.

As Izumi spoke, Itachi's memories began to drift far away.

That night, there was blood, and there were her father and mother in front of her.

Chapter 206: The True Self

Itachi's expression was initially complicated, but then it softened with relief.

"You've changed so much, and Izumi isn't the same person I remember anymore." Itachi looked at the two of them and said softly, "I know, brother." Sasuke's eyes were filled with complex emotions.

"Perhaps, as you all say, Shisui and I were both too arrogant, which is probably why you chose her," Itachi said with a sense of relief.

After that dream, Itachi pondered many times how he could have lost so completely to another person. Now, the answer is clear.

It's not really Itachi's fault. Almost all the strong members of the Uchiha clan are incredibly arrogant, whether it's Madara, Itachi, Shisui, or Sasuke, including Mashiro. This arrogance is almost ingrained in the blood of the Uchiha clan.

Because of the influence of Uchiha Zero, Mashiro has always had an arrogant side to her personality. However, because Mashiro was reborn, her arrogance is hidden in a deeper layer of caution.

“Give up, Itachi. You’ve done enough. Leave the rest to others,” Izumi said softly. Itachi was silent for a moment, and then a black raven appeared out of thin air and entered Sasuke’s body.

Under Sasuke's slightly alarmed gaze, Itachi walked up to him and whispered in his ear, "Use it as your last resort to forge your own path."

Upon hearing Itachi's words, Sasuke understood what the crow was.

Then Itachi laughed, and his body began to emit white light. Orochimaru handed the talisman that controlled Itachi's Reincarnation to Itachi himself, letting him choose when to release the Reincarnation.

"Now, I have nothing to hide. I always lied to you, which led to your tragic life. I didn't want to involve you, but in the end, you bore the brunt of everything. But now, thinking back, perhaps you once possessed the power to change your parents, to change the Uchiha clan. If I had been able to face you honestly from the beginning, to discuss the truth with you on equal footing... Now, it's meaningless for me, the loser, to say anything more to you. But no matter what, I will always love you." Itachi said softly, touching his forehead to Sasuke's, and then vanished in a beam of light.

After Itachi disappeared, Sasuke's expression was somewhat confused, but mostly sad.

"What do you plan to do next?" Izumi asked, looking at Sasuke. "Do what I should do." With that, Sasuke disappeared from the spot.

Meanwhile, on another battlefield, with the combined efforts of Naruto, Kushina, Kakashi, and Guy, Obito's mask shattered, revealing his face hidden beneath.

Kakashi, supported by Itachi, looked at the person in front of him with a sorrowful and puzzled expression, and said, "There's no mistake, he is Uchiha Obito."

"You can call me by that name if you want; it means nothing to me," Obito said, glancing at Kakashi with complete indifference.

Looking at Obito's Sharingan, Kakashi's eyes sharpened, and memories of Obito flooded back into his mind.

"So, you're still alive," Kakashi said in a low voice. "Who is he?" Naruto asked, puzzled.

“He was a ninja from our generation, also from the Uchiha clan. We thought he died in the war, but…” Guy explained. “If you didn’t die, why haven’t you…” Kakashi still couldn’t quite believe it.

Whether I'm alive or not is completely irrelevant. But then again, if I had to pinpoint a reason, it's because you stood by and watched Rin die, that's why I'm like this," Obito said calmly.

Upon hearing this, painful memories flooded Kakashi's mind, and his expression became extremely panicked and fearful.

"Don't make that face, Kakashi," Obito said softly, looking at Kakashi. "Aren't you going to yell at me?" Kakashi asked in a low voice.

"What's the point of cursing such a boring reality? I have no interest in this world that is about to disappear," Obito said calmly.

“Kakashi-sensei, I don’t care what happened between you and him before, but now is not the time to be discouraged. I’ll ask you for details later. Right now, the priority is to stop his actions,” Naruto said, noticing the strange atmosphere between Kakashi and Obito.

"Kakashi, Naruto is right. The whole world depends on us now," Guy reminded him.

"I have nothing to say to you. Die, bound by reality! Fire Release: Storm Dance!" Obito instantly formed hand seals and launched his attack. A vortex of flames rushed straight towards the four of them.

Naruto instantly extended the Nine-Tails' tail to eliminate the attack.

"The Nine-Tails' tails, huh?" Obito muttered to himself, looking at the nine tails waving in front of him.

Just then, a loud "bang!" was heard, followed by smoke. When the smoke cleared, Madara's figure appeared, standing side by side with Obito.

Rewinding time to an hour earlier, Mashiro defeated Madara and left. Madara, meanwhile, remained in the same spot, slowly recovering.

He was feeling incredibly conflicted. He never imagined that a little girl would possess the Rinnegan, which he had worked so hard to obtain his entire life, and that she had even defeated him.

What he found even more unacceptable was that her existence would completely ruin his plan; he didn't believe Obito could defeat her. Just then, a figure appeared in front of Madara.

"Are you the legendary Uchiha God, Uchiha Madara?" the figure asked with a light laugh. Madara stared coldly at the figure before him, ignoring him.

"It's painful, isn't it? Decades of planning ruined because of someone who suddenly appeared," the figure said with a sigh. "What are you trying to say?" Ban asked.

He saw the Sharingan in the eyes of the person in front of him.

“I can help you defeat her,” the figure whispered. “You?” Ban said with a hint of sarcasm.

"If you can hold her off for a while, you can capture the Nine-Tails with Obito to achieve your plan. Once you've achieved your plan, why worry about her?" The figure continued, unperturbed.

"What do you plan to do?" Madara asked softly, looking directly at the figure. Madara's expression also turned serious.

"Your name?" Madara asked after the figure in front of him finished explaining his plan. "Kaguya Shinso," the figure replied with a smile.

After fully recovering, Madara quickly arrived at Obito's place. "You seem to be having a lot of fun, Obito," Madara said coldly.

"That is...?" Kai looked puzzled as he looked at the person who had suddenly appeared in front of him.

"That guy is Madara!" Naruto said somewhat seriously. He had seen Madara's figure through the sensory machine in the headquarters and knew that he was fighting the other four Kage.