<h4>Chapter 227 - Ch227. The tale of the Uchiha rebellion</h4>


    Isamu grimaced, not really in the mood to tell that kind of tale. He actually hoped his host would not ask again about Itachi and their suspicions but Rei looked far too eager to hear it.


    Sighing in resignation, he decided he might as well tell the story from the very start, "To put things into proper perspective, I have to start right at the founding of Konoha. I have no d.e.s.i.r.e to repeat well-known history nor spin some long-winded and boring tale of the Uchiha n''s evolution since the founding. All I want to point out is that people close to Madara''s level are extremely rare and valuable to ns." Isamu pointed out with a sad smile, "Since the founding of Konoha, the Uchiha n produced only five S-rank ninjas altogether! You must understand that strong ninjas are the lifeline of a n, any n. And yet, currently, there is no S-ranked ninja from any Konoha n except Tsunade Senju."


    "Aha, so that''s where Itachies in. He was supposed to be your secret ace and the symbol of Uchiha''s resurging power. The new Uchiha ''genius''." Rei chuckled in understanding and Isamu smiled sadly.


    "Yes. When Fugaku discovered the sheer talent of his firstborn, he was immensely proud. He might not be the best man but he genuinely cared about his son despite not really showing it. On the other hand, he was also the n head and that meant certain responsibilities. Having a strong heir was a must for Fugaku and so, Itachi was trained and raised to love his n. After all, one day, it would... should have been him to lead the n." Isamu exined bitterly, "Our n was always somewhat shunned. Sometimes justly, other times not, that was fine. The real problems, however, came with the Kyuubi Rampage." He quieted down for a second to calm himself, "We were relocated to the outskirts and that was uneptable for many. Demeaning, even. The proverbialst straw. And so... the young Itachi got an even heavier burden ced on his shoulders since some radical views started to appear among some of the more arrogant Uchiha nsmen.."


    Hearing that, Izumi seemed a bit saddened before her eyes hardened as anypassion drained from her when she imagined the corpse of her grandmother. It was obvious that whatever friendship there was, was nowpletely shattered.


    "Itachi was the most promising Uchiha in thest fifty years. It was only natural Fugaku would push him hard in his training. Though..." Isamu grimaced. "I warned Fugaku not to ce the boy into Konoha ANBU. I vehemently argued against that. The boy was supposed to be our most important pir. Sure, in ANBU, Itachi won a lot of prestige and political leverage for the n. Sadly, it also gave Hiruzen free ess to the kid." Isamu shook his head in discontent.


    ''And it again goes andes to the fabled Hiruzen Sarutobi. Honestly, how many talented young boys did the man corrupt?'' Rei idly mused. He was aware that being Hokage didn''te with a free pass to do anything one d.e.s.i.r.ed. Dictatorship or not, ns had rights. The Hokage couldn''t really go on his merry way influencing n heirs without any reason.


    "Around two years ago, the situation became more unbearable for the n. Discontent voices rose to more prominence and the more arrogant ninjas started to openlyin. Funnily enough, I have no idea where it even all started. Was it intentional or not? Who knows..." Isamu admitted, "That said, Fugaku had to do something and fast or face a civil war in the n, something he wanted to desperately avoid. It would simply be a lose-lose situation no matter which side would win."


    It was obvious Isamu was disgruntled at remembering that. Not like Rei could me the man. Family killing a family really didn''t have any positive oue, no? The Uchiha n would be weakened either way.


    "Civil war? ... Are you serious?" Mariko gulped as she for the first time heard something like that despite being one of the best-connected merchants in the Uchiha n.


    "Unfortunately. We didn''t advertise it to the civilians but the radicals were pretty stubborn then. Fugaku really had no other choice than to start the ''rebellion club'' and goining sh threaten the Hokage that our n had had enough. Much to my shame, I was the only one against the n from the Elder Council. It was obvious to whoever logically considered the thought of one n going against an entire vige that we would lose if it came to trading blows."


    ''Well, duh. There were barely a thousand Uchihas before the massacre and from that only about two hundred were ninjas. And that is counting genins. Two hundred versus a vige of thousands. Gee, one doesn''t have to be a genius to figure it out.'' Rei mentally rolled his eyes.


    "Then again, Fugaku never really wanted the situation to escte into an open rebellion." Isamu shrugged and the other upants of the room stilled in surprise.


    ''So the guy wasn''t total bonkers, then!'' Rei thought in relief.


    "It was simply a ploy to appease the radical Uchihas and buy time while Fugaku negotiates with the Hokage. He needed time to figure out how to calm them down. Unfortunately, it took more than two years of back and forth, one side asking for something with the other denying it. Suddenly, even Fugaku was unable to stop the radicals and if he went against them, he would be usurped. It was only logical to y along while trying harder to persuade Hokage to give the Uchiha n something that would calm them down."


    "Itachi got involved and became a double spy due to his identity as an ANBU operative and Uchiha n heir. It was surely on Hiruzen''s insistence despite the fact it is frowned upon to ask a n member to spy on his own n, much less his own n head. The boy must have thought himself subtle about it but really... as if a twelve years old could outsmart old geezers who were in this trade before his father was not even a distant thought." Isamu chuckled in amus.e.m.e.nt at the memory before his lips twisted into a grimace, "It was also gut-wrenching to see the father and the son progressively more and more mistrustful of each other behind their cold facades. But worst of all, it all escted so quickly..." Isamu shook his head in sadness.


    "And when Itachi attacked, none of you actually expected it, did you?" Rei smirked. Danzo basically blind-sighted them. They were well on their way to negotiate some tangible concessions when Danzo suddenly forged a signed order for a wholesale massacre.


    "Well, to be honest, who would expect to be attacked in their own vige? In their own npound? By their own ninja? No... we really didn''t expect it from Itachi. Spying? Sure. Sabotage? Possible. Misinformation? Obviously. But a killing spree and backstabbing? The boy is thirteen, for Sennin''s sake!" Isamu snorted. "There were rumors but that''s all that was to it. Simple rumors about Itachi''s hand in Shisui''s mysterious death. Nobody expected him to start cutting people down that night. He was our damned n heir!" Isamu angrily retorted, ring his nostrils as he vented the sudden slip in his self-control.


    "And here we are." Rei said.


    "And yet here we are..." Isamu admitted, somewhat resignedly. "Let''s just focus on the current problem of integration. I am far too old to deal with problems like what happened yesterday."