"Father."

"Hmm."

The two short greetings between each other seemed quite cold, and there was not much warmth between father and son. Uchiha Itachi walked into the inner hall and saw his father sitting at a low table, his upper body straight, his face indifferent.

Itachi tilted his head and saw his mother, Mikoto Uchiha. She tried her best to squeeze out a smile, but she still couldn't hide the worry hidden in her eyes.

Uchiha Itachi's heart darkened slightly.

"Itachi—sit down."

Uchiha Fugaku stretched out his finger and said calmly.

Uchiha Itachi sat down as he said.

In an instant, between the father and son sitting opposite each other, there was something dry and cold in the middle, which made the atmosphere gradually cold.

"Oops...... You two are really—I'm going to pour you tea......"

Uchiha Mikoto said with a deliberate smile, wanting to break the atmosphere.

But in an instant, Uchiha Fugaku said lightly:

"No need...... Mai Trin, you go out first. ”

"Fugaku ......"

"I'm going to talk to Itachi about something very important...... Didn't the Itachi have something to say to me? ”

Fu Yue raised his head slightly, showing a smile that seemed to be mocking and indifferent.

Uchiha Mikoto was stunned for a moment, and then smiled softly.

"Okay, then I'll go out first."

She lowered her head, took a light step, and walked out. I also closed the door when I walked out.

"Say it...... Itachi, what do you want to say? ”

Uchiha Fugaku looked at him indifferently and coldly as if he had seen through Uchiha Itachi's heart.

Itachi bowed his head slightly and said respectfully:

"Father, I think I've heard something bad lately...... It's in the clan. ”

Itachi said quietly, a lifeless silence in his voice.

Uchiha Fugaku despised him coldly and didn't speak. Itachi, however, kept his head down.

The two men confronted each other like this.

- After a long time, Fu Yue sighed:

"Itachi...... The previous three generations said that you were a child who could think like the Hokage, but it seemed that you couldn't think from the Uchiha's point of view. ”

Itachi closed his eyes slightly, and Fuyue's words undoubtedly confirmed many terrible things in his heart.

"Father...... For Konoha's sake, please back down - it's not only good for the village, but also good for our family. ”

Itachi earnestly advised.

"Haha!"

Hearing Itachi's words, Fugaku raised his head and laughed as if he had heard something ridiculous.

"Good for the Uchiha! Good for the village......"

His laughter suddenly stopped, and he glared at Uchiha Itachi, and said with a sharp eye:

"Itachi - you know what? At a recent high-level meeting, Sarutobi and the others used the newest Blood Inheritor in the village as an excuse to force us to further cede Uchiha's power! The Konoha Garrison, our unique industry, belongs to our exclusive territory - even if it forces us into this corner, Sarutobi, Koharu, Menyan...... And the group hidden in the shadows, they won't miss a chance to weaken us! They don't want to make the name Uchiha disappear all the time! ”

Fuyue's voice was like a cold bell, and there was a cold feeling that kept vibrating.

But the look on Itachi's face didn't change in the slightest.

- "Is there a limit to the blood...... I know that too. Father, that kid named Su Zeying is just a seven-year-old child, and he doesn't pose a threat to us Uchiha......"

"Of course I know there is no threat!"

Fu Yue said angrily:

"Don't say that it's just a minor blood inheritance limiter, don't say how powerful his blood inheritance limit is - in the entire ninja world, the most powerful is our Uchiha's blood inheritance limit, a seven-year-old child is nothing!"

"But those two old immortals took advantage of the new Blood Inheritance Limit as an excuse and directly aimed their blades at our Uchiha - what did they say, 'That child has the potential of the Hokage', 'There is a new Blood Inheritance Limit in the village', and 'Uchiha's force doesn't seem necessary'...... Such big words! ”

"Phew! Do you really think I can't see it? That kid didn't matter at all, and the blood limit on his body was nothing special in normal times - all those old immortals wanted was to beat our clan and constantly weaken and plunder our clan's savings and strength! ”

"Bullshit Hokage heir! Maybe Ape Fei would have thought about it—but the others were just taking advantage of the opportunity! ”

Fugaku's cold and furious voice echoed through the room, echoing like angry thunder.

Itachi opened his eyes slightly, and his expression became blank:

"So that's the case...... Father, if you know that there is no threat, why do you provoke the village like this? ”

"Humph!"

Fu Yue snorted coldly, suddenly clenched his fists, and a few traces of blood appeared in his eyes.

"Itachi - what's our family's name?"

"We are the Uchiha!"

"With the group fan as the family emblem, the family that burns the heavenly fire is a big family that has stood since the Warring States and still does not fall into prestige!"

"When...... A seven-year-old child can become the reason for our suppression? When did we have to rely on the mercy of the higher-ups in the village and our own concessions to survive?! ”

"The prestige of the Uchiha family is tempered from blood!"

"I have no intention of overthrowing the village - however, I will always keep the bottom line and keep the prestige and power of the Uchiha family from falling! If the village wants to test my bottom line - I won't be afraid to fight back! ”

With that, the room fell silent.

The Itachi, which bowed its head slightly, and Fuyue, who raised his head high, formed a sharp contrast.

There was silence for a long time.

Itachi buried his head deeply, sat down in the soil, and said softly in a gloomy tone that he had never seen before:

"Father...... Please back down - it's the best thing to do not only for the village, but also for the Uchiha. ”

Fu Yue looked at him with a complicated expression.

The ferret buried his head deeply.

Fu Yue sighed again, looking a lot older:

"Itachi...... I really shouldn't have let you into the shadows in the first place......"

Saying this, Fu Yue closed his eyes slightly, but when he opened them again, his eyes were already blood-red, and the fierce three-hooked jade kept spinning, showing his complicated feelings.

In just an instant, Fugaku changed from a sad father back to the patriarch of the Uchiha clan.

"Itachi...... You get out! We don't have much more to say! ”

Itachi's body stiffened slightly, and after a while, he took a deep breath, and then said:

"Yes."

Itachi lifted up, but still kept his head down. And so he walked out of the room mechanically.

Pulling open the door, Itachi immediately saw his mother's panicked face looking at him not far from the door, and he wanted to laugh, but he couldn't laugh at all, so he had to give a mechanical smile.

"Itachi, you and your father ......"

Mikoto Uchiha smiled with white lips.

"Mother...... Rest assured, it's okay - I'll go first. ”

Itachi bowed his head lightly and walked outside. And just as he had just taken a dozen steps, a tearing pain suddenly came from his chest.

- Almost instantly, there was a burning sensation in my waist. This is the echo of the water stop left for him, and now it is burning, which can only mean that there is a big problem with the water stop!

"Stop the water!"

Itachi's eyes lit up, and he immediately ran in the direction of the sense.

And right behind him, in the house at this time.

Uchiha Fugaku's originally straight body suddenly paused, and he suddenly looked extremely old.

Fu Yue stared at a photo hanging on the wall, and an indescribably complicated look suddenly appeared in his eyes:

"Itachi...... If it were still when you were a kid - how nice it would be......"

In the photo on the wall, there is a family of four.

Fuyue and Meiqin stood together, talented and beautiful, one smiling proudly and the other smiling gently.

And right in front of them, Itachi smiled a little shyly but a little smugly, and in his arms he held in his arms a disgruntled-looking baby with a pouted mouth that looked like he was about to cry.

- That's a picture of Sasuke and their family shortly after he was born.

At that time, they did not have the opposition to each other, there was no collision of ways of thinking, and there was no position set by each other.

At that time, Uchiha Fugaku thought that their family would continue like this.

But......

"Itachi...... I was right – one day you will understand my hard work. ”

"I do it...... It's also for you and Sasuke. ”

Uchiha Fugaku closed his eyes and muttered in his heart.