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 desire to repeat well-known history nor spin some long-winded and boring tale of the Uchiha clan'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 clans." Isamu pointed out with a sad smile, "Since the founding of Konoha, the Uchiha clan produced only five S-rank ninjas altogether! You must understand that strong ninjas are the lifeline of a clan, any clan. And yet, currently, there is no S-ranked ninja from any Konoha clan except Tsunade Senju." ​​

"Aha, so that's where Itachi comes 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 clan 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 clan. After all, one day, it would... should have been him to lead the clan." Isamu explained bitterly, "Our clan 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 unacceptable for many. Demeaning, even. The proverbial last straw. And so... the young Itachi got an even heavier burden placed on his shoulders since some radical views started to appear among some of the more arrogant Uchiha clansmen.."

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

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

'And it again goes and comes 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't come with a free pass to do anything one desired. Dictatorship or not, clans had rights. The Hokage couldn't really go on his merry way influencing clan heirs without any reason.

"Around two years ago, the situation became more unbearable for the clan. Discontent voices rose to more prominence and the more arrogant ninjas started to openly complain. 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 clan, 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 blame the man. Family killing a family really didn't have any positive outcome, no? The Uchiha clan 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 clan.

"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 go complaining slash threaten the Hokage that our clan had had enough. Much to my shame, I was the only one against the plan from the Elder Council. It was obvious to whoever logically considered the thought of one clan going against an entire village 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 village 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 escalate into an open rebellion." Isamu shrugged and the other occupants 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 play along while trying harder to persuade Hokage to give the Uchiha clan something that would calm them down."

"Itachi got involved and became a double spy due to his identity as an ANBU operative and Uchiha clan heir. It was surely on Hiruzen's insistence despite the fact it is frowned upon to ask a clan member to spy on his own clan, much less his own clan 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 amusement 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 escalated 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 village? In their own clan compound? 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 clan heir!" Isamu angrily retorted, flaring 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."