Bab 63: Chapter 78
I followed Fugaku outside of the room, despite having a dozen unanswered questions on my mind. The two silent ANBU followed behind, apparently wary of me escaping as I had from the hospital. I felt underdressed without my black coat or any of the weapons sealed into the embroidery inside its sleeves.
Fugaku talked as we walked, "I've heard very few things about you from my son. But it is evident that he respects you, which is why I am interested in talking to you personally. As the head of the Konoha police force, it is my duty to know of potential threats to the village and ensure the safety of its citizens."
We arrived at an unmarked door to a room on the opposite side of the Hokage Tower.
"And as head of the Konoha police force, I also have a small amount of sway with the ANBU." Fugaku opened the door for me. I walked inside, as did Fugaku, who closed the door behind himself. He bade me to sit at the small table of the interrogation room. "This is about as much privacy as I can get us. The microphones are off so please don't hesitate to speak freely." He pointedly ignored the large one-way mirror that made up one of the walls of the room.
I stared at his deep jowls as I sat across from him. He looked old and serious even as he smiled. "What would you like to talk about, Uchiha-san?"
His arms were folded upon the table and he leaned in on his elbows. "Please tell me about yourself."
"I have often asked myself why I do things, what my motivation is that I persist in living and maintain relationships with others and seek to improve the conditions of my life. I have examined all the possible reasons and found that they all derive from a single assumption, that life is important. For some people, it is the lives of others that they live for. For others, they live to protect their own lives. But nearly everyone has this blind spot, this assumption that goes unquestioned and endows meaning to every other belief while never being justified itself.
"I have stared too long at this problem and under my scrutiny it has crumbled to dust. And I was left without a reason for anything. And thus I had to suppose my own reasons for doing things. And I decided that I would just do what I felt like doing. Not by any particular notion of right or wrong but simply by my own personal aesthetic. In another way, you could say that I've never tried to justify my actions to myself or to anyone else because I wasn't capable of finding a reason that was good enough.
"That is why, whatever you decide you must do, I will not hold it against you. But likewise, I don't intend to let anyone stop me from doing what I also must do. I guess you could say that I'm an antisocial person."
As the tomoe in his eyes spun slowly, Fugaku let out a genuine sounding laugh, "Hahahaha, it is strange to see a young man who is so sure of himself. Most of the time people tell me their name and age, maybe their combat specialty. Rarely do I get such a philosophical answer."
"Then perhaps you should tell me what's really on your mind, Uchiha-san."
He sighed deeply and the smile faded from his face. "Hypothetically, what would you do if someone stole a priceless family heirloom but used it to help someone else?"
"That depends on how useful the heirloom was to myself. Either I'd take it back or forget about it."
"That's a very reasonable answer. I suppose if I wait a few years the problem might solve itself. Sakura seems like a nice girl. May I see...?" he asked, gesturing with his fingers at my eye patch.
I raised it up and slowly opened my right eye. There was an unnatural difference between Sakura's green iris and my own dark brown eye. It would still startle me occasionally when I would wake up and see it in my mirror.
"Eye replacement surgery is no easy task. Your teammate does good work. There's not even a scar. I suppose she will make good use of Shisui's father's eye. Shiro was a good man. It was disconcerting to hear that his eye had been repurposed but it seems like it would be more trouble than it is worth to retrieve it." Fugaku leaned back in his seat. "So let us just say that you owe the Uchiha, more than just a simple favor. Do you understand me?"
I replaced my eye patch. "Yes, sir." Apparently he wasn't aware that I still had a Sharingan in my refrigerator. If he wasn't going to ask, I wasn't going to mention it.
"And I don't think it needs to be said that you aren't going to repeat anything said here to anyone else."
"No, sir."
"And that bring me to my other problem." All the light and joviality disappeared from Fugaku's eyes. "Shimura Danzo has taken my son from me."
"Itachi."
"Yes, Itachi. However, this matter is far more complicated than simple bloodline theft. It seems Itachi is not as deceased as the reports indicated. He escaped Danzo but for some reason hasn't contacted Konoha."
"I'll keep an eye out for him." I only realized how carelessly I spoke after the words had left my mouth. For a moment, I wondered whether he knew I was planning on leaving the village. I wouldn't put it past the Sharingan to read minds.
"No. It's not that. It's Sasuke." Fugaku's eyes were grim and narrow. "Did you promise Sasuke that you would help him kill Danzo?"
"If I did?"
"Would you keep your promise?"
"Yes."
"I suppose this meeting is over then. Let's head back, shall we?" Fugaku's Sharingan disappeared with a blink, replaced with the tired, dark eyes of a worried father. "It was nice talking to you, Haru."
"It was nice talking to you too, Uchiha-san."
"Terrifying, but pleasant." It wasn't every day that I discussed murder with the chief of police. I hoped that next time he would have the courtesy to put on some tea.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone