People in Demon Slayer: The Journey That Began with Demon Slayer

An earthen wall rose from the ground, attempting to block Yosuke's slash.

The earthen wall did indeed play its role, causing a slight pause in Yosuke's movements the instant he severed it, which gave the ninja the opportunity to escape Yosuke's attack range.

Uchiha Itachi, standing to the side, frowned. This ninja who had suddenly appeared gave him a very familiar feeling, and the fire-style ninjutsu was clearly a fire-style ninjutsu of the Uchiha clan.

The identity of the ninja who launched the sneak attack was revealed to be Fugaku Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha's father.

Fugaku Uchiha originally believed that Itachi was unwilling to explain his injuries because he was capable of solving the problem.

However, recently, Fugaku Uchiha has been seeing Itachi return home covered in wounds almost every day, so he personally followed Itachi and discovered that Itachi was training with an unknown person.

Moreover, he practiced swordsmanship that was utterly laughable in Fugaku Uchiha's eyes.

This infuriated Fugaku Uchiha. As a member of the Uchiha clan, how could he neglect the essentials and learn such useless things?

Therefore, Fugaku Uchiha planned to conceal his identity and defeat Yosuke, so that Itachi would understand that learning those strange and powerful techniques would never make him stronger.

But to Fugaku Uchiha's utter surprise, Yosuke was so strong that he could barely even hold his own, let alone defeat him.

That speed and that power shattered Fugaku Uchiha's outdated view of samurai.

Unconsciously, Fugaku Uchiha activated his Sharingan, his scarlet eyes staring directly at Yosuke not far away.

"Hmph, so what if your swordsmanship is superb? Under my Sharingan, no technique can hide from you. Itachi, just watch! For the Uchiha clan, the Sharingan is everything!"

With this in mind, Fugaku Uchiha launched another attack.

"Genjutsu? Shiranui!"

Fugaku Uchiha's three-tomoe Sharingan spun continuously as he cast a genjutsu on Yosuke.

Yosuke felt as if his body was being burned by flames, but his body was not injured at all.

"Is this an illusion?"

Having already experienced ninjutsu and taijutsu, this was the first time Yosuke had witnessed genjutsu.

However, this illusion only brings pain, and this level of pain can be ignored.

"Sun Breathing? First Form? Modified? Round Dance Flash!"

Yosuke stomped on the ground, producing a thunderous sound that seemed to tear through the air, and quickly charged towards Uchiha Fugaku.

Chapter 167 Contradictions and Confusion

Yosuke's speed was so fast that even Fugaku Uchiha's Sharingan, with its excellent dynamic vision, could barely catch him.

However, Fugaku Uchiha, a veteran of countless battles, reacted instantly to Yosuke's actions.

"Illusion? Darkness Travel Technique!"

Yosuke's eyes were plunged into darkness, and he lost sight of Uchiha Fugaku.

Despite being plunged into darkness, Yosuke remained calm. Although he had lost his sight, his energy remained locked onto Fugaku Uchiha.

For Yosuke, he can still clearly see the location of Uchiha Fugaku.

Yosuke continued charging forward relentlessly, which made Fugaku Uchiha doubt his own genjutsu.

"Has my genjutsu been broken? No, how could that be? This is a genjutsu enhanced by the Sharingan. To break a genjutsu of the eye type, the only way is for someone else to disrupt the flow of chakra. This samurai couldn't possibly have broken it!"

"So that means... the illusion wasn't broken, then how did he find me in the dark?!"

Fugaku Uchiha rolled around in a sorry state to dodge. If it weren't for the dynamic vision of his Sharingan, he might have already been slashed by Yosuke.

Itachi was now absolutely certain that this uninvited guest was his father, Uchiha Fugaku.

During the battle, Yosuke also discovered that this ninja had many opportunities to abandon the fight with him and turn to Itachi, but he did not. This means that his target was not Itachi.

Although the target wasn't Itachi, the killing intent emanating from him was undeniable.

This ninja's strength is only that of a Jonin, so Yosuke plans to severely injure him with one blow before making other plans.

"Sun Breathing? Land Form? Solar Halo Dragon? Head Dance!"

Yosuke went all out, his path resembling a fiery dragon in flight, and scorching heat waves swept over Uchiha Fugaku's entire body.

Sensing the presence of death, Fugaku Uchiha unconsciously activated his long-hidden Mangekyou Sharingan.

Yosuke's strength had exceeded his expectations. If he continued to hide his strength, he would be seriously injured even if he didn't die when faced with Yosuke's attack.

The moment Fugaku Uchiha activated his Mangekyou Sharingan, Yosuke sensed that Fugaku's strength had suddenly increased from Jonin to Kage level, leaving Yosuke puzzled.

Itachi, who was watching from the sidelines, instinctively called out with concern, "Father..."

"Father?!" Yosuke frowned, forcibly deflecting his slash aimed at Uchiha Fugaku, causing it to graze Fugaku's body and strike the ground.

Dust and smoke billowed up from the ground, obscuring the view.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Fugaku Uchiha concealed his Mangekyou Sharingan, as this was not the time to expose it.

After the smoke cleared, Fugaku Uchiha removed the mask.

The Uchiha clan has always revered the strong. Fugaku Uchiha was already impressed by Yosuke's strength. Itachi was fortunate to have such a teacher.

"I'm very sorry, Mr. Yosuke, for causing you trouble." Fugaku Uchiha sincerely apologized to Yosuke.

However, Yosuke had absolutely no good feelings towards Uchiha Fugaku.

After all, no one would feel good about being ambushed for no reason.

Itachi Uchiha sensed Yosuke's displeasure, but he was torn between his father and his mentor.

"You've been spying on me these past few days, haven't you?"

Fugaku Uchiha sensed the heavy atmosphere and tried to smooth things over, saying, "Please understand what it's like to be a father. It's hard not to worry when your child comes home covered in bruises every day. I will make it up to you for today's abruptness."

"I chose to teach Itachi simply because I like this child. If I want something, do you think you can give it to me?"

Yosuke left Fugaku Uchiha speechless. With Yosuke's strength, he could easily get whatever he wanted.

Now, his words have only provoked Yosuke's resentment.

Itachi was also worried that after his father's interference, Yosuke would no longer be willing to teach him.

"Master Yosuke..."

Upon hearing Itachi's call, Yosuke's serious expression softened slightly.

Yosuke really likes Itachi. He is gentle, intelligent, rational, thoughtful, and doesn't run away from difficulties. He sees Tanjiro's shadow in Itachi.

However, unlike Tanjiro, Itachi is easily influenced by others, and once influenced, he is prone to getting stuck on trivial matters.

Therefore, in order to prevent Itachi from going astray in the future, Yosuke not only helped Itachi train but also subtly guided him.

"Don't worry, you are you, I won't confuse you with others. Let's end today's training here."

Yosuke waved at Itachi, completely ignoring Fugaku Uchiha who was standing to the side.

Itachi looked at Fugaku Uchiha beside him, and for the first time, he felt a surge of anger.

Having lived within the Uchiha clan for so long, he noticed that almost every member was arrogant and looked down on anyone outside the Uchiha clan.

From a young age, Itachi was instilled with the idea that the Uchiha were the strongest clan and no one could compare to them. No one taught him what was right or wrong; everything was decided by strength.

Before meeting Yosuke, Itachi had experienced the horrors of the Third Shinobi World War, so he had a deep aversion to war. In order to better understand the world, he constantly craved power and knowledge.

Itachi's thoughts and maturity also made him seem somewhat isolated, until he met Yosuke, who finally told him right from wrong, what he should do and what he shouldn't do.

Although Itachi still addresses Yosuke as "sir," he has long regarded Yosuke as his mentor.

Itachi's father, who clearly had a better way to understand what had happened, chose to fight Yosuke directly because of the pride of the Uchiha clan, which embarrassed Itachi.

However, Fugaku Uchiha, who was standing to the side, did not think he had done anything wrong, nor did he notice Itachi's emotions. He said to Itachi, "Itachi, train well with him. There are few in the entire ninja world who can rival his swordsmanship. As long as you learn his swordsmanship and awaken the Sharingan, you will be able to join the ranks of the strongest ninjas and make the name of Uchiha resound throughout the ninja world once again!"

After saying that, Fugaku Uchiha left. Itachi, who was usually obedient, did not listen to his father's words at all this time, and instead fell into deep contradiction and confusion.

Why must the clan come first? Shouldn't the reason for becoming strong be to protect the village?

Itachi wandered aimlessly through the streets, unable to understand what was happening.

As night fell, by a twist of fate, Itachi found himself at the foot of the inn where Yosuke was staying.

Just as Itachi was considering whether to disturb Yosuke, Yosuke's voice came from above.

"Itachi, come on up."

Yosuke loves to admire the night view; under the cover of night, it always feels more real than a scene illuminated by sunlight.

And because of this habit, he happened to see the dejected Itachi resting below the inn where he lived.

Chapter 168: Peace

Uchiha Itachi entered Yosuke's room. Itachi lowered his head, his eyes flickering, and remained silent.

"What's wrong? You look so sad. If it's because of what happened during the day, I don't care at all. You don't need to worry about it." Yosuke thought Itachi was unhappy because of Uchiha Fugaku.

"Lord Yosuke... what exactly is peace?"

Yosuke looked at Itachi in surprise. Was he already thinking about such things at such a young age?

"That depends on your definition of peace."

Itachi looked at Yosuke with a bewildered expression; he didn't understand the definition of peace.

Yosuke patiently explained to Itachi, "I will divide peace into three definitions."

"The first type is utopian peace, a peace without war, without struggle, without sacrifice, without hatred, where everyone and everything can live happily and freely."

"The second type is peace by power, which uses great power to restrain everyone in order to achieve peace."

"The third type is rule-based peace, which is achieved by establishing rules that apply to everyone. Everyone must live in accordance with the rules, and if they violate the rules, they will be punished, thus bringing peace through rules."

"So, Itachi, which kind of peace do you think you would choose?"

Without hesitation, Itachi blurted out, "The first kind: utopian peace!"

As expected, Yosuke smiled and shook his head: "The first kind of peace seems wonderful, but this kind of peace can only exist in fantasy."

Itachi asked in confusion, "Why? Isn't this the true peace?"

“Itachi, you’ve overlooked one factor: human emotions. What makes us human is that we have seven emotions and six desires. We are creatures driven by emotions. With joy comes anger. Utopian peace may seem wonderful, but it will never be realized.”

Itachi's heart was heavy, so he asked uncertainly, "Then... what about the second method, using power to restrain everyone and achieve peace?"