It's probably a terrible idea for him to do this, and he might bring Sakura's wrath down upon himself, but he left it up to her and she said she wanted to hear it. There are certain things he'll leave out, but for the most part... "The First Hokage created Konoha alongside Uchiha Madara. The whole purpose of the villages was to stop the fighting and let the clans co-exist, but after he was named Hokage, Madara left and tried to take the clan with him. Not many wanted to go with him, so he left on his own and attacked the village using the Kyuubi. He ended up dead, or so everybody thought, and the village kept going." He pauses, sparing a glance at her. He hadn't known any of this until recently, so it's the only reason it's still rather fresh in his mind.
"The Second Hokage didn't trust them after that, though, and the Third didn't help much. They set up Konoha's police force and gave it to the Uchiha, to 'give them something to do'. Later, they were herded into one corner of the village which basically made that police force useless as a first responder, and were watched constantly. The village didn't trust them at all, and they didn't trust the village..." And now is where things get ugly, and he almost stops here, but her words had echoed his sentiments when it came to being told the truth about things. He'd wanted to hear it and decide what path to take for himself, so it's only fair to treat her the same way. "...so they started making plans to stage a revolt."
There are things he can't bring himself to tell her -namely everything about Itachi, because it's not his place- but as he pauses for a moment, leaning with his back against the countertop, watching the girl cautiously, he picks his way around things, choosing words carefully and deliberately. "The village tried to convince them to talk things out. They even tried getting assistance from some of the few Uchiha who weren't interested in the idea of a coup, but it didn't work. Nobody trusted one another and nobody believed that actually communicating like civilized people would have any effect. So instead of making a concentrated effort to get through to them, those in charge of Konoha picked one of those few who was still loyal to the village and asked them to take care of it... and they did. In the only way they could in order to avoid a civil war."
He falls silent, pushing away from the countertop and sliding his back down the wall to sit on the floor, his attention shifting from Sarada to a spot on the other side of the room, his voice hushed and distant when he speaks again. "I was younger than you are, not even ten yet. I'd spent the whole afternoon training, and by the time I got back, the sun was down." It's almost cathartic to say the words -he's never told anybody about that night before, because it hurt too badly- but now that he knows the truth, it's a little easier. "There aren't any others, because they all died that night. Friends, cousins, my parents... I walked in to the aftermath of a massacre, and didn't know why it happened until recently. Nobody told me anything and they left me to live on my own until the night I walked out and didn't look back."
There's a lot of little details he left out, things he doesn't know how to explain, things he doesn't want to explain. She wanted to know, so he gave her enough to know the basics without going into detail, the stuff that at his point in time, is common knowledge without naming names. If she wants to know that part of it, she'll have to wait a while. A loooooooong while.
no subject
"The Second Hokage didn't trust them after that, though, and the Third didn't help much. They set up Konoha's police force and gave it to the Uchiha, to 'give them something to do'. Later, they were herded into one corner of the village which basically made that police force useless as a first responder, and were watched constantly. The village didn't trust them at all, and they didn't trust the village..." And now is where things get ugly, and he almost stops here, but her words had echoed his sentiments when it came to being told the truth about things. He'd wanted to hear it and decide what path to take for himself, so it's only fair to treat her the same way. "...so they started making plans to stage a revolt."
There are things he can't bring himself to tell her -namely everything about Itachi, because it's not his place- but as he pauses for a moment, leaning with his back against the countertop, watching the girl cautiously, he picks his way around things, choosing words carefully and deliberately. "The village tried to convince them to talk things out. They even tried getting assistance from some of the few Uchiha who weren't interested in the idea of a coup, but it didn't work. Nobody trusted one another and nobody believed that actually communicating like civilized people would have any effect. So instead of making a concentrated effort to get through to them, those in charge of Konoha picked one of those few who was still loyal to the village and asked them to take care of it... and they did. In the only way they could in order to avoid a civil war."
He falls silent, pushing away from the countertop and sliding his back down the wall to sit on the floor, his attention shifting from Sarada to a spot on the other side of the room, his voice hushed and distant when he speaks again. "I was younger than you are, not even ten yet. I'd spent the whole afternoon training, and by the time I got back, the sun was down." It's almost cathartic to say the words -he's never told anybody about that night before, because it hurt too badly- but now that he knows the truth, it's a little easier. "There aren't any others, because they all died that night. Friends, cousins, my parents... I walked in to the aftermath of a massacre, and didn't know why it happened until recently. Nobody told me anything and they left me to live on my own until the night I walked out and didn't look back."
There's a lot of little details he left out, things he doesn't know how to explain, things he doesn't want to explain. She wanted to know, so he gave her enough to know the basics without going into detail, the stuff that at his point in time, is common knowledge without naming names. If she wants to know that part of it, she'll have to wait a while. A loooooooong while.