The Uchiha Clan was about to choose a new clan head.
To outsiders, that news would be shocking enough.
For a clan, changing the clan head was rarely a good thing. It usually meant schemes, betrayal, or both.
Bloodline clans had always been like that. The position of clan head usually remained within one branch and almost never fell into the hands of another.
Unless the current clan head's branch was completely wiped out, the clan would not consider choosing someone from another line to lead them forward.
This was not the first time something like this had happened to the Uchiha.
Decades ago, Madara Uchiha betrayed Konoha, and the position of clan head eventually passed to Fugaku Uchiha's branch.
But back then, it had been a forced choice. No one had much to say about it.
Either follow Madara and defect from Konoha, or stay in Konoha and choose a new clan head.
Anyone with a working brain knew which option to choose.
But the situation now was different.
Fugaku was alive and well. He even had two sons.
For the clan to replace him under those circumstances, anyone who said there were no schemes or betrayals involved would be lying.
For Hikaru, however, this was not a major event.
After all, he had been preparing to replace the Uchiha leadership for many years.
He had never openly told anyone his thoughts or methods, but anyone clear-headed could see what he had done for the Uchiha.
They could also guess part of his goal.
So this was not exactly surprising.
Many major clans had long understood that something unusual would eventually happen within the Uchiha.
The only issue was that this day had taken far too long to arrive.
Especially for Hikaru.
Originally, he had thought that once Uchiha Shin truly took over the Police Force and saya was pushed into a higher position, it would be easier for him to act.
But after all these twists and turns, Sasuke Uchiha was already eight years old, and Shin still had not moved.
Speaking of which, something rather interesting had happened three years ago.
After Hikaru's battle with Hashirama, he received a piece of news that surprised him slightly.
Naruto had returned.
That news made Hikaru suddenly realize that Naruto and Sasuke were almost old enough to enter the Academy.
The Uchiha had developed quite well over the past few years.
With Hikaru backing them, they had received a certain level of support from Konoha.
But that support had been given to the Police Force.
It had been given to Uchiha Shin.
It had nothing to do with Fugaku.
Fugaku seemed to have realized how awkward his current position had become.
Especially after Hikaru rose to power, Fugaku knew his situation was only getting worse.
So he tried to struggle.
He had already understood that the person behind Uchiha Shin was Hikaru.
Or rather, he believed it had once been Minato, and now it was Hikaru.
If Shin could do it, why could he not?
Had Shin not sent Shisui Uchiha into Anbu to build a connection between Konoha's leadership and the Uchiha Clan?
Shisui also had a very close relationship with Fugaku's own son, Itachi.
And Itachi was a genius recognized by the entire Uchiha Clan. He had graduated from the Academy at the age of six.
With both his talent and his status as the clan head's son, if Itachi entered Anbu, would the effect really be worse than Shisui's?
Unfortunately, what Fugaku had not expected was that Hikaru had no intention of accepting Itachi at all.
Because of that, Itachi had graduated early and remained a regular mission shinobi until now.
Even though Itachi had continued to display his talent and had already become a chunin at a young age.
Fugaku would probably never understand that because of his own indecisive nature, Hikaru had already abandoned him.
Itachi was impressive.
He was also an Uchiha with the potential to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan.
But so what?
Would Hikaru, as he was now, still value a pair of Mangekyo that highly?
Konoha had both Hashirama and Tobirama now.
Was a pair of Mangekyo really worth that much attention?
Putting Itachi aside, Fugaku himself had the Mangekyo Sharingan.
And what had happened to him?
Hikaru had quietly taken one of his eyes, and he had not even been able to resist.
From the moment Hikaru chose Uchiha Shin, and from the moment Shin made the correct choice for whatever reason, Hikaru had never considered replacing him.
"So they're finally changing the clan head. That really is good news."
After Kakashi left the office, Hikaru thought quietly to himself.
The past few years had brought huge changes.
Konoha was becoming more and more like the village from his memories, but many people had already changed.
Naruto had been sent back by Minato.
This boy was no longer the hated "Nine-Tails brat" who had been ignored by everyone in the original timeline.
He knew who his parents were.
He had also received a good education from a young age.
Even after returning to Konoha alone, this Naruto was no longer the same Naruto from the original story.
Besides, how could Minato allow his son to return to Konoha and suffer?
At first, Minato had planned to let Kakashi take care of Naruto.
But now that Hikaru was the Fifth Hokage, and because Hikaru had helped him to a certain extent, Minato ultimately decided to ask Hikaru to look after his son.
Hikaru had not refused.
After all, he already had one inheritor of Asura's power around him. Having another did not matter.
Hikaru was also full of wicked curiosity.
He knew Naruto's special identity, and he also knew Naruto no longer had Kurama's chakra.
He was curious what Naruto would become in the future.
Especially under Hashirama's guidance.
What kind of person would Naruto turn into?
Because of that, Hikaru had Shoma Senju arrange a residence for Naruto not far from his own home, making it convenient for him to look after the boy.
At the same time, he had Ayame's mother help take care of Naruto's daily life.
Ayame's mother agreed without hesitation.
She could naturally tell that her daughter and this outstanding young man, now the Fifth Hokage, had already formed a real relationship.
She had no objection at all.
Hikaru had saved both mother and daughter, and besides, Hikaru and Ayame were already engaged. She had no reason to object.
In truth, she had wanted to move out for a long time, but had never dared to bring it up.
Now that Hikaru wanted her to help care for the Fourth Hokage's son, she was more than willing.
With her looking after him, Naruto's life was very good.
And with Minato and Kushina's earlier teaching, Naruto was now an excellent and well-mannered child.
On top of that, Hashirama did not mind teaching Naruto either.
The two of them had seemed to hit it off from their first meeting.
Naruto's future was worth looking forward to.
He had already been in the Academy for three years.
Unlike the original story, he was very popular at school.
One thing, however, remained the same.
He had somehow formed a pretty good relationship with Sasuke ahead of schedule.
Sasuke's life, however, was not going quite as smoothly.
Even if his father said nothing, Sasuke could still sense something from the atmosphere at home.
And Hikaru had also noticed that this period should have been around the time the Uchiha Clan was wiped out in the original timeline.
…
"Father, I'm sorry. I failed again."
Inside the Uchiha compound, Itachi stood quietly before Fugaku.
His expression looked calm, but helplessness and confusion flickered in his eyes.
He could no longer remember how many times he had taken part in the Anbu selection.
It felt as though he had started the moment he graduated from the Academy at six years old.
So many years had passed.
He was now thirteen.
Yet he had still never received Anbu's approval.
He was confident that he was not inferior to Brother Shisui.
But Shisui had already been a squad captain in Anbu for years, and he was one of the strongest candidates for a higher command position.
Itachi knew Shisui should not have told him such things.
But their relationship was simply too close.
Sometimes, Shisui would still tell him things he should not have.
Itachi was also someone who could keep his mouth shut.
He had never revealed anything he should not say to anyone.
That included his father.
Of course, aside from being tight-lipped, there was another reason.
He had learned something that made it impossible for him to speak.
The Fifth Hokage simply did not think highly of his father.
Shisui did not know the exact reason either, but he had once tried to give Itachi an explanation.
"Maybe back when the Uchiha Clan's internal thinking was divided, the clan head chose to stand with the radical side."
The radical side had wanted to use force to seize the Hokage's seat and gain control over Konoha.
In truth, Shisui had misunderstood Fugaku.
Back then, Fugaku had racked his brain trying to balance the two factions.
Or rather, he had waited to see which side would win before supporting them.
Put nicely, he had wanted to stand with the majority.
Put bluntly, he had shown no decisiveness as clan head at all.
It was a perfect example of his indecision.
But Itachi did not know that.
He largely accepted Shisui's explanation.
Because of that, he was even less willing to tell his father anything similar.
"He failed again?" Fugaku shook his head.
The news disappointed him greatly.
He truly did not understand why Shin could do it while he could not.
He also never believed Itachi was inferior to Shisui.
Even more, he could not understand why Senju Hikaru had chosen Uchiha Shin.
Was Fugaku truly less worth investing in than Shin?
He could not understand it.
He could not see through it.
Fugaku's heart was filled with confusion and frustration.
He hated that feeling.
In his life, there were only three things he hated most.
The first was his helplessness when his closest friend had been killed.
In that helplessness, despair, and hatred, he had awakened the power every Uchiha dreamed of.
The Mangekyo Sharingan.
The second thing he hated was that he had never made proper use of those eyes.
Because he feared blindness, and because he feared that exposing his eyes would cause unnecessary thoughts within the clan, he had never truly used them.
The result was that he had been attacked by Orochimaru and his accomplices.
One of his eyes had been taken.
That kind of pain was unbearable for anyone.
Especially for an Uchiha.
He had possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan and still lost.
Worse, he had lost one of those eyes.
The pain he suffered was ten thousand times greater than ordinary people could imagine.
So was the hatred in his heart.
The third thing that filled him with anger was that even now, he still did not understand why Konoha's leadership had not chosen to cooperate with him.
Instead, they had chosen the riskiest and most chilling method.
They wanted to overthrow him and select a new clan head and partner.
Was Konoha not afraid that other clans would react badly?
This thought had circled in his mind for years.
What chilled him even more was that as the Police Force grew stronger, the other clans seemed to have silently accepted what was happening.
That made Fugaku feel unbearably bitter.
He truly did not know what had gone wrong.
Because of this environment, even his child had been affected.
He had always wanted Itachi to enter Anbu so they could build a line to Konoha's upper levels.
But that idea had never come true.
Worst of all, Itachi could not enter the Police Force either.
As a result, Itachi could only remain an ordinary mission shinobi.
How could Fugaku not be angry?
How could he not feel resentment?
The atmosphere became heavy.
Whether it was Fugaku or Itachi, neither of them was calm inside.
Even though they looked as if they did not care about the result, how could they truly remain calm?
"Father! Brother! I'm back!"
At that moment, a young voice came from outside.
The sound instantly broke the silence between Fugaku and Itachi.
Fugaku finally sighed heavily and closed his remaining eye.
Itachi turned around and revealed a smile, ready to greet the child who was about to enter.
In truth, Itachi had begun to feel dissatisfied with the clan's affairs.
According to Shisui, his father's actions back then had been close to betraying Konoha.
Itachi had been too young at the time and had not understood many things.
But now that he had grown older, he truly could not understand his father's choice.
What was wrong with Konoha now?
Even putting the present aside, Konoha was a whole, and the Uchiha were members of the village.
So why had his father made such an unacceptable decision?
After accepting Shisui's explanation, Itachi had already decided in his heart that the fault lay with his father, not with the Fifth Hokage.
In contrast, the Fifth Hokage, who had ended the war between Konoha and Kumogakure by himself, seemed to Itachi like a rational and tolerant leader.
The Uchiha Clan was developing well now.
That was undeniable.
Even if this development had nothing to do with his father.
The fact remained that the clan had benefited.
Under the Fifth Hokage's approval, Elder Shin was gradually bringing the clan and the village closer together.
Was that not a good thing?
If even the position of Hokage could be changed and chosen based on actual leadership ability, then why could the clan not do the same?
In Itachi's heart, replacing the clan head was not necessarily a bad thing.
Even though he really wanted to enter Anbu and use his strength to contribute to Konoha, he had no desire to enter Anbu carrying selfish motives for someone else.
Or rather, even if he entered, he would never provide his father with any information.
Itachi took a quiet breath and turned to find his younger brother.
No matter how much emotion he carried, he would never let Sasuke see it.
His younger brother was one of the people he cherished most.
…
"I heard your clan is holding an election. Is that true?"
Inside the Hokage's office, Hikaru endured the slow crawl of time while smiling at saya, who was organizing documents beside him.
Three years had passed.
saya had become even more beautiful.
Especially that gentle quality unique to Uchiha women. Hikaru enjoyed it very much.
saya's strength had also improved considerably.
After Hikaru gave her the fruit containing the source of the Sharingan, she had gained the power of the Sharingan as well.
Of course, Hikaru had defined this matter as a secret.
No matter how shocked saya was by what Hikaru had given her, she would never reveal a single word.
Perhaps because she had seen Hikaru's power, and because she had once experienced the fire-nature chakra fruit Hikaru had given her, she was not overly surprised that he could help her awaken the Sharingan.
But her attitude toward Hikaru had clearly changed.
That attitude told Hikaru that he probably did not even need to force anything.
If he simply took this girl home, everything that should happen would naturally happen.
After all, their relationship had been there since childhood.
Hashirama was also backing Hikaru up.
Hikaru had no reason to worry about anything.
Even that old man Uchiha Shin seemed to have understood something.
So even though Shin knew Hikaru had a fiancée, he no longer interfered in saya's affairs.
Some people in the clan had hoped to become engaged to the woman who effectively held the greatest power within the Uchiha.
But all they received was a severe warning from the clan.
They had no other option.
Still, it made one thing clear to them.
Lady saya already belonged to someone.
They had no chance.
"Yes, there is such a matter."
saya nodded gently.
Then she smiled slightly and said in a soft voice, "So many years have passed. Grandfather has already taken control of almost all authority within the clan. His style is a little conservative, but that also makes things more stable."
"He is a bit conservative. Thinking back, I still remember his expression when he found out I was an Anbu captain."
As if remembering something amusing, Hikaru could not help but smile.
saya smiled helplessly and shook her head.
She knew the story between her grandfather and Hikaru.
Her grandfather had truly been frightened by Hikaru back then.
But it was not only her grandfather.
saya herself had also been shocked when she learned Hikaru's true identity.
Back then, she had never imagined that the civilian-born boy who had always taken care of her at the Academy already held such a high position.
After all, she had once thought about finding a chance to help Hikaru.
"You hid it too well."
After saya finished organizing the documents, she quietly walked behind Hikaru and began gently massaging his shoulders.
"If I hadn't accidentally met you and Ayame at the dango shop, I might never have imagined that someone as gentle as you could be a member of Anbu.
"And not only a member, but the highest authority in that cold-blooded organization. Hikaru, you really frightened me back then."
"Is that so?"
Hikaru smiled faintly.
Then he reached out with his right hand and took saya's left hand.
saya did not resist. She did not show any discomfort either.
Instead, she let her hand slide down naturally and wrapped her arms around Hikaru.
Then she leaned down, resting her chin on his shoulder and pressing her cheek against his.
"Then I can only apologize. Back then, I had no choice. Actually, there are many things I've never had a choice in.
"People like us are no longer simple shinobi. Sometimes, the choices we can make are far too few."
"But we still succeeded, didn't we?"
saya's voice sounded beside Hikaru's ear.
The warmth of her breath brushed against him as she spoke.
"Even if you had been an ordinary shinobi, I would have found a way to help you.
"There are still many jutsu scrolls inside the Uchiha Clan. As long as they matched your chakra nature, I would have found a way to bring them to you.
"There wasn't much I could do, but I think I would have done everything I could to make sure you didn't remain ordinary."
saya's voice remained soft.
Her words did not carry intense emotion, but Hikaru could hear the resolve beneath them.
He could imagine that if he really had been an ordinary shinobi and met her again, she might truly have done something like that.
"Thank you."
Hikaru sighed softly.
In the end, those were the only words he said before falling silent.
Of course he could feel this woman's feelings for him.
Sometimes, Hikaru really found it strange.
He clearly had not done much.
So how had he managed to win over such an Uchiha girl?
Could it be that when he accidentally imitated Naruto as a child, it had actually worked?
He gently stroked saya's hand and stopped dwelling on it.
If she was his, he would not hand her over to anyone.
His strength and status were right here.
If anyone dared say something that displeased him, he could not guarantee that person's entire family would remain pleased afterward.
Besides, saya could not possibly be unaware of his relationship with Ayame.
Since she had already made her choice, what was there for him to fear?
After thinking for a moment, Hikaru suddenly smiled and asked, "By the way, are you confident about this election?"
"We are very confident."
The moment they began discussing proper business, saya tried to straighten up.
But when she realized Hikaru was still holding her hand and not letting her leave, she smiled and cooperated, no longer moving.
"Actually, from my perspective, it should be completely certain. But my grandfather is too cautious.
"Clan Head Fugaku no longer has enough influential people supporting him. He has always wanted his son to enter Anbu, but Kakashi blocked it.
"He has no channel to communicate with us. That has cost him even more points. I believe he has no chance."
"I see."
Hikaru nodded.
He knew Itachi had tried to enter Anbu.
Kakashi had stopped him on Hikaru's orders.
Since Hikaru had already acted against Fugaku, he could not let Itachi enter Anbu even if he knew Itachi had the personality of a natural traitor.
Hikaru knew that, but others did not.
He did not want to create misunderstandings with Shin or saya.
So how could he possibly let Itachi enter Anbu?
But considering Itachi's tendency to turn on his own side, Hikaru suddenly had a wicked idea.
The Uchiha were going to hold a clan-wide vote.
If Itachi stabbed Fugaku in the back at this moment…
And this period just happened to match the timing of the Uchiha massacre in the original story.
Wouldn't that be interesting?
"Come on. Take me to meet someone."
With that thought, Hikaru immediately made his decision.
"Oh?" saya blinked curiously. "Who are we going to meet?"
"Someone very interesting. He's from your clan, too."
"Then I'd like to see who this interesting person is in your eyes, Hikaru."
…
"That's enough training for today."
In the forest behind the Uchiha compound, Itachi smiled at Sasuke.
It was close to dusk now, and Sasuke was already panting heavily.
Itachi naturally could not continue the training.
He wanted to, of course.
When he was with Sasuke, he did not need to think about so many troubling matters.
Only then could he feel happiness in his heart.
But Sasuke was still a child.
His body could not withstand such intense training.
Although Itachi was not particularly satisfied with the results, Sasuke was still his younger brother.
More than anything, Itachi hoped Sasuke could grow up safely.
He would shelter Sasuke from the wind and rain.
"Damn it…"
Sasuke panted heavily, then looked unwillingly at the wooden targets scattered around them.
The targets were not arranged regularly.
Several kunai had landed either on them or near them.
Clearly, Sasuke had been practicing his kunai throwing.
Unfortunately, his throwing technique could not compare to his older brother's at all.
When Itachi was young, he had already been able to use ricochets to hit every target with ease.
But Sasuke could not do that properly yet.
Even when his kunai struck the targets, they failed to hit the center.
"Brother, let me rest for a bit and try one more time. I…"
"Your body has reached its limit. There's no need to force yourself."
Hearing Sasuke's words, Itachi smiled.
Seeing the unwilling look in Sasuke's eyes, he slowly walked over.
He reached out and gently touched Sasuke's forehead.
At the moment of contact, he added just a little more force.
With that light push, Sasuke took a step back.
Because he was already exhausted, he actually fell onto his backside.
"See? You're already this tired. It's good to train seriously, but you also need rest. Otherwise, you'll injure yourself."
As he spoke, Itachi reached out to Sasuke.
Sasuke pouted, but finally took his brother's hand.
"I know. Then we'll stop here today."
Looking at Sasuke, the smile on Itachi's face deepened.
But at that moment, his expression stiffened slightly.
His smile also became a little forced.
He looked at Sasuke, urgency flashing through his eyes.
In the end, he forced himself to keep smiling and said, "Sasuke, go home first. I'll clean this place up."
"Brother, I'll wait for you. I can help too."
Sasuke shook his head.
He did not want to separate from his brother so quickly.
"Listen to me. Go back first. I'll follow soon. Don't make Father and Mother worry."
Itachi stopped Sasuke without hesitation.
He would absolutely not let Sasuke stay here.
"Brother…"
Seeing Itachi's firm attitude, Sasuke grew a little angry.
He had only wanted to help.
But his brother was acting like this.
Still, Sasuke knew that once his brother decided something, he could not change it.
In the end, he could only pout and turn away.
Itachi stood quietly where he was.
He closed his eyes slightly.
When he opened them again, they had turned into a pair of crimson three-tomoe Sharingan.
Itachi's talent was terrifying.
Even though he had not entered Anbu, his strength as a chunin was already impressive, and he had taken on many high-level missions.
Through those missions, his eyes had grown tremendously.
Now, he had quietly reached the three-tomoe stage.
"Come out," Itachi said coldly. "There is no need to act like this inside Konoha. It will only cause unnecessary misunderstandings."
"How alert. Not bad, little one."
At that moment, a gentle voice sounded.
That voice made Itachi's body stiffen.
Because it had come from behind him.
And he had heard that voice before.
Although the owner of that voice was far above him, he remembered it clearly.
Itachi turned around and saw two figures who had appeared behind him without warning.
He immediately shut off his Sharingan and dropped to one knee.
"Hokage-sama. Lady saya."
"Get up, kid."
Hikaru smiled lightly.
Holding saya's hand, he slowly walked up to Itachi.
"Your awareness is good. Your eyes are good too. Among the younger generation of the Uchiha, aside from Shisui, you're probably the best."
"Thank you for your praise, Hokage-sama."
Itachi slowly stood up, but still lowered his head and did not dare raise it casually.
One of the people standing before him was the Uchiha with the greatest actual authority in Konoha.
The other was the Fifth Hokage, who had led Konoha to victory over Kumogakure and brought the village to new heights.
Either one of them was someone Itachi respected deeply.
At first, he had only sensed chakra approaching. He had not known who was coming.
Now that he had confirmed their identities, how could Itachi not be shaken?
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