Early the next morning, while Mitsusuke was still sleeping, Shisui and Asuma pulled him out of bed.
In the living room, Mitsusuke looked at the two of them, let out a yawn, and then asked, "Speak up! What on earth is so important that you had to drag me out of bed this early?"
"I'm warning you, if it's nothing, see if I don't kick both of you."
Asuma and Shisui exchanged glances, and Asuma signaled with his eyes for Shisui to ask.
Shisui, being the honest man he was, complied and turned to ask Mitsusuke, "Mitsusuke, I heard you attacked the hokage assistant yesterday. Is that true?"
"Tsk, I thought it was something serious! Just that? Of course it's true."
Mitsusuke took a cigarette from Asuma's pocket, lit it for himself, and continued, "That old fellow Danzo dared to play dirty with me, and I wasn't about to indulge him. If the Old Man hadn't stopped me, Danzo would be in the ground today."
Seeing Mitsusuke's nonchalant expression, both Asuma and Shisui gave him a mental thumbs-up.
To dare curse at Danzo in the Hokage Office and even try to kill him—in the entire Konoha, perhaps only Mitsusuke would dare to do such a thing.
Asuma had heard it from his Old Man, and Shisui had heard it from Itachi. They hadn't quite believed it before, but seeing Mitsusuke's indifferent face now, they were convinced.
At this point, Asuma asked in a somewhat puzzled tone, "Mitsusuke, although Danzo is old, he still has some strength. You shouldn't be able to beat him, right?"
"Him?" Mitsusuke curled his lip, his tone and expression full of disdain. "You've all been fooled by that paper tiger Danzo."
"I don't deny Danzo's strength, but that was in the past. Now, his strength has long since regressed into a mess. Plus, that old guy is especially afraid of death, so he only has a few life-saving tricks left."
"If it's a surprise attack, I could kill him nine times in a minute. If he's prepared, it would take some effort to finish him off."
After speaking, Mitsusuke remembered something and looked at Shisui. "Shisui, the Uchiha have been a bit restless lately. In a few days, the Uchiha will ask you to return. Before that, just stay quietly here with me. If the Uchiha ask you to go back, just refuse."
"There's one more thing you need to pay special attention to, and that's Danzo. That old fellow isn't one to stay quiet. If he asks you to meet him, let me know, and I'll go with you."
"Danzo didn't gain any advantage from me, so he might set his sights on you. Whatever you do, don't fall for that old guy's schemes."
Shisui understood that Mitsusuke was worried about his safety and nodded gratefully. "Alright, I understand. Now that the Uchiha are about to reconcile with the Village, I won't go see him."
That's what he said, but Shisui was thinking: "Meet Danzo? Better not! Especially with you along—I'm afraid you two would start fighting immediately."
After chatting for a few more minutes, Shisui went to make breakfast, as the three of them hadn't eaten yet.
Once Shisui entered the kitchen, Asuma sat down next to Mitsusuke. "Mitsusuke, the Old Man told me to tell you today that your allowance will be doubled from now on. Also, the Old Man wants to transfer you to assist him with his work; he asked me to get your opinion."
"To be honest, I really want to go. Not having to go on missions would give me more time to spend with Kurenai. But the Old Man wouldn't let me and even gave me a scolding. I'm starting to doubt if I'm even his biological son."
Mitsusuke was amused by Asuma; despite being such a grown man, he still had a bit of a childish streak.
After laughing, Mitsusuke said, "Asuma, tell the Old Man that I'll graduate Naruto's class first. This batch of students will be the future mainstays of Konoha. Even if I go to help him, I'll need some people I can trust."
"Right now, his subordinates are all people from the Council of Elders. I can't exactly order them around, and conflicts might arise. In the end, it'll just make things difficult for him. So, let's wait a bit longer."
"Fine! I'll go back and tell the Old Man what you said later. I really don't know what he's thinking, actually wanting you to assist him with his work."
Facing Asuma's grumbling, Mitsusuke only gave a slight smile.
Mitsusuke naturally knew what Hiruzen Sarutobi meant; it was nothing more than wanting to groom him to become the Fifth Hokage.
Last night, as soon as he learned of Hiruzen Sarutobi's thoughts, he understood the other's intention.
He simply wanted him to take over those messy accounts so they wouldn't explode, and even if they did, they wouldn't affect the Sarutobi Clan.
Therefore, the Fifth Hokage had to be someone from the Sarutobi Clan, or at least someone from the Hokage faction.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had made many mistakes, and Mitsusuke didn't want to judge them—nor was he qualified to. Once Tsunade returned, he planned to give the Sarutobi Clan a hand.
Wasn't it just about making money? That was actually quite simple. If it weren't for the fact that his current strength wasn't enough to protect too many industries, he would have started long ago.
After eating breakfast, the three of them went out together. As soon as they stepped out, Asuma headed back to the Hokage Building to report for work.
Just as Mitsusuke and Shisui reached the school gates, they saw Fugaku standing there with Sasuke.
Seeing Fugaku, Shisui stepped forward and greeted him politely, "Clan Leader."
Fugaku nodded, then came over to Mitsusuke's side. "Mitsusuke, can I have a word with you in private?"
Mitsusuke looked at Sasuke, then at Shisui. Shisui immediately understood Mitsusuke's meaning and led Sasuke toward the school.
Once Shisui and Sasuke had left, Fugaku said, "Mitsusuke, thank you for everything you've done for the Uchiha. We Uchiha will not forget it. Once this matter is settled, I will resign from the position of Clan Leader and let Shisui succeed me."
Fugaku's words didn't surprise Mitsusuke. Once Itachi became a Rogue Ninja, it was necessary for the Uchiha to change leadership; these things were inevitable.
How could the father of a Rogue Ninja remain the leader of the Uchiha Clan? Even if the Village didn't say anything, the internal members of the Uchiha wouldn't agree to it.
After finishing with Uchiha matters, Fugaku took out a scroll and presented it to Mitsusuke with both hands. "Mitsusuke, these are all the Ninjutsu of our Uchiha Clan. I would like to request that you become Sasuke's teacher."
Mitsusuke knew that Fugaku hadn't come just to thank him; if it were only for thanks, there would be no need to send Sasuke away.
Taking the Ninjutsu scroll from Fugaku's hand, he opened it and glanced through it before handing it back to Fugaku.
Just as Fugaku thought Mitsusuke was going to refuse, he heard Mitsusuke say, "I agree to this. Take the scroll back. I don't really understand the Ninjutsu in here, especially Genjutsu, which I know nothing about. It's better if you teach Sasuke those yourself."
"As for me, I will only be responsible for teaching Sasuke Taijutsu and Chakra Nature Transformation, and incidentally, I'll teach him how to be a proper person. The rest will depend on him."