The Foundation of Optimism Was Pure Fear

"Oh? Then what did you think those clans were planning, Father?"

Naruto was somewhat surprised. His father's intelligence was indeed exceptionally sharp, though he did seem a little airheaded, just as the Second Hokage had said.

"They should have already made their arrangements. Back when I took the position of Hokage, I discovered that Konoha's major clans had divided up all of the village's resources. The clan system among ninja families forced commoners to keep training their descendants as ninja if they wanted to secure a place in Konoha."

"And after commoners became ninja, if they did not have an experienced Jonin with a solid background leading and guiding them, their fate was destined to be cannon fodder on the battlefield."

"Now that the Uchiha Clan intended to launch a coup, whether it succeeded or failed, the resources within the village would be redistributed afterward. The various clans would never miss the chance to profit for their own families."

"But Shisui Uchiha had already revealed his clan's entire plan to the Third Hokage. Although the Uchiha appeared well prepared, their coup was destined to fail."

Naruto's eyes flickered as he spoke calmly. "Why are you so pessimistic about the Uchiha Clan, Father?"

Minato Namikaze shook his head. "You saw Shisui Uchiha's memories too. The Uchiha Clan had become blindly optimistic. Deep down, they had no confidence at all. It was even pathetic how they placed all their hopes of victory on the name Uchiha."

"From Shisui Uchiha's memories, it was clear that most members of the Uchiha Clan had an extremely narrow view of the bigger picture. They only revered their clan's leadership policies. Not only did they never consider the commoners, they did not even take Konoha's other clans into account."

"If their coup succeeded, the interests of Konoha's other clans would certainly be reclaimed. That would immediately drive every clan in the village into a united front with Konoha's higher-ups. In other words, they wanted to use one clan to fight an entire village."

"Even if their clan's combat strength was not weak, that was far too unrealistic."

"Besides, they had long since been betrayed by one of their own. Naruto, weren't you just as pessimistic about the Uchiha?"

Naruto's gaze sharpened. "You saw through that too?"

"It wasn't just me," Minato Namikaze said, then pointed at Kurama and continued, "Kurama saw through it too."

Kurama, who had been sleeping, immediately opened one eye upon hearing that. "Fourth Hokage, it seems you still can't kick that habit of talking too much!"

"Uh..."

Minato Namikaze looked a little embarrassed.

"Kurama, how did you figure it out?"

Naruto was genuinely curious now.

"I didn't figure it out. I sensed it. The most obvious time was when you went to the Hokage's Office before."

"At the time, Shisui Uchiha had not died yet. When I released Chakra to erode the seal, I felt that you already knew he was doomed. That also explained why you had gone so early to place marks all around beneath the Naka River waterfall."

"And there was also that time when the Third Hokage dragged you off to watch the speech. I clearly felt that when you looked at those Uchiha Police Department members, it was as though you were looking at dead people."

Naruto nodded calmly.

"All right. I mentioned this when Father and I talked about the disappearance of the Senju Clan. The Uchiha Clan was destined to meet its end in destruction."

As soon as Naruto finished speaking, he left. He still had to go home for lunch, and school would continue in the afternoon.

Minato Namikaze stood silently within the seal, his expression grave. He realized that his feelings toward Konoha had become extremely complicated.

That afternoon, Naruto arrived at the school, but instead of entering the classroom, he went to a dojo inside the School Building.

"This afternoon, everyone will undergo group combat training!"

"Sakura Haruno, Ino Yamanaka, step forward!"

Standing in the middle of the dojo, Iruka loudly called out the names of the first pair.

"Hey, Choji, can I have some chips?"

"Sorry, there's only one left."

Shikamaru yawned and asked Choji, who simply raised the empty bag in his hand before stuffing the last chip into his mouth.

"Naruto, want to guess who your opponent will be later?"

Shikamaru sighed, then turned to speak to Naruto, who was standing against the wall beside him.

Naruto slowly rolled his eyes toward the corner of his vision. "Do I even need to guess? Since we're friends, don't play dumb. With our homeroom teacher's temperament, he'll definitely want his prized genius to teach me a lesson."

Shikamaru waved a hand. "All right, I knew you had already guessed who your opponent was."

Naruto said calmly, "Then you also know how I plan to deal with it?"

"Uh..." Shikamaru's expression froze. After watching another pair take the field in the center of the dojo, he said, "More or less. Though I figure I'd make the same choice as you."

"Second Pillar, Uzumaki Naruto, step forward!"

"Sasuke-kun! Good luck!"

"Go, Sasuke-kun! Wipe the floor with your opponent!"

As Sasuke walked to the center of the dojo, a group of girls immediately began cheering. Shikamaru gave Naruto a helpless look.

Naruto casually walked up to Sasuke. He discovered that this usually arrogant little cool guy was frowning, seemingly absent-minded.

"Before the match begins, both sides will form the Seal of Confrontation with their dominant hands!"

Iruka was about to step back after speaking, but Naruto immediately raised his hand.

"No need. I surrender!"

Iruka's eye twitched. "Naruto, what did you say?"

Naruto looked calmly at Iruka and responded, "I said I surrender."

"Fine! Since you surrender, step aside!"

Anger flashed through Iruka's eyes. The Third Hokage had clearly told him that Naruto already had a solid foundation in Taijutsu.

He wanted to scold him, but could not find an excuse. Naruto had voluntarily surrendered, so what could he do?

"Haha! That dead last was scared after all!"

"Sasuke-kun is a genius. He was never a match for him to begin with!"

"..."

Sasuke watched Naruto return to his spot without hesitation, and beneath his confusion was even greater bewilderment.

What was up with this guy? His brother had clearly told him that Naruto was strong!

"I knew you'd definitely do that." Shikamaru looked utterly helpless. "What a shame. If I'd gone first, it would've been better."

Naruto smiled faintly. "Sorry. Compared with you, our homeroom teacher disliked me more. Besides, you were planning to surrender too. What difference did it make who went first?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "It still feels troublesome. My opponent might surrender first."

Naruto's eyes suddenly narrowed, but he did not respond, because he sensed Genma suddenly appear at the school.

"What was Genma doing at the school at a time like this?"

Naruto was puzzled. He locked onto Genma tightly with his senses, and soon discovered that Genma was moving back and forth through the School Building along the paths of the Explosive Tag mechanisms Naruto had once set up.

"Genma was destroying the trigger wires for the Explosive Tag mechanisms!"

Once he noticed Genma's actions, Naruto's gaze turned icy. He had no intention of stopping Genma.

He did not know whether Genma had suddenly grown a conscience or simply lost his mind. There were so many Explosive Tags buried throughout Konoha—so what if he managed to disable most of them?

Because of the Uchiha issue, Konoha's higher-ups had already stationed ninja on high alert along every important street in the village.

Before the Uchiha Clan issue was resolved, Genma could never get the chance to cut the trigger wires of the Explosive Tags around Kage Rock and the Hokage Office Building.