Internal Conflict Personality

"Shisui's body was collected by me."

Senyo reminded him, "If you want to revive Shisui someday, you'll need to preserve his body properly."

There was a trace of longing in Itachi's eyes. "I understand, Senior Senyo."

"As for whether you or Sasuke will obtain the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan in the future, I have higher hopes for you."

Senyo stated this to Itachi without reservation.

Yet Itachi's face showed both shame and gratitude.

On one hand, he wanted Sasuke to obtain the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

On the other, he had only just betrayed his clan, yet Senior Senyo still trusted him so deeply.

One look at Itachi's expression told Senyo exactly what he was thinking.

He patted Itachi on the shoulder. "Don't worry. It's a matter of who comes first, not a matter of sacrificing one of you."

"Since I know so much, I'll naturally find a way to evolve both of your eyes."

"But Sasuke is still young, and your body is still too weak. There's no need to think about that now."

"In the future, you must become Sasuke's role model, shield him from every disaster, and hold up the sky for him."

As an older brother, one always wanted to shoulder some of the burden for his younger brother.

If one of the brothers had to go blind, Itachi would definitely choose himself.

But with Senyo putting it another way, Itachi was able to accept it.

Feeling Senyo's expectations for him, Itachi was deeply moved.

"Senior Senyo, I'm sorry, I..."

Senyo waved his hand. "No need to say it. You still have your clan. You still have people to rely on."

"Peace is what everyone longs for. Neither Shisui nor you was wrong; your perspectives were simply too narrow."

"You're still young. You have endless possibilities ahead of you, so don't dwell on what happened now."

"After all, the clan hasn't suffered any losses, right?"

Itachi was the type to torment himself internally. Senyo had no intention of letting this mistake, one that had not yet fully formed, become another psychological burden for him.

Even someone like Itachi had a flicker in his eyes after hearing Senyo's words.

"I understand, Senior Senyo."

Senyo looked toward the sunlight streaming in from outside, which cast a long shadow of his body.

Looking at that shadow, he said to Itachi, "Take this with you."

As he spoke, Senyo's Mangekyō Sharingan spun, and the shadow on the ground actually rose to its feet.

Then it slowly transformed into Senyo's appearance.

Meanwhile, Senyo's original shadow became imperceptibly fainter.

Itachi watched the shadow in surprise. He discovered that its aura was exactly identical to Senyo's.

Senyo waved his hand, and the shadow walked over to Itachi.

Then it slowly melted into Itachi's shadow.

"My shadow is no different from a Shadow Clone, except it can move quickly through shadows."

"It can also remain hidden in your shadow at all times."

"And I can transfer my consciousness into it. If anything urgent happens, you can use it to contact me."

"We both use Ninja Crow Style Summoning Beasts. We'll use ninja crows to exchange messages at a fixed time every night."

Senyo had more or less finished making his arrangements. He yawned. "Alright, that should be about it."

"Go choose the members who'll be leaving with you this time, then say goodbye to your beloved Sasuke and beloved Izumi."

"Senior, I... Izumi and I..."

Senyo waved his hand. "I think she's a good match for you, so stop being so awkward about it."

"When she was attacked, she kept shouting, 'Itachi, save me!' Why do you think that was?"

Senyo wore a faintly teasing smile as he said this.

Itachi looked a little embarrassed. In truth, he and Izumi were not lovers yet, but they were only one step away.

However, after what had happened last night, their relationship had suddenly taken a huge step forward. Senyo was not randomly playing matchmaker.

People in this world generally matured early. Itachi and Izumi had been childhood friends for so many years, yet neither had ever made their feelings clear.

Senyo did not mind giving them a push. "Let me ask you this: do you like Izumi?"

Itachi rarely blushed, but Senyo saw it now.

It was likely that Itachi had never been forced to answer such a question in his life, and he stammered unusually.

Senyo found it amusing and burst out laughing:

"All right, all right. If you don't answer, I'll take it as you liking her."

"Yeah, I like her."

Itachi steadied himself and still gave his honest answer.

After that night, aside from his family, Izumi was the person Itachi thought about most.

He could not imagine how painfully he would live if he killed Izumi himself.

Only after seeing the lingering fear and dread on Itachi's face did Senyo realize that Itachi simply kept many things hidden.

"All right, it's fine now. Didn't I say everyone's doing well? Don't overthink it."

Senyo offered a few words of comfort as well.

Itachi's life should not consist of only his younger brother. He should have love of his own too.

He and Izumi were childhood friends, a very suitable match.

Senyo changed the subject.

"Since you won't be able to come back for a while after leaving this time, have you thought about saying something to her?"

Itachi's expression shifted, as though he had made up his mind about something.

"Five streets!?" Upon hearing that answer, Fugaku was utterly stunned.

"Kushina had that much property!?" Fugaku asked for confirmation again.

Mikoto nodded. "Yes. Mito-sama doted on Kushina greatly back then, and before she passed away, she left all her inheritance to her."

"Kushina didn't know how to manage it, so she bought all the land and shops along the five streets of Asahitaru, Kanro, Obimi, Sawayu, and Yokotsuu."

"There were three whole boxes of land deeds and property deeds alone. I've seen them myself."

A trace of amazement appeared in Fugaku's eyes. Senyo had been right—there really was that much.

Asahitaru, Kanro, Obimi, Sawayu, and Yokotsuu had been nothing special ten years ago.

But Konoha had continually expanded and developed outward.

Those five streets had now become Konoha's central district, with land and housing prices rising dozens of times over.

Konoha's money did not all belong to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Yet the Fourth Hokage and his wife's inheritance had all gone into Sarutobi Hiruzen's pocket.

After all, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki had lived worse than a pig or dog since childhood.

He had not even had enough to eat, and owned only one set of clothes. He had been treated exactly like an orphan.

Naturally, Sarutobi Hiruzen had taken the inheritance.

Put that way, Sarutobi Hiruzen had secretly swallowed up so much money.

If he had used it to develop his clan...

Then... just how many people would the Sarutobi Clan have!?

Stormy waves surged in Fugaku's eyes. Senyo had not been making baseless claims.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's ambitions certainly went beyond merely being Hokage.

Fugaku had once believed that the Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan were both typical major clans.

But in truth, the Sarutobi Clan was the real major clan.

In terms of numbers, even the Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan combined would have to step aside.

At Sarutobi Hiruzen's pace of development—

It was entirely possible that he would have three thousand Sarutobi Force troops ten years from now.