The Uchiha Buried Underground? (Please Read On)

"Obito, why were you interested in that kid?"

Under the silver moon, within the dimensional space atop Konohagakure's Hokage Rock.

The white half of the Pitcher Plant Monster's face watched Obito with great curiosity.

He did not quite understand the purpose behind Obito's actions, but he did not care much either. After all, that black fellow could not figure Obito out either.

"I'm not particularly interested in him. He's just an ordinary person who's slightly more capable."

Obito shook his head. Although White Zetsu was rather dim-witted, those creatures had kept him company during his most desperate days, so he was quite willing to chat with them.

"What interests me is his teammate, Shisui Uchiha, as well as a new toy I've found."

"Didn't you call him a seed last time?"

The white-faced half asked with a baffled expression, but upon seeing Obito's gaze sweep toward him, he immediately smiled and waved his hand.

"Relax, relax. Toy or seed, it doesn't matter what he is."

"Mm."

After withdrawing his gaze, Obito nodded decisively, and the black half of the Pitcher Plant Monster's face spoke.

"You want to use this kid to try influencing Shisui Uchiha, perhaps even Itachi Uchiha?"

"I do have that thought."

Obito did not deny it and spoke directly.

"With my help, Itachi Uchiha has already awakened his eyes, but that is not his limit. And barring any surprises, Shisui Uchiha already possesses the Mangekyo.

"In that case, it would be unreasonable not to give it a try—whether it's figuring out the ability of Shisui Uchiha's eyes or obtaining those eyes.

"Or seeing whether I can make him leave Konohagakure, or push Itachi Uchiha even further. None of those are things I shouldn't do."

The Pitcher Plant Monster nodded. It was indeed worth trying, though there was something else he was curious about.

"Not a bad idea. But how will you do it?"

At those words, Obito fell silent.

Because he himself had not figured out what exactly he should do. After all, he tended to act on impulse at times.

For example, after accidentally hearing Kakashi say that Kushina had been the previous Jinchuriki, the Nine-Tailed Fox Incident had happened.

"Looks like I was too hasty."

The black half of the Pitcher Plant Monster's face understood Obito well. Although he felt Obito's silence was somewhat deafening, he quickly tried to smooth things over.

"We don't know much about this kid yet. Let's gather more information about him first, then make long-term plans."

"Mm, we'll do that."

"Ah-choo."

In a barbecue restaurant in Konohagakure, Hidezawa suddenly could not help sneezing, causing Yugao beside him to glance at him with concern.

"What's wrong? Did you catch a cold?"

"I don't know."

Hidezawa shook his head, then smiled after giving it some thought.

"Maybe someone's badmouthing me."

"You..."

Yugao could not hold it in for a moment. Who would be so bored as to badmouth you for no reason?

"I'm joking. Here, Senior, try what I grilled."

Without giving her a chance to refuse, Hidezawa picked up a piece of grilled meat and placed it in Yugao's bowl, making her somewhat embarrassed.

"I can do it myself. People are watching."

"So it's fine when no one's watching?"

"Stop talking nonsense."

Seeing Yugao's slightly flushed face, Hidezawa smiled but said nothing more.

What was there to be ashamed of? As an old hand, he knew all too well that sometimes, being shameless was the right move!

What he and Kabuto had said—"Without indulgence, all pursuits are devoid of joy"—was not a joke.

Though he would not go that far, now that he had come to this world, could he not marry a few wives?

Of course, Hidezawa also knew what took priority.

For him, the most important thing at present was still "inheriting Danzo's legacy."

But that did not mean he could not make preparations for himself along the way, did it?

"Besides, Konohagakure has all kinds of local specialties. It would be a shame not to sample them. And isn't this also me doing my best to do some good?"

Hidezawa silently gave himself a thumbs-up, while his gaze turned toward the other people attending the gathering nearby.

Though the original plan had been a simple gathering for the three of them, Shisui had no idea why and still had not arrived.

But because of what happened with Kakashi, two more people had joined them.

To show his gratitude, Kakashi had come over on his own initiative. He had also brought along Tenzō, who they had just rescued and who had now changed his name from "Kano."

Tenzō still seemed somewhat reserved, but he appeared fairly close to Hidezawa.

After all, they had once been colleagues, even if they had barely interacted back then.

"Hidezawa-kun, I still have to thank you for everything you did this afternoon."

Kakashi paid no attention whatsoever to the little exchanges between Hidezawa and Yugao, smiling as he spoke to Hidezawa.

"Thank you too, Owl. Uh, Hidezawa. If it hadn't been for you, I probably wouldn't have gotten out so easily."

Tenzō immediately followed up, though he was still somewhat used to Hidezawa's Root codename.

"No need to thank me. It was the Hokage's order. And don't call me by that codename anymore. Also, congratulations on getting out of there."

Hidezawa smiled and nodded at them while continuing to put meat into Yugao's bowl. But after thinking for a moment, he still turned to ask her a question.

"That's strange. Why isn't Shisui-senpai here yet? Isn't he usually the first to arrive when we meet up? Why is he so slow today?"

"Huh, you didn't know?"

Watching Hidezawa's movements, Yugao pursed her lips, then simply pretended not to see anything and answered softly.

"After we disbanded, he said that since he finally had some time off, he wanted to spend it training with his younger brother. So he might come a little later tonight."

"Younger brother?"

Hearing that, Hidezawa's expression immediately became somewhat strange.

Shisui Uchiha's younger brother—didn't that mean Itachi Uchiha, the one who would wipe out his entire clan?

"Come to think of it, Shisui-senpai's little brother is a genius too."

Yugao had no idea what Hidezawa was thinking and continued with a smile.

"He graduated from the Academy at such a young age and even nearly broke Kakashi-senpai's record. I heard he'll be taking the Chunin Exams soon."

"..."

Kakashi scratched his head from the side. He had not expected the topic to somehow turn to him. After thinking for a moment, he finally spoke.

"Actually, I don't think leaving the Academy early is necessarily a good thing. You can make more friends while you're there."

Those were sincere words from Kakashi. His experiences had been truly miserable, and he had even wanted to give up on himself.

Yet in the end, he had been pulled back by those friends he had once looked down on.

"That depends on the person, though. After all, he's an Uchiha."

Hidezawa shrugged. The Uchiha were all rather extreme in personality, and Itachi Uchiha had grown up following Shisui Uchiha around.

He could even use a Shadow Clone to deal with classes while going off to train with Shisui himself. Clearly, he had not regarded those classmates highly at all.

Besides, even if Itachi Uchiha wanted to stay in the Academy, his lunatic father probably would not have been willing.

After all, it took a special kind of person to give up all resistance despite having the ability to fight back, then watch his beloved son slaughter the entire clan.

As a normal person, Hidezawa truly could not understand what that man had been thinking.

"Still, speaking of the Uchiha..."

Suddenly, Hidezawa seemed to recall something.

"I remember there was another incredibly formidable Uchiha who seemed to be buried underground..."

Talent was important. Hidezawa had always valued talent, so perhaps he could try looking for him in the future?

But just as he was pondering this, someone suddenly knocked on the partition door of their private room.