Surveillance

An courtyard within the Uchiha Clan.

A delicately sculpted little boy of four or five held a Shuriken, doing his best to put on a stern, serious expression.

But at his young age, the expression did not make him look imposing at all. Instead, it made him rather adorable.

Whoosh—

He threw the Shuriken, sending it flying toward a target not far away.

Thud—

The Shuriken lodged firmly in the target, striking dead center.

His face lit up with delight. The little boy pulled another Shuriken from his ninja tool pouch and threw it at a target beside it.

Thud, thud, thud!

One Shuriken after another flew out, landing in the bullseyes of target after target around the courtyard, producing a string of crisp impacts.

Before long, every target placed around the courtyard had a Shuriken embedded in its bullseye.

"Yeah!"

The little boy excitedly clenched his tiny fist and said to the adult man beside him.

"Father, I did it!"

"Mm, well done."

The adult man patted the little boy's head as a reward, and the boy happily enjoyed the head pat.

This father and son were Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Sasuke.

His previous self had not thought highly of Uchiha Sasuke's talent, believing that Sasuke's talent was far inferior to Uchiha Itachi's.

Thus, he had lavished more care and expectations on Uchiha Itachi, always treating Uchiha Sasuke rather coldly.

But with his foreknowledge, he knew that Uchiha Sasuke, as Indra Reincarnation, would surpass Uchiha Itachi in future achievements.

Naturally, he needed to keep such a promising prospect firmly in his grasp.

So whenever he had time, he would set some aside to teach Uchiha Sasuke and cultivate their father-son bond.

They already had the natural bond of father and son, and with his personal instruction, his relationship with Uchiha Sasuke had become quite close.

"Father, you promised that if I hit every target, you'd teach me ninjutsu."

Uchiha Sasuke looked expectantly at Uchiha Fugaku.

"Don't worry. I won't go back on my word. Today, I'll teach you the Great Fireball Technique."

Uchiha Fugaku smiled and began explaining the hand seals and casting techniques for the Great Fireball Technique to Uchiha Sasuke.

Suddenly, the keen senses of a Kage-level expert made him feel as though he were being watched.

He looked toward the source of that gaze and immediately spotted Uchiha Itachi standing silently in the corridor beside the courtyard.

The other man stood in an inconspicuous corner, quietly watching them.

If it had been his previous self, he would certainly have thought nothing of it. After all, Uchiha Itachi was his eldest son, the one he had always been proud of.

But knowing Uchiha Itachi's true nature as an ungrateful traitor, he could not help becoming wary.

Is Uchiha Itachi watching me?

To test this, he asked casually.

"Itachi, haven't you had any missions lately?"

"Yes, Father."

Having been noticed by Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Itachi felt a moment of tension.

But he quickly composed himself and answered in a calm, "respectful" tone.

"You've been carrying out missions frequently. Since you have time to rest, make sure you rest properly."

Uchiha Fugaku's expression did not change, but he became even more certain of his suspicions. Uchiha Itachi had most likely been ordered to monitor him.

Ever since Uchiha Itachi had joined the Anbu, there had rarely been a time when he was free. Often, he would be nowhere to be seen for days at a time.

That showed just how busy the Anbu was.

While it was possible for him to suddenly have free time, the village had now mobilized a large number of Anbu personnel to investigate the deaths of Shimura Ryoma and the other two. There was bound to be a shortage of manpower for routine missions.

Under such circumstances, how could they possibly fail to assign Uchiha Itachi a mission?

The only explanation was that Uchiha Itachi was already carrying out a mission.

And his mission was an especially unusual one: to monitor him, or perhaps the movements of the Uchiha Clan.

"I will."

Uchiha Itachi answered obediently, without the slightest sign of defiance.

Had he not possessed foreknowledge, he would never have imagined that Uchiha Itachi had already become an ungrateful traitor to the clan.

"Great! Brother, train with me!"

Hearing that Uchiha Itachi was free for a while, Uchiha Sasuke said happily.

"Sure."

A genuine smile appeared on Uchiha Itachi's face as he agreed.

Within the clan, Sasuke was now the only one who could still make him smile from the heart.

"Itachi rarely gets time to rest, so don't disturb him. Isn't Father here to train with you?"

Uchiha Fugaku said.

"Alright."

Though somewhat reluctant, Uchiha Sasuke obediently agreed.

Big Brother must be very tired right now. Since Father was here to train with him, there was no need to trouble Big Brother.

"Go on. Take a walk around the market and relax!"

Uchiha Fugaku said to Uchiha Itachi.

"Father, then I'll be going."

Although he had a surveillance mission to carry out, Uchiha Itachi responded and turned to leave in order to avoid arousing Uchiha Fugaku's suspicions.

After he left, Uchiha Fugaku continued teaching Uchiha Sasuke.

The reason he had stopped Uchiha Itachi from training with Uchiha Sasuke was to prevent Uchiha Sasuke from having too much contact with Uchiha Itachi.

Uchiha Itachi had already betrayed the clan and become an ungrateful traitor. He did not want Uchiha Sasuke associating with him too much, lest he be brainwashed.

Although Uchiha Itachi did not possess the Third Hokage's talent for brainwashing, making it unlikely that Uchiha Sasuke would be brainwashed, he still needed to take precautions.

After teaching Uchiha Sasuke the hand seals and techniques for the Great Fireball Technique and having him practice on his own, Uchiha Fugaku began considering Uchiha Itachi's surveillance.

"Why would the Third Hokage suddenly have Uchiha Itachi monitor me?"

The Third Hokage would never order Uchiha Itachi to monitor him for no reason. There had to be something that had prompted the Third Hokage to issue the order.

"Did he discover that the deaths of Shimura Ryoma and the other two were connected to me?"

His first thought was that his ambush and killing of Shimura Ryoma and the other two had been exposed, but he quickly dismissed the possibility.

If the ambush of Shimura Ryoma and the others had been exposed, then he would not be facing surveillance, but investigation and interrogation.

"Could it be because of the clan meeting from not long ago?"

After ruling out the ambush of Shimura Ryoma and the others, the only thing he could think of was the Uchiha Clan meeting held not long ago.

It was highly likely that the Third Hokage had learned of what was discussed at that meeting, putting him on guard.

"Neither Uchiha Shisui nor Uchiha Itachi attended that clan meeting. How did the Third Hokage learn about it? It seems there are other traitors in the clan besides those two!"

He snorted inwardly.

He had not expected that, aside from Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi, those two ungrateful traitors, there were other traitors within the clan.

His previous self had truly failed as clan head. Traitors had appeared within the clan one after another. Besides Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi, there were even hidden traitors.

"I'd like to see who it is..."

A cold gleam appeared in his eyes as killing intent rose within him.