Brother, Will You Defeat Him

Several hours later.

"Teacher Eiji, I can control Chakra now."

He gathered Chakra on the soles of his feet and wobbled back and forth atop a giant tree.

He looked quite pleased with himself.

"Hehehe, lalala, I'm such a genius."

Naruto grinned happily, and that was when he lost control of his Chakra.

His foot slipped, and he fell face-first toward the ground.

"Mommy! Help!"

Eiji covered his face. This kid really was...

He caught Naruto in one hand and casually tossed him toward the riverbank.

"Walk on water. If you fall in by accident, you'll drown, you know~"

Naruto swallowed nervously and carefully stepped onto the water's surface.

Driven by fear, he frantically squeezed the potential out of his body.

"Aaaaaah!"

Eiji narrowed his eyes. He clearly saw a flash of orange light flicker across Naruto's body.

He hadn't expected the cheat to activate so quickly.

And then...

"Gurgle gurgle, help, gurgle gurgle!"

"Sigh... looks like it's still no good."

Eiji fished Naruto out.

Little Naruto expertly took off his clothes, dried himself, changed, and set the wet clothes by the fire to dry.

It was clear he had repeated this routine countless times already.

As for the wounds on his body, they were slowly healing too.

"Let's stop here. We'll continue another day."

Uchiha Clan Compound, training ground.

Sasuke took a deep breath. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

Looking at the small fireball he spat out, Sasuke felt a bit dejected.

"Just like Father said, I really can't compare to you, big brother."

Sasuke plopped down on the ground, picked up a pebble, and threw it away.

Itachi gently patted Sasuke on the head.

"You've done well, Sasuke. At your age, I couldn't even do this much."

"That's not true, big brother. Father said you're a rare genius in the clan. No matter what jutsu it is, you only need to be taught once to learn it."

Hearing the words "genius ninja," Itachi paused for a moment, then returned to normal.

What genius ninja? He was just a stepping stone for that guy.

As the Young Clan Head of the Uchiha, Itachi had a very proud heart.

Likewise, he knew he was his father's pride.

After he lost to Eiji, his father had never blamed him.

Lately, he often dreamed of the scene where Eiji defeated him.

It was almost becoming his inner demon.

To overcome this demon, he trained like a madman, to the point where even his close friend Shisui couldn't bear to watch.

Shisui advised him to take a break and adjust first.

But Itachi wouldn't listen to that.

After every sparring session, Itachi would ask Shisui one question.

Could I defeat Eiji now?

And Shisui would just shake his head and say not to dwell on it.

Then, Itachi understood.

Shisui's meaning was clear: don't ask, you can't win.

Itachi's sudden silence made Sasuke sense something was off in the atmosphere.

His eyes darted around, and he quickly guessed the reason.

"Big brother, you'll beat that guy sooner or later!"

"If you can't beat him, then wait until I grow up and join the Chunin Exams—I'll defeat him in front of everyone!"

Sasuke shook his fist, looking full of confidence.

Itachi smiled and patted Sasuke on the head.

My dear little brother, as long as I still have breath in me, I won't let you charge ahead.

"Let's continue."

"Alright!"

At the same time, at Danzo's residence.

Due to Hiruzen's orders, Danzo had been temporarily relieved of his duties.

During this period, he couldn't go out freely and could only rely on his subordinates to relay information.

But the most useful workhorse, Ryoma, was dead, which gave Danzo quite a headache.

He needed to find an opportunity to borrow some capable ninjas from the various clans.

If they refused, he'd just fabricate some charges against them and invite their clan heads to Root for a little tea.

"Lord Danzo, the two advisors have come to see you."

"Let them in."

Homura and Koharu removed their hoods and sat down before Danzo.

They didn't bother with pleasantries and got straight to the point.

"Danzo, what madness has possessed Hiruzen? How could he relieve you of your duties? Doesn't he know that Konoha can't function without you for even a single day?"

Danzo snorted coldly. "You two know our Hokage well enough. He's dead set on cultivating an image of kindness and gentleness."

"Lately, he's gotten some wild idea about winning over the Uchiha clan, so naturally, I became the sacrifice."

Hearing this, Homura and Koharu sighed.

Like Danzo, they had always held a hostile attitude toward the Uchiha.

In the past, when it came to matters concerning the Uchiha, if it was punitive, they approved without question.

But if it gave the Uchiha any benefit, they opposed it with all their might.

They even claimed that if Lord Tobirama were still alive, he would agree with their stance.

As for Hiruzen, he trusted the three of them deeply and often consulted them on both major and minor matters.

But who could have predicted that Hiruzen would suddenly make such a decision?

"What do we do now? With Danzo suspended, the Uchiha must be laughing in their sleep."

"Those lunatics—I'll wipe them all out sooner or later, not even sparing the little brats."

Homura adjusted his glasses and spoke to calm Danzo down.

"The priority now is to formulate a new plan."

"Last time, we miscalculated. Not only did we fail to achieve our goal, but we let that brat Eiji show off in front of Hiruzen."

"Now Hiruzen has him investigating the intruder who used Wood Style. With that order, Eiji can use 'the Hokage commands it' as a shield for anything he does."

At this, Homura glanced at Danzo again.

"That intruder—he really isn't one of your subordinates?"

Danzo snorted coldly. "Of course not. The only successful test subject was taken by Hiruzen and assigned to the Anbu."

"I see."

Danzo was a bit irritated.

What did Homura mean by this? They had worked together for so many years—was there not even that much trust between them?

Besides, he had been suspended, but Homura and Koharu hadn't.

As Konoha's advisors, the two of them should be taking on the responsibility of maintaining the village's stability during this time.

But from what they were saying today, not only did they have no intelligence to share, they were turning around and asking Danzo what to do.

Hell, if he knew what to do, would he have ended up in this mess?

Get lost!

Just like Hiruzen—utterly useless.

Danzo was deeply worried. This village really would fall apart without him.

This only strengthened his resolve.

He must, he had to, he absolutely would become Hokage!

A few days passed, and the investigation into the intruder hit a dead end.

Eishi and his two companions had turned Konoha upside down, but found nothing.

"Senpai Kakashi, why do you think that intruder only had one Sharingan?"

Kakashi, who was reviewing reports, paused his movements. "You mean to say, he's not actually a member of the Uchiha clan?"

"But rather, like me, he obtained it through some special circumstances?"

Eishi let out an "ah." Is that what I meant! I was trying to say... Forget it, it's hard to explain. What if he said that person was actually Obito, and the reason he only had one Sharingan was because the other one was with him. And that he survived because he met the Shinobi World's Asura, Uchiha Madara. Now they're trying to destroy the world, blah blah blah. Who would believe that! Why not just say there are actually aliens in this world too.