Expansion

"Itachi is eleven?"

"Not quite, seems like his birthday is still a while away."

Inaho trailed off mid-sentence, then suddenly turned to look at Eiji.

Wasn't his focus a bit off?

"Itachi really joined the Anbu?"

Inaho nodded lightly. "The third day after you left the village on your mission, Itachi also received an assignment outside. He got back just half a day before you did."

"Yesterday, while visiting the clan head's home, I happened to hear this news."

Inaho sounded a bit wistful. "But I never imagined an Uchiha would get into the Anbu."

From the Uchiha's perspective, getting into the Anbu was as hard as winning the lottery.

After all, the Anbu was a department directly managed by the Hokage, handling all sorts of affairs in the village.

Those who could join were usually no ordinary shinobi.

Not only did they have to be loyal to the Hokage, but they also had to fit the Anbu's secretive style.

Take Might Guy, for example—he didn't meet the latter requirement. When he fought, others didn't even need to identify him; one yell of "Konoha's Blue Beast" and he'd basically blown his cover.

"Oh," Eiji replied perfunctorily. "That's good. Let's go."

The group strolled slowly down the street, but Eiji's mind was already elsewhere.

Itachi joining the Anbu was Fugaku's arrangement. He wanted Itachi to act as a spy.

Once the Uchiha decided to rebel, they'd coordinate from within and without, stab Hiruzen dead in one blow, and storm the Hokage Building.

Shouting that Hiruzen was dead and the Uchiha should rise.

In theory, this plan wasn't flawed.

After all, Itachi was his own son, completely trustworthy.

But.

Itachi wasn't just any son.

He was a monster.

Who would've guessed he'd turn out to be a double-crosser?

Along with another big monster, he killed his parents, relatives, friends, and lover.

Even worse, that bastard made Sasuke watch it over and over.

Saying things like, "Hate me, Sasuke."

What a load of crap.

It was already a mercy he wasn't chopped into bits and fed to the pigs.

And he still kept yapping on.

The next day, Itachi reported to the Anbu.

His greeter was Kakashi.

"Another Uchiha brat? Am I cursed with Uchiha?"

Itachi gave a slight bow. "Senior Kakashi, please guide me."

"Nothing to guide. Go get your gear, uniform, and fill out the entry form. Anbu work is tough; hope you're mentally prepared."

"I'll do my best and won't disappoint the Hokage's expectations."

Kakashi waved a hand. "Follow me."

As he walked, he muttered, "What's with Uchiha brats? One's all 'loyalty,' another's all 'expectations'—freaking lunatics."

Meanwhile, Hiruzen's move to bring Itachi into the Anbu naturally sparked discussion between his two old friends.

"Hiruzen, I know you want to solve the Uchiha problem, but haven't you been too kind to them lately?"

Homura pushed up his glasses, then nudged Koharu.

Koharu caught on and quickly chimed in.

"That's right. First you had Jiraiya teach Eiji, and now you're stuffing Itachi into the Anbu. This is too dangerous."

Hiruzen set down his scroll and gestured for them to sit and talk.

"So what? I can't just recruit Itachi into the Anbu and then fire him tomorrow for stepping into the office with his left foot."

Koharu clearly heard the sarcasm in Hiruzen's tone.

"The Hokage's orders naturally can't be a joke, but since we've brought Itachi in, we should make him prove his worth."

"What worth?"

Koharu lowered her voice. "Is there any way to make Itachi a spy we plant inside the Uchiha clan?"

This idea was so bold that even Homura was startled.

But Hiruzen looked completely unfazed.

"Wait, Hiruzen, you don't mean..."

Hiruzen took a drag of his pipe. "Spy or not, he's just a child who puts the bigger picture first."

Itachi's entry into the Anbu naturally split the Uchiha internally into two factions.

One side believed that a proud Uchiha shouldn't be Konoha's lapdog.

The other side argued that if Itachi could join the Anbu today, tomorrow he could be a guard, the day after an advisor, and the day after that, the Hokage.

"Advisor my ass, Danzo's already been fired."

"Doesn't that leave the spot open for Itachi? I think the Hokage is paving the way for him."

"You're insane. How many drinks did you have? Sober up before you come to a meeting, alright?"

"Patriarch Fugaku, does letting Itachi join the Anbu have any deeper meaning?"

At these words, the noisy room fell silent.

They all turned to Fugaku, waiting for his answer.

"Which path Itachi's future takes isn't decided by me, nor by him, but by the Hokage."

Fugaku paused, then continued his rambling.

"If the village sends more goodwill signals toward the Uchiha in the future, I believe both sides can coexist peacefully."

"But if the Uchiha continue to face unfair treatment, the possibility of a military coup can't be ruled out."

The clansmen looked at each other.

Got it. After all that nonsense, he said nothing at all.

The patriarch was still playing the fence-sitter.

A few of the older elders sneered, too lazy to even speak.

Rebel or play dead—pick one.

Wavering back and forth like this, sooner or later he'd lead the whole clan into a ditch before he learned his lesson.

Fugaku heard the clansmen's murmurs, so he coughed a few times and continued dodging the issue by changing the subject.

"How's the Security Division doing lately? Hey, why are so few people from the Security Division here today?"

One clansman stood up. "Patriarch Fugaku, they're busy with recruitment under Elder Yashiro."

"Recruitment?"

Fugaku perked up. He'd heard a word about it from Eiji that morning and had vaguely agreed.

He thought it was just hiring three or four clansmen, but it didn't seem to be the case.

"Meeting adjourned. I'll go check it out."

At the Security Division, several Uchiha were drafting a recruitment notice.

"Recruiting 100 Security Division staff. Requirements: good health, upright character, no bad habits."

"Compensation..."

Wait, 100?

Fugaku gasped.

Is this recruitment or rebellion?

If the Hokage finds out, he'll have your head.

"Eiji, this is too much. The Security Division has a total of 200 members. Expanding by half at once—the Hokage can't help but suspect something."

To his surprise, Eiji replied with righteous indignation.

"The Security Division exists to protect every villager. I know that, the Patriarch knows that, and the Hokage knows that."

"If we had enough manpower last time, we might have caught the intruder."

"But now the culprit's still at large, and the whole village is on edge. If we don't take action, how do we reassure the people behind us?"

Fugaku scratched his head. This Eiji guy was really something.

Every time he talked about this stuff, his righteousness was terrifying, yet he was always joking around otherwise.

Fugaku knew his parents too—they weren't like this.

Who did he take after?

It couldn't be Tobirama...

Pfft, shut up, stupid mouth.