Kakashi and Might Guy waited a while before Dai returned.
Like his son, Might Duy had thick eyebrows and large eyes, a hopelessly unfashionable bowl cut, and a green bodysuit so tacky even dust would not dare settle on it.
The only difference was his thick, bushy beard.
In Year 38 of the Leaf Village, Dai was the same age as White Fang. At twenty-nine, he had already spent more than a decade as a Genin.
If Naruto, who was clearly powerful but hopeless at ninja theory and had a terrible aptitude for ninjutsu, was the poster boy for Genin,
then Dai, who had no grounding in ninja fundamentals and zero aptitude for ninjutsu, was the strongest Genin.
Of course, at this point, Dai had every right to slam the table at the Hokage Council and shout, "Everyone here is trash!"
Unfortunately, he was too honest-so honest it made him seem pitiful.
And because of Dai, the label of incompetence attached to the Third became even more deeply ingrained in people's minds.
After all, the village clearly had a ninja who was no weaker than White Fang, perhaps even stronger, yet the Third ignored him.
Perhaps he genuinely did not know, but wasn't that itself a sign of incompetence?
At that moment,
after greeting him respectfully, Kakashi began carefully recounting everything that had happened at home, from being insulted at school, to Obito and Might Guy helping him beat up those boys and skipping class to go home with him... all the way to Ling Tian sending them back to invite the great ninja, Dai, to lend his strength.
He described it in great detail and put his all into it.
Clearly, he did not want to leave out a single word.
"Those two brothers of the Hatake Clan!"
Dai murmured after hearing the story. Then, seeing his son's admiring gaze, he clapped him on the shoulder and grinned. "Standing up for a classmate-well done! That's what I'd expect from a son of mine. But you actually hit your classmates and skipped class, so your punishment is two extra hours of training with me."
"Right now?" Might Guy asked excitedly.
"No, we'll do the extra training tonight. Right now, we're going to your classmate's house. But next time, don't hit your classmates. Just tell your teacher, or come home and tell me."
Dai shook his head, encouraging his son as best he could.
"Mr. Dai, you're agreeing to help?" Kakashi quickly asked.
"I am." Dai nodded. "Those two brothers of your Hatake Clan have both rendered great service to the village. How could I refuse to help men like them?"
"Besides..." He flashed his gleaming white teeth. "For the sake of the village, civilians and ninja alike have a duty to do their part."
"But Kakashi, you actually doubted your father and Second Uncle, and even went home to question them. Don't do that again. To make sure you remember this lesson, you'll join us for extra training tonight!"
"Thank you, Mr. Dai."
Kakashi gave him a grateful smile.
I'll never doubt Father or Second Uncle again.
He reflected on that.
At the same time,
in the Uchiha Clan Compound,
Obito was doing the same thing as Kakashi.
The difference was that Kakashi was using Talk no Jutsu, with Might Guy nodding beside him from time to time and giving a well-timed thumbs-up whenever Ling Tian or White Fang came up.
Here, however, Fugaku had made him write it down.
Fugaku understood why they had sent Obito to tell him all this.
Without a written account, he was afraid he might forget a few words.
After all, this was part of shaping public opinion. And since they had come to inform him, that meant the Uchiha would be expected to handle it when the time came.
Though many people and quite a few clans had joined the alliance, they had specifically chosen the Uchiha.
He saw nothing wrong with that, though.
Didn't this prove the Uchiha's strength?
That was just how proud the Uchiha Clan was!
But Fugaku's casually spoken instructions put Obito in a bind. Using Talk no Jutsu was no problem, but writing it down...
He was only four,
and had just started at the Ninja Academy. He barely knew how to write a few words. Luckily, the considerate Rin did it for him.
As Rin wrote, she also discussed what had happened with Obito.
Once she finished, Fugaku skimmed it and nodded to himself.
They had only settled on their public opinion strategy at his house that morning, and by noon, Lord Hokage's eldest son had handed them ammunition?
Fugaku could not help marveling. Hatake Xianyu really is impressive!
He thought Ling Tian had planned this all along. Otherwise, how could the timing be so perfect?
If Ling Tian had learned what he was thinking, he would probably have praised him as a real expert.
Honestly, he had never imagined that the Hokage's son would be so stupid.
Wasn't tarnishing the Third's reputation easy enough?
They only needed to explain the village's situation over the past few years, along with what had happened to the Senju Clan and White Fang thanks to the Third. Wouldn't public opinion swing their way?
There was no need for underhanded tricks. Telling the truth was better than anything else.
With just a little polish, every villager would fear for their own safety.
What? You said the Third had never wronged civilians, and had instead always worked to make their lives happier?
In the shinobi world, who didn't want their children to become ninja someday? If they didn't remove him now, were they supposed to wait until their children became ninja?
If they were weak, they would be used as cannon fodder. If they were strong, they would be seen as threats and then eliminated by their own side?
What a load of bullshit!
"Uncle, I'll be going now."
Obito spoke politely to his uncle, who had taken the paper and become lost in thought.
Fugaku came back to his senses, glanced at the two children, and dismissed them with a wave without saying a word.
Thanks to Kagami Uchiha, he looked down on this branch of the family from the bottom of his heart.
It was not just him. The entire clan felt the same way.
Back then, the Uchiha had staked the entire clan's future on Kagami, hoping he would improve relations between the village and the clan.
And what had he done? He had been completely brainwashed by the Second.
All he cared about were the Senju and the village. Even at his death, he had never spared a thought for the clan.
Thus, even though Obito was merely the grandson of Kagami's younger brother, the Uchiha still regarded him as a disgrace.
Then again, it made sense.
How could someone who awakened two tomoe right from the start, then evolved straight to the Mangekyo, possibly be useless?
Kagami was his great-uncle, Fugaku his uncle, Shisui his cousin, and Itachi and Sasuke were his cousins too.
With blood that pure, how could he possibly be a dead last?
The only explanation was that he was not allowed to learn the Uchiha Clan's ninjutsu. As for the basic ninjutsu taught at the Ninja Academy, aside from Itachi Uchiha, no one in this red-eyed clan had ever shown much talent for it.
The only passable one was Sasuke, and he was an angsty teenager.
Ahem, that was getting off topic...
Once they left, Fugaku's expression grew distant.
"Uncle, did you ever think about your clansmen or your family?"
"Your wife can barely afford to raise a child now."
"Your son has only just married, yet because of you, his father, he refuses to even acknowledge his mother."
"The village you devoted your entire life to has never looked after them."
"That fellow student you gave your life for still hasn't visited your widow even once."
"If you could see all this, would you regret it?"
After saying that, Fugaku, who was only twenty-three, sighed again.
The burden on his shoulders was far too heavy!
Simply allowing Obito and the others to keep living in the clan compound was already a kindness bestowed upon them by the Uchiha.
They did not deserve any further help!
Before you continue