Uchiha Itachi at a Loss

After the Uchiha Clan's will gradually unified, faced with immense pressure from the clan and unanimous persuasion, Fugaku Uchiha's old habit of being easily swayed resurfaced.

He changed his stance and agreed to launch a coup.

The Uchiha Clan's brakes turned into an accelerator, racing toward destruction with no way to slow down.

The Uchiha Clan's last dove, Uchiha Itachi, panicked.

Uchiha Itachi had been called a genius since childhood and praised as a ninja with a Hokage's way of thinking. Whenever he had the chance, he liked to brood alone in deep thought.

Although he had experienced quite a lot and killed many people, he was only thirteen in the end. His mind was still far from mature.

Especially now, Uchiha Itachi had lost Brother Shisui, the one person he could trust. The shock had awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan, inflicting devastating damage on both his body and mind and plunging him into an unprecedented low point.

His thoughts were already in chaos, his logic had vanished, and he had no idea what he should do.

That was perfectly normal. A child who had graduated early, never received a normal education, and lacked life experience was trying to think like an adult, even a leader.

What the hell could he possibly think of!

In the end, Uchiha Itachi could think of only one solution: go find the Third Hokage.

Thus, the Third Hokage learned from Uchiha Itachi that Shisui Uchiha was dead, Shisui's eye had been lost, and the Uchiha Clan had wholly tilted toward a coup.

When Uchiha Itachi told Hiruzen Sarutobi that Fugaku Uchiha had also taken the side of the coup, the Third Hokage felt a profound threat—and realized that the Uchiha Clan had completely slipped from his grasp.

So Hiruzen Sarutobi decided to loosen the rope around Shimura Danzō's neck.

Uchiha Itachi, who had been sent away after a few soothing words, received no answer from the Third Hokage. He fell into even greater confusion, crazily thinking as though possessed.

As everyone knew, without experience, wisdom, knowledge, and insight as a foundation, frantic thinking could only lead into a dead end and trap one in a narrow-minded corner.

It was just that the corner Uchiha Itachi burrowed into was astonishing beyond compare.

Shimura Danzō received true freedom. Instead, he stopped his actions against the Uchiha Clan and began contacting hidden forces from other villages.

Thus, a masked ninja claiming to be Madara Uchiha appeared in Root.

The undercurrents in Konoha grew ever more turbulent, and the atmosphere became increasingly tense. Every ninja clan smelled danger and began restraining their younger members from taking unnecessary missions.

All the ninja clans began cautiously standing guard, preparing for the great upheaval to come.

But ordinary civilian ninjas had families to support and needed money for training and equipment, so they had no choice but to take missions.

Shazo also received a mission, one jointly commissioned by his regular clients specifically for him.

So he appeared beside the fields, smoothly forming hand seals and completing his unique ninjutsu.

[Water Style: Rain Technique]

A pattering drizzle fell from thin air over the farmland. The crops, wilted by the sun, received nourishment and unfurled their curled leaves once more.

The immediate effect of the ninjutsu made the farmers who had hired Shazo beam with delight.

"Great work, Shazo."

"Since you started helping us, we've had two consecutive bountiful harvests."

"Every bit of money spent on missions like this is worth it."

Individually, these farmers could hardly afford to hire a ninja for such work. After all, rainfall, soil loosening, and pest removal might add up to more than ten times a year.

Under normal circumstances, they would only choose the pest removal missions that posed the greatest threat, preventing their fields from producing no harvest at all.

But Shazo's ninjutsu was different. His Water Release techniques covered an enormous area, enough to encompass more than ten times the farmland of others.

Thus arose missions where farmers joined together to hire Shazo.

One or two D-rank Missions each month gave Shazo a stable income. Combined with the rent from two commercial street storefronts, he was actually doing quite well.

After the Rain Technique ended, Shazo continued forming hand seals and used Earth Style: Soil Loosening Technique.

[Earth Style: Soil Loosening Technique]

The soil across the vast fields began to turn slowly. It neither harmed the crops' roots nor failed to turn the moistened topsoil underneath, preventing it from evaporating too quickly.

Just as the farmers marveled and eagerly anticipated a bountiful harvest twenty days later—

Shazo silently pressed his hands together while no one was watching and used a Wood Release technique without hand seals.

[Wood Style: Plant Growth]

He did his best to disperse the Wood Release chakra, spreading it evenly over hundreds of mu of land so that every crop benefited as a whole and the changes would not be so easily noticed.

But he observed that the crops had suddenly grown a little taller—neither more nor less than exactly one centimeter.

Moreover, the crops had become more vigorous, without any sign of being forced to grow too quickly.

Shazo smiled in satisfaction.

According to the Wood Release section of Five Spirits Battle True Interpretation, the core secret to increasing Wood Release's power was the exact opposite of its strongest manifestation.

It was not about having an abundant amount of chakra, but chakra control that penetrated down to the finest details.

Therefore, after completing Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence, Shazo focused his training on expanding the range of his ninjutsu and precisely controlling Wood Release chakra.

Through diligent training, he further expanded the range of his ninjutsu until he could clearly sense the limit of his control.

It was not the limit of Shazo's chakra control, but the limit of the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai itself.

He now knew for certain that this was the full range of influence of ordinary Wood Release Secret Techniques.

After completing the mission, Shazo returned to the village to submit proof of completion and collect his reward. Carrying the vegetables and fruit gifted by the farmers, he headed home.

The moment he entered, he saw Uchiha Izumi sitting at the stone table in his courtyard, listlessly propping up her chin with both hands and sighing in distress.

A basket full of seaweed rice rolls sat on the stone table, looking especially tempting beneath the dappled sunlight.

Shazo smiled and asked, "Aunt Miko made something delicious again. That's great."

Uchiha Izumi forced a smile, but it looked worse than crying. "Brother, what do you think we can do to make everyone go back to how they were before?"

Shazo raised his eyebrows and advised, "That's a problem for the Third Hokage and Fugaku Uchiha to solve. You're just a Genin, so stop worrying yourself over it."

"Izumi, Uncle and Aunt have already moved back. Don't get involved in the Uchiha Clan's affairs anymore."

Uchiha Izumi shook her head. "Brother, I can't be that selfish."

"Since returning to the Uchiha Clan, I've received many benefits from the clan. I can't think only of myself when the clan is in trouble."

"Mom and Dad may not have friends in the clan, but I do."

"Uncle Teuchi, Granny Geng, and many of the neighbors all take good care of me. Quite a few ninjas from the Konoha Military Police Force have helped me too. I can't just abandon them."

Shazo sighed. "After what happened to Shisui Uchiha, the conflict has completely escalated. It may very well turn into a violent clash."

"Izumi, you're only a little girl. No matter what you do, you can't change anything."

Uchiha Izumi felt even worse. She took a seaweed rice roll from the basket and "viciously" threw it at Shazo.

"Eat until you burst, stupid brother!"