Fourth: Things Didn't Go as Planned

"As long as leaves dance in the wind,

fire will burn.

The shadow of the fire will shine upon the village,

and cause new leaves to sprout."

This was Konoha's Will of Fire, the ideal behind the founding of the village.

But from the way things looked now, this so-called "Will of Fire" was little more than a grand-sounding slogan—or brainwashing propaganda.

Still, none of that had anything to do with Yu. All he wanted now was to survive. More than anything, he hoped everyone would ignore him and forget him in some corner.

He even hoped they'd bury him carelessly when the time came. They shouldn't bury him too deep, so he could climb back out of the dirt.

"Once I get through this, I'll leave Konoha as soon as possible. The world of Naruto should be huge. I'll find some remote place and train and build up my strength little by little. Once everything has settled down, I'll come back out. This world is way too dangerous." Yu began imagining his future. He wanted to become a powerful ninja and unite the entire Shinobi World, too, but right now, he could barely keep himself alive. If he didn't make it through tonight, he wouldn't just fail to become a powerful ninja—his life might end right here. He'd only recently died once; he didn't want to die again.

Yu shut down his senses, doing everything he could to reduce the chance that anyone would discover his true condition.

Uchiha Itachi had left, but Danzo still intended to wipe out the entire Uchiha clan without sparing a single person. That included Uchiha Itachi.

But after Itachi had cut down the Root ninja who tried to ambush him as easily as slicing through melons and vegetables, Danzo knew he wouldn't be able to keep Itachi here today.

"Remember our agreement. Otherwise..."

Itachi stood over Danzo as he spoke.

Danzo looked at Itachi without a trace of fear. Instead, his gaze was feverish. He yearned more and more for the Uchiha's power. He had to possess such strength if he wanted to accomplish his ambitions.

After Itachi left, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi came to Sasuke's side. He'd seen everything that had happened here, and Itachi had noticed his presence as well.

"Is this really what's best for the village?"

Hiruzen wasn't sure the village had made the right choice. Given the circumstances, Konoha's decision was perfectly correct—it best served the village's interests.

Hiruzen slowly walked over to Sasuke. Sasuke was Itachi's only request of Konoha, and the village would honor it. He had come to take Sasuke away.

Just as Hiruzen touched Sasuke, who lay unconscious on the ground, Sasuke suddenly opened his eyes. He gazed pleadingly at the person before him and tremblingly pointed toward Yu, whose body showed no sign of life.

"Please... save him... please..."

Sasuke used the last of his strength to say those words.

At that moment, hatred seemed to have fallen to second place in Sasuke's heart. He would never forget the sight of Yu risking his life to save him.

Yu, of course, didn't see any of this. With his senses shut down, he couldn't hear anything, either.

Hiruzen looked at Yu, who was lying on the ground. As far as he could sense, there were no signs of life in Yu's body. He'd seen Itachi's long blade pierce Yu, too. There was no way anyone could survive such an injury.

Hiruzen picked Sasuke up. He'd planned to walk straight past Yu's body, but as he passed it, he stopped and stared at Yu in confusion.

Hiruzen could tell for certain that Yu showed no signs of life. His breathing, heartbeat, and pulse had all stopped. For an ordinary ninja, that meant certain death.

And yet Hiruzen could sense activity in Yu's consciousness. It was faint, but it was definitely there.

An ordinary ninja wouldn't have been able to detect it, but Hiruzen was known as the Shinobi World Professor. He knew every ninjutsu in Konoha. No matter how much truth there was to that title, it showed just how powerful Hiruzen was. It was hardly surprising that he could sense Yu's consciousness.

Hiruzen formed several hand seals. A gust of wind swept in and lifted Yu's body.

Perhaps Hiruzen had taken pity on him. The Uchiha clan had been completely wiped out, and in his view, leaving two children alive wouldn't cause any trouble. Besides, Uchiha Itachi had taken on all the hatred for the Uchiha Clan Massacre himself.

If they were raised well, the two children could become assets to the village in the future.

The Third Hokage left the area with Yu and Sasuke, but someone stopped him on the way.

"Lord Third, you can take Sasuke, but that other brat has to stay."

Danzo said this as he looked at Hiruzen.

But Hiruzen showed no intention of stopping.

"Remember, I'm the Hokage now."

Hiruzen said this as he passed Danzo.

Danzo's expression darkened, but he didn't argue. Hiruzen was Konoha's Shadow, the highest authority in the entire village. Danzo heard the unyielding resolve in Hiruzen's words.

Hiruzen wasn't a good man, but neither was he a completely evil one. His position simply constrained the choices he could make.

In his near-death state, Yu had no idea that Hiruzen Sarutobi had taken him away. He did know that someone had picked him up, though, and that the stretcher beneath him was made of some material that felt quite comfortable.

Although he'd stopped his bodily functions, Yu's consciousness remained very active. He hadn't given that a thought. He was an ordinary person, and although he knew the plot of the Naruto world very well, the real world was never like an anime.

In fact, throughout this whole process, Yu's mind had remained extremely tense. If he relaxed, he might not be able to maintain his "near-death" state.

After a few minutes, Yu felt himself being placed on something soft, much like a bed.

He wanted to sneak a look at his surroundings, but his life was at stake, so he had to be extremely careful. He didn't dare open his eyes. If someone caught him, he'd be done for.

"Hurry up and bury me! Just dig a hole and toss me in."

He was just an ordinary member of the Uchiha clan. The strongest person in his family across three generations had been his grandfather, who'd died long ago. His grandfather had been a jōnin, but had only awakened a two-tomoe Sharingan. His parents had never awakened their Sharingan, even before they died in battle.

Danzo, who was responsible for dealing with the bodies, wanted Sharingan. Yu didn't have one, so he was safe.