Orochimaru's Defection

Hearing Yusuke bring up the "Trolley Problem," Itachi shook his head, indicating he had never heard of it.

(A special note here: there are trains in the world of Naruto!!)

"On one track, five people are tied down; on a branch of that track, one person is tied down. At this moment, a train is speeding toward them, and you are holding the lever that can change the train's path."

"So, would you choose to pull the lever and trade the life of this one person for the lives of those five?"

Yusuke slowly recounted the famous "Trolley Problem" from his past life.

Although Itachi had not yet answered, Yusuke had already roughly guessed what choice Itachi would make.

Itachi only pondered for a moment before replying: "I would pull the lever!"

Yusuke nodded and continued to ask: "Then, what if there are five people who each have failing organs—heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys—and they could all survive if they received healthy transplants. At this moment, a healthy person appears."

"Would you choose to kill this healthy person and transplant his healthy heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys to save those five people?"

Hearing Yusuke's question, Itachi shook his head: "No."

Just after answering, Itachi looked at Yusuke's half-smiling expression, as if he had understood something, yet he still couldn't quite grasp the key point.

"Teacher, these two questions of yours make me even more unsure of how to make a choice." Itachi's gaze became clouded with confusion.

"Life cannot be measured simply by quantity. You do not have the right to take one person's life for the sake of five!" Yusuke said slowly.

"And the conflict between the village and the clan should not be resolved by sacrificing the clan for the village simply because the village is larger and the clan is smaller."

"The clan is not necessarily wrong, and the village is not necessarily right."

"If the village's strategy toward the Uchiha Clan is fundamentally wrong, should we just compromise?"

Facing Yusuke's question, Itachi didn't know how to answer. He was silent for a moment before asking in return: "But Shisui said that clan-ism is narrow-minded! If all the clans in Konoha were selfish and didn't consider the village, what would happen to the village?"

Hearing Itachi's words, Yusuke let out a cold laugh.

"What is called 'narrow-minded' is simply the value Shisui calculated based on quantity!"

"If clan-ism is narrow-minded from the perspective of the village, then isn't village-supremacy also narrow-minded from the perspective of the entire ninja world?"

"If one day, sacrificing our Konoha could save the other four great ninja villages, would you do it?"

"I believe you are a smart child and will surely be able to understand what we truly should protect! See your position clearly, and don't let those who truly care about you be disappointed!"

"I am not asking you to choose between the village and the clan; I am just asking you to think clearly. Do not assume that just because the village is superior to the clan, the clan should naturally make sacrifices for the village!"

Having said everything that needed to be said, Yusuke patted Itachi on the shoulder and stood up to leave, leaving behind only Itachi, who was still struggling with intense internal conflict.

In the days that followed, Yusuke did not see Itachi.

By now, Yusuke's few disciples had already built a solid foundation. Their training no longer required Yusuke's hands-on guidance as it did in the beginning, so they no longer trained together at fixed times and locations.

Kabuto had been raised by Yusuke into a science geek, obsessed with ninjutsu development and experiments all day long. As for Izumi, who idolized her older brother, she followed Yusuke's example and equipped herself with a katana, beginning her training in Uchiha Style Kenjutsu.

At this moment, on the Uchiha Clan's training ground, Izumi finished a set of sword techniques and asked Yusuke with a look of anticipation: "Brother, what do you think of my swordsmanship now?"

"Not bad, you've reached the level of a chunin." Yusuke nodded.

Hearing Yusuke's words, Izumi said with dissatisfaction: "What is that? It's only chunin level."

"You silly girl, you haven't even learned to walk properly yet, and you're already wanting to fly." Yusuke shook his head and smiled.

Just then, Itachi also arrived at the training ground and walked toward the two of them.

Looking at Itachi's clear and firm gaze, Yusuke knew he had figured it out.

"Teacher, I have thought through everything you said the other day!" Itachi looked at Yusuke and said earnestly.

"Then what do you intend to do next?" Yusuke asked.

"I will train hard to make myself strong enough to change the clan and change the village."

"If I don't have that kind of talent, I will still do my best to protect the clan and protect the people important to me!"

Itachi said firmly.

As he finished speaking, Itachi's eyes turned toward Izumi, who was standing to the side.

Being looked at by Itachi with such an indescribable gaze for the first time, Izumi shyly lowered her head, a blush rising on her cheeks.

"As expected of my disciple, Itachi, I believe you can do it!" Yusuke felt very gratified at this moment.

Yusuke had never been able to fully fathom the thoughts of his disciple, Itachi. Although he had wanted to talk to him about the village and the clan, there had never been an opportunity.

Now that he had managed to steer Itachi away from the dangerous idea of sacrificing the clan for the sake of the village, Yusuke felt he had finally put one worry to rest.

Leaving Itachi to continue accompanying Izumi in her sword training, Yusuke returned to his laboratory. This laboratory was one he and Uchiha Fugaku had specifically requested within the clan compound for his and Kabuto's use.

After Yusuke and Orochimaru had successfully completed the "Yin-Yang Cursed Seal" together, he had been considering the development of a "Reverse Yin-Yang Cursed Seal," a seal specifically designed to suppress Yang Release Chakra.

The Yin-Yang Cursed Seal was based on Hashirama Cells, using their powerful Yang Release energy to seal Yin Release energy; the Reverse Yin-Yang Cursed Seal, by the same logic, required materials with powerful Yin Release energy as a foundation to seal Yang Release energy.

"If Hashirama Cells represent the pinnacle of Yang Release energy, then what is the corresponding material that represents the pinnacle of Yin Release energy?"

"Could it be Madara's soul fragments? Where would I even get those?"

Although he had the theoretical method, Yusuke had no leads on a material that represented the ultimate Yin Release energy.

After conducting various experiments with Kabuto, they had not found a suitable solution. Although they had developed some cursed seals, they were never able to reach a level sufficient to seal the Yang Release Chakra of a tailed beast.

Two months passed in the blink of an eye. While Yusuke was busy with the development of the Cursed Seal, a major event occurred in Konoha—Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, defected from the village!

Because he had a peer in Yusuke with whom he could exchange ninjutsu knowledge in this life, Orochimaru's strength was significantly greater than in the original story.

Not only did he avoid being injured by the Third Hokage's explosive tags as he had in the original, but during his defection, he also severely wounded Jiraiya, another of the Sannin.

After recovering from his injuries, Jiraiya ignored the Third Hokage's attempts to make him stay and resolutely left the village to track Orochimaru, hoping to bring him back.

With this, all three Sannin had left Konoha, officially marking the end of the era of the Konoha Sannin!

Shortly after this, the Konoha high command received an invitation from their ally, Sunagakure.

In the Hokage Office, the Third Hokage sat at his desk.

Yusuke and another Konoha Jonin, Hayama, stood before the desk, listening to the details of an upcoming mission.

"Sunagakure has sent a letter inviting Konoha to participate in their Chunin Exams."

"As strategic allies, we should send a few teams to participate. It will maintain the friendly relationship between our villages and serve as an opportunity to showcase the strength of our Konoha Genin."

The Third Hokage spoke slowly, looking at Yusuke and Hayama.

Hayama was a veteran elite Jonin of Konoha. He wore his hair in a ponytail, had a scar on his right lip, and was highly skilled in Konoha Style Kenjutsu.

He was calm, composed, and meticulous, possessing excellent command abilities. He had been active on the battlefield since the Second Shinobi World War and had made many contributions to Konoha.

"We have selected six elite Genin from Konoha to form two squads. I would like the two of you to serve as the supervising Jonin and lead these teams to Sunagakure for the Chunin Exams."

"Hayama, Yusuke, you are both excellent Jonin. Please provide plenty of guidance to these elite Genin and help them achieve good results in these exams."

After the Third Hokage finished speaking, Hayama and Yusuke immediately accepted the order, stating they would not fail their mission.

Originally, the Third Hokage had wanted to arrange for Yusuke and Kakashi, both young Jonin, to make an appearance in Sunagakure. At a time when the village was at its weakest, letting other villages see Konoha's rising stars would serve as a deterrent.

Unfortunately, Kakashi's father, White Fang, had a significant grudge against Sunagakure, making it inappropriate to send him, so he had to arrange for another Jonin to take Kakashi's place.

"Lord Third, may I ask who the Genin participating in the Chunin Exams are?" Yusuke asked the Third Hokage.

Yusuke actually already knew about this mission, as his student, Uchiha Itachi, had been selected as one of the Genin.

However, Yusuke had not expected that he would be the one leading the team to Sunagakure as the supervising Jonin.

The Third Hokage gave a brief instruction to his assistant, who soon brought the six Genin into the office from outside.

Yusuke glanced at them and recognized most of their identities. Aside from a brown-haired girl he didn't recognize, the others were all characters with names from the original story.

After the six Genin entered, they each gave a brief self-introduction. They were Gekko Hayate, Uzuki Yugao, Mizuki, Kurama Naki, Mitarashi Anko, and Uchiha Itachi.

The Kurama clan was a bloodline family in Konoha highly skilled in genjutsu; the fact that this girl was selected meant she was likely quite talented in that area.

What surprised Yusuke, however, was that a dead weight like Mizuki had actually been selected. Could the butterfly effect of his transmigration have improved Mizuki's strength?

These six Genin were all quite young; Itachi was just seven, and the oldest, Mizuki, was only thirteen. At this moment, everyone except Anko appeared very spirited.

Due to Orochimaru's defection, Anko was not as energetic as when Yusuke had last seen her; instead, she looked gloomy.

After Orochimaru defected, Anko had been detained. It was only after multiple rounds of interrogation confirmed she had no connection to Orochimaru that she regained her freedom, but she had gone from being a rising star to an ordinary Genin.

The fact that Orochimaru, the person she trusted and admired most, had abandoned her to defect from Konoha had dealt her a heavy blow, one she could not easily overcome.

Looking at the six Genin lined up, the Third Hokage said slowly to Hayama and Yusuke, "They are all excellent choices selected from our Genin. You may choose freely to form two squads."

After the Third Hokage finished, he left the rest to Yusuke and Hayama.

Hayama looked at the six Genin and said to Yusuke, "These children seem to admire you quite a bit. You should choose first, so they don't complain about me later."

Because Yusuke was already famous at a young age and was a well-known genius ninja throughout the shinobi world, the Genin—with the exception of Anko, who kept her head down—all looked at Yusuke with varying degrees of admiration.

Yusuke smiled. "Senior Hayama, your words make me feel unworthy."

"But since you are being so modest, this junior will respectfully accept."