The Hokage's Mission

Inside the Third Hokage's office in the Hokage Office.

Watching Uchiha Yusuke stand ramrod straight before him, the Third Hokage fell into thought.

He had originally planned to make Yusuke the leader of a team on a guard mission. But yesterday, while chatting with his son Asuma, he had inadvertently heard about Yusuke's fight with members of the Uchiha Clan at a teahouse, and changed his mind.

Yusuke was a young prodigy with astonishing talent. From Asuma's account, his strength already surpassed Kakashi's.

More importantly, he didn't seem particularly devoted to his clan. If the Third Hokage could bring him into his own faction, he would gain another expert capable of handling things on his own.

The Third Shinobi World War had just ended, and this was Konoha's most prosperous era since the First's death.

The powerful Uchiha Clan still stood, and the Yellow Flash's fame was at its peak. Though Tsunade of the Sannin had left Konoha, disheartened after her younger brother and lover were killed one after the other, Orochimaru and Jiraiya still remained in the village. In the eyes of the outside world, the Sannin were still a formidable force.

Though Konoha in this era no longer held the absolute dominion over the Ninja World that it had under the First and Uchiha Madara, at least three of the other four great ninja villages would have to join forces to stand a chance against it.

Though the Third Hokage greatly admired Yusuke's talent, he wasn't particularly desperate for capable people at the moment. So he decided to assign Yusuke a mission to test him.

Taking a puff from his pipe, the Third Hokage said slowly, "Yusuke, I called you here to assign you a very important mission."

Yusuke said nothing, waiting for the Third Hokage to explain.

"After the Third Shinobi World War, as the victors, we need to collect reparations from the defeated nations. Danzo will be responsible for negotiating with the defeated Amegakure and discussing its postwar reparations."

The Third Hokage paused to take another puff, then continued, "You'll act as my representative and keep an eye on Danzo. I need to know everything about the negotiations and the agreement he reaches with Hanzo the Salamander."

The Third Hokage had spent a long time considering this mission. Danzo was ruthless and domineering, and anyone without considerable strength would find it difficult to deal with him.

The Third Hokage had assigned people to watch Danzo on similar missions before, but each time, the ninja sent had either fallen under Danzo's control or died for one reason or another.

Eventually, the Third Hokage had given up. Even his own faction had only a limited number of capable shinobi, and he couldn't bear to see them fall at Danzo's hands.

Now that someone like Yusuke had appeared—and wasn't one of his own loyal followers—the Third Hokage was happy to make the most of him. Whether Yusuke succeeded or not, the Third Hokage had nothing to lose.

There was another important factor: the tension between Danzo and the Uchiha Clan. Danzo had inherited the Second Hokage's prejudice against the Uchiha Clan, while the clan naturally disliked Danzo as well. Sending Yusuke to watch Danzo would also let the two sides keep each other in check—a win-win.

From the mission details, Yusuke had more or less figured out what the Third Hokage was thinking. But he was never the sort of ninja who naively believed in the so-called Will of Fire, so he wasn't surprised by the arrangement.

"When does the mission begin?" Yusuke asked expressionlessly.

"In three days. Someone will notify you then," the Third Hokage replied.

Yusuke nodded. "Understood. If you have no further instructions, I'll head back and prepare."

The Third Hokage grunted, signaling that Yusuke was free to go. As Yusuke stepped out of the Hokage Office, the Third Hokage called after him, "Danzo might use some unsavory methods. Be careful."

It was only just past noon when Yusuke received the mission from the Third Hokage.

I have three days. I can use that time to lay some groundwork for Kabuto. This mission will probably take a while, so Kabuto can keep training on his own while I'm away.

Before I go home, I should visit Uchiha Fugaku. Since Uchiha Soichiro came to see me this morning, I may as well find out what Uchiha Fugaku wants.

At the Uchiha Clan Compound, at the residence of clan head Uchiha Fugaku.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" A boy of six or seven stood by the lake, performing the Uchiha Clan's signature fire-style ninjutsu toward the middle of the water.

A torrent of flames burst from the boy's mouth, forming a huge fireball above the lake. He had clearly executed the technique successfully.

The fireball lasted about five seconds before the boy stopped channeling Chakra, and the Great Fireball Technique came to an end.

A middle-aged man in a kimono stood beside the boy. He burst into delighted laughter and praised him proudly. "As expected of my son." He hadn't expected his son to perform the complete Great Fireball Technique after seeing him demonstrate it just once.

The father and son were Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Itachi. Fugaku had originally planned to guide Itachi in ninjutsu gradually after he entered the Ninja Academy, but he now had other plans, so he had begun teaching him early.

Yet the more he taught Itachi, the more astonished Fugaku became by his son's talent. He was certain that Itachi was the Uchiha Clan's hope for the future!

"Clan Head, Uchiha Yusuke is here to see you," an Uchiha clan member reported. "He said you wanted to meet him."

"Ask him to come here," Fugaku replied, his expression returning to its usual severity.

"Itachi, you don't need to leave. Just watch from here," Fugaku added, addressing Itachi, who had been about to step away.

Itachi answered and obediently stood to one side.

Before long, the Uchiha clan member who had delivered the message brought Yusuke to the small lake where Fugaku and Itachi had been practicing ninjutsu.

Seeing Itachi standing beside Fugaku, Yusuke was slightly surprised. He had thought Fugaku wanted to speak with him privately, perhaps to lecture him about the importance of the clan and encourage him to take part in more clan activities.

In Yusuke's view, Fugaku was a conscientious clan head and a father who loved his children deeply. Unfortunately, he lacked the authority to control the clan. He couldn't rein in its arrogant members, nor could he convince its two prodigious fighters, Shisui and Itachi, to stand with him.

In the end, Uchiha Fugaku, who possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, had chosen to honor Itachi's wishes and accept his own death, sacrificing the entire clan in the process. It was undeniably a tragic outcome.

When Yusuke arrived, Fugaku's expression grew even more severe. He said in a low voice, "Uchiha Yusuke, Tatsuya and the others reported that you made up an excuse to skip the clan meeting and threw your weight around, injuring them. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Yusuke frowned slightly. He had considered the possibility that Fugaku wanted to summon him to answer for his actions, but thought it unlikely. For a leader lacking capable subordinates, recruiting strong members should have been the top priority.

In Yusuke's view, a man as intelligent as Fugaku shouldn't have made such a mistake.

"Clan Head, I'm sorry I couldn't attend the meeting. I had something important to take care of at the time, but something unexpected came up," Yusuke replied calmly.

He paused, then continued, "As for the three clan members who provoked me first, I merely taught them a small lesson." Yusuke wouldn't admit fault for something he hadn't done, even if the other person was the head of the Uchiha Clan.

Fugaku sneered. "So you really are arrogant and unruly. People say that you and Kakashi are the strongest prodigies of Konoha's new generation, and they've even given you the nickname 'Flame Tachi.' Let's see if you deserve it." He gestured for Itachi to move aside.

"Since you'd like to test me, Clan Head, I'll gladly accept," Yusuke replied calmly.

He hadn't expected Fugaku to want to fight him. But judging from the situation, Fugaku probably just wanted to put him in his place. If he truly meant to harm Yusuke, he wouldn't have let Itachi—who was currently incapable of fighting—watch from the side.

The two faced each other in silence. When Fugaku saw that Yusuke had no intention of striking first, he prepared to attack. At the same time, his eyes changed from pure black to the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Fugaku quickly formed Hand Seals. Yusuke immediately recognized the signs for the Great Fireball Technique and decided to counter with the same move. He formed Hand Seals just as quickly, completing the technique at the same time as Fugaku despite starting later.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" they shouted in unison.

Flames poured from both their mouths and collided. The nearby air warped as the temperature rose sharply.

The Great Fireball Technique was one of the Uchiha Clan's signature techniques, commonly used by its ninja to test or distract an opponent. In a real battle, it was difficult for this technique to burn an enemy ninja to death.

As he maintained the Great Fireball Technique, Fugaku was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected Yusuke to form Hand Seals so quickly. Even though Yusuke had started after him, he had still completed the technique at the same time.

Fugaku also keenly sensed that he had poured more Chakra into the technique than Yusuke had, yet Yusuke's flames seemed more powerful. Fugaku had to expend even more Chakra just to hold him at a stalemate.

"What? He's still forming Hand Seals? Has he really mastered Chakra control to this degree?" Fugaku suddenly realized that Yusuke was forming more Hand Seals even as they battled with the Great Fireball Technique. Yusuke moved incredibly fast and completed the signs in an instant.

Thanks for your support!