Mission Begins

"Regarding the issue with your Sharingan, I will look into the clan's archives again to see if there is any way to resolve it," Uchiha Fugaku said with a frown.

Compared to Yusuke himself, Uchiha Fugaku was now even more concerned about the fact that Yusuke still could not awaken his Sharingan.

In Uchiha Fugaku's view, without the Sharingan, Yusuke's future achievements would inevitably be limited.

At this moment, Uchiha Fugaku harbored no thoughts of jealousy or resentment; the clan was already in a precarious position, and all he wanted to do was exert his best efforts to improve the strength of his clan members.

"Then I will leave it to you. As for guiding Itachi, I will begin immediately over these next two days to lay a foundation for him. I have to leave to carry out a mission in three days, and this mission will likely take quite a while," Yusuke said.

"A mission in three days? Could it be that you are going to Amegakure with Danzo for the negotiations?" Uchiha Fugaku's already furrowed brow deepened into a sharp crease.

Yusuke nodded: "That is correct, that is the mission. I am representing the Third Hokage to supervise Danzo's negotiation work."

Uchiha Fugaku's expression turned grave as he said to Yusuke: "Then you must be careful. Danzo is an extremely sinister and ruthless man, and he holds a great deal of prejudice against our Uchiha Clan. I suspect he may very well take this opportunity to eliminate you."

"But why would the Third Hokage send you? Could it be that he also wants to take this chance to get rid of you and suppress our Uchiha Clan?" Uchiha Fugaku could not help but mutter to himself, his mood, which had slightly improved after talking with Yusuke, sinking again immediately.

Looking at Uchiha Fugaku, who was racking his brains for the sake of the clan, Yusuke sighed inwardly. Not wanting to disturb him further, he stood up to take his leave: "I have troubled you for long enough today, Clan Leader. If there is nothing else, I shall take my leave."

Uchiha Fugaku snapped out of his thoughts and nodded: "Very well. Make sure to prepare well over these next few days, and whatever you do, don't let Danzo outmaneuver you on this mission."

Yusuke acknowledged this, gave a few instructions to his newly accepted disciple, Itachi, and then left Uchiha Fugaku's residence.

The next morning, Yusuke brought Kabuto and Uchiha Izumi to a training ground within the Uchiha Clan's compound.

This training ground was one Yusuke had requested from Uchiha Fugaku, and it would serve as his dedicated space for training his disciples. Of course, Kabuto and Uchiha Izumi were benefiting from Itachi's presence.

Uchiha Izumi was not technically Yusuke's disciple, but after some thought, Yusuke decided she was at the age where she could begin training. Since teaching two was the same as teaching three, he simply brought her along for the training as well.

"Itachi, why are you here so early?" Yusuke asked with a smile upon seeing Itachi already performing basic drills in the training ground.

"I am not used to making others wait for me, so I usually arrive a little earlier than the agreed time. It isn't actually that early, though," Itachi replied respectfully.

Watching Itachi, who was as polite and composed as a little adult, Yusuke reached out to pat his head and laughed: "You are just too uptight."

"Itachi-kun, it's actually you!" At this moment, Uchiha Izumi, who was standing beside Yusuke, exclaimed in pleasant surprise. Today, Uchiha Izumi was wearing a purple short-sleeved outfit, and her soft hair was tied into a ponytail with a red ribbon.

"Who are you?" Itachi asked, puzzled. The girl in front of him was very cute and seemed somewhat familiar; he felt he had seen her somewhere before.

Uchiha Izumi's face, which had been full of pleasant surprise, immediately fell in disappointment: "I'm Uchiha Izumi, from your class! Do you not recognize me?"

Itachi felt very embarrassed and apologized: "I am sorry, it was rude of me."

Seeing Itachi being so polite, Uchiha Izumi became flustered instead, waving her hands repeatedly: "No need to apologize, no need to apologize! From now on, we will be training together, so we are all good friends." As she spoke, her cheeks turned slightly red.

Watching Uchiha Izumi, who was usually poised and confident, act so shy, Yusuke raised an eyebrow involuntarily and began to worry: "Izumi's behavior is a bit off. Could she have a crush on Itachi? This is not a good thing."

Yusuke had to admit that the kid Itachi certainly had the assets—he was handsome, talented, and the son of the Uchiha Clan leader; he was attractive to girls in every aspect.

However, Yusuke did not want his younger sister to have any romantic developments with Itachi. After all, he knew that what Itachi liked wasn't women, but his little brother!

"It seems I need to be careful and not let Izumi be bewitched by Itachi's good looks," Yusuke warned himself inwardly.

Itachi and Kabuto introduced themselves to each other, and once the three children were acquainted, Yusuke officially began his instruction.

For a novice ninja, the most important thing was not those dazzling ninjutsu, but the fundamentals of being a ninja.

Therefore, Yusuke explained his improved training methods for chakra control and taijutsu to the children. The children were all very bright and quickly grasped the methods Yusuke taught, beginning their training.

Yusuke spent two days training the three children, secretly observing their progress throughout the process. Each person's performance was not much different from what Yusuke had anticipated.

Itachi was undoubtedly the most talented; whether it was chakra control or taijutsu, he was exceptionally outstanding.

Kabuto was slightly inferior to Itachi in terms of taijutsu, but his chakra control was not at all inferior to Itachi's.

As for his precious sister, Uchiha Izumi, she was clearly lacking compared to the other two, though she was still quite good compared to the average person.

On the evening of the second day, Yusuke called the three children, who were drenched in sweat after their training, to stand before him.

"You all did very well. I have been watching your training these past two days, and I am very satisfied with your performance," Yusuke said with a smile.

"Kabuto, your chakra control is very strong. For you, I plan to focus primarily on the development of ninjutsu. Of course, you cannot neglect taijutsu; a powerful ninja must ensure that taijutsu is not a weakness."

In truth, Yusuke held a secret hope for Kabuto: to cultivate him into a ninja world scientist who would surpass Orochimaru.

"Itachi, your talent is outstanding in every aspect; you are an all-around ninja. For you, I will have even stricter requirements in every area."

Yusuke knew that Itachi, who was almost a perfect "hexagon warrior," still had one shortcoming: his chakra reserves. Since he was his teacher, he would have to think of a way to help him with that later.

"What about me? What about me?" Seeing that Yusuke had commented on Kabuto and Itachi but hadn't mentioned her, Uchiha Izumi asked, pulling on Yusuke with a look of anticipation.

"As for you, I will focus on teaching you defensive, medical, and escape ninjutsu in the future, so you don't give me cause to worry," Yusuke said, patting Uchiha Izumi's head with a smile.

Uchiha Izumi complained: "What is that supposed to mean! Am I really that weak?"

"Teacher, don't worry, I will protect Izumi in the future," Kabuto said, adjusting his glasses with a serious expression.

"Yes, I will also do my best to protect Izumi," Itachi added in a low, firm voice.

After training together for these two days, the three children were getting along very well, and it was clear that their relationship had become quite close.

Because Kabuto was two years older than Itachi and Uchiha Izumi, he acted like an older brother, showing consideration in every way.

Although Itachi was younger than Kabuto, he was psychologically very mature and looked after both Kabuto and Uchiha Izumi without being overbearing.

Uchiha Izumi was certainly less mature than the other two, but she was kind-hearted, lively, and cute, making her very easy to get along with.

"It seems that cultivating a New Sannin would also be quite an accomplishment!" Yusuke thought to himself, stroking his chin as he watched the three small figures under the setting sun.

Although Izumi's talent was far inferior to Itachi and Kabuto, it was still quite decent; with the two of them looking out for her in the future, she would be able to coast by just fine.

After the day's training ended, Itachi returned home. Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto were waiting for him to have dinner together.

"Itachi, you must be tired after training all day. Come and eat," Uchiha Mikoto said with a smile. Her belly had grown a bit larger, clearly indicating that the birth of the child in her womb was not far off.

"How has your training been these past two days? I believe the reason Yusuke was able to become a Jonin at such a young age and possess his current level of strength is not just his talent, but more importantly, his highly effective training methods. You must learn from him diligently, do you understand?" Uchiha Fugaku poured himself a glass of wine and said slowly.

"You are right. My teacher's training methods are indeed very efficient. Although it has only been two days, I feel that I have made significant progress," Itachi said, sitting cross-legged and speaking very earnestly.

"I am quite curious about Itachi's teacher as well. I heard he is only fourteen or fifteen years old. What kind of person is he?" Uchiha Mikoto asked.

"He is a difficult person."

"He is a person who says one thing but means another."

Uchiha Fugaku and Itachi spoke at the same time. "Difficult" was Uchiha Fugaku's description, while "says one thing but means another" was Itachi's assessment.

Uchiha Mikoto covered her mouth and laughed upon hearing this, asking, "What do you mean by those descriptions? I don't quite understand."

Uchiha Fugaku poured himself another glass of wine and downed it in one gulp: "That kid clearly cares about the clan, yet he insists on acting as if he holds the clansmen in contempt, acting so arrogant. Wouldn't you call that difficult?"

Uchiha Fugaku seemed to be in a good mood today, and having had quite a bit to drink, he did not appear as stern and somber as usual.

Seeing his mother turn to look at him with interest, Itachi also said calmly: "Although my teacher usually acts cold and detached, I can feel that he is actually a very warm-hearted person."

In truth, Itachi had originally wanted to use the phrase "cold on the outside, warm on the inside," but since he was in a good mood, he felt like making a rare joke.

Meanwhile, Yusuke, who had been labeled as "difficult" and "two-faced," was currently rummaging through cabinets at home.

After searching for a long time, Yusuke finally pulled a very thick scroll from a dusty cabinet and handed it to Kabuto.

Kabuto took the scroll solemnly, looked at the title on it, and whispered: "Twenty-One Days Ninjutsu from Beginner to Master?"

"That's right. This is the introductory ninjutsu textbook I carefully compiled! While I am away, besides practicing your chakra control and taijutsu basics, you must study this diligently. When I return, I will be testing you thoroughly," Yusuke said.

Kabuto nodded with a serious expression: "Teacher, don't worry, I will not let you down!"

After Kabuto left Yusuke's room clutching the scroll, Yusuke looked at the bright moon hanging high in the night sky outside the window, but his heart was unusually restless.

Yusuke had a vague premonition that something major was going to happen during this mission to Amegakure!

Early the next morning, Yusuke arrived at the village exit on time to rendezvous with the diplomatic mission to Amegakure led by Danzo. At this point, all members of the mission had arrived except for Danzo himself.

Yusuke did not wait long before Danzo appeared with two of his trusted subordinates.

Danzo was dressed in a kimono that was half black and half white. His face, including his right eye, and his exposed chest were tightly wrapped in bandages, and there was an 'X'-shaped scar on his chin.

Danzo scanned the present ninjas with a gloomy gaze, causing most of them to lower their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.

When Danzo's gaze swept over to Yusuke, Yusuke keenly sensed a faint killing intent. He immediately looked toward the source of the intent, his eyes locking directly with Danzo's.

Seeing the calm look in Yusuke's eyes, Danzo withdrew his gaze, turned toward the direction of Amegakure, and ordered loudly: "Move out!"