"Fugaku, you need to pay closer attention to the movements of important shinobi in the village... Orochimaru is researching First Hokage Cells. It was a project the Second worked on before he died."
Uchiha Setsuna glanced at Fugaku and explained, sounding slightly displeased.
He was somewhat disappointed in Fugaku, the clan head.
"But you, Ao—how did you learn about this?"
Setsuna didn't readily believe Uchiha Ao's words. Instead, they only made him more suspicious.
A trace of killing intent flashed in his eyes.
How had a newly graduated child learned a secret that the Uchiha had spent years uncovering?
Who was behind him!?
Setsuna discreetly surveyed all the Uchiha elders present. He didn't believe a child of barely ten could have obtained such important information.
And successfully earned Orochimaru's trust.
"As long as you're useful, you can earn someone's attention."
Uchiha Ao answered easily.
Clearly,
his words had failed to convince the clan elders.
"If you won't honestly tell us your true intentions, then I'll find out for myself!"
The Third Elder was an impatient man. When he saw that he couldn't get anything out of Ao, his eyes transformed into a pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and he immediately cast a genjutsu.
He tried to use the genjutsu to uncover the secrets hidden in Uchiha Ao's heart.
But when the genjutsu took hold, the Third Elder's mind passed through Ao's consciousness.
And found nothing unusual.
Ao had no secrets hidden in his heart.
How was that possible!?
His eyes widened, his pupils shrinking.
The boy was only twelve. Even a genius like Shisui couldn't escape his genjutsu interrogation.
After a long while,
with the other elders watching, the Third Elder slowly shook his head and replied, "There's nothing wrong."
He sounded hesitant, without the slightest confidence. He even suspected his genjutsu interrogation had failed.
"In that case, let him give it a try!"
Seeing this, Uchiha Fugaku spoke at once.
As he finished, he looked toward the Great Elder, Uchiha Setsuna, the most influential member of the clan.
Setsuna closed his eyes and took a small sip from his teacup.
He savored the attention of everyone present.
After a brief pause, he said, "Take precautions in case he betrays us."
His gaze slipped toward the doorway.
A heart-stopping surge of Chakra came from outside.
Then,
Uchiha Ao was tossed out of the shrine like a dead dog. He lay unconscious in the front courtyard.
Shisui's figure emerged from the shadows.
"Did they finish questioning him? He's not dead... Looks like the elders didn't find anything wrong."
This guy hadn't betrayed the clan.
Shisui crouched down and held two fingers near Ao's nose to check his breathing.
In an instant,
Ao's eyes snapped open.
He looked at Shisui, whose expression was tinged with hesitation.
He slowly got to his feet and murmured, "Thanks."
"Why are you trying to get close to Orochimaru?"
Shisui asked, confusion in his eyes.
Orochimaru was the Third's student, but after losing the last Fourth Hokage selection, he had been completely removed from the village's inner circle of decision-makers.
Becoming his student offered no benefits and would only earn him the clan's hardliners' hostility.
Shisui couldn't understand what Ao was doing.
Nor could he understand why Orochimaru had taken in an outcast from the Uchiha Clan.
Though Orochimaru had fallen out of the village's inner circle, he was still one of the legendary Sannin, with unfathomable strength.
Becoming his student would at least give Ao a chance to become a Jonin.
And enter the clan's decision-making ranks.
"Nothing in the Uchiha interests me."
Ao glanced at him. His black eyes were full of conviction, and he spoke calmly.
"What can Orochimaru give you?"
Shisui asked curiously.
Ao gave him a peculiar feeling, as if he thought nothing like the other clan members.
Everyone was working hard to train and grow stronger.
"Truth."
Ao answered calmly. He stood, brushed the dust off his clothes, and walked out of the shrine without looking back.
Shisui watched his retreating figure, so free of attachment, and felt a trace of confusion.
How could he leave so nonchalantly?
Any other clan member would have been terrified out of their wits after being questioned by the clan elders.
Truth?
What was truth!?
Shisui didn't understand.
Could truth really be more important than Uchiha pride, enough for Ao to willingly abandon the clan's arrogance, bow his head, and take an ordinary civilian shinobi as his teacher?
Orochimaru was widely regarded as a madman in the village.
He had given up his chance to become Hokage for some inexplicable research.
"What are you looking at?"
Fugaku appeared beside Shisui and patted him on the shoulder, asking with concern.
He had noticed the confusion in Shisui's eyes.
"Ao—why did Orochimaru take an interest in him? That man has high standards! All these years, only Anko has managed to catch his attention..."
Shisui said, puzzled.
He kept the faint trace of jealousy in his heart to himself. He was the most talented Uchiha, yet he hadn't attracted the attention of the Konoha High Command.
Uchiha Ao was just an ordinary clan member, but he had become Orochimaru's student.
"Because he wants to become Hokage, I suppose. The Third is acting as Hokage for now, but he's getting old and won't be able to keep it up much longer. Eventually, they'll choose a Fifth Hokage."
"Orochimaru is still one of the strongest candidates."
"With Tsunade and Jiraiya away from the village, he may even be the only choice."
"Once Orochimaru takes office, Ao will be the Hokage's student and eligible to succeed him."
Fugaku spoke softly, his gaze profound, as if he had seen through Uchiha Ao's little scheme.
A cold smile appeared on his lips.
What a naive kid.
That was what the clan elders all thought.
It was precisely because of that assumption that they had spared Ao, even though they thought he'd betrayed the clan.
Otherwise, he would have been executed on the spot by the elders, just like the clan members who had betrayed the Uchiha before him.
Shisui understood what Fugaku meant, and his eyes brightened.
Could becoming Hokage free him from the clan?
The light in his confused eyes grew a little brighter.
His gaze drifted involuntarily toward the First's statue in the distance, beneath the Valley of the End.
"Shisui, don't follow his example..."
Fugaku reminded him softly.
"You're the clan's prodigy. The clan will invest all its resources in you from now on. You're not like him!"
He was worried Shisui would stray down the wrong path.
And start siding with the Konoha High Command.
Shisui was only nine, yet he had already graduated from the Ninja Academy and become a Genin.
Based on the clan's assessment, he was already at least as strong as a Chunin.
With two years of experience, he would easily be able to advance to Jonin.
Shisui nodded thoughtfully.
Suddenly, he felt a pain in his neck.
Before he could react, his vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground.
In the next instant, Orochimaru's figure slowly emerged where Shisui had been standing.
He glared viciously at Uchiha Fugaku, who stood on guard.
He glanced at Shisui lying on the ground.
Orochimaru spoke with a threatening edge:
"Ao is my student. The Uchiha had better not pull a stunt like this again."
He had been keeping an eye on Ao.
As soon as he sensed the Uchiha making a move, he had hurried over.
He had attacked Shisui, the most talented of the Uchiha,
to intimidate the entire Uchiha Clan.
Then, under Uchiha Fugaku's horrified gaze, he vanished in a blur.
Meanwhile,
Uchiha Ao had just left Kaga Shrine when he encountered Orochimaru, who was coming from the shrine.
"Are you all right?"
Orochimaru asked calmly, concern showing in his eyes.
His gaze swept over Ao. Only after confirming that he was unharmed did Orochimaru look away.
He'd made it out of the Uchiha Clan shrine in one piece.
The assistant had some tricks.
He really had picked the right person.
"I'm fine, Orochimaru-senpai. What are you doing here?"
Ao replied, surprised to see Orochimaru.
"Call me teacher."
"I've already spoken to the Third. From now on, you'll be my second direct disciple."
"I came to find you because I've gathered everything you mentioned earlier. Come with me..."
Orochimaru nodded and explained why he had come.
Of the materials he'd shown Ao, the most important had been the Spirit Transformation Technique. By the afternoon, Orochimaru had gathered every secret technique in the village that involved the soul.
He was waiting for Ao to join him so they could begin their next round of research.
Before you continue