Danger

"Konoha, the Hokage. Hah!"

These past few days, whenever he left the clan grounds to go to the Ninja Academy, he always felt someone watching him, but he could never find them. He didn't know any chakra-sensing techniques; he had only noticed the unusual surveillance thanks to his natural vigilance.

After all, he was a reserve Nature Deity. Surely that came with some kind of sixth sense.

Although he'd realized someone was watching him from the shadows, he couldn't figure out where they were. It wasn't until he thought of Kushina that it suddenly dawned on him: the Third Hokage had probably sent someone.

Once he'd understood the key, he decided to play the part for a few days and wait for the feeling of being watched to pass.

But that sixth-sense warning left him feeling unsettled. He didn't even feel like getting closer to the girl who sat beside him.

Tong also seemed to have lost her taste for teasing him over the past couple of days and had started paying attention in class.

That bastard's still stuck to me. It's been a week, and he's still following me around. When will it end? He couldn't help wanting to drag the rat out of hiding and teach him a good lesson.

Bored out of his mind, he left the Ninja Academy.

Over the past few days, one child after another had been expelled. They were either unable to mold chakra or had very little potential. Deemed to lack the talent to become ninja, they were ordered to go home.

In fact, it had already been a week since the Ninja Academy teachers had taught them chakra molding. Anyone who still couldn't master the technique after all that time really wasn't cut out to be a ninja.

Sending such people to the battlefield would only mean throwing their lives away for nothing. They weren't even qualified to be cannon fodder; even cannon fodder had to be Genin.

Kaede walked farther and farther away, heading for a small hill not far from the Uchiha Clan Grounds. Few people came here, and it was very quiet. He often trained here.

For example, today he planned to practice chakra control: Water Walking.

Climbing trees was child's play, and he'd mastered it long ago. Now he'd moved on to the more difficult stage of walking on water. Walking on a still lake was different from walking in a rushing river.

The still lake was much easier.

To hide his talent, he'd spent the past few days practicing in a quiet little lake. Only today had he moved to this river, which would at least make the Anbu member following him less suspicious.

He focused, calmed his mind, and gathered chakra beneath his feet before stepping onto the rushing water.

Kaede immediately felt the difference.

It was like standing on slippery oil. Keeping his balance was extremely difficult. The rushing current kept washing away the chakra beneath his feet, so he had to keep channeling more to replenish it.

All the while, the chakra beneath his feet had to remain at roughly the same level as before—not too much, not too little.

Too much would make the water burst beneath him and his feet sink straight in. Too little, and the current would sweep him away. Kaede quickly figured out the pattern. The next step was to master walking through the rushing water.

But then he thought of the Anbu watching from the shadows, and his control faltered. He plunged into the water and was swept downstream into a small lake.

"Pwah!"

He surfaced, spat out a mouthful of water, and wiped the water from his face. He tossed his soaked, loose hair behind him, dog-paddled to the bank, then threw himself back into training.

The Anbu watching from the shadows would surely report all the details about him to the Third Hokage. That was exactly why he needed to show Hiruzen Sarutobi a different kind of Uchiha boy: a somewhat talented youth who worked tirelessly toward his goal of becoming a ninja, brave and undaunted by hardship, sunny and cheerful, liked by his classmates—and dreaming of becoming Hokage.

An Uchiha like that would be the perfect figure for the Third Hokage to use to promote the Will of Fire and keep the Uchiha Clan under control. Just like "Itachi" and Shisui. Naive youths made the best prey for a big bad wolf.

Getting into the Hokage faction was the first step toward rising through the ranks. If he stayed enamored with the Uchiha Clan's hollow prosperity, he'd end up dead along with Fugaku's "brain-damaged" family.

It wasn't the right time to change the Uchiha Clan according to his own wishes. Even a Jonin like his father had no real say in the clan, let alone him. His age, strength, and reputation couldn't sway a thousand-year-old clan—one that had already rotted and was on the verge of destruction.

For now, he needed to escape the whirlpool of hostility surrounding the Uchiha and draw closer to the people who truly held power, so he could gain the time and opportunity to grow.

So this was the time to put on an act. First, he'd let the Anbu see what kind of person he was. Then they'd report it to the Third Hokage, giving him a favorable first impression. If the Third Hokage really grew curious and wanted to meet this unusual Uchiha, Kaede would have already scored a few points.

After all, the Third Hokage wasn't some white lotus, and Kaede wasn't much of an actor. If the old man had too sharp an eye and saw through him, Kaede might end up as cannon fodder in secret.

Of course, all this depended on the Third Hokage not wanting to destroy the Uchiha Clan, but instead wanting to improve relations between the Uchiha and the village, as Kaede believed. Judging by the Third Hokage's long history of indecisive behavior, Kaede thought there was a good chance he wanted reconciliation rather than annihilation.

Naturally, while Kaede and the Third Hokage were feeling each other out, he hoped Danzo, that troublemaker, wouldn't stir up trouble. Otherwise, things could go badly wrong.

"This kid really pushes himself. He's different from the other Uchiha I can't stand." The Anbu known as Sparrow watched silently from the dense undergrowth.

Kaede continued practicing his chakra control in the river. At that moment, he was struggling to keep his balance as he walked across the water.

"Mm—" He abruptly increased the chakra beneath his feet. The water exploded, sending him leaping high into the air. His body twisted like a flipping carp as a stone, hurtling at incredible speed and about the size of an adult's fist, shot beneath him.

It was moving fast. The wind it kicked up stung his face. The stone missed Kaede and flew farther down the river, smashing into a tree on the bank, thick enough for a person to wrap their arms around.

The stone sank into the trunk. A cracking sound rang out, and the tree toppled.

Kaede stared at the tree, snapped clean in half. He nervously swallowed, his lips dry. If that sixth sense hadn't warned him with a sudden sting and helped him dodge the stone, it would have hit him. Would it have punched a hole right through his body?

"Who's there? Get out here!" Kaede roared in fury, his gaze cold and glinting with dangerous light.

Although he knew that whoever had thrown a stone with that kind of force was no ordinary person, he still didn't run.

The Anbu was following him. If he was really in danger, they wouldn't just stand by and watch. After all, even though he was Uchiha, he was also a citizen of Konoha, and the Anbu had a duty to protect him.

This was a chance to make a good impression—and to see just how strong the Anbu Ninja really were. The Anbu in his mind didn't have much of an image at all. Most of the ones he'd seen had been killed instantly, and they had even less presence than Otsutsuki Ichiraku.