Uchiha Obito was very talented, but that talent could probably only fully emerge when he was pushed into utter despair.
The Uchiha Clan might be called a clan cursed by fate, but it also seemed fair to call them the Clan of Love.
Seeing someone you loved die right before your eyes was what awakened the Sharingan. Something like that was enough to drive many ordinary people insane.
He led Uchiha Obito out of the Ninja Academy and immediately spotted Kushina Uzumaki waiting at the entrance.
"Sorry for the wait, Kushina."
Genin usually formed teams after graduating and began their careers as ninja, but Kushina Uzumaki was different.
When the teams had been assigned, she had been deliberately overlooked. With no permanent team, she had no missions either.
A civilian-born ninja might have worried about starving without missions, but Kushina Uzumaki had funding from the Senju, so she didn't need to worry about food.
Kushina Uzumaki shook her head slightly. "I only just got here."
That was a lie. She had already been waiting for quite a while.
"I made plans to have barbecue with Hatake-senpai and Duy tonight. Want to join us?" Uchiha Yuji asked, but his right hand had already taken Kushina Uzumaki's, and he was leading her toward the barbecue restaurant.
Kushina Uzumaki didn't resist, of course. She followed at an easy pace, like a young wife.
Uchiha Obito might not have been very bright, but he could tell he was in the way. Without a word, he turned and headed home.
The carefully marinated beef sizzled on the scorching grill. A little grease spread from the edges, and bubbles tinted with sauce burst in the heat. White smoke rose, carrying the warm, savory aroma of beef.
Just as the first slice of beef turned the color of cooked meat, the private room's door opened. Hatake Sakumo and Might Duy arrived right on cue, as if they had timed their entrance to the meat finishing.
Their timing was so perfect they could eat hot beef without having to grill it themselves.
Dream on!
Kushina Uzumaki picked up a slice of beef and placed it in Uchiha Yuji's little bowl.
"Sorry, we're a little late."
Hatake Sakumo plopped down in the seat opposite Uchiha Yuji.
Unlike Hatake Sakumo, who seemed entirely at ease, Might Duy looked very uncomfortable.
His usual mission pay could never have covered a meal at a place like this. And as a Genin, he was a far cry from the head of the Uchiha Clan. Seeing Hatake Sakumo only made him feel more pressure.
Uchiha Yuji noticed the honest man's unease. With a faint smile, he stood and pressed him into a seat.
"Duy, don't be so stiff. We're friends, aren't we?"
That was the one good thing about a hot-blooded idiot: a few words were all it took to make him burst into tears.
"Yes! We're friends!"
Tears streamed down from beneath his thick eyebrows.
Honestly, seeing it in person was kind of gross.
At least the barbecue didn't smell quite so good anymore.
Still, they were all ninja. They endured it, and it eventually passed.
Uchiha Yuji sat back down and set his chopsticks aside. He gazed at the slices of meat slowly shrinking over the coals. "War may be about to break out again."
Hatake Sakumo's gaze sharpened. "The Sand Shinobi shouldn't be able to organize a war anytime soon."
In the last war, he had killed the parents of Sasori of the Red Sand. The two had been among the Sand Shinobi's strongest fighters, the most powerful puppeteers apart from their Kazekage.
And it wasn't just a matter of their top fighters.
The Land of Wind was almost entirely desert, making the Sand Shinobi the most resource-poor of the great nations.
The last Shinobi World War had consumed several years' worth of their reserves. They couldn't gather enough resources in a short time the way Konoha could.
On top of that, the Sand Shinobi might not recover their morale anytime soon.
The short blade wreathed in a glow of pure white chakra on the battlefield had already become their nightmare.
"According to reliable intelligence, it's unlikely the Mist Shinobi will join the war."
"Most likely, we'll be fighting on two fronts again, against the Stone Shinobi and the Cloud Shinobi."
"To groom the next Hokage, it's probably already been decided that Orochimaru will lead the force against the Cloud Shinobi."
Uchiha Yuji flipped the beef slices, sharing the intelligence in a casual tone.
With the Lightning Shinobi short on supplies, they certainly wouldn't send many forces. The early battles would be easy credit for Orochimaru.
That kind of credit obviously wouldn't go to Uchiha Yuji.
Once the war intensified later on, the Third would undoubtedly send the Uchiha to die in battle.
"As for who commands the forces, I don't think that's up to us, is it?" Hatake Sakumo asked quietly.
Usually, the Hokage chose the commanders.
There was no point discussing it here.
Might Duy felt a little out of place. What did any of this have to do with a Genin like him?
"I hope Hatake-senpai will accept the post of commander against the Stone Shinobi. The Uchiha will give you our full support."
Hatake Sakumo understood the implication.
"Full support" was simple enough to understand: the Uchiha Clan intended to back him as the next Hokage?
His eyebrows lifted, and he looked at Uchiha Yuji in surprise.
Uchiha Yuji put a freshly grilled slice of beef into his little bowl. "There's too much opposition to an Uchiha becoming Hokage. Not just resistance from the Hokage's faction, but clans like the Hyuga would also oppose the Uchiha's rise."
The Hyuga Clan might be content to keep to themselves, but when their fundamental interests and reputation were at stake, they wouldn't sit idly by.
They knew their place. No one in the Hyuga Clan was qualified to sit in the Hokage's seat, so the Uchiha absolutely couldn't take it either!
They would never admit that the Hyuga were inferior to the Uchiha!
The Third would never hand such an important position as battlefield commander to the Uchiha.
If their achievements became too great, he would find it even harder to control this exceedingly sharp blade.
"Rather than let someone else benefit, I think this village, which is gradually growing rotten, might see more change if a senpai who values his comrades above his missions took the Hokage's seat."
Hatake Sakumo could be pretty stubborn too.
Konoha wasn't that big. In the original story, Hatake Sakumo knew exactly who had slandered him.
If Uchiha Yuji had been in his place, he would have thought, You slandered me, so I'll kill you. Once you're dead, you can't say anything anymore.
Then you won't be able to argue with anything I say.
But Hatake Sakumo couldn't bring himself to raise the White Fang against his fellow villagers. To prove he hadn't been wrong, he would rather take his own life.
But he hadn't considered one thing.
The Pot Kage had never thought of him as a fellow villager.
If Hatake Sakumo became Hokage, though, he would use his own flesh and blood, and give everything he had, to protect his comrades in the village.
He would never hesitate to throw himself in front of a comrade, even to block a fatal attack.
And that included the Uchiha.
His stubbornness was endearing. It made people like him.
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