I'd been reincarnated into Naruto, and I was now in the Uchiha Clan...
I was five years old, and Minato Namikaze had just become Hokage.
The Uchiha Clan Massacre was probably five to eight years away. Worse, there was no system.
I could count myself lucky to have a genius's advantage, but with only a few years, I had no confidence I could stand against Mangekyō Sharingan—let alone three of them.
And besides those two white-eyed wolves, I'd be facing almost the entire village of Konoha.
"Phew~~~"
"What a headache!"
Sitting on a branch high in a tree, five-year-old Ensei Uchiha gazed at Kage Rock, not too far away. His young face was creased with worry.
Ever since he'd learned to extract Chakra at the age of three, Ensei Uchiha had been searching for a way to solve his problems. Unfortunately, he hadn't found the slightest hope.
Now that Minato Namikaze had just become Hokage, the Nine-Tails' Rampage was only months away at the earliest, or two to three years at the latest.
As for the exact timing? He could only guess when the Uchiha Clan Massacre would happen, let alone anything else.
And Kushina Uzumaki...
Ensei Uchiha wasn't Sasuke Uchiha. He didn't have a mother who was friends with Kushina Uzumaki, so he'd never even met her.
He didn't know the exact date, but with Minato Namikaze becoming Hokage, the countdown to his own death had begun.
If he didn't want to die, he had to find a way to solve the problem.
This was already a new life, but Ensei Uchiha wasn't ready to die so soon.
His chances of escaping Konoha on his own weren't good. Even if he managed to get out, there was no telling whether he could evade the Konoha Ninja pursuing him. And the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan alone was dangerous enough.
So he could only try that plan as a last resort.
As for changing the minds of Shisui Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha, that plan had already died before it even got off the ground.
There was no helping it. Shisui Uchiha was a ninja who rarely appeared in the clan compound, while Itachi Uchiha was the clan leader's son and seldom interacted with the other clan members.
If he'd been reincarnated as Sasuke Uchiha, he might have had a chance to change things. But that would probably have been even more dangerous.
As it was, if he played his cards right, he could change a lot.
This is all I can do for now!
He had to give Minato Namikaze a grand gift!
Ensei Uchiha stared at Kage Rock for a long time, then a resolute look flashed through his eyes. He formed Hand Seals and channeled all his Chakra, painstakingly creating a Shadow Clone.
He had enough control over his Chakra, but at five years old, creating this special Shadow Clone still put him under a lot of strain.
He felt around inside his shirt and pulled out an envelope, which he handed to his Shadow Clone.
"Be careful. Don't let them find out who you are. I'm not very good at the Transformation Jutsu, so make sure you wear the mask..."
A conflicted look flashed through Ensei Uchiha's eyes, but in the end, he decided to give it a try.
He'd made thorough preparations for this moment.
The envelope held a letter for Minato Namikaze. It revealed Obito Uchiha's identity and current state, as well as Kushina Uzumaki's pregnancy and the fact that someone would attack her while she was giving birth.
Ensei Uchiha had written nearly the whole truth in the letter, including how Kakashi Hatake had talked to himself at Rin's grave, where Obito had overheard him.
The envelope was thick. To write the letter, Ensei Uchiha had secretly cut up two or three books, then gathered plenty of fruit glue and pasted the words together one by one.
He'd made all the preparations with specially modified Shadow Clones, making sure not to leave behind even a trace of scent.
One thing worth noting was that Shadow Clones had the same scent as their original, which was why enemies couldn't tell them apart. But this specially modified Shadow Clone was different.
Modifying the Shadow Clone Technique to a certain degree at the age of five was proof enough of Ensei Uchiha's talent.
If he'd had more time, he wouldn't have feared the Uchiha Clan.
But there was no helping it. The gap between having the Mangekyō Sharingan and not having it was simply too great.
Ensei Uchiha's Shadow Clone pulled a wooden mask from its pocket and put it on.
The Shadow Clone Technique could replicate the original's clothes and equipment. But the copies were part of the clone itself, and a light touch would dispel the entire clone.
Still, it was the perfect way to hide his identity.
Ensei Uchiha's Shadow Clone calmly said, "Check me over and see if there are any other traces on me."
At that, Ensei Uchiha didn't approach his Shadow Clone. Instead, he used various methods to inspect it from a distance before finally speaking.
"No problem. I've used a special solution to remove the scent from the envelope in your hand. Nothing should go wrong."
"I've done everything I can. If you're discovered, take a gamble and pretend to be a prophet. That's better than doing nothing!"
"But just to be safe, wait here until dark before you act. I'm going to destroy the mask and clothes I'm wearing."
After hearing Ensei Uchiha's words, the Shadow Clone nodded, then used the Transformation Jutsu to turn into a slightly crooked branch.
Ensei Uchiha wasn't very good at the Transformation Jutsu, but no one usually paid attention to how many branches there were at the very top of a tree.
With ninjutsu, it didn't matter whether you mastered it completely. What mattered was whether it did the job.
After checking his surroundings, Ensei Uchiha climbed down from the tree and headed home as usual.
For today's operation, Ensei Uchiha had been visiting this tree to play at irregular intervals for over half a year. He didn't plan to change this habit anytime soon.
He returned home beneath the setting sun. As soon as he stepped inside, he saw a steaming meal on the table.
In this life, Ensei Uchiha had lost both his parents shortly after he was born. Until the age of three, he'd been raised by a civilian member of his clan.
After that, just like now, someone brought him meals at fixed times each day. Occasionally, a ninja would come by to teach him the basics of ninjutsu.
Unlike Konoha's orphanage, the Uchiha Clan believed that strength came first. They didn't go out of their way to care for children, but at least they treated them more or less equally.
He picked up his bowl and chopsticks with practiced ease, found a book on the nearby shelf, and read as he ate.
The food wasn't exactly delicious, but it wasn't bad either. Half of it consisted of vegetables and the other half meat, making it quite a sumptuous meal by Konoha standards.
After finishing his meal, Ensei Uchiha began washing his clothes with practiced ease.
As the garments soaked in clear water, some of the dye came off easily. Before long, the whole outfit had changed color.
"Hmm, ninjas really are something. This trick for changing the color of clothes so quickly is pretty impressive..."
After hanging the clothes out to dry, Ensei Uchiha took out a small knife and began carving the wooden mask.
While Ensei Uchiha's original self was busy, the crooked branch in the tree near Kage Rock twisted and transformed into a youth dressed in black.
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