Shadow Clone Little Right chimed in as well.
He hadn't thought that far ahead, but after Little Left pointed it out, he suddenly realized just how badly he was getting ripped off.
"Why should I be the one carrying you while you get to enjoy a carefree life every day?!"
"I'm here to help you enjoy the good life, not shoulder life's burdens for you. If I have to work myself to the bone training every day, you might as well just kill me!"
The two clones exchanged a glance. They knew their original all too well, and didn't want to hear even half a punctuation mark about his integrity.
Without hesitation, they whipped out their Kunai and stabbed each other, ending their short and miserable lives.
All that remained was Uchiha Shingen, standing there in stunned disbelief.
"I..."
"Are you two a little too human?!"
Uchiha Shingen felt like crying.
The good news was that the clones were a lot like him. The bad news was that they were too much like him—even inheriting his habit of slacking off.
Still.
This temporary setback didn't put Uchiha Shingen off the idea of enslaving his clones to slack off for him.
After several attempts, he quickly found the flaw in the plan.
Those two idiots didn't retain their previous memories each time they were summoned, and their memories of their original were pretty hazy, too.
Uchiha Shingen had an idea. He immediately pulled the two clones aside to discuss how they'd divide up the work.
"The three of us will take turns."
"Little Left, you're on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Little Right, you're on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. I'll work a little harder and train every day, since you both know I'm the only one who can clock in."
The two clones thought it over, stared at each other, then nodded.
"In that case... I'm in!"
"Me too!"
"Good. Then let's start training according to the plan."
As he spoke, Uchiha Shingen shook his head with what looked like a rueful smile.
"I'm really getting the short end of the stick."
"Taking a loss is a blessing!"
Little Left seemed afraid he might change his mind. After giving that perfunctory reply, he immediately got up and hurried over to a corner to begin his Taijutsu training.
Little Right followed his example and started practicing Sword Leap Flame in an empty patch nearby, getting used to the technique he'd only recently mastered.
The two Shadow Clones' training soon sent booms echoing through the area. Flaming sword energy and flying rubble filled the air!
Uchiha Shingen sat to one side, leisurely enjoying the night scenery and savoring the beauty of life. But before long, he couldn't smile anymore.
Four hours later.
The clones reached the limit of how long they could be maintained. With a bang, they vanished into the air in puffs of smoke.
Four hours' worth of training memories and experience flooded back into the original, along with the exhaustion that had built up in the clones' bodies.
Uchiha Shingen's mind and body shut down on the spot. He managed only one curse before losing consciousness and collapsing flat on his back.
When Jiraiya arrived, all he saw was Uchiha Shingen lying on the ground.
He hurried over to check on him. After confirming that Uchiha Shingen was fine and merely exhausted, he noticed the rubble and scorch marks all around them.
Uchiha Shingen training so hard that he'd passed out rather than let up immediately came to mind.
"Have Konoha and the Uchiha put too much pressure on this kid?!"
"Ah..."
"As his teacher, there's not much I can do about that. But that kid Minato—if he really can become Hokage..."
The news that Jiraiya had taken on a student hadn't been deliberately concealed, and it quickly spread through Konoha.
Both the Third Hokage and the Uchiha Clan tacitly ignored the matter and made no effort to bring it up.
Danzo, holed up underground, was the one with a bellyful of anger and nowhere to vent it.
Deep underground, at the Root base.
Torches mounted on the walls lit up the area, their glow making Danzo's already gloomy expression look even more grim.
"So Jiraiya and Uchiha Shingen really were just discussing... those filthy books?"
"And Hiruzen didn't order it, either?!"
The Root shinobi kneeling before him nodded firmly.
"That seems to be the case."
"We tried nearly every encryption method in the Shinobi World to decipher their chat logs, but we found nothing."
"Besides, neither the Uchiha nor Lord Hokage's side has made a move during this time."
"Once you rule out every impossibility, no matter how absurd the conclusion may be, it's still the only answer."
As he finished, the Root shinobi couldn't help raising his head to glance at Danzo.
He still remembered how confidently Danzo had insisted that this was definitely a secret plot between the Uchiha and the Third Hokage.
The more he thought about it now, the funnier it seemed.
Intimidated by Danzo, everyone present kept their heads bowed low.
But while they could control their expressions, their bodies still betrayed them, trembling with barely suppressed laughter.
"..."
The Root headquarters fell silent.
Danzo seethed, but didn't bring the matter up again. Instead, he shifted his attention to Uchiha Shingen's file.
Recently, Uchiha Shingen had become Jiraiya's student. It was practically common knowledge by now.
If the idea that the Uchiha and the Third Hokage had joined forces behind the scenes had originally been a misjudgment, then after Danzo's stunt, both the Uchiha and the Third Hokage were sure to have considered the possibility.
Even if they hadn't said so publicly, they must have tacitly approved of it in private, perhaps even helped it along.
The thought made Danzo's stomach twist. His old face crumpled like a bitter melon, and he felt a growing sense of urgency.
With Jiraiya protecting him, the only way to forcibly eliminate Uchiha Shingen would be for the entire Root organization to come after him—and even then, there'd be only a slim chance of success.
But that would be tantamount to blowing their own cover. It wouldn't achieve anything; it would only push the Uchiha and Hiruzen closer together!
The more Danzo thought it over, the more he realized that this might be the most dangerous predicament he'd faced since taking control of Root!
If Hiruzen really managed to win over the Uchiha...
Danzo would probably never reach Hiruzen's heights in his lifetime, let alone have any chance at the Hokage Position!
"Whatever it takes, I can't let Hiruzen succeed. If force won't work, then I'll try persuasion..."
Danzo reached up and rubbed his brow.
Every scrap of information about Uchiha Shingen flashed through his mind.
Soon,
a picture of an Uchiha unlike Kagami Uchiha, Uchiha Madara, or Fugaku Uchiha began to take shape in Danzo's mind.
"Talented, without ambition—or perhaps hiding it very well."
"A normal Uchiha would never willingly approach Jiraiya."
"That kid is probably hiding his true abilities, waiting for the chance to rise. And now it looks like I handed him that opportunity myself."
"Evil Uchiha brat!"
"No. If Hiruzen can let go of his prejudice against the Uchiha and even extend an olive branch, why can't I?!"
"How could I possibly be inferior to him?!"
Danzo gradually calmed down, and his thoughts became clearer.
"Objectively speaking, the kid has brains and political savvy. He'd be perfect to groom as a deputy or successor."
"The only obstacles are Hiruzen and the Uchiha."
"I need to give them something else to worry about."
At that thought,
a figure immediately came to mind. Danzo turned to Aburame Ryoma beside him and said,
"If I remember right, Uchiha Setsuna's sentence is almost over, isn't it?"
"Are you planning to release him early to disrupt Lord Hokage's plans?!"
Before you continue