He glanced at Itachi standing beside him. Sasuke, whom Itachi had been holding, had already been returned to Uchiha Mikoto.
"Let me introduce my new disciple to the clan heads. This is Uchiha Itachi, the eldest son of Deputy Director Fugaku." Uchiha Masaki drew Itachi to his side and introduced him to the clan heads.
"Uchiha Itachi greets you, clan heads," Itachi said calmly and respectfully.
"Such composure at such a young age. You're sure to accomplish great things. Congratulations, President, on taking such a fine disciple." Shikaku Nara saw how Itachi, despite his young age, carried himself like an adult. He would probably become another powerful ninja like Uchiha Masaki.
Hyuga Hiashi smiled as he offered his congratulations, but inwardly he felt jealous. Why did the Uchiha Clan always produce geniuses? He had hardly ever heard of any famous geniuses from the Hyuga Clan.
"Hahaha, I'm sure the other ninja clans have plenty of geniuses too. Unfortunately, certain people have taken them away under one pretext or another." Uchiha Masaki's words reminded the clan heads of how Shimura Danzō had ruined the geniuses in their own clans. They also planted a thorn in Itachi's heart. It was a double victory.
Seeing that his words had stirred up the clan heads' sorrow, and watching anger gradually appear on their faces, Uchiha Masaki couldn't help smiling to himself.
If he could kindle their anger, then this matter was already thirty percent won.
He was doing this so they would stand firmly alongside the Uchiha Clan.
Hmm, they could form an Anti-Danzo Alliance—or call it the Anti-Third Hokage Coalition.
They could send Itachi to infiltrate Sarutobi Hiruzen's group and pass them information.
With that thought, Uchiha Masaki led Itachi, who had been waiting and listening for quite a while, toward the Clan Training Ground. Before leaving, he smiled and greeted the clan heads.
On the way to the training ground, Uchiha Masaki looked back at Itachi following behind him and thought, I've been deliberately ignoring him this whole time. Maybe it's because of the original story. I feel angry toward someone who could wipe out his own clan, so deep down, I dislike him.
But the Uchiha Clan's revival can't depend on me alone. So when Uchiha Fugaku asked me to take Itachi as my disciple, I agreed.
Whatever else, Itachi's talent is undeniable, and I'll need him later.
The most important thing right now is to correct his way of thinking.
I'll have to give him a proper lesson at the training ground.
I hope he can take the beating.
At the training ground.
One stood tall, the other small, facing each other.
A gust of wind swept through, lifting the fringe over Itachi's forehead.
"Show me what you can do," Uchiha Masaki said without wasting time, going straight to the point. He wanted to see what Itachi could do at this stage.
Itachi replied softly, "So far, I've only learned the Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique and Uchiha Style Shurikenjutsu."
"Go on. Use the Great Fireball Technique on me," Uchiha Masaki said mildly.
"Huh?" Itachi was stunned at first. But then he remembered his teacher was the famed Undying Body of the Ninja World, and his concerns faded. He immediately began forming Hand Seals.
Snake – Ram – Monkey – Boar – Horse – Tiger
[Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique]
A three-meter-tall ball of fire shot toward Uchiha Masaki. He reached out with one hand, caught the fireball, and hurled it back at Itachi.
Itachi saw the huge fireball flying toward him, but fear left him unable to move.
Does my teacher want to kill me?
Why?
While Itachi was lost in thought, Uchiha Masaki flashed in front of him, caught the fireball with one hand, then clenched his fist and made it vanish.
"Hahaha! Wasn't I amazing, Itachi?" Uchiha Masaki laughed heartily.
He hadn't expected that he could actually scare Itachi.
"You're amazing, Sensei, but could you stop scaring me? For a moment, I really thought I was going to die," Itachi said, aggrieved.
"I'm training your reflexes. Again."
"Again?"
In the end, Uchiha Masaki played with Itachi until he passed out.
········
Early the next morning.
Uchiha Masaki arrived at the Police Force and sent for Uchiha Ichiro and Shun.
"Ichiro, Shun, you've done a good job with the Media Bureau lately." Uchiha Masaki praised their work, then chided them. "But no matter how busy you are, you can't neglect your families. Your wives have even come to me to complain."
"We're only doing our duty. A little sacrifice for the Uchiha Clan is nothing." The two brothers seemed unconcerned.
"The Uchiha Clan's future revival has a lot to do with newborns, too. You should get started sooner and set an example for everyone else. That would be a contribution to the clan as well," Uchiha Masaki said, exasperated. "You need to balance family and work. Understood?!"
Uchiha Masaki spoke at such length that the brothers could only nod and agree. If they didn't, who knew what outrageous things their clan head might say next?
Everyone knew the clan head's wife was pregnant. The clan head had already led by example, taking the first step toward reviving the Uchiha Clan.
When Uchiha Masaki saw that they had both nodded, he stopped dwelling on the matter and said, "About the task I gave you last time: I later told you to put it on hold, but the time has come to continue. We'll do it in two stages."
"Start with the first stage. Spread rumors around Konoha that Wood Release has appeared. Let the word get around." He had originally planned to take Shimura Danzō down for good last time.
But he had realized he needed Danzō's help with a crucial step later, so he'd put the rest of the plan on hold. That had tipped Danzō off, and Minato Namikaze had helped suppress the rumors. Otherwise, the news of Wood Release would have spread everywhere back then.
After all, many villagers had seen Wood Release at the time. Later, Minato Namikaze had the Police Force help keep the matter quiet, and it had eventually been dropped.
The two brothers perked up at once. They were going after Shimura Danzō again.
They'd heard that Danzō had been left looking rather haggard last time. This time, they'd make sure he was completely disgraced!
"Good. Go make the arrangements. By tonight, I want everyone in the village talking about it," Uchiha Masaki ordered.
The brothers exchanged glances, delight showing in both their eyes.
"Danzō's in for it."
········
Root Base
After a month of investigations, Shimura Danzō still hadn't found any suspicious members in Root.
Just as Shimura Danzō was beginning to relax,
Yamanaka Fu appeared in front of him in a Body Flicker.
This is bad.
That was Shimura Danzō's first reaction.
Yamanaka Fu's next words confirmed his suspicions.
"Lord Danzō, rumors that Wood Release has appeared are spreading like wildfire through Konoha."
Again?
That was Shimura Danzō's second reaction.