Itachi's Eyes

It was a matter of habitual thinking. He had never paid much attention to his youngest son before, but now he thought of those Mangekyō Sharingan in his dream.

At that moment, Fugaku Uchiha made up his mind.

The Great Elder was right.

Besides, it was only a pair of eyes. It wasn't as if they were taking his life.

He could lose his eyes and still live. And with two pairs of Mangekyō, they wouldn't have to fear the Third Hokage's strength.

Not to mention Sasuke also had the potential to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Others might not know, but as the head of the Uchiha Clan, and someone who possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan himself,

Fuyue Uchiha knew very well how to awaken the Eternal Mangekyo.

If it came down to it, whether he transplanted Itachi's eyes into himself or gave them to Sasuke Uchiha,

either way, there was a chance to restore their ancestor's glory.

At the same time, the few people opposite him saw the look on Fugaku Uchiha's face.

They were all delighted.

Those were Mangekyō Sharingan, after all.

The Uchiha Clan's supreme power.

If they really took them back, they couldn't possibly leave them unused.

There was a good chance one of them would be chosen.

At the thought of that,

they were all excited.

Now that they had made up their minds, they no longer hesitated.

They began discussing how to take Itachi Uchiha's eyes.

A direct confrontation was out of the question.

An ambush was out of the question, too. Although they all hated that traitor, he was still the clan leader's son.

Not to mention that the clan leader now possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan.

So in the end, only one method remained.

Meanwhile, Naruto's side.

Inside the underground laboratory.

Amid his busy schedule, Naruto received a detailed report on what had happened the day before.

After listening to his subordinate's explanation, Naruto showed no particular reaction.

"Good work. What secret techniques does Danzo have? Find a way to get some for me."

"Sir, that'll be easy. As long as we request to study them, Danzo will generally approve."

"All right. I'll leave that to you."

Naruto nodded slightly, and after the others left,

his expression remained calm.

The three men from the day before were already dead. They had killed themselves.

After doing something like that, they couldn't afford to be questioned.

So when the three men confronted the Uchiha Clan, they had killed themselves in front of everyone to prove their innocence.

That was why the Uchiha Clan had been left unable to defend itself.

With the dead unable to testify, and both sides having made moves recently, everyone assumed it was a farce staged by the Uchiha Clan.

Besides, no Sharingan had been found on the three men.

Those three had been among the people Naruto controlled.

The power of Twin Palms was as overbearing as ever.

After a day of research, Naruto had gained a basic understanding of the Sharingan.

At the same time, his shadow clone dispelled itself.

The memories from that side synchronized with his own.

Naruto couldn't help but smile.

He rubbed his chin with his small hand.

"Byakugan, huh? By comparison, the Byakugan has more room for variation."

"Should I find a pair of Byakugan to test?"

Now that he had Twin Palms, the Caged Bird Seal was useless against Naruto.

If he wanted to, he could remove it for them and obtain the Byakugan.

But after thinking it over, he decided against it. Hinata was still young; there was no rush.

Besides, there was more than one way to improve the Byakugan.

Judging from the original story, there were at least three.

One was to increase the purity of the Byakugan.

A little research, and Twin Palms could accomplish that.

The second was chakra.

Obtaining the chakra of the Ōtsutsuki Clan could potentially evolve the Byakugan.

The third should be the God Tree.

Its power could also evolve the Byakugan.

Simply put, Twin Palms opened up many possibilities.

What really made him happy today was Hinata taking the initiative.

He used Fire Style to return home.

Naruto thought it over and decided he would go to school himself the next day. He could take his time with the research.

But Naruto only got one childhood.

Of course, he absolutely wouldn't admit that he wanted to play with Hinata.

Feelings went both ways. If Hinata had still been like she was in the original story—timid and blushing whenever she saw him—Naruto would have let things take their course.

But now the little girl had mustered her courage and taken a step forward, so Naruto naturally responded. After all, that made things more interesting.

The next day, Naruto tidied himself up, ate breakfast, and headed to school.

People along the way only frowned when they saw him. Not many of them cared about him anymore.

There was plenty of gossip in Konoha now, and with Danzo no longer spreading rumors, people simply ignored Naruto.

Naruto really liked this feeling.

He couldn't help thinking that he really did need to give those people something else to worry about. Otherwise, they'd always be watching him.

Even the Third Hokage no longer had time to watch him through that crystal ball.

When he arrived at school, he greeted the few people he was friendly with.

Hinata's eyes lit up when she saw Naruto.

Just by looking at him, Hinata knew this was the real Naruto.

"Morning, Hinata!"

"Morning, Naruto."

Looking at the little girl with her rosy cheeks, Naruto found it amusing.

Meanwhile, on the Uchiha Clan's side.

At Fugaku Uchiha's home.

Mikoto was cooking, while Fuyue sat in the living room, drinking tea.

Through the steam rising from the tea, no one could see his expression.

Mikoto soon finished preparing the meal.

At the same time, Itachi Uchiha came home.

"Father."

Itachi Uchiha entered and greeted him.

"Mm. Let's eat."

Fuyue Uchiha's gaze was complicated, but he quickly hid it.

The three sat down, and Mikoto served them rice.

They were silent. No one spoke.

As a homemaker, Mikoto sensed that the atmosphere was strange, but she said nothing.

"Itachi..."

Fugaku Uchiha set down his bowl. He wanted to try persuading him one last time, but didn't know what to say. They had all seen the future and understood the choice Itachi Uchiha would make.

"Father?" Itachi Uchiha looked up in confusion.

"Alas! You don't need to go to the Anbu anymore."

In the end, all he could do was sigh and say that.

"Why? I..."

Itachi Uchiha had just started to say something when he suddenly felt his consciousness grow heavy.

"Father, why?"

For the first time, Itachi Uchiha's expression changed.

He stared at his father in shock.

He had never imagined that his father would actually harm him.

"I'm sorry, Itachi. It's for the clan."

Fuyue Uchiha's face was expressionless, but deep in his eyes, he hid his reluctance.

"This..."

Mikoto Uchiha was just about to say something when her consciousness grew heavy, too. She slumped onto the table.

Fuyue Uchiha sighed.

At that moment, four people entered from outside.

"Clan leader, this is the right choice."

"Clan leader, will you do it, or should we?"

The few young men had no such qualms. Daohuo Uchiha in particular had lost his eyes, but if he could get a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan, his strength would increase rather than diminish.

So he was the most excited of them all.

"Great Elder, you do it."

They had already come this far. They could only continue.

Fuyue Uchiha coldly closed his eyes.