Conspiracy

"Great Elder, my ocular technique isn't genjutsu-based. I'm afraid I can't control the Nine-Tails."

"Then how about having Daohuo do it?"

"I'm afraid I can't either."

Daohuo Uchiha hurriedly shook his head. He might be arrogant, but he wasn't stupid. Ever since he'd suffered a setback last time, he'd become much more cautious.

Although he also possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, these eyes weren't really his. He couldn't bring himself to damage his own body just to fully unleash their power.

"If we can't control it, then how about releasing it directly?"

A ruthless glint flashed in the Great Elder's eyes.

The two men stared at the Great Elder in shock.

"Wouldn't that be a little inappropriate?"

"It's perfectly appropriate. The Third Hokage will have no choice but to step in. Given his current strength, he might not be a match for the Nine-Tails. If they end up killing each other, all the better."

Fuyue Uchiha's eyes lit up at once.

Most importantly, the blame for killing the Hokage wouldn't fall on them.

Once the Third Hokage was dead, they could demonstrate their own strength.

Even if they couldn't become Hokage, they could still enter the ranks of Konoha's leadership.

Thinking this, he silently nodded.

The three men began discussing how to release the Nine-Tails while framing someone else.

What they didn't notice was a black crow perched on the eaves outside, watching their entire plot unfold.

It was an ordinary crow, so none of them paid it any attention.

Before long, the crow flew away.

It arrived at a small, secluded courtyard.

Itachi Uchiha sat there alone in silence.

Ever since a year ago, he'd been abandoned by the Third Hokage. And because he'd acted as a double agent, no one in the Uchiha Clan welcomed him either.

With nowhere else to go, Itachi Uchiha had been forced to move out of his home and live alone in this corner.

Soon, the crow flew over and landed on the table.

Itachi Uchiha activated his Sharingan, and in an instant, his gaze met the crow's bright, intelligent eyes.

His brow instinctively furrowed. He saw the three men plotting and learned of their plan through lip-reading.

What should I do? Should I tell the Third Hokage?

The Third Hokage wouldn't trust him again.

Then he thought of Naruto.

Unlike the others, Itachi Uchiha had met Kushina Uzumaki. Their families had once been on good terms.

Whatever happened, he should go see what the boy was like first.

The crow took off from the table and flew back toward the Ninja Academy.

The children were practicing with kunai on the school grounds.

Naruto stood at the back, a little bored, chatting with his friends from time to time.

Naruto was still the dead-last of the class, but he wasn't as loud and attention-seeking as before.

"Hey, Naruto, want to go fishing tomorrow? It's a day off."

Shikamaru said lazily from beside him.

"Yeah! We can have a picnic and a barbecue!"

Choji got excited as soon as he heard Shikamaru's suggestion.

He wasn't interested in fishing. He only cared about the food.

Naruto thought it over, then nodded.

"Sure."

"Hinata, want to come too?"

Naruto turned and asked Hinata.

Hinata glanced shyly at the others and gave a small nod.

The others didn't think much of it. They just felt that the two of them got along well.

After more than a year together, Naruto had quickly settled into life at the Academy.

Most days, he just joked and chatted with his friends and spent time getting closer to Hinata.

His life was carefree, with nothing much to worry about.

"Hey, you idiots! Pay attention!"

Iruka noticed them and couldn't help shouting.

The group shrank their necks.

In the blink of an eye, evening arrived. Naruto said goodbye to his friends and walked home.

Suddenly, Naruto turned around, his eyes narrowing as he looked at a crow perched on a distant wall.

Unlike ordinary people, Naruto knew that summoning animals existed in this world. And when he thought of crows in connection with the Hokage, one person came to mind: Itachi Uchiha.

It was only an ordinary crow, not a summoned animal, but what really caught Naruto's attention was that it had been following him all afternoon.

Is it Itachi Uchiha? Why is he keeping an eye on me?

Naruto was puzzled.

But he didn't dwell on it and went straight home.

He left a shadow clone behind and went to the laboratory with his real body.

He picked up a scroll from the table and began reading.

It contained various reports from within Konoha, left by the people he had under his control.

He skimmed through them. Nothing stood out.

Naruto went back to his research.

He had to admit, Danzo was loaded. He had all kinds of ninjutsu and forbidden techniques in Root.

He even had the secret techniques of the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans, and now those techniques were laid out before Naruto.

"Not bad."

After reading through them, Naruto was quite satisfied. The three clans were still developing their secret techniques.

They weren't much to Naruto, just useful little tricks now and then.

Meanwhile, after receiving the images from the crow, Itachi Uchiha began wondering whether he should warn Naruto Uzumaki.

Forget it. He's still just a child. If things really come to that, I'll have to stop them myself.

Itachi Uchiha didn't want to see lives lost. He'd already witnessed the devastation the Nine-Tails could cause.

So this time, he would stop them no matter what.

His resolve was unshakable.

At the same time, the Three-Tomoe in one of his eyes spun rapidly, then merged into a single pattern.

A pinwheel design.

The keepsake of his dear friend: the Mangekyō Sharingan, with the most powerful genjutsu, Kotoamatsukami.

The Great Elder's side had nearly finished making their plans as well.

Naruto still had no idea. The main reason was that his influence hadn't spread into the Uchiha Clan.

The next day, after washing up, Naruto headed out leisurely.

He came to the Hyuga Clan's district. There were few people around, and Naruto didn't approach. He mainly didn't want any trouble.

The gate opened, and a white-eyed boy stepped out. As soon as he left, he spotted Naruto Uzumaki in the distance.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

The Hyuga Clan was extremely insular.

Naruto paused and looked up.

"Neji Hyuga."

With his Byakugan and stern expression, the boy was instantly recognizable to Naruto.

"I'm waiting for someone."

Naruto knew that Neji was difficult to get along with at this point.

"Whoever you're waiting for isn't here. Leave."

Neji frowned. He had recognized Naruto too.

Naruto Uzumaki.

As for how he knew him, that had to do with Hinata.

Hinata had changed a lot lately. She was much more outgoing and had taken an interest in cooking.

Naturally, some things had reached her father's ears. Although he disliked his daughter's personality, she was still his daughter, and he couldn't simply ignore her.

So it didn't take long for Hiashi to learn about Naruto.

This made Hiashi very unhappy.

In the original story, there were two reasons Naruto was able to marry Hinata. First, Naruto had been recognized as the strongest person in the Ninja World and had saved the world. Second, by then, Naruto's identity as the Seventh had already been decided.

Hyuga Hiashi had no power to resist.

After all, in the thousand years of the Hyuga Clan's history, had their bloodline ever spread outside the clan? They were even more insular than the Uchiha Clan.