Conspiracy

"Great Elder, my ocular jutsu is not of the genjutsu type; I fear I cannot control the Nine-Tails."

"Then how about letting Daohuo Uchiha handle it?"

"I am afraid I cannot do it either."

Daohuo Uchiha hurriedly shook his head. Although he was arrogant, he was not stupid; ever since he suffered a loss last time, he had become much more cautious.

Although he also possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan, these eyes were not his own after all. He could not yet fully unleash such power without suffering damage himself.

"Since it cannot be controlled, how about releasing it directly?"

A flash of ruthlessness appeared in the eyes of the Great Elder.

The two looked at the Great Elder in shock.

"Is doing that not a bit inappropriate?"

"It is very appropriate. When the time comes, the Third Hokage will have no choice but to step up. With the Third's current strength, he may not be a match for the Nine-Tails. If he ends up perishing together with the Nine-Tails, that would be even better."

Upon hearing this, Fuyue Uchiha's eyes lit up.

The most important thing was that the title of "Hokage-killer" would not fall upon them.

Once the Third Hokage was dead, they would then reveal their own strength.

Even if they could not become Hokage, they would still be able to squeeze into the upper echelons.

Thinking of this, he nodded silently.

The three began to plot how to release the Nine-Tails while framing others for it.

What the three did not notice was that a black crow on the eaves outside had witnessed their entire conspiracy.

This crow was just an ordinary bird, so the three paid it no mind.

Soon, the crow flew away.

It arrived at a secluded little courtyard.

Itachi Uchiha sat there quietly by himself.

Ever since a year ago, he had been abandoned by the Third Hokage, and because of his traitorous behavior, no one in the Uchiha clan welcomed him either.

Forced by circumstances, Itachi Uchiha had moved out of his home and sat alone in this corner.

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

Itachi Uchiha activated his Sharingan, instantly locking eyes with the spiritual gaze of the crow.

His brow furrowed instinctively as he saw the scene of the three conspiring and understood their plan through lip-reading.

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

The Third Hokage would no longer trust him.

At the same time, he thought of Naruto Uzumaki.

Unlike others, Itachi Uchiha was someone who had met Kushina, and the two families had once had a good relationship.

No matter what, I should go and see how that child is doing first.

The crow on the table took flight and headed back toward the Ninja Academy.

In the school playground, the children were currently practicing with kunai.

Naruto Uzumaki stood in the back, feeling somewhat bored, chatting with his friends from time to time.

The current Naruto Uzumaki was still a dead last, but he was not as boisterous or attention-seeking as before.

"Hey! Naruto Uzumaki, do you want to go fishing on our day off tomorrow?"

Shikamaru said lazily from the side.

"Right, we should have a picnic and a barbecue."

Choji became instantly excited upon hearing Shikamaru's suggestion.

He was not interested in fishing at all; he was only interested in eating.

Naruto Uzumaki thought for a moment and nodded.

"Sure."

"Hinata, want to come along?"

Naruto Uzumaki turned to ask Hinata.

Hinata snuck a peek at the group and nodded slightly.

The others did not think much of it, only feeling that the two had a good relationship.

After more than a year of getting along, Naruto Uzumaki had quickly integrated into life at the school.

He spent his days bragging and chatting with friends, and cultivating his relationship with Hinata.

Such a life was carefree, with no need to overthink things.

"Hey, you idiots, take this seriously!"

Iruka noticed the commotion and couldn't help but roar.

The group shrank their necks in response.

Time slipped by until evening, and Uzumaki Naruto said goodbye to his friends as he walked down the street.

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

Unlike ordinary people, Uzumaki Naruto knew that summoning beasts existed in this world, and in Konoha, the mention of a crow immediately brought one person to mind: Itachi Uchiha.

Although it appeared to be just an ordinary crow, what truly caught Uzumaki Naruto's attention was that this bird had been following him all afternoon.

Is it Itachi Uchiha? Why would he be targeting me?

Uzumaki Naruto felt a bit puzzled.

However, he didn't dwell on it and headed straight home.

Leaving a shadow clone behind, his true body entered his laboratory.

He picked up the scroll on the table and began to read.

It contained various pieces of intelligence from Konoha, left behind by those he had placed under his control.

After a quick glance, he found nothing worth noting.

Uzumaki Naruto began to continue his research.

It had to be said that that dog Danzo was truly wealthy; his Root possessed all manner of ninjutsu and forbidden techniques.

Even the secret techniques of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans were in Danzo's possession, and now, these very techniques lay before Uzumaki Naruto.

"Not bad."

After finishing, Uzumaki Naruto felt quite satisfied; the secret techniques of the three clans were still being continuously developed.

To Uzumaki Naruto, these were nothing more than minor tricks to be used occasionally.

Meanwhile, on Itachi Uchiha's side, having received the visual feed from the crow, Itachi Uchiha began to contemplate whether he should warn Uzumaki Naruto.

Forget it, he is still just a child. If it truly comes to that point, I will have no choice but to stop them.

Itachi Uchiha did not want to see the world plunged into misery; he had already witnessed the extent of the Nine-Tails' destructive power once before.

Therefore, he was determined to stop it this time.

The resolve in his eyes was unshakable.

At the same time, the Three-Tomoe in one of his eyes spun rapidly, eventually connecting together.

A shuriken pattern emerged.

The relic of his dearest friend, the Mangekyo Sharingan, and the strongest genjutsu, Kotoamatsukami.

The Great Elder's side had also nearly finalized their plans.

Uzumaki Naruto was still unaware of this, primarily because his influence had not yet extended to the Uchiha Clan.

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

He arrived at the compound of the Hyuga Clan. The area was sparsely populated, and Uzumaki Naruto did not approach too closely, mainly because he didn't want to invite trouble.

The gate opened, and a youth with Byakugan walked out. The moment he stepped outside, he saw Uzumaki Naruto in the distance.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

The Hyuga Clan was extremely xenophobic.

Uzumaki Naruto was taken aback and looked up.

"Neji Hyuga."

With the Byakugan and a stern face, Uzumaki Naruto recognized the other party at a glance.

"Waiting for someone."

Uzumaki Naruto knew that the current Neji Hyuga was not easy to get along with.

"The person you're waiting for isn't here. Leave quickly."

Neji Hyuga frowned, mainly because he had also recognized who this person was.

Uzumaki Naruto.

As for why he recognized him, that went back to Hinata.

Hinata had changed a lot recently; she had become much more cheerful and had taken an interest in cooking.

Some of these matters naturally reached her father's ears. Although he disliked his daughter's personality, she was his daughter after all, and he could not simply leave her to her own devices.

Thus, Hyuga Hiashi soon learned of Uzumaki Naruto's situation.

This made Hyuga Hiashi very unhappy.

In the original story, the reason he was able to marry Hinata was, first, due to Uzumaki Naruto's strength—at the time, he was recognized as the strongest in the Ninja World and had saved it—and second, because Uzumaki Naruto had already been designated as the Seventh Hokage.

Hyuga Hiashi had no right to resist.

Otherwise, just look: in a thousand years, has the Hyuga Clan ever allowed their bloodline to flow out? Compared to the Uchiha Clan, the Hyuga Clan was even more xenophobic.