That afternoon.
Uchiha Fugaku acted even faster than expected. Uchiha Aoba was at home organizing his ninjutsu when a clan member came to deliver a message: Sarutobi Hiruzen had summoned him.
Uchiha Aoba paused, closed the notebook filled with pinyin, and put it away. He didn't ask any questions and headed straight for the Hokage Building.
He knocked lightly on the office door, and a voice came from within almost at once.
"Come in."
Uchiha Aoba pushed open the door and entered.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was about fifty at the time. His face had grown somewhat old, but he was still in good health. He wore the Hokage robe and sat behind his desk with a hat on his head.
"Lord Hokage."
Uchiha Aoba bowed respectfully.
"Oh, Aoba. You're here."
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, then smiled warmly. "Get up. There's no need to be so formal."
"Fugaku came to see me a while ago and reported on your performance at the Sunagakure Battlefield, as well as the merits you earned."
"You've done well."
"Lord Hokage, you flatter me. I did everything for Konoha."
Uchiha Aoba kept his expression unchanged and gave the standard answer.
"Mm."
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded and fell silent for a moment. He took a deep drag from his pipe before continuing, "As for Fugaku's recommendation that you be promoted to jonin, I've approved it."
"Given the unusual circumstances, I won't have you take the jonin examination. I trust your abilities."
"So when you leave, go straight to the Logistics Department to collect your jonin vest and update your ninja registration." As he spoke, he handed over an appointment form bearing the Hokage's official seal.
Uchiha Aoba took it, glanced over it, and tucked it away.
Seeing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke again.
"Aoba, I'd like to invite you to join Anbu, the Hokage's personal unit. What do you think?"
"Anbu?"
Uchiha Aoba froze. The invitation had been completely unexpected, and for a moment he didn't know how to react.
It was no wonder.
Everyone knew the Uchiha Clan's position in Konoha was awkward.
Though they were a great clan that had founded the village alongside the Senju Clan, they had constantly faced exclusion and suppression.
On the surface, they controlled the powerful Military Police Force, which made the Uchiha Clan feel quite imposing.
But that was all.
There wasn't a single Uchiha in any of the other departments, especially Anbu.
So Uchiha Aoba hadn't expected this invitation.
It felt like the sun had risen in the west.
But he only froze for a few seconds. Then he put on an overwhelmed expression and nodded. "It's an honor to join Anbu, especially as part of the Hokage's personal unit."
"Thank you for your confidence in me, Lord Hokage. I accept."
In truth, he didn't have the option of refusing.
It wasn't that he was judging others by his own petty standards.
Uchiha Aoba strongly suspected that Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't inviting him because he thought highly of him as an Uchiha and wanted to groom him as a trusted confidant.
It was more likely that Hiruzen had learned about his abilities and wanted to keep him right under his nose.
That would make him easier to monitor.
That was what he thought.
But Sarutobi Hiruzen's next words left Uchiha Aoba truly baffled.
"Excellent, Aoba. I'm very glad you accepted."
"In that case, go report to Minato. Starting today, you'll be under him in Anbu."
Minato? Which Minato?
In all of Konohagakure, who else could he mean but Namikaze Minato?
Uchiha Aoba nearly lost control of his expression.
If Sarutobi Hiruzen had assigned him to anyone else, he would have been certain the invitation to join Anbu was simply a way to keep him under surveillance.
But Namikaze Minato was different. Uchiha Aoba knew that Minato would become the Fourth Hokage in the future.
Even putting the future aside, Namikaze Minato was already considered one of Konoha's High Command.
With such an assignment, Sarutobi Hiruzen's reason definitely wasn't as simple as the surveillance Uchiha Aoba had first imagined.
Awkward. Very awkward.
Had he, Uchiha Aoba, really been a petty-minded fool this time?
Or was Sarutobi Hiruzen hoping he could take the place Uchiha Itachi would one day occupy—
becoming a bridge between the Uchiha Clan and the village?
Tch, why think so much? I'll take things as they come.
Once my template fusion reaches over 50%, whatever schemes you have won't matter in the face of strength.
At the Logistics Department, Uchiha Aoba held a jonin vest in one hand and an Anbu uniform in the other. In the end, he decided it didn't matter.
At the Hokage Office, Sarutobi Hiruzen took out his crystal ball and was about to use the Telescope Technique to check on the village when a figure radiating a gloomy aura pushed open the door.
Seeing who it was, Sarutobi Hiruzen rolled his eyes discreetly.
"Danzo, what is it?"
Leaning on his cane, Danzo stamped it against the floor twice. "Hiruzen, I heard you invited that brat Uchiha Aoba to join Anbu. What were you thinking?"
"The Uchiha are a clan born evil. Have you forgotten Teacher Tobirama's teachings?"
"Teacher Tobirama never taught us that."
Sarutobi Hiruzen put the crystal ball back on the desk, picked up his pipe, and took a puff. "Teacher Tobirama did tell us to be wary of the Uchiha Clan, but he also told us they were part of Konoha."
"Over the years, you and Koharu have worked together to suppress the Uchiha Clan, driving them farther and farther from the village. If we don't act to turn things around, that will be what truly goes against Teacher Tobirama's teachings."
"Besides, Danzo, don't forget Kagami. He was an Uchiha, too."
"Kagami! He's been the only exception the Uchiha Clan has produced in all these years," Danzo insisted.
"Uchiha Aoba could be the third."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's reply was firm.
"The third? Who was the second?"
Danzo's eyes widened. He hadn't expected another to have slipped through the net.
"Uchiha Obito!"
Oh, then there was no problem.
Danzo's expression relaxed again. With the way Uchiha Obito went through life without a care, Danzo could hardly be bothered to target him.
Sending people to watch him would be a waste of manpower.
"Hiruzen, I don't care what you're thinking. Uchiha Aoba absolutely cannot join Anbu."
"He awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan at twelve. The village absolutely cannot allow a second Uchiha Madara to emerge!"
"You're overthinking it, Danzo." Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head helplessly. "I've kept an eye on Aoba and Obito since the Ninja Academy. Neither of them is an extreme Uchiha."
"Naive!"
Danzo couldn't hold back any longer and shouted, "Hiruzen, you're the Hokage. How can you make decisions based on a hunch?"
His words immediately displeased Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Enough! Danzo, since you know I'm the Hokage, stop interfering with my decisions."
"..."
Danzo felt a surge of frustration. After a moment, he gritted his teeth and said,
"Hiruzen, you'll regret this."
"I'm the Hokage. I'll never regret my decisions!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression was stern.
Before you continue