Orphanage

"Suifeng, what are you looking at?" Haku asked, puzzled, seeing Suifeng staring blankly at the orphanage.

"Oh, nothing. So this is the orphanage. I remember a few classmates live here, so I was just curious!"

"What's there to be curious about? The Second Shinobi World War just ended, and many ninjas sacrificed their lives. Their orphans are cared for by the orphanage, and many ninjas themselves came from there," Uchiha Fukuyama said. "So, it's not strange that you have classmates living here!"

"I see!"

Suifeng finally understood; he had underestimated this orphanage.

Setting aside how living civilian ninjas viewed the orphanage, or Konoha's moral obligation to raise the orphans of fallen ninjas, the ninjas who emerged from the orphanage alone represented a force not to be trifled with.

Perhaps due to the orphanage's conditions, the number of ninjas who made it out wasn't high, but Suifeng didn't believe these people would abandon the orphanage once they left. Even if just one of them became a Jonin, they would become a powerful pillar of support for the orphanage. Therefore, only a fool would imagine the Konoha Orphanage to be so miserable—that simply wasn't the case.

Put that way, Danzo sticking his hands into the orphanage was clearly a move that wouldn't win him any popularity.

If this force were utilized well, it could be an asset for striking against Danzo in the future.

Of course, for now, it was just a hypothesis, a fantasy—no, a mere thought.

"I'm overthinking it; nothing has even started yet!" He shook his head with a smile and walked past the orphanage gate, seeing the tiny children on the playground playing ninja games.

"Huh, that is...!"

In a fleeting glance, Suifeng couldn't help but stop in his tracks. Inside the orphanage, a familiar figure caught his eye.

"What's wrong?!" This time, Suifeng's movement was quite noticeable, and Fukuyama stopped as well.

"Saw an acquaintance!"

"A classmate?!"

"Yeah, a classmate!"

"Want to go say hello?!"

"No need!"

"Then let's go!"

"Right!"

The four of them walked past the orphanage. Inside, Nohara Rin remained completely unaware, playing and laughing with her friends.

...I am a separator...

"So Nohara Rin also came from the orphanage? That makes sense; in the original story, there didn't seem to be any mention of her parents!"

Naruto is a world full of pitfalls; those who drive the progression of history are often inconspicuous characters, while the legendary protagonists merely serve as tools.

"Then, what can her orphanage background bring me?!"

He had already defeated Kakashi, completing the first small goal of his life. Now that he finally had a moment to breathe, besides training, he needed to make some preparations for the future.

For instance, the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan!

The Zanpakuto Red Ghost could solve the evolution problem of his own Sharingan, but the absolute limit of his own eyes was the Mangekyo.

Next, he needed to find suitable eyes.

He had no siblings; the only two possibilities were his cousins, Obito and Shisui. These two were the closest to him by blood and had both awakened the Mangekyo.

Between the two, he had his eyes set on Obito's Mangekyo.

As for Shisui's Kotoamatsukami, he could only chuckle...

Permanently altering a person's thoughts—not to mention the cooldown time, he wasn't some pervert playing a raising sim; what would he need that for?

But Obito's eyes were much harder to obtain than Shisui's. Not to mention the power of his Mangekyo, just the fact that Zetsu was watching him from the shadows was a headache.

Furthermore, according to the plot, if he didn't find a way to change things, one of those eyes would end up in Kakashi's hands. That would be easy to take, but Kakashi wasn't Obito. That guy was born with a low chakra pool and wasn't of the Uchiha clan; until the Uchiha clan was wiped out, he never upgraded his eyes to the Mangekyo. Where would he find the time for that?

Therefore, the most direct method was for both eyes to remain intact on Obito, and once he evolved into the Mangekyo, strike immediately to seize them.

Don't say it's impossible!

He could do it, and he must do it!

The key to Obito's Mangekyo lay with Nohara Rin. By controlling Nohara Rin, he could even roughly grasp the timeline of Obito's Sharingan evolution. By mastering this timeline, he could even prevent the Nine-Tails incident and stop the Uchiha clan's situation in Konoha from deteriorating further.

So, is the plot-cheat the ultimate cheat after all?

...—Separator—...

Konoha Hospital

In the same room where Suifeng had woken up that day, Kakashi sat with his head wrapped in thick bandages, one leg suspended in a cast. His dead-fish eyes showed no fluctuation; there wasn't a hint of life in them.

"Kakashi, don't take it to heart. This time, Suifeng only beat you because he used despicable methods. His strength isn't actually better than yours!" Obito offered comfort in his clumsy way, which was completely ineffective.

"What do you mean 'despicable methods'? Obito, you idiot, this was clearly a targeted tactic Suifeng set up in advance, and it was very successful. Kakashi was just careless this time," Sarutobi Asuma said bluntly. "Information gathering and tactical design are essential qualities for a ninja. In that regard, Suifeng's performance was impeccable."

"You're still speaking up for that despicable guy?!"

"Why can't I? I'm just stating facts!" Asuma said dismissively, placing his gift on the bedside table and glancing at the empty-handed Obito.

"Idiot!"

Rolling his eyes, he turned and left.

"Waaah, you bastard!"

Feeling provoked, Obito could no longer hold back. With a roar, he charged forward.

Bang!!

The door opened, and Asuma and Obito froze in their tracks simultaneously.

"Lord White Fang!"

"Hmm!" White Fang nodded. "Asuma and Obito, are you here to see Kakashi? Thank you!"

"Hello!" The two stammered a greeting, then hurriedly excused themselves and left.

"Those two friends of yours aren't bad," White Fang said thoughtfully as he watched them leave. "It's been three days; haven't you recovered yet?!"

"I'm just thinking about why I lost this time!" Facing White Fang, Kakashi could not maintain his usual aloof demeanor, and his cold, dead-fish eyes finally flickered with life. "I was too arrogant!"

White Fang smiled. "You were indeed too arrogant!"

"Next time, I definitely won't lose!" Kakashi clenched his small, fair fist.

"Both you and he are ninjas of Konoha. There won't be many opportunities to cross blades unless you challenge him!" White Fang said. "But that will have to wait until your injuries heal!"

Challenge!!

Kakashi was slightly stunned. He was no stranger to the word, yet he had never once tried to challenge anyone else.

Having grown up under White Fang's rigorous training, Kakashi's strength far surpassed that of his peers. It had always been others challenging him; he had never known what it felt like to challenge someone else.

He had always thought those who challenged him were overestimating their own abilities. So, if he were to challenge Uchiha Suifeng, would he be considered to be overestimating his own?

Why did the mere thought of such a thing make him feel a sense of shame?

For a moment, Kakashi fell into deep contemplation.

"I have to go on a mission soon. Stay in the hospital and recover properly!"

"Yes!"