"Suifeng, this is Shisui of the Kagami Clan. He's a genius who became top of his class as soon as he entered the Ninja Academy. You two should get to know each other better!"
At the Uchiha Clan Compound, in the Great Elder's residence.
Uchiha Haruki smiled as he pointed to the little boy in front of him and spoke to Suifeng.
Shisui, huh?
A lively little boy like him should have been adorable, but Suifeng just couldn't like him.
A genius? Ha...
He hadn't had any particular grudge against Shisui before, but ever since he'd come to this world and become a member of the Uchiha Clan, he'd taken a dislike to him.
What kind of "genius" was he? He was just a useless coward!
What was the point of keeping around a useless brat who couldn't do a thing and would only lead other kids astray?
"So you're Shisui. I've heard of you. They say your Body Flicker Technique is pretty impressive!"
Shisui was only six, a little kid standing before eight-year-old Suifeng, and he was understandably nervous. Suifeng was only two years older, but he was the most famous genius in the clan—and already a Chunin. More frightening still, he'd just driven off Juzo Biwa, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. His name was already starting to spread.
All of that made the newly enrolled boy feel as though he were looking up at a towering mountain.
"S-Suifeng, sir, please guide me from now on!"
I'm not your brother. You're my ancestor! Suifeng thought, but he smiled and said, "If you ever have a problem, come find me. If anyone at school picks on you, hit them back. If you can't beat them, come to me and I'll do it for you. We'll keep beating them until they learn their lesson!"
"Uh... Shisui, why don't you head home for now?" Uchiha Haruki was practically speechless. Was it really appropriate for a Chunin—one with the strength of a Jonin—to go pick a fight with Academy students and act as if he were in the right?
Then again, considering his age, even if the kid really did go pick fights at the Academy, nobody could say much. He was only eight, and his classmates had just started third grade!
"Suifeng, you did well this time!"
He'd lost count of how many times he'd said those same words.
"Danzo's getting more and more outrageous. He's even reaching into our Uchiha Clan now. First it was you, and this time it was Obito. If we don't teach him a lesson, he'll think we're pushovers!"
"Last time?"
"The Chunin Ninja Exams. Those three weren't spies from another village. They were Root shinobi under Danzo."
"Danzo, Root... So he's our enemy?"
"That's one way to put it." Uchiha Haruki nodded. "Root has always been at odds with us. Danzo's been trying to recruit members of our Uchiha Clan into Root, but we've turned him down every time."
"Danzo, Root, Great Elder—how does our strength compare with Root's?"
"They're no match for the Uchiha Clan. Root is a little more underhanded and uses some stranger methods, but our clan is the strongest in the shinobi world, the foremost clan with a thousand-year legacy. How could Danzo and Root possibly compare?"
"I see!"
Listening to the Great Elder's bold claims, Suifeng sneered inwardly. It was exactly this kind of arrogance that would eventually bring down the Uchiha Clan, a thousand-year-old clan. Just think about it: a clan that had endured for a thousand years, only to be wiped out by Root, an organization that had existed for mere decades. It was ridiculous.
Calling them increasingly incompetent with each generation didn't begin to describe their stupidity. After a thousand years of trials and tribulations, they'd earned a reputation as the foremost clan in the shinobi world, only to be wiped out in this generation.
This generation of the Uchiha Clan was hopeless, from the elders to the clan head, and from the clan head down to the rank and file.
But from another perspective, after the shinobi village system was established, every clan's strength had been severely weakened.
"Hashirama Senju was an idiot!"
In Suifeng's eyes, the entire Naruto universe was a world ruled by people with a bad case of chuunibyou.
Obito was a terminal case. He actually wanted to use Infinite Tsukuyomi to create an illusory world without war. Ridiculous, right? But think about it: wasn't the current shinobi world also caught in Hashirama Senju's Infinite Tsukuyomi?
Had the system of one village per country brought peace to the shinobi world? Obviously not. Instead, it had turned the small-scale skirmishes between clans into large-scale slaughter between countries. It had even sent seven- and eight-year-old children to the battlefield. The Tailed Beasts, meant to preserve peace, had become ultimate weapons of war, and then people dared to claim the system was perfect. They must have thought everyone was a fool!
Hashirama Senju's Infinite Tsukuyomi was far more powerful than Madara's. Madara could only create a dream world, but Hashirama Senju used Infinite Tsukuyomi to create a real one.
So Madara's defeat was only fair.
The establishment of the shinobi village system had led to the rise of large numbers of civilian shinobi. The more shinobi there were, the larger the wars became and the wider their reach, ultimately leading to chaos and slaughter.
So this so-called system of one village per country was a lie.
If a system built on lies could last this long, it could only mean that the people benefiting from it were powerful. Who had benefited from it?
In Konoha, it was the Hokage's faction. They'd used the system to expand rapidly, and their strength had already surpassed that of the various clans that came before them—including the Uchiha.
That was why Suifeng had so readily given the clan the techniques he'd dreamed up. The clan needed to grow stronger!
The author might as well have renamed the story "Raising the Uchiha."
If they didn't want to be wiped out, they needed strength. The Uchiha Clan wasn't nearly as secure as the Great Elder imagined, and Root wasn't nearly as weak as he thought.
That was why Suifeng kept provoking clashes with Root and escalating the conflict between Root and the Uchiha Clan.
He wanted the Great Elder and the other clan leaders to face reality, become more alert, and understand their own strength.
Root had been humiliated in their clashes several times because of Suifeng, but wouldn't Root's Jonin investigate the Uchiha Clan in turn?
Once they investigated, they'd discover that Root's shinobi were better trained than the Uchiha. That would give them a sense of crisis. It was a wake-up call for them, and a way to clear their heads.
Uchiha Fugaku was useless. Even after awakening the Mangekyo, he couldn't keep the Council of Elders in line. Having such a useless person become clan head worked in Suifeng's favor. In a few years, once Suifeng had taken over the Great Elder's faction and gained a proper voice in the clan, he could reshape the Uchiha in his own way.
Shisui was already six. Who knew whether the Third Hokage had brainwashed him yet? In this world, where children matured early, he might already be beyond saving. Suifeng wasn't going to waste time on this broken fool. If something was broken, you threw it out. Why bother trying to fix it? The Uchiha Clan was full of extremists, all of them freaking lunatics. Once they settled on an idea, not even nine oxen could drag them away from it. Convince them with words? He wasn't a prince, and he didn't have the Talk no Jutsu—he was only good at talking nonsense. So why bother trying to save him?
But Uchiha Itachi hadn't been born yet. He could still be saved, trained from the beginning into a less deranged person.
The key events leading up to the Uchiha Clan Massacre hadn't happened yet. Suifeng still had room to intervene. Compared to when he'd first arrived, he could now step in at crucial moments and use the clan's strength to achieve some of his own goals.
The Great Elder and Suifeng chatted a little longer, then asked about Suifeng's training again.
Suifeng hadn't yet reached the ideal point for improving his shinobi abilities, but every time he showed off, he seemed to tell everyone, "I got stronger again. I got even stronger. How the hell did I get stronger again?"
That left everyone looking forward to seeing how strong he'd become. As for the Strength Enhancement Technique, no one doubted Suifeng could develop it anymore. It was just a matter of time. And the few Nintaijutsu techniques that had emerged from his work on the Strength Enhancement Technique and his chakra control had already brought great benefits to the Uchiha Clan.
Naturally, everyone who knew about it had been sworn to secrecy.
Iron Body, Shave Body Flicker, Ninja Art: Circle.
These three techniques had already been designated as clan secret arts. Since every member of the clan had different talents, not everyone could learn the same techniques. Shisui was the Great Elder's chosen candidate to learn Shave Body Flicker. The reason he'd brought him to meet Suifeng was to have Suifeng personally guide him in its practice.
He just hadn't expected Suifeng to pique his interest with a single remark before he could bring it up.
"Recently, I've had some ideas about genjutsu, and I need the clan's help!"
Before you continue