Uchiha Hikari's New Identity, Favorability Soars

The waters of the Naka River shimmered under the moonlight. Uchiha Jun stood in a dense forest outside Konoha, with Uchiha Hikari beside him, standing guard.

He took a deep breath and dispelled the Shadow Clone Jutsu that had remained in Konoha for several days.

Memories flooded into his mind like water bursting through a dam.

First memory segment: After returning to Konoha, his Shadow Clone had risen meteorically within the Uchiha Clan thanks to the formidable achievement of unleashing Lightning Style: Kirin during the battle at Qionggu Ridge.

The Jonin of the clan who had once barely acknowledged him now had to nod and greet him first whenever they met. Even that old fossil Uchiha Setsuna had been forced to speak of him with a trace of wariness during clan meetings.

Second memory segment: The Shadow Clone had successfully sold Clan Head Uchiha Fugaku a grand vision—things like "backdoor listing," "the Old Man Boiling strategy," and "a rare commodity to be hoarded"... political theories that even Uchiha Fugaku, who had been clan head for years, had never heard before.

It made Uchiha Fugaku's eyes shine.

More importantly, the Shadow Clone had obtained extremely important intelligence—the Daimyo of the Land of Fire had taken advantage of Jun's previous impersonation of Danzo during the attack on the Daimyo Palace to place three advisors in Konoha. Their authority was equal to that of Hokage advisors, completely shattering the balance of power among Konoha's upper ranks!

A lively situation was good. Only when things got lively would there be room for advancement.

Uchiha Jun stood in the shadows of the trees, the corners of his mouth curling slightly upward.

"Interesting. The more chaotic the situation, the more advantageous it is for me."

Uchiha Jun adjusted his collar and turned toward the depths of the forest.

He stopped beside the hollow of a century-old tree and lightly knocked on the trunk three times.

From the shadow within the hollow, a slender figure emerged like a ghost.

Uchiha Hikari was dressed in gray-white traveling clothes, her long hair simply tied back. Her scarlet Sharingan glimmered with an eerie light beneath the moon.

"You're back?"

Her voice was still cool, but compared to the icy, piercing tone she had used when her seal had first been undone and she had been rescued, it had softened considerably.

"Yeah. Thanks for your hard work."

Uchiha Jun took out a clean set of clothes from a Storage Scroll—the spare uniform of the Konoha Military Police Force, embroidered with the Uchiha Clan's fan crest—as well as a pair of contact lenses.

"Put these on. Starting today, your identity is 'Uchiha Ran.'"

Uchiha Hikari accepted the clothes, her brows knitting slightly. "Uchiha Ran?"

"That's right. You're an orphan from a remote branch family in the Land of Earth. Your parents died in the war, and after awakening the Sharingan, you were discovered by me and brought back to the main family."

"I had Uchiha Fugaku—the current clan head of Konoha's Uchiha Clan—arrange this identity."

"Of course, that's what I told Uchiha Fugaku. To outsiders, you're a civilian, family I adopted in the Land of Earth. If you're to formally enter the Uchiha Clan later, Uchiha Fugaku will still need to pull some strings."

Uchiha Jun spoke calmly. "This identity will stand up to investigation. Uchiha Fugaku has already been informed."

Uchiha Hikari fell silent for a moment, her Sharingan slowly turning beneath the moonlight. "...Aren't you afraid I'll reveal your secrets?"

Uchiha Jun smiled, and there was a confidence in that smile that Uchiha Hikari could neither describe nor understand.

"If you were going to reveal them, you wouldn't have stayed by my side all that time in Takigakure."

"Besides, aren't we family now?"

At that, Uchiha Hikari lowered her head and said nothing more.

The two headed toward Konoha's gates, one after the other.

The Chunin guarding the gate was an unfamiliar face, around twenty-five or twenty-six. A few sparse whiskers dotted his chin, while his triangular eyes carried the exhaustion and irritation of someone who had patrolled all day.

"Stop! Routine inspection!"

The Chunin raised a hand to block them. His gaze swept over Uchiha Jun, then settled on Uchiha Hikari, and his brow furrowed. "Uchiha Clan members? I haven't seen this girl before. What's her identity?"

Uchiha Jun did not waste words and simply opened his eyes.

His Three-Tomoe Sharingan lit up under the moonlight, and an invisible pressure from his eye power instantly enveloped the Chunin.

The Chunin felt a chill shoot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, as though an invisible hand had seized his throat. Cold sweat immediately broke out across his body.

It was pure bloodline suppression, the most primal deterrence the Sharingan held over ordinary shinobi.

"I... I..."

The Chunin's lips trembled twice, and he could not even speak properly.

The two Genin behind him did not dare raise their heads. They wished they could bury their faces in the armor over their chests.

Uchiha Jun slowly closed his Sharingan, his tone as calm as if nothing had happened. "Her name is Ran. She's family I just brought back from the border of the Land of Earth."

"Do you need me to go to the Hokage and help you register an identity verification?"

"N-No need! Lord Jun, please enter!" the Chunin practically shouted, his voice on the verge of tears.

Such a young Uchiha, and he had Three-Tomoe Sharingan right from the start.

Damn it, he had run into Uchiha Jun, the recently famous "super genius"!

Uchiha Jun snorted coldly and strode into Konoha with Hikari at his side.

There were not many pedestrians left on Konoha's streets at night.

The streetlamps cast warm pools of light over the stone pavement, while the occasional stray cat leaped across the rooftops.

Uchiha Hikari walked one step behind Uchiha Jun. Beneath her contact lenses, her Sharingan swept through the darkness, taking in everything around her—every house, every tree, every street in this village felt unfamiliar and novel to her.

She had lived for more than ten years, yet this was the first time someone had brought her into a village as "family."

"What was that at the gate just now?" Uchiha Hikari asked softly.

Uchiha Jun did not turn around. He merely said in a flat tone, "Konoha's Will of Fire. Everyone here believes in reason—as long as your fists are big enough, you are reason."

Hikari fell silent for a moment, then the corners of her lips suddenly curved slightly upward.

But before they had gone far, Uchiha Jun sensed a trace of cold Chakra fluctuation in the air.

He stopped walking.

The surrounding streets had become unnaturally quiet—the barking dogs and the distant clamor from the tavern that could be heard moments ago had all vanished.

"They're here."

Danzo, my little brother, before long, your Root will be changing its name.

A faint smile appeared on Uchiha Jun's lips as he turned to look at a utility pole at the end of the street.

A Root operative wearing a white mask stood in the shadows at the top of the pole.

The voice beneath the mask had been altered, making it impossible to tell whether the speaker was male or female. "Uchiha Jun, you're truly difficult to meet. Elder Danzo wishes to see you."

Uchiha Jun raised a brow, his tone as relaxed as though discussing everyday matters. "Oh? Danzo? Is he a Konoha advisor?"

The masked Root operative's tone visibly stiffened. "...No."

At this stage, Danzo had shifted from the public eye into the shadows, focusing exclusively on running Root. His public reputation had gradually fallen behind that of the advisors Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.

But that was only on the surface. In truth, Konoha's upper ranks all knew that the power in Danzo's hands was astonishing, far beyond anything Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu could compare to.

"If he isn't, then what the hell are you talking about? He isn't even an advisor, yet he wants to imitate the Hokage and summon whoever he pleases? What, is Danzo planning a rebellion? Should Clan Head Fugaku and I bring the Uchiha Jonin to pay Danzo a visit?"

"You!"

"What about me? And another thing—if you're calling someone over, at least show some respect. You can't even send a Jonin? You sent a mere Chunin to deliver the message. You clearly don't take me seriously! Go reflect on yourself!"

Facing Danzo's "provocation," Uchiha Jun showed no restraint whatsoever. He directly cast a Genjutsu, pinning the Root Chunin in place as punishment and making him experience Danzo-ism within the illusion.

If he really followed the man over, Danzo would hold the initiative.

Although Uchiha Jun could now kill Shimura Danzō with certainty, Danzo's "identity" was still useful. In the future, whenever Jun did something bad and needed someone to take the blame, there would be no better scapegoat than Danzo's premium brand.

Killing him now would only bring a moment of satisfaction. It was nowhere near as satisfying as watching Shimura Danzō bear the name of Ninja World Sun Xiaochuan in the future, get chased across the Five Great Nations like a rat, and barely cling to life.

With that said, Uchiha Jun ignored the Anbu operative, took Uchiha Hikari's small hand, and turned to leave.

After they left the street, Uchiha Hikari asked softly, "That person... was he watching us?"

"More or less."

Uchiha Jun shrugged. "That old man Danzo has always paid special 'attention' to super geniuses."

Then Uchiha Jun paused, a teasing smile entering his voice. "But he'll soon be too busy to worry about me—once news of him capturing the Third Raikage alive spreads through the Shinobi World, his title of 'Darkness of Konoha' will probably become 'Konoha's Most Wanted Criminal.'"

Uchiha Hikari glanced at him, and a complicated emotion flashed through her Sharingan.

Although she did not know exactly what Uchiha Jun was doing it all for, she could sense one thing—

Every step this man took lay beyond the calculations of others.

It gave her an unprecedented sense of security.

The next morning, Uchiha Jun arrived punctually outside Uchiha Fugaku's residence with Uchiha Ran's forged clan registry and identity documents.

Uchiha Fugaku was drinking tea in the courtyard.

He wore a dark-blue kimono with a white sash around his waist. Sitting beneath the eaves with a steaming cup of clear tea in hand, he looked more relaxed than Uchiha Jun had ever seen him before—or rather, more invigorated than ever.

"Jun, you're here. Sit."

Fugaku pointed to the cushion opposite him, his gaze naturally falling upon "Uchiha Ran" behind Uchiha Jun. "Is this the child you brought back yesterday? Come over and let me have a look."

Uchiha Hikari stepped out from behind Uchiha Jun and lowered her head slightly in a proper junior's bow. "Greetings, Clan Head."

A satisfied smile appeared on Uchiha Fugaku's face.

"Not bad. Her Chakra is pure, her foundation is solid, and... she truly does possess Uchiha blood."

He lifted his teacup again, took a sip, and looked at Uchiha Jun. "You found her in the Land of Earth?"

"Yes, Clan Head."

Uchiha Jun bowed slightly. "It happened during my last mission. A Shadow Clone I sent out to gather intelligence found her surrounded by wandering shinobi. After rescuing her, it discovered that she had awakened the Sharingan."

"Further investigation confirmed that she was an orphan from a minor branch family that had drifted into the Land of Earth years ago. Her parents had died in battle several years before, and she had been surviving alone amid the chaos of war."

After hearing him out, Uchiha Fugaku remained silent for a long time. His gaze moved back and forth across Uchiha Hikari several times before he finally let out a long sigh.

"Good, good... Too many Uchiha have died in battle over the years, and there are countless orphans scattered outside. Bringing her back is a good thing, a great achievement."

He stood and walked to the edge of the veranda, looking toward Hokage Rock in the distance.

"With new blood, our hope remains... Though the position of Hokage is still far away, as long as our clansmen unite as one, someday, our Uchiha Clan will produce a Hokage as well!"

Fugaku spoke those words with fervor. He clearly meant every one of them.

Uchiha Jun followed up at the right moment. "I am willing to contribute my humble strength to the Clan Head's great ambitions."

[Ding! Uchiha Fugaku is very satisfied with the "broader perspective" and "care for younger clan members" you have displayed. Favorability +5. Current: 80 points (Trust)!]

[Ding! Randomly obtained 10 A-Rank Ninja Fragments]

At the same time, new notifications appeared on Uchiha Jun's system panel.

[Ding! You are currently being watched by [Uchiha Hikari]. When the character's favorability reaches 60 points, you will receive 20 S-Rank Ninja Fragments for the current period.]

Immediately afterward, a series of favorability changes began flooding the screen.

[Ding! [Uchiha Hikari], favorability -40. Current favorability: -40 (Hostility)]

[Ding! [Uchiha Hikari], favorability +60. Current favorability: 20 (Slight Favor)]

[Ding! [Uchiha Hikari], favorability +30. Current favorability: 50 (Favor)]

[Ding! [Uchiha Hikari], favorability +10. Current favorability: 60 (Trust)]

[Ding! [Uchiha Hikari], favorability +20. Current favorability: 80 (Like)]

[Ding! [Uchiha Hikari]'s favorability has reached 80. Received 20 S-Rank Ninja Fragments for the current period! Obtained a total of 20 [Uchiha Madara (White Mask)]!]