Ri Zhan, You Will Regret This!

Inside the Hokage's office.

"She awakened the Two-Tomoe Sharingan at eight years old and achieved the strength of a Chunin after only two years of ninja training. Such talent cannot be left unchecked, especially since her surname is Uchiha!" Danzo declared loftily. "Hiruzen, hand her over to our Root."

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his eyes slightly. "When I offered her to you back then, didn't you complain that her bloodline wasn't pure enough?"

After the Nine-Tails' attack, Root had hoped to recruit members of ninja clans who had lost their parents. Uchiha Izumi was on that list, but... she had been rejected.

Because both her parents lacked ninja talent and she only possessed half-Uchiha blood, Danzo naturally hadn't taken a liking to her.

"I didn't expect her to have such great potential either." Danzo, feeling no shame, argued his case with conviction. "And precisely because of that, she cannot be left to her own devices."

"Since she was a candidate for our Root, she belongs to us. Hiruzen, you can sign the papers to have her transferred to Root now."

Hiruzen Sarutobi refused decisively. "She is an Uchiha who has inherited the Will of Fire and can serve as a bridge between the village and the Uchiha clan. I cannot hand her over to you."

"Hiruzen!" Danzo looked at him in disbelief. "You still harbor the delusion that the Uchiha and the village can reconcile?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi stated firmly, "I believe that as long as we offer sincerity, we will surely succeed. The Uchiha are a part of Konoha; we must not give up on them unless it is the absolute last resort."

"You are too naive, Hiruzen!" Danzo was incensed by his stubbornness. "For a stubborn clan like the Uchiha, one must use thunderous, iron-fisted measures to suppress them!"

"If you cannot bring yourself to do it, then leave it to our Root!"

"Danzo!" Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes. "I am the Hokage, and matters of the village are for me to decide!"

"I absolutely forbid you from laying a hand on the Uchiha! At least, not now!"

"Hmph!" Seeing Hiruzen's resolute attitude and his willingness to use his authority as Hokage to suppress him, Danzo realized the matter was a dead end and let out a cold snort. "Hiruzen, you are nursing a viper in your bosom. One day, you will regret this!"

He threw the words over his shoulder and slammed the door behind him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and slowly closed his eyes.

Elsewhere.

"Hokage... Hokage! Damn it, if only I were the Hokage..." Danzo's voice was filled with resentment.

In the shadows, the Spore Clone monitoring Danzo looked on with disdain.

He's truly gone mad with the desire to be Hokage...

In this lifetime, he won't even get to be the Fifth, let alone anything else...

Elsewhere.

"So, Danzo has set his sights on me?"

"Because I performed too well, he wants to recruit me into Root to brainwash me?"

Walking back to the clan compound, Uchiha Izumi summarized the situation after hearing Sasuke's explanation.

"Exactly." Sasuke nodded. "You have already gained the initial trust and attention of Hiruzen Sarutobi. With him acting as a check and balance, I believe Danzo won't make any moves for the time being."

"But this doesn't mean you can rest easy. You need to continuously earn Hiruzen Sarutobi's trust."

"Well, in the future, you can appropriately reveal some information about the Uchiha clan. Besides, one more traitor won't make a difference."

Uchiha Izumi wrinkled her delicate nose and said with dissatisfaction, "What traitor? That sounds so harsh."

After that retort, she added with some concern, "It's just... Itachi and Shisui..."

Having spent so much time with Sasuke, she naturally already knew that Shisui Uchiha had pledged his loyalty to the Hokage's faction.

But as it happened, Itachi Uchiha was Shisui's closest friend, even looking up to him like an older brother...

Thinking of Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

In his previous life, he hadn't liked Itachi, that "great filial son," but as luck would have it, he had become Sasuke in this life...

Over the past two years, he had truly felt the almost doting brotherly love Itachi held for him...

"Let's wait. I believe that one day he will lose his way and return... but Shisui..."

"His Dojutsu makes it impossible for me to truly trust him..."

Uchiha Izumi sighed in her heart.

Indeed, Kotoamatsukami...

Who could ever trust someone who had already betrayed their clan and possessed the ability to rewrite anyone's will at any moment?

Returning home.

"I'm home." X2

Uchiha Mikoto leaned halfway out of the kitchen and smiled. "Sasuke, Izumi, wait a moment. It will be ready soon."

"And congratulations, Izumi. From today on, you're a ninja!"

"Thank you, Aunt Mikoto." Uchiha Izumi gave a sweet smile. "I'll come help."

Mikoto glanced at Fugaku, who was sitting in the main hall drinking tea. Seeing he had no intention of speaking, she nodded. "Alright, sorry to trouble you, Izumi."

"It's no trouble at all. I want to learn more about cooking from you, Auntie; it's actually me who is putting you to trouble."

"You really are gentle, Izumi."

Uchiha Izumi walked into the kitchen, while Sasuke sat down across from Fugaku. "Father."

"Mm." Fugaku gave a slight nod. As he picked up a clean teacup to pour tea for Sasuke, he spoke, "Izumi has graduated. Do you two have any plans?"

With that, the tea was poured, and he handed the cup to Sasuke.

"Thank you, Father." Taking the cup, Sasuke took a light sip before saying casually, "Just be a normal ninja for now."

"A normal ninja, you say? Very well. Since you have your own ideas, I won't interfere." Skipping over the topic, Fugaku turned to ask, "Did Izumi see the Third Hokage today?"

"Yes." Sasuke nodded. "And since Danzo has set his sights on Izumi, I had her earn the Third Hokage's favor."

"You're trying to use the Third Hokage as a counterbalance?" Fugaku understood Sasuke's intent and continued, "Izumi is now labeled as one of our own; she is no longer an expendable member of the Uchiha clan. Whether it is the Third Hokage or Danzo, they must now consider our clan's stance."

"But I can't gamble, can I?" Sasuke said. "Even if you can mediate, Father, there is no guarantee that Danzo won't strike from the shadows. Only by attaching the Third Hokage's label to her can we completely extinguish Danzo's designs."

That was true... Fugaku sighed inwardly. He glanced toward the kitchen and said, "Then it can only be a grievance for Izumi."

Once labeled as part of the Hokage's faction, her situation within the Uchiha clan, which had just begun to improve, would likely take a turn for the worse.

"No." Sasuke shook his head. "The one being wronged is you, Father."

Uchiha Izumi had been staying in their home all this time, and given her current strength, the clan assumed she had received guidance from the clan head.

If they learned that she had leaned toward the Hokage's faction, a charge of failing to provide proper instruction would likely damage Fugaku's reputation within the clan.

Fugaku raised an eyebrow. "Sasuke, your father is the head of the Uchiha clan. Do not underestimate my prestige within the clan!"

Right, right, a clan head who can only compromise and has left the clan seething with resentment... Despite his internal retort, since his father had said as much, Sasuke could only lower his head and say submissively, "I was overthinking it."

You brat... Realizing that Sasuke's words were insincere, Fugaku felt his teeth itch with annoyance.

At that moment, the sound of the door opening came from the entrance, followed by the voice of Itachi Uchiha:

"I'm home..."

Hearing this, Sasuke and Fugaku exchanged a glance.

That voice and tone... something was wrong!