Sarutobi's Worry

Under Yu's Heart Tempering Formation, there are now twenty young Uchiha clansmen who have awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan. This is even while lacking sufficient elixirs, though clansmen who improve this way have a certain flaw: their bodies tend to remain in a state of depletion for a long period.

Fortunately, some potent medicinal herbs can still be purchased in Konoha. After a few days of research, Yu developed a Ten-Ingredient Tonic Soup, which solved this difficult problem.

However, there is still a drawback. While this replenishes the body's depletion, the mental toll remains. Specifically, clansmen who improve rapidly in this manner possess less ocular power, and prolonged use of the Three Tomoe Sharingan places a heavy burden on their bodies.

Yu has no way to solve this for the time being; he can only wait for the spiritual herbs to mature and then replenish them later.

But even so, a Three Tomoe is still a Three Tomoe! They are not comparable to ordinary ninjas!

And this is only for the Three Tomoe clansmen. The twelve young clansmen who followed Yu early on have all awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, each possessing strength comparable to the Quasi-Kage Level. Once they become accustomed to the Mangekyo Sharingan, surpassing the Kage Level will only be a matter of time.

With such formidable strength, it is now almost impossible for Konoha to break the rules of the game and suppress the Uchiha through force.

As for Yu, he is now undoubtedly confirmed as the next Clan Head of the entire Uchiha clan.

It is only out of respect for Fugaku being Yu's father that a large group of young, hot-blooded clansmen feels embarrassed to call for his abdication.

Yu is currently in the courtyard watching Itachi train three-year-old Sasuke, with Izumi, who has matured quite a bit, by his side. Izumi is carefully peeling an apple for Yu, then cutting it into small pieces.

She gently offers a piece to Yu's mouth with a toothpick. Yu looks at Izumi with doting eyes and swallows the apple she offers without hesitation.

"Yu-kun, is it sweet?" Izumi asks, a hint of joy in her eyes.

"Sweet, just as sweet as Izumi!" Yu replies with a smile.

"Yu-kun, you're being glib again." Izumi gives Yu a coquettish look, then turns her gaze toward Sasuke and Itachi, who are training.

"Little Sasuke is really training hard!"

"Haha, with two such excellent older brothers, if I were little Sasuke, I would have just laid flat. He could clearly rely on his brothers, yet he still tries so hard—my tsundere little brother!"

"Pfft! Yu-kun, you're still so funny when you talk!" Izumi covers her small mouth and giggles.

Watching Izumi giggle with her eyes squinted, Yu cannot help but lean his head closer. Izumi instantly feels her face flush, and her heart begins to thump wildly.

"Yu-kun, what are you doing?" Izumi murmurs softly.

"Izumi looks so beautiful when she smiles." Yu suddenly pulls a purple scarf from his hand as if performing a magic trick.

"Izumi, Happy New Year. This is your New Year's gift." After saying this, Yu places the purple scarf around Izumi's pink neck.

A wave of warmth washes over Izumi, followed by a touch of disappointment. "Yu-kun, I haven't even given you a New Year's gift yet! You've beaten me to it again."

"Haha, then you'll have to prepare something good for me when we get back!" Yu looks at the scarf around Izumi's neck.

On the girl's sweet face, though still appearing youthful, the tear mole adds a touch of maturity.

Dressed in a small purple cotton-padded jacket, paired with the scarf featuring a bear pattern, her cheeks reddened by the cold look incredibly cute.

"As expected, Izumi looks better in purple!"

"Big Brother, you actually gave Sister Izumi a gift, but you didn't prepare one for me." At this moment, little Sasuke, who was still training with Itachi, runs over, feeling jealous.

"Alright, alright! You brat, who said your big brother didn't prepare a gift for you!"

Yu helplessly takes a small Tachi from his sleeve space and hands it to Sasuke. This was a gift Shisui gave him for starting school, which he never used; keeping it until now, it is perfect to give to Sasuke.

Itachi frowns slightly from the side. "Big Brother, isn't it too dangerous to give Sasuke a weapon now?"

Yu glances at Itachi indifferently. "Sigh! Itachi is becoming less cute as he grows up; now he even dares to refute his big brother!"

Itachi's face darkens. "Big Brother, you're only half an hour older than me." Itachi retorts.

"So what if it's half an hour? A big brother is always a big brother! Do you dare to deny it?" Yu pretends to be angry.

Itachi quickly lowers his head. "I don't!"

Seeing this, Yu gives a wry smile. Itachi is no longer like he was when he was a child! Although only a year has passed, Itachi's mental growth has far exceeded that of ordinary people.

"Here, this is your New Year's gift from your big brother." Yu takes out a golden bracelet and hands it to the bowing Itachi.

Itachi lifts his eyes slightly, not understanding what this bracelet his big brother gave him is, but he knows that anything his big brother gives is certainly not a simple trinket.

"This is a Unity Bracelet; everyone in our family has one, including Izumi.

It contains a shield ninjutsu that can block three S-rank attacks. Once you are in danger, your big brother can sense your location through this bracelet." Yu explains calmly.

Itachi solemnly accepts the bracelet and puts it on his wrist without hesitation. Big Brother still cares about me so much!

Itachi looks at his big brother, who hasn't changed at all, feeling a bit dazed for a moment.

In this past year, too many things have changed; the transformation of the entire Uchiha clan alone has been earth-shattering.

The smiles on the clansmen's faces have gradually increased, and there are fewer people complaining about the village. As long as Big Brother is present at the clan meetings, things are generally harmonious, with none of the arguments and chaos of the past.

All of this is the change brought by Big Brother. Even the way the villagers look at him is different; although there is still distance, the expressions are vastly different—the former was disgust, while the latter is fear mixed with a hint of respect.

But why did the Third Hokage say that?

Itachi cannot help but think of the time before the winter break when the Third Hokage sought him out alone.

"Itachi, you are already an excellent ninja. I have been watching you." The Third Hokage Sarutobi looks at the young man before him with a kind expression.

He had to come to see the boy early. He originally wanted to wait another half a year before approaching Itachi, but the transformation of the Uchiha is now too great.

First, the reputation of the Uchiha's fair law enforcement spread through the village, and then the change in the lives of the Uchiha clansmen. He had originally intended to use the four shops to make the Uchiha appear increasingly detestable in the eyes of other clans.

He achieved this goal; at least the Yamanaka, Nara, Akimichi, and Inuzuka clans remain full of rejection toward the Uchiha.

Those shops were originally the compensation the Third Hokage had promised their families, yet after the Uchiha kicked up such a fuss, they had all ended up in the hands of the Uchiha clan instead.

How could such massive profits not make them green with envy? Others would be lucky to get even one, yet the Uchiha had somehow walked away with four at once.

Although the Third Hokage later swapped them for three Training Grounds, could a Training Ground ever be as useful as a shop? Their clansmen weren't as numerous as the Uchiha clan.

While fully equipped Training Grounds were more expensive than shops, that all depended on who was receiving them!

It wasn't as if their families lacked Training Grounds; one was more than enough, and any extra would just go to waste. Shops, however, were a different story. If managed well, they were powerful tools for improving the lives of their clansmen, yet they had just handed them over to the Uchiha for nothing.

The Third Hokage had originally assumed that given the Uchiha's prideful nature, they would never use the shops for business. After all, those fellows were incredibly arrogant and wouldn't deign to study the ways of trade.

In the end, he thought he could just spend a little money to eventually get the shops back. Whether he gave them to his own clansmen to run businesses or used them to reward families loyal to him, it would simply be a matter of moving assets from his left hand to his right.

Instead, the Uchiha had turned the businesses into a roaring success. Now, going to the Uchiha compound was like stepping into a neighborhood of the wealthy.

This transformation left the Third Hokage and the other three elders dumbfounded. While the Uchiha had stopped causing trouble now that their lives had improved, this was absolutely not the state of affairs the Third Hokage and his cohorts wanted to see.

If the Uchiha weren't causing trouble, how were they supposed to suppress them? A vague, ominous feeling began to stir in the hearts of the elders.

The Uchiha were slowly slipping out of Konoha's control because they were gradually reaching a point where they no longer needed Konoha.

They had money, and they had created their own jobs and positions. Aside from still needing the "big family" of Konoha to provide protection for their clansmen, the entire clan now had virtually no desires or demands from the village.

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