After getting through a boring day, Uchiha Yu stuck to the usual routine and brought Deidara, Uzumaki Naruto, and Sasuke to the training ground at their old base.
"Same as always. Get started fighting. I'll supervise you." Uchiha Yu folded his arms and stood off to the side.
Only then did he feel awake.
He could only blame Iruka-sensei for being so soporific...
The others had slept even more soundly than Shikamaru...
"Heh heh, ready to witness my art again?" Deidara said with a mischievous grin, squeezing the Explosive Clay in his hand.
In terms of chakra reserves and combat experience, he had the edge over Sasuke and Naruto.
"Hmph, I'm not losing to you again this time!"
Sasuke made a bold declaration, then teamed up with Naruto to give Deidara a righteous two-on-one beating.
Three hours later, Deidara panted heavily, a few beads of sweat running down his forehead.
With almost all his chakra spent, he finally managed to blow Sasuke and Naruto off their feet.
"Why do they seem tougher to deal with than yesterday?" Deidara wiped the sweat from his brow.
"Good. It looks like you've more or less figured out Deidara's attacks." After using Wood Release to give Sasuke and Naruto a quick recovery, Uchiha Yu continued, "But your combat experience is still too limited. A real enemy won't give you two days to slowly get used to fighting them."
Naruto had been lying on the ground, but after Wood Release enveloped him, most of his injuries healed. He sat right up and asked in confusion, "Second Brother, we can't run into any real enemies right now! Isn't it too early to talk about this?"
Sasuke sat up too and smacked Naruto on the back of the head.
"Idiot, dead-last! Why can't you get it through your head? Do you really think we'll never run into enemies? Don't think the ninja world is that simple!"
Caught off guard by the slap, Uzumaki Naruto clutched the back of his head and grimaced. Once he recovered, he immediately started wrestling with Sasuke.
"Damn it, Sasuke! I'll make you pay!"
"Idiot! You think I'm scared of you?"
The two rolled around on the ground for ages. Watching them, Uchiha Yu nearly cringed hard enough to dig a three-bedroom apartment into the soles of his shoes.
"All right, that's enough." Uchiha Yu separated Sasuke and Naruto. "Sasuke's right. No one can say whether an accident or tomorrow will come first. Naruto, you need to stay alert to danger."
Naruto nodded thoughtfully, seeming to accept what Uchiha Yu had said.
Uchiha Yu still wasn't entirely confident in those two.
He was thinking that if the surviving members of the Root Organization hiding in the shadows really did something in seven days, they might be of some use.
If there was a major attack, it would also reflect well on him and give him more influence within the clan.
But looking at these two brats...
What was I even expecting?
"Remember what I said. Keep training, and don't let your guard down." Uchiha Yu sent the two of them back to their training.
Just like yesterday, Sasuke knocked Uzumaki Naruto down, then Uchiha Yu hung him up and beat him. After that, Naruto kept listening to Uchiha Yu explain combat techniques until two in the morning, when he was finally sent home.
Uchiha Yu knew these days might drag on for a long, long time...
At the very least, they'd have to wait until Naruto graduated from the Ninja Academy to escape this routine.
But Naruto and Sasuke would surely grow quickly.
Uchiha Yu's expectation for them was that they'd have at least Chunin-level strength by the time they became Genin!
Seven days passed quickly. After spending the day sleeping and the night training, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke looked utterly exhausted, but their fighting strength and combat experience had improved considerably.
And tomorrow, Uchiha Fugaku would take office as Hokage...
The ceremony would be held in front of the Hokage Building. The other four great nations had all sent envoys to attend, and Kazekage Rasa had even brought Gaara to Konoha himself.
It was sure to draw a huge crowd.
But that only made it more dangerous!
No one knew whether someone up to no good might be hiding among the crowd!
In front of the Hokage Building, Uchiha Yu, Sasuke, Naruto, and Deidara stood some distance away, watching a group of workers build the stands.
"Tomorrow's the day the Fifth Hokage takes office!" Uzumaki Naruto said excitedly. Becoming Hokage was his greatest dream. "I'm definitely going to become the Sixth Hokage!"
Uchiha Yu smiled wryly. Don't worry, the Sixth Hokage will probably be Shisui or Uchiha Itachi. You won't stand a chance until at least the Seventh.
Still, the boy was young... It was good to have dreams! Better than turning into a couch potato!
"Why do I keep sensing all kinds of strange people around us?" The sharp-eyed Sasuke scanned the area. He spotted quite a few people dressed like ordinary civilians whose chakra felt decidedly unusual, scattered all around them.
"They're undercover ninja working for the Konoha Military Police Force. They're here to prevent anyone from sabotaging things in advance, like planting some explosive little surprises." Uchiha Yu explained. He knew a fair bit about this. "After all, a Hokage succession ceremony is very important. If anything goes wrong, the consequences would be terrible."
"What? Explosions? I want to blow something up too!!!" The moment Deidara heard the word "explosion," he couldn't hold back.
Uchiha Yu: "...Even this kind of thing depends on the occasion. If you cause trouble at the succession ceremony, even Senju Hashirama couldn't save you..."
After talking Deidara out of it for a while, he finally managed to make him abandon the dangerous idea.
"What a shame. I can't use my art at a place like this!" Deidara shook his head in frustration, looking deeply aggrieved.
Uchiha Yu was helpless too.
Who the hell wanted to watch him set off a huge explosion?
But tonight really was the time to settle things, like dealing with the surviving members of the Root Organization...
Night.
In an abandoned house on the outskirts of Konoha.
More than a dozen ninja wearing masks gathered together.
They were the Root Organization's remaining survivors!
There were four Jonin and nine Chunin among them.
At their head were Yamanaka Fu and Aburame Torune.
"Ever since Lord Danzo died, Konoha's been hunting us down! Damn the Uchiha Clan!" Aburame Torune said furiously, slamming his fist on the table.
With a crack, the table split wide open.
Yamanaka Fu patted Aburame Torune on the shoulder. "Calm down. Tomorrow is Uchiha Fugaku's succession ceremony. We have to do something, or we'll have failed to repay Lord Danzo for raising us!"
Aburame Torune clenched his fists, determination in his eyes. "That's right. We'll kill Uchiha Fugaku at the Hokage succession ceremony tomorrow!"
Yamanaka Fu shook his head, a snake-like smile on his face. "No, no. Not tomorrow. Tonight!"
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