The Two-Timer

"No, Shisui, you're wrong. This time, the Lord Third was the one who started trouble. Of all the clans in Konoha, why did he send only the Uchiha Clan to support the Kirigakure Front? Does he not know that the Uchiha Clan specializes in Fire Release? Does he not know that Kirigakure is a hard counter to the Uchiha Clan? No, he knows better than anyone. The Lord Third did this to weaken the Uchiha Clan." Uchiha Fugaku stared coldly at Uchiha Shisui!

Fugaku hadn't even activated his Mangekyo, but his presence was still more than a mere Chunin like Uchiha Shisui could withstand!

"Waaah! Waaah!" The baby in the nearby cradle seemed to have been affected by the tense atmosphere. Itachi hurried over to pick up Sasuke and soothe him!

Seeing this, Uchiha Fugaku reined in his presence and said to Uchiha Shisui, "Just pass my words on to the Lord Third, exactly as I said them. The Uchiha Clan isn't what it used to be, and neither is Fugaku! The Lord Third needs to learn how to treat the strong!"

"Yes, Lord Fugaku. I'll take my leave. Sorry for the trouble!" With the atmosphere having turned so tense, Shisui couldn't very well stay any longer!

"Father, aren't you being a little too hasty? Perhaps the Lord Third didn't mean it that way!" Uchiha Itachi had been listening nearby the whole time, and he was puzzled by Uchiha Fugaku's arrogant, aggressive remarks. His father hadn't used to be like this! Why had he become like a different person lately, looking down on everyone and acting like a complete fool?

"Itachi, you're still young. You don't understand these things!" Uchiha Fugaku said with a rare smile, deep lines framing his mouth.

"But you never used to treat the Konoha High Command and the Lord Third this way. Why has that changed?" Uchiha Itachi felt that everything had started to change on the night of the Nine-Tails' attack!

"That's right. Things are different now. I've grasped the truth. I am the truth. The balance of power has shifted. The Lord Third is old; he can no longer lead Konoha forward!" With that, Uchiha Fugaku stopped explaining and went to comfort his younger son!

What is the truth? What does he mean, the balance of power has shifted? Is the Lord Third really old? Uchiha Itachi wondered to himself!

Konoha, Sarutobi Clan Compound~

"Did Fugaku really say that?" Sarutobi furrowed his brow, looking thoughtful.

"Yes, Lord Third." Uchiha Shisui hadn't wanted to pass along such divisive remarks, but since the Lord Third kept pressing him, he had no choice but to tell him everything.

"Thank you for your efforts, Shisui. You did well. You may go." Hiruzen Sarutobi waved him away, looking troubled.

"Yes, Lord Third!"

What on earth was wrong with Uchiha Fugaku? He hadn't used to be like this. Why had he suddenly grown a spine? Was it because Uchiha Gen had given him the courage? That didn't seem likely. The intelligence reports showed no particular connection between them. They barely spoke once a month... Hm? Wait. He'd suddenly grown a spine? Suddenly? The Uchiha sudden-change rule? Mangekyo? Could that bastard Uchiha Fugaku have awakened the Mangekyo too?

Tsk... The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. The man hadn't been this arrogant before. Today, he'd acted as if he wanted to climb onto my head and take a dump. If I ruled out every other possibility, only the Uchiha sudden-change rule could explain it. Uchiha Fugaku wanted to make a name for himself by stepping on me, using me as an example to scare the others!

Hmph, did he think I'd fall for that? I'd refuse. I absolutely had to refuse! As long as I didn't make a move, I'd remain the strongest Hokage in history! Want to use me as a stepping stone? Fugaku, you're still too green!

Still, I could have Danzo test the waters. "Someone, go and fetch Elder Danzo!"

"Yes, Lord Third!"

Konoha~ Uchiha Clan Compound, eastern corner, Uchiha Gen's house!

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Uchiha-style wild laughter, paired with a Stephen Chow-style hands-on-hips pose!

"I finally did it! Do you know how many times I died? You bastard, did you really think I couldn't beat you?" Uchiha Gen's spirit floated out of his body as he looked at his still-seated physical form and laughed triumphantly!

It had cost him a full 600,000 points of Dojutsu Power, and he'd died more than two hundred times. What the hell!!!

Was this the difference that a lack of talent made? Was this thing even meant for normal people to learn? It was a miracle Dan Katō had survived. Now that he had the Spirit Transformation Technique, getting in and out of Konoha and roaming the Ninja World would be much easier. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Dan Katō had flown straight to the battlefield using the Spirit Transformation Technique. There were very few flying techniques in the Ninja World, and the Spirit Transformation Technique was the only one that let you fly while remaining stealthy, with speed and killing power to boot. Other techniques, like the Mysterious Peacock Method, each had their own strengths and weaknesses.

Uchiha Gen had only learned it because he'd happened to get his hands on the Spirit Transformation Technique. Without it, he might have made his way to Hoshigakure in the Land of Bears to learn the Mysterious Peacock Method. It was mediocre in flight speed, but its attacks were powerful—and it made you conspicuous when you moved! Uchiha Gen wasn't lacking in attack power, so the Mysterious Peacock Method could only serve as a backup plan. As for techniques like Light-Weight Rock and Dust Release, he hadn't even considered them!

Neither their learning difficulty nor the difficulty of obtaining them was in the same league as the first two. Iwagakure's strength alone was not to be underestimated. Ōnoki was more secretive than anyone. He kept saying how terrifying Madara Uchiha was, yet in practice, one Dust Release attack had taken down several of Madara Uchiha's Susanoo at full strength!

And after all that, he still had enough chakra to withstand two Tengai Shinsei. Meanwhile, the Lord Third of the same era... Tsk, he was nothing!

At two days old, Ōnoki could be called a commoner genius on par with Might Guy the Emperor! The problem was that this genius had also kept his head down and developed for decades. Was it worth fighting someone like that over Dust Release, a technique Uchiha Gen couldn't even learn? He'd have to be out of his mind! Dust Release was a Kekkei Tōta, not the kind of technique you could simply steal and learn!

Hadn't anyone noticed that no one in Iwagakure had managed to learn it in decades? And that was with Ōnoki teaching them. Trying to learn it alone would be like trying to read a book written in the heavens!

With a technique like the Spirit Transformation Technique, Uchiha Gen could use Izanagi to cheat death and power through it. But Dust Release was entirely dependent on talent. No matter how many lives he had, if he couldn't learn it, he couldn't learn it!

As for Magnet Release, Uchiha Gen planned to study it if he got the chance. After all, it was one of the four fundamental forces of the universe. Although Magnet Release had a rather lackluster showing in the Naruto world, its famed counterpart—the techniques derived from gravity—was legendary. Shinra Tensei, Banshō Ten'in, and Chibaku Tensei were all derived from gravity.

In the end, there was nothing wrong with the power itself. It all came down to the person wielding it. It was time to visit Sunagakure. He couldn't let his great aunt get tricked to death. He should have gotten One's Own Life Reincarnation by now, too. That technique was crucial to his future happiness! Hopefully Pakura would come through!