Gekko Hayate

Three whole months.

Uchiha Gray had originally thought that neither Shimura Danzō nor Sarutobi Hiruzen would let him continue to grow.

But, to his surprise, not only had Shimura Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen stopped making things difficult for him, they seemed to have gone quiet altogether.

Neither of them made another move.

After a moment's thought, Uchiha Gray figured out why.

"As long as the Uchiha Clan exists, it'll remain the largest clan in the Leaf."

"And if the Leaf wants to move against the Uchiha Clan, it'll have to consider what the other clans think. If the Uchiha Clan is wiped out, the rest will all fear they could be next."

Uchiha Gray's thinking became clearer and clearer.

"So the Leaf will make its move sooner or later, but it'll definitely wait for the Uchiha Clan to strike first."

"As a village, the Leaf needs to claim the moral high ground. As long as the Uchiha Clan exists, it's my biggest shield."

Uchiha Gray chuckled. "Though, as far as I'm concerned, I don't really need that shield."

Once he understood all this, Uchiha Gray grew even more composed.

With overwhelming strength, he no longer feared any schemes or trickery.

And during this time, whenever Uzuki Yugao didn't have a mission, Uchiha Gray spent the entire day with her.

The two grew closer and closer.

But this calm was bound to be broken someday.

Uchiha Gray just hadn't expected Uchiha Itachi to be the one to break it.

"Gray, just as you said, the Third kept testing me. Once he confirmed that you and I had different opinions, he began gradually trying to instill the village's ideals in me."

A gleam of intelligence shone in Uchiha Itachi's eyes.

With the guidance of Shisui and Gray, he had come to understand what kind of person the Third was.

He no longer had any expectations for the Third's leadership of the Leaf.

Quite the opposite: like Shisui, he believed Gray was better suited to become Hokage.

The Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan had founded the Leaf. The Senju Clan had already produced two Hokage, and even Sarutobi Hiruzen, a student of the Second,

as well as Namikaze Minato, the student of Hiruzen's student, had become Hokage.

Yet the Uchiha Clan, despite also being one of the founding clans, had never had anyone become Hokage.

It was hard not to see that as a mockery.

"Unless something unexpected happens, the Third's next step will be to have me eliminate members of the Uchiha Clan for the sake of the Leaf!"

The intelligence in Uchiha Itachi's eyes gradually turned cold.

With Gray's guidance, he had realized that if he ever got into trouble, the Uchiha Clan would do everything in its power to help him—even if it meant sacrificing the entire clan.

But the Leaf wouldn't help him in the slightest.

If he chose the Leaf, all that awaited him in the end was death in the darkness, forgotten by everyone.

And the entire Uchiha Clan would become a sacrifice for the Leaf.

Those Three-Tomoe Sharingan would become the Leaf's treasured collection. Perhaps one day, the village would even mock him for his foolishness.

With Gray's help, he had seen through the Third's true nature completely!

The gentle look in Uchiha Shisui's eyes had also gradually turned cold. "That's right, Gray. The Third said the same thing to me."

"That's only natural."

Uchiha Gray spoke calmly. "The two of you are facing the same situation."

"Sarutobi Hiruzen is a skilled politician. He won't get his own hands dirty, so he'll leave this kind of thing to the two of you."

"Most likely, after you've helped him, he'll have you both become rogue ninja, then claim you're helping the village while sending you around the world to gather intelligence for the Leaf."

"You'll spend your entire lives in the darkness."

Uchiha Gray spoke evenly.

For a ninja, spending a lifetime in the darkness wasn't necessarily a problem. The frightening part was that Sarutobi Hiruzen had never considered Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi his trusted subordinates in the first place.

To him, Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui were merely tools.

That was why, when Uchiha Shisui was attacked, Sarutobi Hiruzen, his leader, hadn't helped him get revenge or held Danzō accountable.

Instead, he had secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Danzō was indeed ruthless and underhanded in his dark methods.

But Sarutobi Hiruzen was just as ruthless, while presenting a much more righteous image in public.

To put it kindly, Sarutobi Hiruzen was a man of great skill. To put it bluntly, he was a hypocrite.

"What should we do next?"

Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi looked at Gray.

By now, Gray had completely won them over.

Every prediction he made had come true, and he could even pinpoint Sarutobi Hiruzen's weaknesses with a single remark.

It was terrifying.

Uchiha Gray was only nine years old, yet he possessed such frightening insight and intelligence.

More importantly, like them, he was doing everything he could to help the Leaf and the Uchiha Clan.

They had heard what Gray had done a couple of days ago.

Everyone knew that the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto, was the most taboo person in the entire Leaf.

Yet Gray had shown Uzumaki Naruto kindness without hesitation, simply because he felt sorry for him.

He had even exposed his Three-Tomoe Sharingan!

Gray was a kind and powerful ninja!

So now, the two of them trusted Gray completely—more than they trusted Fugaku Uchiha.

"Don't worry about it. Just be loyal subordinates and follow Sarutobi Hiruzen's orders."

Uchiha Gray glanced at Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi, taking in the admiration in their eyes,

and sighed helplessly.

At the start, all he'd wanted was to protect himself. How had he ended up caught in the Uchiha Clan's turmoil anyway?

He had even become the leader of Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi?

"That's life. But even if I'm going to save the Uchiha Clan, it'll be on my terms."

Uchiha Gray remained calm and unruffled.

When the day came that the Uchiha and the Leaf went to war, if the Uchiha Clan's hardliners refused to listen,

he wouldn't mind killing one as a warning to the others.

He would show the Uchiha Clan who truly held absolute power!

"By the way, Gray, I've become a Chunin. When are you going to take the Chunin Ninja Exams?"

Uchiha Itachi suddenly asked.

"Becoming a Chunin gives you more privileges, and lets you leave the village freely."

Uchiha Gray didn't think much of it.

"I'm not interested in that."

With that, he turned and walked away.

Chunin, Jonin, or Genin—it made no difference to him.

He didn't need the Leaf to determine how strong he was.

If he wanted, he could become a Jonin with ease.

That night, as usual, he strolled around the village with Uzuki Yugao.

To Uchiha Gray's surprise, Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't tried to stop them, even though he knew he and Uzuki Yugao were romantically involved.

It seemed he thought the Uchiha Clan would be wiped out soon, so he didn't care.

"Yugao, is this why you turned me down?" Just then, a ninja suddenly stepped in front of Uchiha Gray.

His face was furious.

His eyes were fixed on Uzuki Yugao.

"Yugao, don't you know how I feel about you? He's just some brat from the Uchiha Clan. He's only nine years old. What makes him worthy of you?"

"He's a Genin, while I'm already a Jonin. I'm the only one qualified to protect you!"