Gekko Hayate

Three full months had passed.

Uchiha Gray had originally assumed that neither Danzo Shimura nor Sarutobi Hiruzen would allow him to continue growing unchecked.

To his surprise, however, Danzo Shimura and Sarutobi Hiruzen had not only stopped making things difficult for him, but they had also seemingly retreated into silence.

Neither of them had made a single move since.

Uchiha Gray pondered for a moment and quickly grasped the reason.

"As long as the Uchiha Clan exists, it remains the largest faction in Leaf."

"If Leaf wants to take action against the Uchiha, they must consider the sentiments of the other clans. If the Uchiha were to be wiped out, every other clan would inevitably feel threatened."

Uchiha Gray's line of reasoning became increasingly clear.

"So, Leaf will take action sooner or later, but it will absolutely be framed as the Uchiha Clan striking first."

"As a village, Leaf must occupy the moral high ground. For now, as long as the Uchiha Clan exists, it serves as my greatest umbrella of protection."

Uchiha Gray chuckled softly. "Though, for me, this umbrella is entirely optional."

Having understood all of this, Uchiha Gray felt even more indifferent.

Absolute strength meant he no longer feared any schemes or plots.

During this time, whenever Uzuki Yugao was not on a mission, Uchiha Gray would spend the entire day with her.

The relationship between the two grew increasingly intimate.

However, this peace was destined to be broken one day.

Yet, Uchiha Gray had not expected the one to break this peace to be Uchiha Itachi.

"Brother Gray, just as you said, the Third Hokage has been constantly testing me. Once he confirmed that my opinions differed from his, he began to gradually instill the concept of the village into me."

A glimmer of wisdom flickered in Uchiha Itachi's eyes.

Under the guidance of Brother Shisui and Brother Gray, he had already seen through what kind of person the Third Hokage truly was.

Therefore, he no longer held any expectations for the Third Hokage's rule over Leaf.

On the contrary, he shared the same view as Brother Shisui: that Brother Gray was the one more suited to be Hokage.

The Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan had founded Leaf. Now, the Senju Clan had already produced two Hokages, and even the Second Hokage's student, Sarutobi Hiruzen, as well as Sarutobi Hiruzen's student's student, Namikaze Minato, had served as Hokage.

Yet, the Uchiha Clan, also a founding clan, had never produced a single Hokage.

It was nothing short of a mockery.

"If there are no surprises, the next step will be for the Third Hokage to ask me to eliminate the members of the Uchiha Clan for the sake of Leaf!"

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

Under Brother Gray's tutelage, he had realized that if he were to get into trouble, the Uchiha Clan would do everything in their power to help him, even if it meant sacrificing the entire clan.

But Leaf would not offer him the slightest bit of help.

If he chose Leaf, his final fate would be to die in the darkness, with no one to remember him.

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

Those Three-Tomoe Sharingan would become treasures for Leaf to hoard, and one day, Leaf might even mock his own stupidity.

With Brother Gray's help, he had completely seen through the true face of the Third Hokage!

Uchiha Shisui's originally gentle expression also gradually turned cold. "That's right, Gray. The Third Hokage said the same thing to me."

"This is normal."

Uchiha Gray said calmly, "You two are now facing the same situation."

"Sarutobi Hiruzen is an excellent politician. He won't let himself be stained by blood, so these tasks can only be left to the two of you."

"The most likely outcome is that after you help him, he will demand that you both become rogue ninjas, and then, under the guise of helping the village, send you to various places to gather intelligence for Leaf."

"Living in the darkness for the rest of your lives."

Uchiha Gray said calmly.

For a ninja, living in the darkness for a lifetime was nothing, but the terrifying part was that Sarutobi Hiruzen had never truly trusted Uchiha Shisui or Uchiha Itachi from the very beginning.

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

That was why, when Uchiha Shisui met his end, Sarutobi Hiruzen, as the leader, not only failed to help Shisui seek revenge or hold Danzo accountable, but instead felt a secret sense of relief.

Danzo was indeed dark and ruthless in his methods.

But Sarutobi Hiruzen was a character who was no less cunning, yet maintained a righteous and noble facade in the public eye.

To put it kindly, Sarutobi Hiruzen was resourceful; to put it bluntly, Sarutobi Hiruzen was a hypocrite.

"Then what should we do next?"

Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi looked at Gray.

These days, they had been completely won over by Uchiha Gray.

Every one of Gray's predictions had hit the mark, and he could even pinpoint the weaknesses of Sarutobi Hiruzen with a single word.

It was terrifying.

Uchiha Gray was only nine years old this year, yet he possessed such horrifying insight and wisdom.

And most importantly, Uchiha Gray was, just like them, wholeheartedly helping the Leaf and the Uchiha clan.

They had already heard about Gray's actions from two days ago.

One had to know that the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto, was the most taboo existence in the entire Leaf.

Yet, simply out of pity for Uzumaki Naruto, Gray had gone to care for him without the slightest hesitation.

He had even exposed his Three-Tomoe Sharingan!

Gray was a kind and powerful ninja!

Therefore, the two of them now trusted Gray implicitly, a trust that even surpassed their feelings for Fugaku Uchiha.

"Don't worry about these things; just be the most loyal subordinates and follow Sarutobi Hiruzen's orders."

Uchiha Gray swept a faint glance over Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi, taking in the adoration in their eyes, and sighed helplessly.

He had only wanted to save his own life in the beginning, so why had he ended up dragged into the vortex of the Uchiha clan?

Why had he even become the leader of Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi?

"Such is life, but even if I am to save the Uchiha clan, it must be done according to my vision."

Uchiha Gray's expression remained calm and indifferent.

If the day came when the Uchiha and the Leaf went to war, and the radicals within the Uchiha clan refused to listen to reason, he wouldn't mind killing a chicken to scare the monkeys.

He would let the people of the Uchiha clan know who held absolute control!

"By the way, Brother Gray, I have already become a chunin. When will you be taking the chunin exams?"

Uchiha Itachi suddenly spoke up.

"Becoming a chunin grants more convenience and the freedom to leave the village."

Uchiha Gray remained unimpressed.

"I have no interest in such things."

Having said that, he turned and walked away.

Chunin, jonin, or genin—none of it held any meaning for him.

He did not need the Leaf to validate his strength.

If he wanted to, he could attain the rank of jonin with ease.

At night, he strolled through the village with Uzuki Yugao as usual.

To Uchiha Gray's surprise, even though Sarutobi Hiruzen knew about the romantic relationship between him and Uzuki Yugao, he still made no move to stop it.

It seemed he assumed the Uchiha clan was about to be wiped out, so he didn't care.

"Yugao, is this the reason you rejected me?" Just then, a ninja suddenly blocked Uchiha Gray's path.

His face was full of rage.

His eyes were fixed intently on Uzuki Yugao.

"Yugao, don't you know how I feel about you? He is nothing but a brat from the Uchiha clan, only nine years old this year. What right does he have to be with you?"

"He is a genin, while I am already a jonin. Only I have the qualifications to protect you!"