Stop Itachi from Being Born

"Now that you've been here for so long, is there any ninjutsu you want to learn?"

Fugaku asked.

"I only just enrolled. I'm probably not ready to learn ninjutsu yet."

Kiyoshi put on a hesitant expression.

"You can learn it later. Choosing ninjutsu is a privilege every Uchiha receives."

Fugaku's gaze fell on Kiyoshi.

His stern, square face carried an imposing air even without anger.

Every Uchiha ninja had that right.

The clan's ninjutsu reserves had also been built through generations of contributions from its members.

"Then... thank you very much, Lord Fugaku."

Kiyoshi said, pretending to be deeply grateful.

Seeing Kiyoshi's attitude, Fugaku nodded in satisfaction.

Exchanging a few ninjutsu for Kiyoshi's recognition of the Uchiha Clan was a deal with no downside.

According to the Chunin instructors at the Ninja Academy, Kiyoshi seemed to be highly talented.

That made it all the more necessary for him to form bonds within the clan.

If he could not, then he would have to be marginalized.

What the Uchiha Clan needed were loyal Uchiha.

"Which nature transformation do you want to train in?"

Fugaku asked.

Five basic nature transformations were widespread throughout the Shinobi World.

Water Release, Fire Release, Wind Release, Lightning Release, and Earth Release.

Anything beyond those fell within the scope of secret techniques or Kekkei Genkai.

"Lightning Release. I used Chakra paper before, and I have the 'lightning' affinity."

After pretending to think for a while, Kiyoshi named the ninjutsu he wanted.

Lightning Release.

The Yagura Clan was highly suited to Lightning Release Nintaijutsu.

If Kiyoshi obtained it, it would be like adding wings to a tiger.

Among the five basic nature transformations, every single one had enormous potential.

The Shinobi World was simply too traditional and too dependent on Chakra. Chakra had made it, and Chakra had ruined it.

Much of its technology merely wrapped itself in a Chakra core, ignoring other physical laws.

For instance, Lightning Release could give rise to magnetism: electricity generating magnetism, allowing one to control magnetic fields.

It could even use magnetic force to distort gravity, manipulate electron orbits through electric fields, and much more.

There were too many directions to choose from.

This was the unique perspective Kiyoshi possessed as a transmigrator.

Simply using Lightning Release to strengthen the body, or borrowing the power of natural lightning, was far too crude.

Even Fire Release could be developed in countless ways.

The essence of developing Fire Release ninjutsu lay in two aspects.

Creating plasma and controlling temperature.

It could be directed toward controlling molecular motion or energy flow. Speeding up molecular motion raised temperature, while slowing it down lowered temperature. At the same time, things like high-frequency waves could be developed.

When it came to technological development, Kumogakure, which seemed the most brutish, had actually gone the farthest.

Orochimaru merely excelled at biological science and genetic engineering.

In the final Shippuden movie, "THE LAST," only a few years had passed since the Fourth Shinobi World War, yet Kumogakure had already developed the Chakra Cannon.

It was powerful enough to destroy the moon with a single shot, making it the most powerful weapon in the Shinobi World.

"Very well."

Fugaku nodded.

The Uchiha Clan's ninjutsu reserves contained quite a few Lightning Release scrolls.

"Later, I'll have someone take you to choose a scroll you like. Remember not to aim too high. A D-rank one will do."

"Yes, thank you, Lord Fugaku."

Kiyoshi said, feigning gratitude.

"Alright, alright. Let's eat."

Looking at the dishes, Mikoto said,

"They'll get cold if we don't eat soon."

"Mm."

Kiyoshi served himself a heaping bowl of rice.

Adequate nutrition was essential if he wanted to grow.

After that, Fugaku brought up other topics and chatted with Mikoto from time to time.

Every now and then, even the stiff Fugaku would mention a bit of amusing gossip that made Mikoto smile.

Kiyoshi ate silently.

About half an hour later, Mikoto took Kiyoshi away from Fugaku's house.

The two followed the same path back.

"Mikoto, at what age do ninjas usually retire?"

Kiyoshi asked.

Ninjas seemed not to have a legally mandated retirement age.

And he had never heard of anyone receiving a pension after retirement.

"Retirement? Hmm..."

Mikoto thought for a moment.

"Most ninjas don't live long enough to retire. But if you want to retire, you can apply. Once it's approved, you retire and leave the ninja profession."

Mikoto had not seen many elderly ninjas who lived into their eighties or nineties, but she had seen quite a few Genin who had graduated from the Ninja Academy.

Unable to endure the cruel shinobi world, they chose to retire.

Ninjas were tools.

When using a tool, would anyone consider how much wear and tear it suffered?

This was a world where even children went to war.

Once they picked up a kunai, they had to go to the battlefield and kill.

There was no psychological counseling for these ninjas, either.

Viewed that way, it was no wonder the Shinobi World was filled with extremists and lunatics.

They had long since been quietly twisted by the ninja system.

"But as for me, I might retire before long."

When Mikoto said this, her voice noticeably softened.

"Then congratulations, Mikoto."

Kiyoshi offered his congratulations, piling a smile onto his face, though his heart was ice-cold.

Was Itachi about to be born?

The thought weighed heavily on Kiyoshi's heart.

"If Kiyoshi no longer wants to be a ninja, you can retire too."

Mikoto smiled faintly.

Kiyoshi continued walking behind Mikoto.

He raised his head and looked at the woman walking ahead of him.

Was there a way to stop Itachi from being born and prevent his arrival?

A faint trace of red appeared in Kiyoshi's left Sharingan.

His Eye Power rippled.

Kiyoshi closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they had returned to black.

As for Fugaku, Kiyoshi saw him only as a weak hypocrite.

It truly was a pity that Mikoto had ended up with him, only to meet her death.

Fugaku had given him ninjutsu solely to make him acknowledge the Uchiha Clan. In essence, it was no different from Kumogakure's attempt to recruit him.

In the future, Kiyoshi would naturally have to work and exert himself for the Uchiha.

It was no different from a transaction.

If that were all, Kiyoshi could accept it.

But... Fugaku had never regarded any Uchiha outside his own family as clansmen.

Fugaku Uchiha could not escape blame for the destruction of the Uchiha Clan.

When Itachi betrayed the Uchiha, he slaughtered countless innocent clansmen.

He killed his way all the way to their home. Could Fugaku, as clan head, really have noticed nothing?

In the anime version, he even possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Yet he never mentioned Itachi's murder of the clansmen.

Instead, he was pleased that Itachi had made up his mind to do what he wanted, encouraging and praising him.

In Itachi Shinden, he told Itachi, "Even if our ideas differ, you are still our pride..."

He willingly allowed himself and Mikoto to die at Itachi's hands.

The only person he mentioned was his other son, Sasuke.

And beyond the front door lay countless clansmen whose corpses had not yet grown cold...

Most members of the Uchiha Clan were ordinary people.

Not everyone was qualified to become a ninja, just as only a minority awakened the Sharingan.

Yet the clan head chosen by the Uchiha Clan had chosen to betray them.

Kiyoshi had no desire to be buried alongside that twisted belief.