Chapter 24

He was not deliberately keeping it from them; it was just that, at this critical juncture, it was better for these people not to get involved.

After hearing Sasuke's explanation, the others finally felt a little more at ease.

Then they started chatting with him about school.

Sasuke had not gone to class today.

The school had arranged an important event—the practical combat trial—and the schedule had been moved up.

The key was that this trial would involve two grades at once.

In other words, besides Sasuke's batch of new students, Neji's grade would also be participating.

With that, the difficulty of the trial was bound to rise quite a bit. "Did the team teacher change?"

Sasuke was not interested in who was taking part.

These students had long since stopped being on the same level as him. "At the time, I had just finished Lord Jiraiya's special training and was about to **."

Sasuke leaned against the headboard, his tone unhurried. "Father and the others noticed someone tailing us and immediately took people to chase after them. I walked back alone, and when I reached the small path on the outskirts of the clan compound, four guys wearing animal masks suddenly jumped out from the shadows and surrounded me."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Four people ganged up on you alone?!"

"Yeah." The corner of Sasuke's mouth lifted. "The leader was wearing a cat mask. The moment he came up, he threw out a threat, saying I'd interfered with Root's plan and telling me to be smart and go with them."

"What if I said no?"

"That guy drew his blade and slashed."

Sasuke's narration was calm, even carrying a bit of a storyteller's flair. "The first guy who rushed up, before his blade could come down, I sidestepped him and kicked him in the knee. His right leg snapped on the spot."

"The instant he bent over from the pain, I grabbed his kunai and stabbed it up through his chin."

"Clean and neat."

Neji frowned slightly. "Four Root members, and you took them all out by yourself?"

"If they'd been elite Root members in peak condition, I definitely couldn't have beaten them." Sasuke shook his head. "But those four were, at most, a bit above chunin level. The leader was a little stronger, barely touching the threshold of a special jonin."

"In the first wave of the ambush, I killed two."

"The remaining two got scared by me and were already preparing to run."

"Then Big Brother Shisui arrived, killed the last two, and cleaned up the ** while he was at it."

"That's all."

Uchiha Itachi had not spoken the entire time. Only when he heard this did he slowly say, "During the whole process, did anything feel off to you?"

"The thing that felt most off—" Sasuke stared into his brother's eyes. "They chose to make their move when I was alone, but they didn't want to kill me. They wanted to capture me alive."

"Capture you alive?" Shisui's gaze darkened. "Yes." Sasuke nodded. "If they only wanted to silence me, four people attacking at the same time, covering me from a distance with kunai and ninjutsu, would have been enough. But they used a close-range encirclement formation, which means the order from above was to keep me alive if possible."

Shisui and Itachi exchanged a glance.

That deduction did indeed fit Root's style—capture them alive, pry out intelligence, then exploit them. "Does Father know that you killed two Root members on your own?"

"No." Sasuke shook his head. "I haven't told him yet."

"Don't tell him for now." Shisui made the decision on the spot. "For the time being, only the three of us know about this."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Big Brother Shisui, are you guarding against Father?"

"Not guarding against him." Shisui sighed. "It's just that telling him now will only make him more aggressive. Clan Head Fugaku has already been under enough pressure lately. If he learns you were attacked by Root, he might very well break ties outright."

Itachi was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Sasuke, what do you think of Danzo?"

"A venomous snake hiding in the dark."

Sasuke answered without hesitation. "He doesn't dare clash head-on with the Uchiha, so he wants to cut off our wings first, plucking out the promising people in the clan one by one. Once he has killed off our younger generation, he'll make a move against the clan head's side."

"You're right." Shisui stood up and walked to the window. "And there's another reason he chose you as his target."

"What reason?"

"Because you're too young."

Shisui turned back, a trace of coldness in his eyes. "Everyone thinks you're just a child who has only just graduated from the Ninja Academy. No one would imagine you could ** four Root members."

"That young face of yours is the best disguise in itself."

After hearing that, Sasuke chuckled. "That's perfect. The more they look down on me, the easier it is for me to catch them off guard and kill them."

"The original way of playing this has to be torn down and started over." Shisui Uchiha tapped his forehead with a finger, his eyes unfocused; clearly, some complicated thought was turning over in his mind. "Everything we used to consider was about how to make the clan and the village twist into one rope. But looking at it now, there are too many places that need changing. We might as well just draw up a new blueprint."

Sasuke held it in for a long time before finally exploding. "Hey, hey! Can you two stop treating me like air? Can you speak like normal people?"

Itachi turned to look at him, his voice very low. "You're still young. Right now, you only need to make yourself stronger. We'll carry all that mess in front."

Shisui nodded beside him. The two exchanged a glance, their tacit understanding so strong they practically seemed like twins.

Sasuke flopped back onto the bed. "Fine, I'm sleeping."

Only after he lay down did Itachi and Shisui silently leave the room.

Once the door closed, Sasuke stared blankly at the ceiling. Having someone lead the way was a good thing, but why did these two guides seem like they were missing a screw?

He shook his head and threw those messy thoughts aside. The most important thing right now was still to become strong enough. When the time came, no matter what trouble he ran into, he could just smash it with one punch and be done.

Besides, the family issues in front of him were nothing. The ones who were truly deadly were those guys up in the sky.

Kaguya Otsutsuki and Isshiki Otsutsuki had already set foot on the Shinobi World's territory. Who knew what day they might suddenly go mad?

When he thought of the Otsutsuki, the scene from the original story surfaced in Sasuke's mind—his own eye, stabbed blind by that useless piece of trash.

Or maybe... I should go after Hinata and strangle that trash to death in the womb?

The days passed one by one, and Sasuke kept refining chakra.

By the third day, he finally came out of the infirmary.

Although he could attend class normally, Sasuke clearly felt that the gazes watching him had multiplied several times over. Among them were Uchiha people, Anbu, and Root Organization members.

However, that feeling of being watched from all directions instead made Sasuke feel much more at ease. At the very least, during this period, the village should not be able to stir up much trouble.

And that old bastard Danzo Shimura probably did not have the mind to come looking for trouble with him right now, did he?

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

At the Uchiha Training Ground, several little kids were fighting fiercely. "Shadow Clone Technique!"

"Leaf Whirlwind!"

"Byakugan: Gentle Fist!"

"Fire Release: Little Fire Snake Technique!"

All kinds of ninjutsu crashed together, kicking up a cloud of dust.

In the shadows, Shisui narrowed his eyes and watched for a long time, then lowered his voice and said, "Sasuke's strength shouldn't leave him fighting these classmates to this extent, right? Is he holding back?"

Itachi did not make a sound. He only stared at his younger brother on the field.

Shisui added, "Wouldn't letting them see the gap be more able to ** Naruto and the others?"

Only then did Itachi speak. "If he's doing this, he must have his own thoughts."

Shisui rubbed his chin, pondering inwardly—aside from his frightening appetite and generous spending, this brat Sasuke looked no different from an ordinary child in other ways.

But both of them knew very well that Sasuke's mind had long since stopped being at a child's level.

Logically speaking, he should not have formed that kind of friendship with Naruto and the others. "This is probably the kind of cleverness Sasuke has that we don't."

"When treating friends, you don't just press their heads down."

"You have to put yourself on equal footing with them."

Shisui Uchiha lifted his chin meaningfully toward the training ground. "Problem?"

"Brother Shisui means..."

Itachi frowned. He had watched for a long while, but other than Sasuke holding back, he could not see anything else. "You'll know in a bit."

"Judging from the previous intelligence, these little guys should be heading out soon."

Shisui did not spell it out. He only tossed out those few words at an easy pace.

Sure enough, before long, the little guys finished fighting.

The group of them streamed noisily toward the outside of the Uchiha Clan Compound.

The moment they left that area, the Root Organization and Anbu ninja immediately followed.

But Sasuke did not take that kind of surveillance seriously at all. "Next is culture class."

"Naruto can now recite the Will of Fire from beginning to end."

"He can even add his own understanding."

"That's why he could pass the culture portion of this in-class exam."

"A Konoha ninja can't be unfamiliar with our rules."

"The Will of Fire..."

Sasuke started reciting.

Naruto had long since grown used to this process.

But Neji, Lee, and Hinata all looked somewhat strange.

Even at their age, they knew the Uchiha and Konoha's higher-ups did not get along.

Because the higher-ups were uneasy, their entire clan had been driven to the edge of the village to live.

Fortunately, after following Sasuke, their strength had increased quite a bit, so they were too lazy to worry about these things.

Neji, especially, hated rules the most.

But at this moment, he said nothing either.

Yet the more deeply they pondered the Will of Fire, the more the group felt there was something wrong inside it.

That idea that for the village, you could give up anything...

That idea of using your own life to fill the gap, to protect something...

That kind of...

Those words sounded beautiful, but in truth, they were all there to rope people in!

Children's hearts were the cleanest, and they saw the problem at once. "There are people watching around us. Don't overthink it. Show some enthusiasm. The Will of Fire or whatever is just something to deal with exams."

"Everyone should have their own path, not be led around by a set of Will of Fire."

Sasuke crouched on the ground and slowly wrote a line of words.

Neji and the others understood his meaning the instant they saw it.

Then they recited even harder, each voice louder than the last.

This directly stunned Itachi not far away. "Do you understand now?"

"The friends Sasuke has made aren't ordinary kids."

"The genius of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Neji."

"The young lady of the Hyuga Main House, Hyuga Hinata."

"The ** even Might Guy nodded approval for, Rock Lee."

"And... Konoha's tailed beast jinchuriki, Naruto Uzumaki."

Shisui pointed out each person's identity. "You mean..."

"Sasuke plans to rely on himself to change the prejudice other clans have toward the Uchiha?"

"Then twist these clans together."

"In the future, the Uchiha won't be carrying everything alone."

Itachi spoke as he thought it through. "I'm afraid... it's not that simple."

That brat Sasuke was clearly the boss among that group of little brats.

When this batch of cubs truly grew up, by then, it would probably be far more than simply changing everyone's opinion.

Itachi, people outside all say your mind turns as quickly as a Hokage's.

But your younger brother's way of doing things is the genuine style of a Hokage!

As Shisui Uchiha spoke, there was a hint of complexity in his eyes.

He, too, had once been someone who carried out the Will of Fire with absolute devotion.

He had felt that as long as the village could become better, it would be worth it even if he threw himself in.

But now, that string in Shisui's heart had begun to loosen.

Especially when the so-called Will of Fire he heard from others was completely different from what he had originally understood.

I understand.

The things Brother Shisui has been busy with lately should be heading in this direction, right?

Itachi slowly opened his mouth.

Mm.

If the minds of everyone in the Uchiha Clan could all turn this corner...

Then our strength would be more than just a little bit stronger!

Shisui tilted his head up and gazed at the sky, his eyes full of yearning.

The things he had hoped for in the past seemed to truly be unfolding step by step before his eyes.

Besides, the only ones in the clan who could shoulder this matter now were him and Itachi...

Once training wrapped up, everyone went back to their own homes.

Seeing that tomorrow was the day of the special training selection, Sasuke grabbed Naruto and insisted on dragging him home for a meal.

In any case, they would be able to set out together tomorrow.

Meanwhile, in the Root Organization's territory.

Chief, the informants we planted have all been watched tightly by the Anbu and the Uchiha people.

There's no chance to make a move at all.

How about you go discuss it with Lord Hokage? The Uchiha are so arrogant now. If this keeps going, we really won't be able to stop them.