Because of My Own Weakness

"Lord Hokage, please, please take good care of my two younger brothers. I'm begging you." Itachi knelt on one knee and pleaded.

The Third smoked in silence, his back turned to Itachi, his expression incomparably complicated.

"Itachi, I will. Rest assured."

Hearing this, Itachi continued.

"I will infiltrate the Akatsuki Organization as an undercover agent. Please rest assured, Lord Third."

The Third nodded at last.

Only then did Itachi leave with peace of mind.

Elsewhere.

Kakashi, dressed in Anbu attire, arrived at Josuke's home and saw the two corpses on the ground.

The male corpse's eyes had already vanished without a trace.

He stepped over the bodies, came before Josuke, hoisted him onto his shoulder, and took him away. A crow on a nearby rooftop stared intently at them.

On Danzō's side, one of his subordinates carried the unconscious Sasuke.

At that moment, Danzō seemed to be deep in thought.

Then, the subordinate beside him suddenly fixed Danzō with a hard stare.

"Danzō, if you dare hurt my younger brother, I'll expose Hidden Leaf Village's dirty secrets to the world!"

With that, he transformed into a flock of crows and scattered away.

Not far away, Itachi removed his forehead protector and stroked it one final time. Then he forcefully slashed it with the kunai in his hand, splitting the Hidden Leaf Village symbol in two. It signified that Itachi had become a rogue ninja.

Itachi left Hidden Leaf Village just like that, living the rest of his life in pain...

The Uchiha Clan, renowned throughout Hidden Leaf Village, had been massacred by the eldest son of its own clan head, Itachi Uchiha. The incident shocked the entire village, and Itachi was classified by Hidden Leaf Village as an S-rank rogue ninja.

A few days later.

Inside Hidden Leaf Village Hospital.

Josuke jolted awake from his coma, gasping for breath.

"Itachi...!"

His heart was filled with such grief. His good brother... his parents...

Josuke clutched his chest. Though he knew it had been inevitable, he still felt so powerless.

Wasn't it all because he was too weak?

Josuke gripped the bedsheets tightly as the Sharingan opened in his eyes.

He suddenly felt that he could see everything around him much more clearly, but the chakra in his body was continuously being consumed.

"Brother..."

The voice pulled Josuke back from his anger.

Josuke turned his head and saw Sasuke by his side.

Sasuke seemed to have matured considerably. The childishness on his face had been replaced by hatred.

Bitterness filled Josuke's heart.

"Father and Mother..."

The moment Sasuke heard the mention of their parents, he flew into a rage!

"It's all because of that man. He deserves to die!"

"I swear I'll kill him. I'll avenge Father and Mother!"

Josuke said nothing more and simply listened in silence.

A few days later, they were both discharged from the hospital.

When they returned home, the blood had already been washed away.

The traces left behind by the battle had also been cleaned up, as though nothing had happened. Yet when they opened the door, they could no longer hear their mother Mikoto's caring voice...

Nor were there any children from the clan playing and laughing outside.

The house was filled with desolation.

At that moment, an Anbu ninja who had been waiting for a long time flashed into view.

He handed each of them a wallet.

"This is one month of living expenses: ten thousand ryō per person. There won't be any more than this. The Uchiha Clan's assets have temporarily been taken over by Hidden Leaf Village. Once you come of age, go to the Hokage to claim your inheritance."

After saying that, the Anbu ninja vanished in an instant.

Once again, only the two of them and the silent house remained.

Josuke took the money.

Then returned to his room.

...People always had to look ahead. They always had to face life.

Josuke and Sasuke returned to class.

Compared to how lively he had been before, Josuke now seemed as though he had lost his soul. Every day, he wore an expression of disappointment.

He finally understood how Sasuke felt. Even though he knew the plot, it had still turned out this way. Not to mention his younger brother, who would grow up in vengeance and live in pain...

"Josuke... are you okay?"

Seeing Josuke so depressed these past few days, Ino looked at him with concern.

Josuke gave a faint smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Ino..."

Before he could finish, Josuke no longer wanted to say anything.

Josuke had already mastered the one-tomoe Sharingan. Although it was rather useless at the moment, it was better than nothing, wasn't it?

The two brothers, Josuke and Sasuke, were no longer like before. Once they returned home, they each trained on their own. Since the forbidden techniques and advanced scrolls within the Uchiha Clan had all been confiscated by Hidden Leaf Village...

Josuke could currently only learn C-rank ninjutsu.

However, what he had not expected was that his thoughtless action from a few days ago would bring him an unexpected gain.

After school that day.

"Josuke, Josuke!!! Wait for me!"

Josuke, who was about to go home and train chakra extraction, turned around.

Rock Lee was calling out anxiously.

Josuke asked in confusion.

"What is it, Rock Lee?"

Rock Lee came to Josuke's side and leaned close to whisper in his ear. "My teacher wants to see you!"

Only then did Josuke remember the boast the two of them had made at the start of school.

He had not expected Rock Lee to remember it all this time.

Rock Lee continued.

"My teacher went out on a mission a while ago and only just returned to the village. I went to see him the day before yesterday and told him about you. He got so excited that he immediately told me to bring you over!!!"

Josuke was somewhat moved. As expected of my bro Lee.

Without any more nonsense, Josuke nodded and followed Rock Lee to the Hidden Leaf Village ninja training grounds.

At that moment, a man wearing a Hidden Leaf Village flak jacket and sporting a bowl cut had already been waiting there for a long time!

When Rock Lee saw his teacher, he shouted excitedly.

"Teacher, we're here! Let's burn with the fire of youth together today too!!!!!"

Damn, that was passionate.

The man turned around and saw Josuke, who had come with him.

He noticed the Uchiha emblem but did not think much of it.

With a confident smile, he performed a backflip and landed before them.

Rock Lee's face was full of admiration!

The man pointed at himself and introduced himself.

"Young man, I am the Blue Beast of Hidden Leaf Village! The taijutsu ninja, Might Guy!"

After saying that, he gave Josuke a thumbs-up.

This was Josuke's first time seeing the famed Guy in person, and he was thrilled.

So this was the Guy who nearly kicked out the ending with one kick? He really was youthful.

Josuke looked at Guy and asked, "Teacher, Rock Lee introduced me to you. He said you're very strong."

After saying that, Josuke looked toward Rock Lee, making him embarrassed.

Might Guy flashed a toothy grin.

"Young man, what I teach requires perseverance and the ability to endure hardship. It is no simple thing. If you wish to gain anything, you must persist!"

"Rock Lee has only learned the basics so far. Can you persevere?"

Josuke nodded.

"I want to learn from you, Teacher, so that I can protect those I care about. Perhaps I cannot learn everything from you as Rock Lee has, but I hope to learn a trace of its essence and use it together with other ninjutsu and taijutsu."

Upon hearing Josuke's words, Guy suddenly saw a shadow of his father in him.

As an elite jōnin of Hidden Leaf Village, Guy naturally knew Josuke's identity. But if someone wished to learn the Eight Gates, he was happy about it. Even if Josuke could not reach the final stage as Guy had.

At least he would still achieve something, wouldn't he?