Chapter 6

Now, only one question remained. "I acknowledge your abilities," Itachi said, staring at him. "But I still don't know who you are."

He did not finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.

He could not hand his own younger brother over to someone of unknown origins.

Uchiha Yi had expected this.

He directly dispelled his Transformation Technique, revealing his true face.

Itachi froze.

No matter how powerful an enemy he faced, even with a blade at his throat, he could remain expressionless.

But at this moment, his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. "How can it be you?"

Itachi stood there without saying a word.

Sure enough, this guy's Sharingan could withstand genjutsu. He had forcefully broken through Tsukuyomi. Though Itachi had not gone all out, that alone was enough to stir up waves in his heart.

Flying Raijin, a Sharingan naturally immune to genjutsu, and strength to match. Putting all that together, Itachi thought that handing Sasuke over to him might actually be the safest choice.

Now, only one matter remained to be confirmed. "I acknowledge your abilities, but I need to know who you are."

Itachi had only said half of it, but the person across from him already understood. He could not possibly entrust his brother's life to someone of unknown origins.

Uchiha Yi had already thought this through.

The next second, the Transformation Technique was dispelled, revealing his original appearance.

For the first time, Itachi's face—one that could remain composed before even the strongest opponents, even death itself—completely shattered.

Standing before him was a child around the same age as his younger brother. "Uchiha Yi?"

"That's right. It's me." Uchiha Yi nodded.

Itachi's expression remained frozen for a long time. His mouth opened several times, but in the end, he could not force out a single word.

Uchiha Yi chuckled. "Itachi, don't you think I'm the most suitable person to protect Sasuke?"

Itachi did not answer, but inwardly, he had already accepted it.

Indeed, no one was more suitable than Uchiha Yi. Even he had never imagined that a child of only six or seven could be this strong. As for anyone else, there was no need to even mention them.

Other than him, there was no one.

Itachi still had many questions in his heart, but right now, he felt none of them mattered. "Fine. I accept this deal."

"Then it's settled. One slot, and I'll protect Sasuke for five years, until he graduates from the Academy. Do you accept?"

Neither of them said what that slot was for, but they both understood. "I accept."

Only after seeing him nod did Uchiha Yi finally relax. "Then it's settled. Oh, right. Once the day of action is decided, let me know in advance."

The moment he finished speaking, he had already vanished.

Flying Raijin.

Itachi stood there without moving for a long time before finally disappearing as well.

When he returned home, Uchiha Yi finally felt somewhat at ease. A person like Itachi would rarely go back on his word once he had agreed.

Uchiha Yi had not staked all his cards on this, either. He secretly placed kunai marked with Flying Raijin seals in several inconspicuous places, and hid two or three more outside the village. If he was ever driven into a corner, he could simply flee—leave Konoha. But that was his last resort.

In the days that followed, he trained as usual. Might Guy had returned and even taken a long leave. Guy himself thought it was just an ordinary vacation and did not think much of it, but Uchiha Yi knew perfectly well—the old Third Hokage had called him back specifically as a precaution against the Uchiha Clan causing trouble.

It was not just Might Guy. With his sharp eyes, Uchiha Yi had recently noticed several familiar jonin returning to the village.

Soon. It was about to begin.

Uchiha Yi had considered this situation long ago. With Guy around, things would be far more convenient for him. When they had trained together before, he had repeatedly taken the initiative to say he wanted to stay at Guy's house. This was one of his prepared escape routes—on the night of the massacre, he would hide in Might Guy's home and keep himself safe.

Naturally, he spent these days eating and sleeping at Guy's house.

Before two days had passed, Itachi sent word: Konoha's higher-ups had decided to act in three days. Itachi also said he had not deliberately asked the higher-ups for more slots. Given the current situation, as long as Uchiha Yi stayed at Might Guy's place three days later, nothing would happen to him.

Uchiha Yi kept this in mind and continued training with Guy.

Three days later.

After another round of insane training, he trained until he passed out. When he woke the next day, Uchiha Yi saw that Might Guy's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot.

He immediately understood.

Sure enough, Guy soon spoke: Uchiha Itachi had defected and massacred the entire Uchiha Clan. Now, only he and Sasuke remained alive.

It was finally over.

Uchiha Yi let out a breath of relief, but his heart still felt cold. He had long known that the night of the massacre would come, but now that it had truly happened, his chest still felt stifled. After all, he had grown up among the Uchiha Clan and had received plenty of care from its people over the years. After his parents died, he had been able to live well because of their kindness.

Those familiar faces were all gone.

To say he felt nothing would be a lie. These people were not paper cutouts. They were living, breathing human beings. Uchiha Yi was not made of stone—how could he remain unmoved? But with his limited abilities, all he could do was watch helplessly as things came to this.

After the night of the massacre, Uchiha Yi returned to his own home. But by then, the Uchiha Clan compound had already begun to be divided up, with other villagers moving in.

That made him sneer inwardly.

He could also feel many more gazes watching him—people from ANBU, and people from Root. It seemed that even though he was merely a talentless brat, being one of the only two Uchiha survivors was enough to make them watch him closely.

If he was being watched this heavily, Sasuke's situation was probably even worse.

Under these circumstances, Uchiha Yi did not dare draw attention to himself. He obediently returned to his life as a student and even stopped the crazed training he had done before. He lived like an entirely ordinary orphan.

At most, he would occasionally train like mad with Might Guy for a while.

Sure enough, once he started acting cowardly, the number of eyes watching him gradually decreased. Still, a few remained, clinging to him like ghosts.

Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, several years had gone by.

Konoha Year 60.

The day of graduation had finally arrived.

Inside the classroom, Uchiha Yi was filled with mixed emotions. Five full years had passed since the day of the massacre.

Over those years, he had behaved so well that, in other people's eyes, he was no different from an ordinary student.

At most, he carried one additional label—one of the only two survivors of the Uchiha Clan.

And precisely because of that identity, Konoha's people had never relaxed their surveillance of him over those five years. "All right, the graduation exam begins now. When your name is called, go to the classroom next door."

Iruka announced from the podium. "One more thing: this exam will test the Clone Technique."

The moment Naruto heard that, his face turned green. "Huh? The Clone Technique? Isn't that going to kill me?! Yi, what am I supposed to do?!"

Naruto abruptly turned around, his face full of despair. "Uh... don't be nervous. Relax. It's just the Clone Technique. You'll get through it."

He would have been better off saying nothing. After hearing that, Naruto became even more hopeless.

Uchiha Yi did not even know how to respond.

Over the years, his relationship with Naruto had not been particularly close, but it was not bad either. Naruto was naturally familiar with everyone and always liked sticking around him.

Because of that, Uchiha Yi had tried to lend him a hand and taught him how to practice the Clone Technique.

Later, he gave up.

With the Nine-Tails causing trouble inside him, Naruto simply could not evenly divide his chakra to create a clone.

If he truly wanted to help, it was not impossible, but that would mean exposing his real abilities.

The problem was that not only was Uchiha Yi being watched, Naruto had even more people spying on him.

Every time he was with Naruto, Uchiha Yi could feel gazes coming from every direction.

So whenever he interacted with Naruto, he was especially careful.

Well, he would never admit that Naruto was simply a hopeless idiot. "Failed!"

Seeing the limp clone sprawled on the floor, Iruka shouted at Naruto.

Iruka stood at the podium and announced the topic of the graduation exam. "This exam is on the Clone Technique."

As soon as the words fell, Naruto's face collapsed. "No way... Why did it have to be the Clone Technique...? I'm done for, I'm done for! Yi, I'm finished!"

He whipped his head around and stared at Uchiha Yi beside him with a face full of despair. "Don't panic. Relax. This is actually not difficult. If you perform well, you can pass."

Although Uchiha Yi said that, he knew his words would be of no use to Naruto.

Sure enough, Naruto looked even more dejected.

Over the years, Uchiha Yi and Naruto had not become particularly close, but they were not distant either. Naruto was the sort of person who treated strangers like friends and always liked clinging to him. Over time, Uchiha Yi had gotten used to it.

He had even genuinely tried to help Naruto.

He had taught him the Clone Technique, seriously taught him.

But the result...

Uchiha Yi gave up.

It was not that he had not tried hard enough. The Nine-Tails was simply too troublesome. Naruto could not evenly distribute his chakra at all, so he could not use the Clone Technique in the first place.

If he really wanted to help, there was a way.

He only needed to use some of his real abilities.

But the problem was that plenty of people watched him, and even more watched Naruto.

Every time he was with Naruto, Uchiha Yi could feel gazes from all directions prickling his body like needles.

Therefore, he had always been extremely cautious around Naruto.

Of course, he would never say it aloud—Naruto really was hopeless. "Failed!"

Iruka looked at the limp, soft clone on the floor and shouted at Naruto.

At that moment, Mizuki stepped forward. "Iruka-sensei, his physical condition is actually pretty good, and his stamina is decent too. At this point, he has barely mastered it. Why not be a little lenient...?"

Uchiha Yi raised an eyebrow.

Mizuki.

A cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

The Book of Seals... Is it finally coming?

For him, the Clone Technique was no issue at all. Passing was guaranteed.

When it was his turn, a gentle voice came from behind him. "Yi-kun... good luck."

He turned around and saw Hinata.

Come to think of it, back then, he had been upset about his parents and gone out to clear his head, only to happen upon Hinata being bullied.

Naruto had happened to be there too.

The two of them had joined forces and beaten those guys up.

From then on, Naruto's fondness for him had soared.

But the one Hinata remembered was him.

Five years had passed. Because of all the hidden eyes watching them, Uchiha Yi and Hinata had barely interacted.

He had not expected her to still remember to cheer him on. Looks like I've completely replaced Naruto in this regard.

He smiled at Hinata, and the young girl's face instantly turned red.

The exam went smoothly.

After receiving his forehead protector, he went to find Naruto, said a few comforting words, and told him he would treat him to ramen.

Naruto was in low spirits, his entire body slumped.

Even Ichiraku Ramen, usually his favorite, failed to lift his mood.

As they parted, Uchiha Yi suddenly called out to him. "Naruto."