Arrangements, Encounter with Itachi

It did not take long for Chentian to return safely to Konoha.

On his way home, he happened to run into Kushina's close friend, Uchiha Mikoto. The child in her arms told him that Kushina was about to give birth.

The child in Uchiha Mikoto's arms was Uchiha Sasuke. He was less than a month older than Uzumaki Naruto.

Since Sasuke had already been born, Naruto would not be far behind.

Incidentally, when he saw Mikoto, he also saw Uchiha Itachi.

Itachi, only two years younger than him, had eyes that practically lit up when he saw him, filled with nothing but admiration.

Chentian merely smiled and did not take it to heart.

He was over seven years old and nearly eight. In Konoha, there was no child under ten who did not admire him. One more Uchiha Itachi was perfectly normal.

Nearly every Kage-level powerhouse in Konoha was close to him, and the Hokage was even his brother. Every one of his achievements had been spread far and wide.

As a result, his reputation in Konoha surpassed even the Hokage's, creating this situation.

After chatting with Mikoto for a few moments, Chentian hurried home.

Only after everyone had celebrated did they begin discussing Kushina's situation.

"Kushina will give birth at the edge of Konoha. Powerful enough seals have been set up there. Lady Sarutobi Biwako, the Third Hokage's wife, will personally deliver the baby, and I will be there to look after her."

Minato did not hide anything from Chentian and told him his entire plan.

When a jinchuriki gave birth, the seal weakened. At a time like that, the tailed beast would inevitably try to break free.

It was already an extremely dangerous matter. If someone deliberately sabotaged it as well, the consequences...

"Then I'll bring Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade to guard the surrounding area and prevent any accidents. Even if something does happen, with you included, Brother, the five of us Kage-level fighters can just beat the Nine-Tails back in!"

Although Obito's descent into darkness had already been prevented, what he had seen and heard lately still made Chentian wary.

This butterfly of his had flapped its wings plenty, yet many things were still happening. Obito might not be an exception either.

"Except..." Chentian glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was seated nearby, and hesitated.

Minato, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade immediately understood Chentian's concern.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's dream of controlling power had been shattered by them. Who knew whether Sarutobi Biwako would take advantage of this opportunity to make a move?

Nothing like this had happened in the original story, but Chentian had not completely suppressed Hiruzen Sarutobi there either.

Who knew whether the now powerless and unsupported man would take a desperate gamble?

Just as he was thinking this, Chentian saw everyone smiling, which left him utterly baffled.

His good big brother Minato was the one who explained. "Lord Third is now the Hokage's advisor. He shares Konoha's authority with me and is very trustworthy!"

Chentian's eyes widened. He had helped Minato deal with that problem without hesitation, and now Minato had handed him his power back?

But judging from the smiling expressions of the others, that did not seem to be the case.

At that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to see through Chentian's thoughts and spoke personally. "I did indeed wish to limit Minato's authority in the past, but the facts have proven that Minato is more suited to be Hokage. So I let it go."

"Watching Konoha grow stronger and more prosperous by the day, the obsession in my heart has steadily faded. As long as Konoha can become strong, I can naturally let go! Besides, the authority I hold now is even greater than when I was Hokage!"

Seeing the clear conscience in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes, Chentian fell silent for a moment, unsure whether he should believe him.

Then he remembered that, in the original story, Hiruzen had died fighting to protect Konoha, and he suddenly understood his thoughts.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had done many wrong things for the sake of power, but his contributions to Konoha were truly not small.

It could even be said that he had spent his entire life working for Konoha's development. He had simply gone about it the wrong way.

Now that he could see Konoha improving day by day and knew he could not accomplish what Minato could, it made sense for him to support Minato instead.

Chentian even suspected that if anyone dared to try to force Minato from office now, Hiruzen Sarutobi would be the first to fight them to the death!

Having thought it through, Chentian's gaze toward Hiruzen Sarutobi became much friendlier.

Simply because Hiruzen had died for Konoha, Chentian believed his sincerity!

"Then..." Chentian looked at everyone's expressions before continuing, "Lord Third can remain in Konoha, Brother can accompany Kushina, and the other four of us can guard the four directions. How about that?"

Although Chentian had not said much, that address of "Lord Third" put everyone at ease.

Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru were, after all, the Third's disciples, and their bond with him ran deep.

Minato was also the Third's grand-disciple, so they could be considered one family. Besides trying to control Minato's authority, the Third had treated Minato extremely well.

They were also afraid that Chentian would continue clashing with the Third, making things difficult to resolve.

But it was enough to keep such matters in mind. The urgent issue was still Kushina.

Tsunade, the foremost medical ninja in the shinobi world, had examined her and confirmed that Kushina would give birth within two days. Preparations had to be made as soon as possible.

Everyone considered Chentian's suggestion, but in the end, they all looked to Minato.

After all, Kushina was his wife, and the child would be his. It was best for him to make the decision.

"Alright, we'll do it that way!"

He had originally planned to accompany her alone. There was no need to make such a huge fuss.

But since Chentian was so determined, he would not object.

His little brother had always had his own ideas and was incredibly mysterious. If Chentian insisted on this arrangement, then something Chentian knew and he did not was surely going to happen.

Being cautious was naturally for the best.

Everyone present knew that Chentian had secrets, but they did not ask.

Chentian had always been helping Konoha and helping them. So what if he had a few secrets?

After the discussion ended, everyone went their separate ways.

After taking the chance to meet with Kakashi and Might Guy, Chentian strolled slowly home alone.

But unexpectedly, he ran into five-year-old Uchiha Itachi again on the way, and Itachi had been following him the entire time.

After noticing Itachi, Chentian changed direction and headed toward the river where Naruto would catch fish as a child.

"Come out. You've followed me all the way here. Is there something you need?"

Once he saw that no one was around, Chentian looked at a tree behind him with an amused half-smile.

"Lord Chentian, I... I only..."

Itachi emerged with reddened cheeks, stammering adorably as he spoke.

Seeing the little child, Chentian sighed inwardly. Itachi really was cuter when he was young!

Then he comforted him softly. "Don't rush. Take your time. I'm not blaming you."

Hearing Chentian's words, Itachi gradually relaxed.

Even the future Itachi of legend would be nervous when he met his idol at four years old.

"Lord Chentian, thank you. If it weren't for you, the Uchiha..."

Although Itachi did not finish, Chentian understood what he meant.

Because of him, Konoha had developed rapidly, which had suppressed the conflict between Konoha and the Uchiha.

Otherwise, the Uchiha clan's destruction would probably not have been far away!

However, Chentian understood this matter very well. It had only been temporarily suppressed for now.

The conflict would likely erupt again within a few years.

The inner workings of it could not be explained in a short while. Chentian glanced at the sky, shook his head, and said, "This matter will not be easy to resolve. I have things to deal with over the next few days. How about we talk after some time?"

Although somewhat confused, Itachi obediently nodded. "Alright. Then I won't disturb you any longer, Lord Chentian."

Watching Itachi's departing back, Chentian was somewhat surprised. He had not expected the boy to understand these matters at only five years old.

No wonder the Third had said that Itachi could think like a Kage even as a child.

But then Chentian remembered that he was the Uchiha clan's young master, and it made sense.