Conspiracy

"Elder, my ocular technique isn't a genjutsu-type one. I'm afraid I can't control the Nine-Tails."

"Then how about having Daohuo do it?"

"I'm afraid I can't either."

Uchiha Daohuo hurriedly shook his head. He was arrogant, but not stupid. Ever since suffering a setback last time, he had become much more cautious.

Although he also possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, those eyes did not belong to him. He could not fully unleash such power, even at the cost of harming himself.

"Since we can't control it, how about releasing it directly?"

A vicious gleam flashed through the elder's eyes.

The two men looked at the elder in shock.

"Wouldn't that be inappropriate?"

"It's very appropriate. When the time comes, the Third Hokage will have no choice but to act. With his current strength, he may not be a match for the Nine-Tails. If he ends up perishing together with it, that would be even better."

Uchiha Fuyue's eyes immediately lit up.

Most importantly, the charge of killing the Hokage would not fall on them.

Once the Third Hokage was dead, they would reveal their own strength.

Even if they could not become Hokage, they could still force their way into the upper ranks.

Thinking of this, he silently nodded.

The three began discussing how to release the Nine-Tails while pinning the blame on someone else.

What the three failed to notice was a black crow on the eaves outside, watching their entire conspiracy unfold.

It was an ordinary crow, so none of them paid it any attention.

Soon, the crow flew away.

It arrived at a secluded little courtyard.

Itachi Uchiha sat there quietly by himself.

Ever since a year ago, he had been abandoned by the Third Hokage. At the same time, because of his betrayal, no one in the Uchiha clan welcomed him either.

With no other choice, Itachi Uchiha had moved out of his home and lived alone in this corner.

Soon, the crow flew over and landed on the table.

Itachi Uchiha opened his Sharingan and instantly met the crow's intelligent eyes.

His brows instinctively furrowed as he saw the scene of the three plotting together. Through lip-reading, he also learned of their plan.

What should I do? Should I tell the Third Hokage?

The Third Hokage would no longer believe him.

Then he thought of Naruto.

Unlike the others, Itachi Uchiha had met Kushina. The two families had once been quite close.

No matter what, he would first go see what kind of child Naruto was.

The crow on the table took flight and flew back toward the ninja academy.

On the school field, the children were practicing with kunai.

Naruto stood at the back somewhat bored, occasionally chatting with his friends.

Naruto was still at the bottom of the class, but he was no longer so loud and attention-grabbing.

"Hey! Naruto, do you want to go fishing tomorrow? It's our day off."

Shikamaru spoke lazily from beside him.

"Yeah, and we can have a picnic and barbecue."

The moment Choji heard Shikamaru's suggestion, he became excited.

He was not interested in fishing. He was only interested in eating.

Naruto thought about it, then nodded.

"Sure."

"Hinata, want to come too?"

Naruto turned and asked Hinata.

Hinata secretly glanced at the others and gave a slight nod.

None of them thought much of it. They only felt that the two had a pretty good relationship.

After more than a year together, Naruto had quickly integrated into life at the academy.

Normally, he bragged and chatted with his friends and spent time cultivating his relationship with Hinata.

This kind of life was carefree, with no need to think about too much.

"Hey, you idiots, focus!"

Iruka noticed them and could not help shouting.

The group shrank their necks.

In the blink of an eye, night had fallen. Naruto bid farewell to his friends and walked down the road.

Suddenly, Naruto turned, his eyes narrowing as he looked at a crow on a distant wall.

Unlike ordinary people, Naruto knew that this world had summoned beasts. In Naruto, whenever crows were mentioned, one person came to mind: Itachi Uchiha.

Though the crow looked like an ordinary one, what truly caught Naruto's attention was that it had been following him all afternoon.

Is it Itachi Uchiha? Why is he watching me?

Naruto found it strange.

But he did not think too much about it and simply returned home.

He left behind a clone while his real body went to the laboratory.

He picked up a scroll from the table and began reading it.

It contained information about Konoha, left behind by the people he had controlled.

He gave it a rough look. There was nothing worth paying attention to.

Naruto continued his research.

Danzo really was filthy rich. His Root possessed ninjutsu and forbidden techniques alike.

Even the secret techniques of the Ino–Shika–Cho clans were in Danzo's possession, and now those techniques lay before Naruto.

"Not bad."

After reading through them, Naruto was rather satisfied. The secret techniques of the three clans were still being continuously developed.

To Naruto, these were nothing much, merely occasional little tricks.

At the same time, Itachi Uchiha received the crow's images and began considering whether he should warn Naruto Uzumaki.

Forget it. He's still just a child. If it really comes to that, I can only stop them.

Itachi Uchiha did not want to see countless lives destroyed. He had already witnessed once just how devastating the Nine-Tails could be.

So this time, he would definitely stop them.

The determination in his eyes could not be shaken.

At the same time, the three tomoe in one of his eyes spun rapidly before finally connecting together.

A pinwheel pattern.

The relic left behind by his closest friend—the Mangekyō Sharingan, the strongest genjutsu: Kotoamatsukami.

Meanwhile, the elder's plan was nearly complete.

Naruto still knew nothing. Mainly because his influence had not extended into the Uchiha clan.

The next day, after washing up, he leisurely headed out.

He arrived near the Hyuga Clan compound. There were few people around, and Naruto did not go closer, mainly because he did not want to cause trouble.

The gates opened, and a Byakugan boy walked out. The moment he stepped through the gate, he spotted Naruto Uzumaki in the distance.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

The Hyuga Clan was extremely exclusionary.

Naruto paused and looked up.

Hyuga Neji.

With a stern face and Byakugan, Naruto recognized him at a glance.

"I'm waiting for someone."

Naruto knew that Neji was difficult to get along with at this time.

"There's no one here for you to wait for. Leave now."

Neji frowned, mainly because he had recognized who Naruto was.

Naruto Uzumaki.

As for why he knew him, that had to do with Hinata.

Hinata had changed greatly recently. She had become much more cheerful and had also taken an interest in cooking.

Naturally, some things reached her father's ears. Although he disliked his daughter's personality, she was still his daughter. He could not simply ignore her.

Thus, Naruto's situation quickly became known to Hiashi.

This displeased Hiashi greatly.

In the original story, the reason Naruto was able to marry Hinata was, first, because of Naruto's strength. At the time, Naruto was acknowledged as the strongest in the Shinobi World and had saved the world. Second, Naruto had already been confirmed as the Seventh Hokage.

Hiashi had no right to resist.

Otherwise, look at it—over a thousand years, had the Hyuga family ever allowed its bloodline to flow outside? Compared with the Uchiha clan, the Hyuga family was even more exclusionary.