Sarutobi Hiruzen's Method of Control...

Sarutobi Hiruzen listened to Uchiha Shunichi, his brow furrowing even deeper.

"Why did you do that?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked.

Uchiha Shunichi replied, "I didn't want to get beaten up, and I didn't want anyone else coming to bother me."

"No, I'm asking why you said those things to Iruka." Sarutobi Hiruzen added, feeling a headache coming on.

"It's simple. I made my own choice, so naturally, I chose to bear the consequences." Uchiha Shunichi answered without hesitation.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had seen many children and had some confidence in his own judgment. Still, a case like Uchiha Shunichi's gave him a headache. He did not know how to handle it.

"Shunichi, let me ask you something. If you encountered this situation on the battlefield, how would you deal with it?" Sarutobi Hiruzen finally said after a long while.

Uchiha Shunichi answered without a second thought, "If they were the first to attack me, then I would make the same choice. As for what the outcome would be, that isn't something I can decide."

Ever since arriving in this world, Uchiha Shunichi's heart had been filled with rage. That fury did not come solely from the original owner of this body; some of it belonged to him as well.

Anyone who had been dissected and thoroughly studied during their first month in this world would never be in a good mood.

Uchiha Shunichi could not hide the hatred in his heart, so he redirected it elsewhere.

A thought flashed through Sarutobi Hiruzen's mind, but what he said was, "Uchiha Shunichi, that way of thinking is extremely dangerous. You must understand..."

Perhaps because he was old, Sarutobi Hiruzen had an awful lot to say. It irritated Uchiha Shunichi somewhat, but in the end, the matter was resolved quite easily.

From this, Uchiha Shunichi knew his guess had been right. In Konoha's eyes, he was probably a very useful "tool."

As long as he did not do anything too outrageous, this "tool" of theirs should not be discarded.

Because he had injured a classmate, Uchiha Shunichi was punished with three days of confinement here.

For an ordinary child, it was indeed a severe punishment, but Uchiha Shunichi did not care in the slightest.

Over those three days, Uchiha Shunichi thoroughly examined his Mangekyō Sharingan and experimentally tested his understanding of chakra.

The results were outstanding. The Mangekyō Sharingan's abilities made Uchiha Shunichi even more confident. If his body were not currently so weak, he would have been confident enough to defect immediately.

The ability of his left eye was not particularly remarkable. This so-called Precognition could only reveal what would happen one or two seconds in the future, which was practically the same as useless to Uchiha Shunichi right now.

The ability of his right eye was called Regression. At present, it could regress himself. No matter what state he was in, Regression could return him to any point in his past state, restoring both the chakra and ocular power that had been consumed.

Moreover, besides his own condition, he could also return to any place where he had been in the past.

However, using his right eye required the consumption of something. Uchiha Shunichi still did not know what it was, but compared to whatever it consumed, life was clearly more precious.

Thus, just before he was released on the third day, Uchiha Shunichi regressed his body to the moment when he had first awakened his eyes.

With that, the dissections, eye removal, and any possible restrictions that Uchiha Shunichi had endured before all ceased to exist.

However... Uchiha Shunichi's body became even weaker.

On the day he was released, Uchiha Shunichi entered the hospital once again.

After being treated by a medical ninja, Uchiha Shunichi received some nutrient solution and was then sent home to recuperate.

Perhaps because of what had happened in class, Uchiha Sasuke's attitude had improved considerably. During the days Uchiha Shunichi spent recovering, Sasuke would occasionally take care of him.

More than a week later, Uchiha Shunichi returned to school. This time, no one dared provoke him for no reason.

"Hey, aren't you going too far?!" Naruto Uzumaki suddenly came over to Uchiha Shunichi during a break for some reason and shouted in displeasure.

Uchiha Shunichi opened his eyes, glanced at him, and slowly said, "What is it?"

Naruto Uzumaki was startled by Uchiha Shunichi's eyes. He did not have time to say what he had prepared, and it all vanished from his mind.

After a long while, Naruto Uzumaki finally remembered and loudly said, "N-not long ago... even if it was a fight... you shouldn't have hurt someone!"

"Oh." Uchiha Shunichi nodded coldly, then turned and left, completely ignoring Naruto Uzumaki.

Naruto Uzumaki froze when he saw Uchiha Shunichi's reaction. Then his eyes dimmed considerably, and he lost all interest in pressing the matter further.

Naruto had suffered greatly as a child. It was not physical suffering, but suffering of the heart. In Konoha, Naruto Uzumaki was a very special existence.

The Nine-Tails' Attack had inflicted wounds on Konoha comparable to those of the Third Shinobi World War. It could even be said... to have been worse than all three previous Shinobi World Wars.

After all, only some ninja had died in the first three Shinobi World Wars, while the Nine-Tails' Attack had caused massive civilian casualties.

People turned a blind eye to the suffering of others, but remembered the pain they had experienced themselves.

Thus, when Naruto Uzumaki became associated with the Nine-Tailed Fox, the villagers' attitudes began to grow strange.

There were always too many fools in this world. Coupled with the ninja's secrecy, the villagers did not know the truth. Of course, they did not care about it either.

The villagers' hatred for the demon fox was etched into their bones. Yet because of the ninja's prohibition, although no one dared discuss such matters, no one was willing to pay attention to Naruto Uzumaki either.

Seeing Uchiha Shunichi act this way, Naruto Uzumaki thought he was one of them too.

In truth, Naruto Uzumaki's circumstances were not caused by Shimura Danzō. Though that man had taken the blame for many things, not everything could be pinned on him.

The true mastermind was Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Someone on the verge of drowning naturally treasured the straw that could save their life.

When Sarutobi Hiruzen made Naruto Uzumaki endure everyone's indifference, his appearance became as important as that life-saving straw.

This allowed him to control the Jinchūriki as much as possible!

Those immersed in darkness naturally treasured the rare light all the more.