I Hope You Can Change the Future

Konoha was fairly quiet at night. The Third Shinobi World War had only ended not long ago, and even the strongest village, Konoha, had yet to recover its former prosperity.

Therefore, Uchiha Ensei's Shadow Clone Technique did not attract anyone's attention.

It truly was a location he had spent months searching for. There were the fewest people here, minimizing the chance of exposing himself.

Walking down the somewhat deserted streets, Uchiha Ensei felt slightly relieved.

In truth, he had already prepared himself to be exposed. Rather than dying anonymously in the clan massacre a few years from now, he might as well take a gamble.

Yet unexpectedly, even after he arrived at Minato Namikaze's doorstep, no one had come before him.

Had the ANBU been watching him all along? Or had they failed to notice him?

Several thoughts surfaced in his mind, but Uchiha Ensei still knocked on the door without hesitation.

In Konoha, the Hokage's residence was easy enough to find. At the very least, for villagers who lived in Konoha, it was not some great secret.

The door opened after he had knocked just once.

Minato Namikaze stared expressionlessly at the visitor, clearly having been prepared for the current situation.

"Sure enough, my movements were easily discovered."

"I just don't know whether you have learned my true identity."

"Here's a piece of advice: even if you do know, you'd best pretend that you don't."

Uchiha Ensei's voice was somewhat hoarse. Altering his voice to this extent was no easy task for him.

"A Shadow Clone Technique? And a highly skilled one at that!"

Minato Namikaze spoke calmly, as though he already knew everything.

But in truth, he had only just learned that a mysterious person had arrived at his doorstep. He did not know whether the other party was a shadow clone either; it was merely a guess.

As the Hokage, quite a few ANBU guarded the area around him. There were also many ANBU who regularly patrolled the village and guarded against spies.

But Konoha was vast. No matter how numerous the ANBU were, they could not keep watch over every corner at all times.

Thus, by the time Uchiha Ensei's shadow clone was discovered, it had practically appeared out of thin air to the patrolling ANBU.

"I see. It seems my luck is rather good—you still haven't discovered my identity."

"Yes, the current me is indeed only a shadow clone."

"Let's make this brief."

"First, I possess the ability to foresee the future... Then, I want to change some of the futures I have seen."

Without further explanation, Uchiha Ensei took the envelope from his clothes and handed it to Minato Namikaze.

Upon hearing those words, Minato Namikaze could not help but think of his teacher, the man who had spent his entire life pursuing the Child of Prophecy.

He analyzed the other party's information as thoroughly as possible, but outwardly, Minato Namikaze spoke calmly.

"I see. About the future, then?"

"If you don't mind, how about we go inside and discuss this in detail?"

What had happened today was somewhat beyond Minato Namikaze's expectations, but as the Hokage, he had both the duty and the need to obtain more information.

As for safety...

Having mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, he feared nothing. Even if this was a trap, he was willing to step into it.

"Fine. I truly hope I can change your future."

"After all, if your future turns out badly, mine will be troublesome as well."

Hearing this, Minato Namikaze discreetly made a gesture outside the door, signaling the nearby ANBU to withdraw.

Ordinarily, the other party should have noticed this process, yet the masked figure before him showed no reaction whatsoever.

Had he failed to notice? Or did he know everything and simply not care?

A ninja's instincts made Minato Namikaze begin analyzing the information at hand.

After entering the house, Uchiha Ensei did not see Kushina Uzumaki. It was as though Minato Namikaze lived alone in this house.

"Read that letter first. Once you've finished it, you should have many questions for me."

That night, Uchiha Ensei, alone at home, had no desire to sleep.

The expected time had already arrived, yet the shadow clone's feedback had not returned as scheduled.

This worried Uchiha Ensei. The familiar door now seemed somewhat strange, as though a large group of ANBU might burst in at any moment to arrest him.

If he had been exposed, would his ability to see the future still give him any hope?

There were ninjutsu in the world of Naruto that could probe memories. If...

Shadow clones were not invincible. They could very likely be controlled by sealing techniques.

With Konoha's resources, controlling—or completely destroying—the chakra of a shadow clone would not be difficult.

Yes, that was right. If a shadow clone's chakra was completely exhausted, no information would be transmitted back at all.

Only when the shadow clone was released and its remaining chakra returned to the original body would its memories be received.

With certain methods, it might even be possible to use the shadow clone to affect the original body in reverse.

After all, if shadow clones were truly that perfect, Konoha's ninja would have long since tried using them to gather intelligence endlessly from within other ninja villages.

Imagine it: immortal, indestructible, and able to start over after a period of time...

Wouldn't that make it the perfect Fourth Calamity?

Therefore, shadow clones actually had quite a few flaws.

And under normal circumstances, no one would use a shadow clone as Uchiha Ensei did. He was challenging the foundations of an entire village.

Having placed all his hopes on the shadow clone, Uchiha Ensei naturally had no mind to sleep. His thoughts had already begun racing, considering what stance he should take when facing Konoha's interrogation after his identity was exposed.

Several hours later, dawn had begun to break. As a surge of chakra returned, a sharp pain exploded in Uchiha Ensei's mind.

Along with that pain, the shadow clone's memories finally returned to Uchiha Ensei.

Before Uchiha Ensei could sort through the shadow clone's memories, the strain of its release made him pass out cold.

Of course, from the outside, Uchiha Ensei merely looked as though he was having a nightmare. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

The next morning, Uchiha Ensei gradually regained consciousness amid a highly familiar voice urging him on.

In an instant, everything from before he fainted flooded back into his mind. A fervent gleam flashed through Uchiha Ensei's formerly calm eyes.

He had succeeded!

No matter what, as long as Minato Namikaze did not die, it would be difficult for the Uchiha Clan to end up facing extermination.

"Ensei, stop daydreaming and come eat. I happen to have time today, so I can train you this morning."

Hearing Uchiha Inabi urging him on, Uchiha Ensei finally came back to his senses. He sprang out of bed and headed straight for the dining table.

Naturally, Uchiha Inabi had brought the food.

The two were cousins and were considered quite close within the Uchiha Clan.

Of course, familiarity alone was not enough.

Although the Uchiha Clan treated orphans fairly well, they could not devote themselves wholeheartedly to their care. The real reason Uchiha Ensei received attention was naturally his talent.

Only by being outstanding enough could one earn more privileges.