Born Evil, the Uchiha

June, Year 2 of Konoha.

The winter cold wave had long since departed, and the weather was beginning to grow somewhat muggy.

Yayoi and Kicho's child was already four months old.

As early as late March of this year, Yayoi had officially given the child a name—Oda Doichi.

Barring any accidents, this child would grow up safe and happy amidst the expectations and blessings of him and Kicho.

Yet, in Yayoi's view, the biggest problem was that this child's growth rate was somewhat too astonishing.

The infant lying in the crib possessed a true age of only four months, yet his height and weight both exceeded the limits a one-year-old infant could reach.

His actions in grasping small objects were not sluggish and feeble like a typical infant's.

He could emit relatively coherent syllables from his mouth, and would flash smiles when meeting acquaintances.

The most peculiar thing was that when he slapped the surface of the crib with his palm, the crib would emit a violent trembling and wailing sound, as if it were about to fall apart at any moment.

The truth was that the current crib was specially crafted by Yayoi using puppet-making craftsmanship; its steel framework was spread with soft bedding to withstand this child's slaps.

The previous crib had been smashed by this child into a pile of wooden parts two months ago.

By the time they snapped back to reality, the child had already rolled away with a gurgle and then burst into loud wailing.

Little Doichi's strength is simply too great. This bed shouldn't break again, right?

Rinko looked at the gently rocking crib and spoke with lingering fear.

The scene from two months ago, where he shattered the bed boards and rolled with a gurgle into the corner of the wall, had scared her face completely pale, fearing the child might suffer some accident.

Fortunately, the child merely wailed loudly for a while without even breaking his skin; his physique was uncommonly sturdy.

How could that be? I mixed Chakra Metal into this one to reinforce it.

Yayoi uttered a deadpan retort.

Initially, the steel-made crib, though not shattered, had also displayed bending marks.

This forced Yayoi to keep mixing in Chakra Metal to reinforce the crib.

Now, although the crib looked wobbly and emitted a trembling hum, both its chassis and framework were extremely sturdy.

He did not believe this child could shatter the bed boards yet.

What a heartless little fellow. Do you know how much trouble you've given us lately?

Aoi put on a fierce facade and viciously pinched Doichi's little face.

The child's initially grinning face instantly wrinkled its brows, his face turning bitter like a balsam pear as he wailed.

Click.

The camera's flash lit up. Kicho, acting as the mother, not only failed to step forward to stop it, but instead very cleverly seized this exact moment, freezing it in a photograph.

...

Yayoi's mouth twitched. Was recording the child's dark history really that fun?

Well, the child was indeed quite fun.

This kind of thing is truly convenient; it can capture the scene all at once.

Kicho was absolutely fond of the camera.

Sometimes, she would even use it at night.

The Land of Night was a nation undergoing industrial transformation, and coupled with a very active commercial sector, all kinds of novel products frequently emerged.

An item like a camera, which felt completely unfamiliar to Yayoi, naturally appeared on the market.

Civilization symbols like electric lights and air conditioning had also sprung up like bamboo shoots after a rain in recent years.

This forced Yayoi to lament the wondrous technology of the shinobi world. He had heard that ultra-large computers had already appeared in some places.

Yayoi intended to find time to purchase one and use it to build a complete data database.

Besides, under his command existed no small number of advanced technical personnel who excelled in many technological fields—himself, the general, included.

Well, later when Doichi gets married, we can give these photos to him as a gift.

Kicho held a stack of photos in her hands, all detailing the dark history of her son Doichi. The scene where he had rolled gurgled down from the bed earlier was also captured by her superb photography skills.

Aoi and Rinko rolled their eyes straight at Kicho. With a mother like this, the child Doichi was truly blessed.

She had better not be allowed to educate him personally in the future, or she would definitely lead the child astray.

Time is almost up. You ladies take care of the child here; I need to go receive a guest.

Yayoi bowed slightly, played with the child for a little while, and then straightened his body.

Walk well, Milord.

Under the three women's send-off, Yayoi walked back toward the direction of Tenshu Tower.

Arriving at a reception room in Tenshu Tower, Irori was already receiving guests there.

There were two visiting guests: one possessed a lean physique and revealed a deadpan face without obvious emotions, while beside him stood a big-nosed youth nearly one meter three in height.

The two wore the shinobi uniforms of the Hidden Rock Village and wore shinobi forehead protectors marked with a rock symbol.

They were precisely the Dust Release shinobi Mu, and his student, Ōnoki.

It really isn't easy to catch a glimpse of you, the general.

Mu uttered a slight complaint the moment he saw Yayoi enter.

Apologies, I had some private matters to attend to just now. Still, what wind blew you here, the head of the Tsuchikage's guard? You surely aren't here specifically to chat with me, are you?

Yayoi walked over and sat down opposite Mu and Ōnoki, smiling with the tone of an old acquaintance.

Ever since they shared the experience of fighting Madara together, his relationship with Mu had gradually shifted from unfamiliar to familiar.

Over the past half year or so, they had occasionally written letters to communicate.

When his child was born earlier, Mu had also sent a hefty gift, which Yayoi kept in mind.

Though that would be nice, unfortunately, I am on official business this time.

Mu reclined on the sofa, crossed his legs, and shrugged slightly. It was obvious that his purpose for coming this time was still primarily official business.

Irori timely served two cups of hot tea, placing them on the coffee table before Mu and Ōnoki.

Ah, thank you.

Ōnoki quickly uttered a word of thanks.

Perhaps due to nervousness, his entire nervous system was strung tight, and he occasionally swept curious glances over the environment here.

At first glance, he felt this place was far more luxurious and aesthetically pleasing than the reception room where their Hidden Rock Village Tsuchikage resided, resembling a meticulously crafted piece of art.

When he sat down just moments ago, he had even checked whether the clothes on his body were dirty.

Then, what is your purpose in coming?

Faced with Yayoi's inquiry, Mu did not beat around the bush either. After taking a sip of tea, he said:

Konoha over there... exactly what are they plotting? Ever since that incident occurred, they haven't made a single move, burying their heads in their own development. This makes Lord Tsuchikage quite uneasy.

Saying this, Mu could not help adding heavy emphasis, his eyes staring at Yayoi's face.

At the same time, this indirectly expressed that he had come here at the behest of Tsuchikage Ishikawa.

The quieter Konoha was, the more uneasy the remaining nations and shinobi villages became.

During this period, aside from Konoha's Hokage, the remaining four Kage had secretly communicated in private, while also acquiring more intelligence regarding Madara Uchiha's strength from the Raikage.

Although not yet formally announced, the four Kage faintly harbored a tendency to form an alliance.

As shinobi capable of suppressing a nation, the four Kage deeply understood that sometimes human-wave tactics were not as useful as imagined; it was simply that they currently had no other choice.

The power of Konoha in the Land of Fire was simply too formidable. Even if Konoha did nothing at present, it would invisibly exert immense military pressure on various nations.

Lord Tsuchikage, is that all you wish to know?

Yayoi slowly took a sip of tea, his gaze inadvertently glancing past Mu's face.

Yes. During this period, the Land of Night is one of the few nations that maintains close communication with Konoha, and also the one with the most weight.

Mu nodded.

Acquiring more recent information regarding Konoha from the Land of Night was the best choice.

It seems your days have been quite difficult lately.

Yayoi set down his teacup and made a teasing remark.

It's you who are too heartless.

Mu folded his arms across his chest. Thinking of the Land of Night's various anomalous behaviors during this period, he had to admit that the person before him truly possessed astonishing daring.

To have experienced such an event yet still remain completely composed, even maintaining normal communication and interactions with Konoha—at any rate, he could not do it.

The moment he recalled what happened that day, a pair of crimson eyes would subconsciously surface in his mind.

Over the past half year or so, he had experienced several nightmares on account of this, causing him to wake up startled in the middle of the night.

Regardless, days must still be lived. However, my intelligence here can only be used as a reference at best. Between nations, trust is a difficult problem. The chaos stirred up by Madara Uchiha has also made the Daimyo of the Land of Fire extremely anxious; he even wrote to me previously, hoping to use the Land of Night as a breakthrough point for ice-breaking diplomacy.

Yayoi's words deeply resonated within Mu's heart.

Indeed, it was difficult for nations to trust one another.

Madara Uchiha's actions had further deepened various nations' guard against the Land of Fire and Konoha.

Soon, Yayoi had people organize various aspects of intelligence regarding Konoha, along with recent movements, and placed them before Mu.

Mu put away the intelligence without inspecting it immediately. The task of judging intelligence information belonged to the Tsuchikage and the Daimyo of the Land of Earth; he was only responsible for delivery.

As for compensation and the like, Yayoi and Mu tacitly refrained from mentioning it, treating it simply as a reciprocal favor.

Afterward, Yayoi and Mu ceased discussing international public opinion and shifted to private chatting.

Although Mu was a deadpan with few emotions and seemed quite shy, the reality was quite the opposite—his words were not few at all.

For instance, he complained to Yayoi about how difficult the job of Tsuchikage guard was, or grumbled that the burden on his shoulders was too heavy, often keeping him too busy to close his eyes and sleep for days.

Yet, however Yayoi looked at him, the fellow simply looked like he was thoroughly enjoying it.

Being actively given this many responsibilities by Tsuchikage Ishikawa was something countless ninjas in Iwagakure dreamed of.

Yayoi grew more and more certain that after the First Tsuchikage Ishikawa, Mu would be the Second Tsuchikage of Iwagakure.

"Right, how much do you know about the Sharingan?"

Afterward, Mu and Yayoi began discussing the Sharingan.

Clearly, the shadow Madara had cast over him had driven him to frantically investigate intelligence on the Sharingan during this period.

It was just that, being located in Iwagakure, the intelligence channels available for acquiring information on the Sharingan were not numerous.

"If it's just basic information, I actually know quite a bit. But if you want a systematic understanding of the Sharingan's abilities, I think you're asking the wrong person. That fellow Tobirama Senju knows a lot more than I do."

Yayoi recalled the information on the Sharingan.

His understanding of the Sharingan came mostly from his so-called 'prophecy'. Although this kind of knowledge contained a large amount of information, it was extremely fragmented, with the clear parts being far too clear and the blurry parts far too blurry.

In contrast, when he exchanged jutsu with Tobirama last time, he discovered that Tobirama's understanding of the Sharingan was a systematic collection, backed by very thorough theory and practice.

He suspected that Tobirama had definitely performed autopsies on the corpses of Uchiha Clan ninjas more than once. Certain things simply didn't seem like something that could be understood just through combat.

"That guy..."

"As far as the Sharingan goes, he might understand the operating principles of the Sharingan even better than most Uchiha ninjas. If you want to develop jutsus targeted at the Sharingan, you won't be able to bypass that fellow. How about it, should I act as a matchmaker and bridge the gap for you two? I've been communicating with him via letters recently."

Yayoi couldn't help but chuckle.

Mu was slightly taken aback, then lowered his head to ponder the feasibility of this matter.

"If there's an opportunity in the future, I can give it a try."

Yayoi was left speechless; he had only wanted to tease Mu, yet he hadn't expected him to consider it seriously.

Ah, the naturally evil Uchiha really bring endless harm to others.

(Come to think of it, the first Kage of the ninja villages in the Five Great Nations basically all pacified domestic turmoil, while the second Kage were mostly inventors.

Mu pioneered the Kekkei Tōta Dust Release, Tobirama was a master of forbidden jutsu, and the Second Kazekage Shamon spearheaded Magnet Release and puppet jutsu; the things they left behind were either infinitely beneficial or endlessly harmful.

The Second Mizukage and Second Raikage don't seem particularly prominent in this regard.)