Mito Uzumaki and Kushina Uzumaki

"At first, some people made fun of me, but someone helped me." Kushina Uzumaki stroked her red hair and murmured, "Grandma Mito, you know, Yi and Mikoto are really, really good people..."

Then Kushina chattered away, recounting everything that had happened that day.

Mito Uzumaki did not interrupt her. Instead, she listened patiently.

There were a few truly kind people in the Uchiha Clan? Mito was somewhat bewildered, but more than anything, she was happy.

Because of Hashirama Senju, Mito did not share the hostility toward the Uchiha that others in the Uzumaki and Senju Clans felt, even though Madara Uchiha had played a part in Hashirama's death.

Yet even on his deathbed, Hashirama had felt he was the one who had wronged Madara. As a bystander, how could Mito not know that Tobirama Senju had driven Madara away?

If blame had to be assigned, Tobirama might well have been the culprit.

Even Tobirama had once said that, as comrades-in-arms, the Uchiha were more dependable than anyone.

Kagami Uchiha had clearly been one of those trustworthy Uchiha. Would Uchiha Yi be the next?

Mito looked deeply at Kushina. She had originally intended for Kushina to become the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, which would also offer her a kind of protection. But if she did, Kushina clearly should not have too much contact with the Uchiha Clan.

Yet could she keep Kushina away from Uchiha Yi and Uchiha Mikoto?

Clearly not!

Kushina had finally made friends. Perhaps Mito needed to find an opportunity to meet Uchiha Yi.

Only after Kushina finished did Mito comfort her with a loving expression. "Your big sister Tsunade and big brother Nawaki will be back from the Daimyo's Residence in a few days. You can spend more time with them. If anything happens in the future, you can tell Tsunade."

"Big sister Tsunade?" Kushina hesitated. She had never met either of them. Though they were relatives—Mito was her great-aunt, making Tsunade and Nawaki her cousins—they had never met, and Kushina still felt nervous.

"Yes. Kushina, starting today, we'll practice Sealing Jutsu for two hours every evening!" Mito continued. "You don't want to need someone else to rescue you when you go out on missions someday, do you?"

Kushina thought of her parents entrusting her to Kagami Uchiha and the others, then of Kagami staying behind to cover their retreat. Determination filled her chubby little face as she nodded.

"Huff, huff, huff!" Elsewhere, Uchiha Yi panted heavily, but his gaze remained fixed on the Second Elder, Yohei Uchiha, not far away.

His One-Tomoe Sharingan stayed locked on Yohei, while the Chakra in his body was almost exhausted.

Across from him, Yohei folded his arms and assessed him. "You have excellent talent. As expected of someone who awakened the Sharingan so early.

"In overall strength, you're already stronger than an ordinary Genin, but you still lack experience."

After a pause, Yohei added, "But don't get too proud. At your age, Madara Uchiha hadn't awakened his Sharingan yet, but he was still stronger than you. He started killing at three."

Yi was speechless. Yohei really was a man from the Warring States era. Having fought alongside Madara, he had combat experience that ordinary ninjas could not match.

Still, comparing Yi to Madara gave him far too much credit.

Even though Yi now possessed Indra's Chakra, he could hardly claim his talent matched Madara's, let alone surpassed it.

Madara Uchiha had fought from birth until death.

Although Kaguya Ōtsutsuki was the final villain of Naruto, she could not match the sheer pressure Madara inspired.

What Yi did not know was that Yohei was staring at him in astonishment. Yi had only a One-Tomoe Sharingan, yet its Eye Power felt no weaker than that of a Two-Tomoe Sharingan.

Yohei had once trained Kagami and could clearly sense that Yi's Eye Power surpassed his. The discovery excited him even more.

Yi's potential exceeded even Kagami's. Perhaps one day, he could awaken those eyes.

But Yohei could not say so yet. Yi must not grow arrogant, and there was also the danger that others might target him.

Like Yi, Yohei suspected the Clan Leader and Shimura Danzō, but there was nothing he could do.

He was the Uchiha Clan's Second Elder and leader of the Dove Faction, but in the end, he was only an Elite Jōnin. With age and his lingering injuries, he might not even be as strong as one anymore.

He could do nothing. From here on, Yi would have to rely on himself.

"I still have a lot to learn." Yi gave a self-deprecating smile. He could not even beat the Gatekeeper in the Battle Space, and he found that humiliating.

"Good. I'm glad you understand." Seeing Yi's attitude, Yohei nodded with satisfaction. "From now on, come train with me every day after school. You still have a lot to learn, especially about using the Sharingan."

"Yes. Sorry for the trouble, Second Elder!" Yi said gratefully.

Whatever Yohei's current strength, he was a veteran forged on the battlefield. Yi had a great deal to learn from him.

That was the difference between Uchiha Yi and Sasuke Uchiha. Yi had a complete system to learn from, while Sasuke had been left to figure things out on his own.

Kakashi of the Sharingan might have been famous, but when it came to using the Sharingan, he was only a novice.

Over the next month, Yi kept up his daily classes, ate lunch with Kushina Uzumaki and Uchiha Mikoto, and trained under Yohei each evening. He could feel his strength improving by leaps and bounds.

If Yi had another chance to challenge the Gatekeeper, he might not lose.

As for the other two Jonin, Yi had no intention of challenging them yet.

Finally, one day, after Yi finished training at Yohei's house, the Battle Space refreshed.