Mito Uzumaki and Kushina Uzumaki

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

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

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

There were several truly kind people in the Uchiha Clan? Mito was somewhat puzzled, but more than anything, she was glad.

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

Yet even on his deathbed, Hashirama had felt that he was the one who had wronged Madara. As someone who had watched it all unfold, 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, the Uchiha were more dependable than anyone.

Kagami Uchiha was clearly one of those Uchiha worth trusting. Would Uchiha Yi be another?

Mito gazed thoughtfully at Kushina. She had originally intended for Kushina to become the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, which would also serve as a form of protection. But if that happened, Kushina could not have too much contact with the Uchiha Clan.

Yet could she really 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.

When Kushina finished, Mito comforted her with a loving smile. "Your older cousins Tsunade and Nawaki will be back from the Daimyo's Residence in a few days. You can spend more time with them. If anything comes up, you can talk to Tsunade."

"Tsunade?" Kushina hesitated. She had never met either of them. They were relatives—Mito was her great-aunt, and Tsunade and Nawaki were indeed her cousins—but they had never met, and Kushina still felt uneasy.

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

Kushina remembered her parents leaving her in Kagami Uchiha's care, then remembered Kagami staying behind to cover her escape. Her round little face filled with resolve as she nodded.

"Hah... hah..." Elsewhere, Uchiha Yi panted heavily, his determined gaze fixed on Second Elder Yohei Uchiha a short distance away.

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

Yohei stood opposite him with his arms crossed and offered his assessment. "You have excellent talent. No wonder you awakened the Sharingan earlier than anyone else.

"In overall strength, you're already stronger than an ordinary Genin, but you're still a little short on experience."

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

Yi was speechless. Yohei had lived through the Warring States era and fought alongside Madara. His Battle Experience was far beyond that of an ordinary Ninja.

Still, comparing him to Madara was giving him far too much credit.

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

Madara Uchiha had been fighting and killing from birth until death.

Though Kaguya Ōtsutsuki was the final villain of Naruto, she did not inspire the same sense of dread as Madara.

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

Yohei had once taught Kagami Uchiha, and he could clearly sense that Yi's Eye Power surpassed Kagami's. The discovery filled him with excitement.

Yi had even greater potential than Kagami. Perhaps one day he could awaken those eyes.

But Yohei could not say so yet. He could not let Yi grow arrogant, and he also had to worry about others targeting the boy.

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

He might be the Uchiha Clan's Second Elder and the leader of the Dove Faction, but he was ultimately only an Elite Jōnin. With age and his lingering injuries, he was probably no longer even as strong as one.

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. The thought was humiliating.

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

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

Whatever Yohei's current strength, he had survived battlefields. There was so much Yi could learn from him.

That was the difference between Uchiha Yi and Sasuke Uchiha. Yi had a complete system of instruction, 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 classes, ate lunch with Kushina and Mikoto, and trained under Yohei every evening. He could feel his strength improving before his eyes.

Given another chance to challenge the Gatekeeper, Yi might not lose.

As for the other two Jonin, he had no plans to challenge them for now.

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