Mito Uzumaki's Test

Ever since he had absorbed Indra's Chakra, Uchiha Yi had felt his own Chakra growing colder and darker. Absorbing Nawaki's constitution had helped, but his Chakra was still far colder than that of an ordinary Uchiha.

Mito Uzumaki could probably sense it too. If Karin could, there was no reason Mito couldn't.

Fortunately, Yi still had only the Two-Tomoe Sharingan. If he had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, he suspected Mito might have struck him dead the moment he set foot in the Senju Clan Grounds.

The shadow Madara Uchiha had cast over Konoha ran too deep.

Yi was certain that no matter how even-tempered Mito was, she would never allow a second Madara Uchiha to arise in Konoha.

Yi and Uchiha Mikoto followed Kushina Uzumaki to the Senju Clan Grounds. Near Mito's residence, Yi could clearly sense numerous Anbu watching the area.

Once they passed through the gate, however, that feeling of being watched vanished.

That made sense. Mito was not only the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki but also Hashirama Senju's wife. Unless Hiruzen Sarutobi had lost his mind, he would never dare spy on her. If word got out, even his position as Third Hokage would be in jeopardy.

The three of them made their way to the back garden and met the female ninja who had become almost a legend.

To many, Mito, who wielded the power of the Nine-Tails, was the strongest ninja of this era.

Tsunade sat beside Mito, leafing through a scroll with a helpless look on her face. When she saw Yi and the others arrive, she rolled her eyes, then went back to reading.

"Lady Mito!" Yi and Mikoto hurried forward and bowed.

"All right, all right! Have a seat." The sight of Yi left Mito momentarily dazed. She almost wondered whether her eyes were playing tricks on her.

She could see traces of both Madara Uchiha and Nawaki in him.

That gave Mito pause. Those two could hardly have been more different. It wasn't that she looked down on Nawaki, but he simply couldn't compare to Madara.

If Nawaki had even a tenth of Madara's strength, she could have died with a smile on her face.

Then Mito realized what must have happened: she had mistaken a trace of Hashirama for Nawaki. On closer inspection, Yi's vitality did surpass Nawaki's. It fell well short of Hashirama's, of course, but was far stronger than an Uchiha's.

As she took a closer look, Mito relaxed. Yi's temperament was nothing like Madara's. She had worried for nothing. If anything, she felt an instinctive closeness to Yi.

Nor did he harbor any ill intent. He was a kindhearted Uchiha by nature, unlike Madara. Even before Madara left Konoha, back when he and Hashirama were close, Mito had always sensed intense hostility from him.

It had been as though she had stolen the person Madara loved.

She had heard plenty about Yi before. Combined with what she could see for herself, it was enough to tell her he was a good child.

Mikoto was a gentle child too. These two were unlike the Uchiha she was used to. If every Uchiha became like them, Konoha would finally know peace.

"Yes!" Yi and Mikoto obediently sat down a short distance from Mito and waited for her to speak.

"I asked you here partly to thank you for looking after Kushina lately. Thanks to you, she's been able to settle into life in Konoha so quickly." Mito gave Kushina a loving glance.

"We only did what we should. Kushina is part of Konoha now that she lives here. Besides, she's my friend." Yi spoke to Mito with an earnest expression.

Whatever his relationship with Kushina might become in the future, they were good friends now.

"Mm." Mito nodded approvingly, glanced at Tsunade beside her, then fixed her gaze on Yi. "Tell me, what do you think the relationship between Konoha and the Uchiha should be?"

Yi froze. He hadn't expected Mito to ask him that. He wasn't even six years old!

Still, he answered, "A clan and a Ninja Village should support each other. The village shelters the clan and protects its members. In turn, the clan's members are part of the village and have a duty to protect it.

"As long as the village does not betray the clan, the clan has a duty to defend the village."

Yi did not believe he could lie to Mito's face, so he told her what he truly thought.

Of course, he had left himself an out: if the village betrayed the clan, the clan had the right to fight back.

After all, if the Uchiha were treated the way Shimura Danzō would treat them later, and they still refused to resist, Yi might as well hang himself.

Yi remembered that Shisui Uchiha would die because of Danzo's scheming!

If I get the chance, I'll take Danzo down first. Whatever the truth was, Danzo might well have had something to do with Kagami Uchiha's death.

Mito nodded slightly. She detected no falsehood in Yi's words. Nor did she see a problem with the condition he had attached. The village would never betray the Uchiha. Surely no fool would actually try to wipe them out?

A little suppression and division were normal, but that hardly amounted to betrayal.

"What do you think of the Hokage?" Mito continued her test.

Beside her, Tsunade pricked up her ears to hear Yi's answer.

"Becoming Hokage doesn't earn you everyone's recognition. You become Hokage because you've earned it. Some Uchiha have had that backward from the start."

Mito nodded with satisfaction. Whatever Yi did in the future, he would seek to earn everyone's recognition. That was enough.

He was no tyrant like Madara.

"If you became Hokage, what would you do?" Mito asked next.

"If I were Hokage, I would defeat every enemy that threatened us. Anyone who endangered Konoha's safety or stability would be my enemy, whether they were family or friend."