Mito Uzumaki's Test

Ever since he had absorbed Indra's Chakra, Uchiha Yi had felt his own Chakra grow increasingly cold and dark. Absorbing Nawaki's physical traits 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 do it, there was no reason Mito couldn't.

Fortunately, Uchiha Yi still had only the Two-Tomoe Sharingan. If he had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, he couldn't help wondering whether Mito Uzumaki would have struck him dead the moment he set foot in the Senju Clan Grounds.

Madara Uchiha had left far too deep a shadow over Konoha.

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

Uchiha Yi and Uchiha Mikoto followed Kushina Uzumaki all the way to the Senju Clan Grounds. Near Mito Uzumaki's residence, Yi could clearly sense a large number of Anbu watching the area.

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

That made sense. Mito Uzumaki 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, he might not even be able to hold on to his position as Third Hokage.

The three of them made their way to the Back Garden and met the woman who had become almost a legend.

In many people's eyes, Mito Uzumaki, who commanded the power of the Nine-Tails, was the strongest ninja of this era.

Tsunade sat beside Mito Uzumaki, leafing through a scroll with a helpless look on her face. When she saw Yi and the others arrive, she couldn't help rolling her eyes before returning to the scroll.

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

"Yes, yes. Have a seat!" At the sight of Uchiha Yi, Mito Uzumaki's eyes went briefly unfocused. She wondered if they were playing tricks on her.

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

That gave Mito Uzumaki pause. The two had almost nothing in common. It wasn't that she looked down on Nawaki, but he simply wasn't in Madara Uchiha's league.

If Nawaki had even a tenth of Madara Uchiha's strength, she could die happy.

Mito Uzumaki soon realized why she'd made the connection: she had probably mistaken a resemblance to Hashirama for one to Nawaki. Looking more closely, she could sense that Uchiha Yi's life force was indeed stronger than Nawaki's. It fell well short of Hashirama's, of course, but it was far more abundant than an Uchiha's.

After sensing him more carefully, Mito Uzumaki relaxed. Uchiha Yi's demeanor was utterly different from Madara Uchiha's. She had been worrying for nothing. If anything, she felt a natural affinity for Yi.

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

It had been as though she'd stolen the person he loved.

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

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

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

"I asked you here today partly to thank you for looking after Kushina. It's thanks to your care that she settled into Konoha so quickly." Mito Uzumaki glanced at Kushina Uzumaki with affection.

"We only did what we should. Since Kushina has come to Konoha, she's one of us. Besides, she's my friend now," Uchiha Yi told Mito Uzumaki earnestly.

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

"Mm." Mito Uzumaki nodded in approval. She glanced at Tsunade beside her, then fixed her gaze on Uchiha Yi. "What do you think of the relationship between Konoha and the Uchiha?"

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

Even so, he answered, "A clan and a Ninja Village should support each other. The village offers the clan a measure of protection and safeguards its members. In turn, clan members are also members of the village and have a duty to protect it.

"As long as the village doesn't betray the clan, the clan has a duty to defend the village."

Uchiha Yi didn't believe he could lie to Mito Uzumaki, so he told her what he honestly thought.

Of course, he had left himself an escape clause: if the village betrayed the clan, they would rise up and resist.

Considering what happened to the Uchiha later on, with Shimura Danzō working so hard to destroy them, Yi might as well hang himself if he refused to fight back.

Uchiha Yi still remembered that Danzo had gotten Shisui Uchiha killed!

If I get the chance, I'll take Danzo down first. Whatever the truth is, he could well have had a hand in Kagami Uchiha's death.

Mito Uzumaki nodded slightly. She heard no trace of falsehood in Uchiha Yi's words. Nor did the condition he had attached trouble her. The village would never go so far as to betray the Uchiha. Surely no fool would actually try to wipe them out?

A little pressure and division were normal enough, but that hardly counted as betrayal.

"What do you think of the Hokage?" Mito Uzumaki asked next, continuing her test.

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

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

Mito Uzumaki nodded with satisfaction. Whatever Uchiha Yi chose to do in the future, he would seek to earn everyone's recognition. That was enough for her.

He was no lone tyrant like Madara Uchiha.

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

"If I were Hokage, I'd crush every enemy in my path. Anyone who threatened Konoha's safety and stability would be my enemy, whether they were family or friend."