Kushina Uzumaki

"Impossible!" Hiruzen Sarutobi rejected Danzo's suggestion without a second thought. "If Yi joins Root, how will he ever gain any influence in the Uchiha Clan?

"He needs to live out in the open."

Even without that reason, Hiruzen suspected Kagami Uchiha's eyes might be in Danzo's hands. He would never entrust Uchiha Yi to him.

"Sarutobi, once Yi graduates, find him a good teacher and assign him to the Anbu," Mitokado Homura suggested after a moment's thought.

Hiruzen gave a noncommittal nod. There were almost no Uchiha in the Anbu, but Kagami Uchiha had once been an Anbu commander.

If Uchiha Yi met his expectations, joining the Anbu would be no problem. Hiruzen might even let him bring a few Uchiha members along to raise his standing within the clan.

But it was still too early to discuss that.

"What if Orochimaru took Yi as his student?" Utatane Koharu proposed, as if something had just occurred to her.

At this stage, Orochimaru was the sort of student anyone would envy. Hiruzen and Koharu both thought highly of him. Though none of them had said it aloud, they believed he stood an excellent chance of becoming Hokage one day.

If Orochimaru took Uchiha Yi as his student, Yi would remain part of the Hokage's circle. It would protect him while drawing him closer to them.

Of course, none of them had considered grooming Uchiha Yi for the Hokage position. Hiruzen believed he was still young and would not step down for at least twenty years. By then, Yi would still be fairly young himself.

No one knew what Uchiha Yi might become. But until the problems with the Uchiha Clan were resolved, there could be no Uchiha Hokage.

"Tsunade could do it too," Mitokado Homura suggested with a frown.

Orochimaru was likely to become Hokage, which made him a less-than-ideal teacher for Uchiha Yi. In Homura's view, they could—and should—help Yi, but they must not get too close to him.

Tsunade was Hashirama Senju's granddaughter, held no prejudice against the Uchiha Clan, and was Hiruzen's student. Having her take Uchiha Yi as a student would give him protection while sticking it to the Uchiha Clan and deepening its internal divisions.

The Uchiha Clan's top young talent, studying under a Senju. Wouldn't that make them squirm?

As for what Uchiha Yi wanted, did it matter? To Homura, it certainly didn't.

And for the Hokage's faction, it was the choice that offered the most for the least.

Hiruzen gave Homura a long look before speaking. "We'll discuss that later. It's still too early.

"Even if Uchiha Yi graduates ahead of schedule, he must spend at least two years at the Ninja Academy. Otherwise, I won't approve it."

A flicker of disdain crossed Danzo's eyes. On the surface, Hiruzen seemed to be looking out for Uchiha Yi, but how much did he truly care?

In the end, he just wanted another two years to observe and indoctrinate Yi. Once the boy had grown into a suitable tool, he would decide what to do with him.

With that thought, Danzo closed his eyes. All he needed to know was that he could not get his hands on Uchiha Yi.

"But aren't you going to watch that girl more closely?" Koharu asked, worry in her voice. "She's going to become the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. She's only been in Konoha for three days. Isn't it too soon to send her straight to the Ninja Academy?"

"It's Lady Mito's wish. She wants Kushina to settle into Konoha more quickly." Hiruzen disagreed. The Ninja Academy was a better place for him to observe Kushina Uzumaki than Mito Uzumaki's home.

He did not have the nerve to watch Kushina while she was at Mito Uzumaki's side.

He might be Hokage, but even though Mito rarely left her home and was deliberately diminishing her own influence, Hiruzen still did not dare keep her under surveillance.

At Hiruzen's words, the others fell silent. Even Shimura Danzō did not dare openly defy Mito Uzumaki's wishes.

Just before class began, their homeroom teacher, Sarutobi Seiichiro, entered with a little girl of about five or six who had bright red hair.

The girl quickly drew plenty of attention.

Although the Land of Whirlpools and Konoha were allies, members of the Uzumaki Clan rarely came to Konoha, and Mito Uzumaki kept herself secluded at home. Ordinary Konoha residents had hardly ever seen an Uzumaki. For most of them, it was their first time seeing someone with red hair.

It was Uchiha Yi's first time, too.

Surprise flashed through Uchiha Yi's eyes when he saw her. Kushina Uzumaki?

Ever since he had discovered that he was in the same class as Minato Namikaze, Yi had expected to become Kushina Uzumaki's classmate someday.

But he had no intention of approaching her.

Kushina Uzumaki was adorable, and befriending her could bring him enormous benefits.

But he was an Uchiha!

Uchiha Yi might be Kagami Uchiha's son and an inheritor of the Will of Fire, but would Hiruzen Sarutobi allow an Uchiha near the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?

It was not a question of whether Hiruzen trusted Uchiha Yi. Human nature simply could not be put to that kind of test.

Forget Uchiha Yi—even Kagami Uchiha might not have been allowed near the Nine-Tails.

As for how Uchiha Mikoto and Kushina Uzumaki had become close friends in the original story, Yi could not make sense of it for now.

Their identities aside, Uchiha Mikoto was also two years older than Kushina Uzumaki.

Yet the two had not only met, but become close friends.

All Uchiha Yi could do for now was keep his distance from Kushina Uzumaki. Sometimes, though, the more you wanted to prevent something, the more likely it was to happen.

After entering the classroom, Kushina Uzumaki scanned it as though searching for someone. At last, her gaze settled on someone in the back row, and her eyes lit up.