Kushina Uzumaki

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

"He has to live in the sunlight."

Even without that reason, Hiruzen Sarutobi suspected Kagami Uchiha's eyes might be in Danzo's hands. There was no way he would hand Uchiha Yi over 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 Sarutobi nodded without committing himself. There were almost no members of the Uchiha Clan in the Anbu, but Kagami Uchiha had once been an Anbu captain.

If Uchiha Yi met his expectations, joining the Anbu would not be a problem. He could even let Yi bring some Uchiha members with him, boosting Yi's standing within the clan.

But it was still too early to talk about that.

"Why not have Orochimaru take Yi as his disciple?" Utatane Koharu suggested, as if something had just occurred to her.

At this point, Orochimaru was the kind of disciple anyone would envy. Hiruzen Sarutobi and Utatane 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 disciple, Yi would remain part of the Hokage Lineage. It would both protect him and draw him closer.

Of course, no one was considering grooming Uchiha Yi to become Hokage. Hiruzen Sarutobi still considered himself young and expected to remain in office for at least another twenty years. Yi would not be particularly old by then, either.

No one knew what Uchiha Yi would become, but until the issue with the Uchiha Clan was resolved, there could be no Uchiha Hokage.

"Tsunade would work too," Mitokado Homura proposed with a frown.

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

Tsunade was Hashirama Senju's granddaughter. She held no prejudice against the Uchiha Clan and was Hiruzen Sarutobi's disciple. Having her take Uchiha Yi as a disciple would give him protection while also irritating the Uchiha Clan and deepening its internal divisions.

The Uchiha Clan's greatest young talent, apprenticed to a Senju. How would the clan stomach that?

As for what Uchiha Yi wanted, did it matter? Not as far as Mitokado Homura was concerned.

For the Hokage Lineage, it was the choice that offered the most for the least.

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

"Even if Uchiha Yi wants to graduate early, he'll have to spend at least two years at the Ninja Academy. Otherwise, I won't approve his early graduation."

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

He just wants another two years to observe and indoctrinate Yi, doesn't he? Once Yi becomes a useful tool, then he'll decide what to do with him.

With that thought, Danzo closed his eyes. He knew now that he would not be able to get Uchiha Yi into his hands.

"But shouldn't you observe that girl a little longer?" Utatane Koharu asked, worry in her voice. "She's going to become the Nine-Tails' vessel. 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 Sarutobi 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 Uzumaki while she was at Mito Uzumaki's side.

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

At Hiruzen Sarutobi'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 the classroom with a little girl of about five or six who had red hair.

Her arrival quickly drew plenty of attention.

Although the Land of Whirlpools and Konoha were allies, members of the Uzumaki Clan rarely came to Konoha. Mito Uzumaki kept herself confined to her home, and ordinary people in Konoha had almost never seen an Uzumaki. For most of them, it was their first time seeing someone with red hair.

Even Uchiha Yi had never seen one before.

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

Ever since he had discovered that he and Minato Namikaze were in the same class, Uchiha Yi had expected Kushina Uzumaki to become his classmate someday.

But Uchiha Yi had no intention of approaching her.

Kushina Uzumaki was cute, and becoming friends with her would bring enormous benefits.

But I'm 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 to get close to the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki?

It was not a question of whether Hiruzen trusted Uchiha Yi. Human nature could not withstand that kind of test.

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

As for why Uchiha Mikoto had been able to become close friends with Kushina Uzumaki in the original story, Uchiha Yi could not make sense of it yet.

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

Yet the two had not only met; they had become close friends.

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

After entering the classroom, Kushina Uzumaki kept scanning the room as though looking for someone. At last, her gaze settled on the back row, and her eyes lit up.