Seeds

It was not just the Hyuga Clan. None of the great clans that had joined Konoha seemed to have made much progress since arriving. They simply guarded their own little domains, passing down their legacies without ever thinking of developing them further. That included the Uchiha Clan.

To Madara Uchiha, these clans were all foolish. Hashirama had founded the village to bring everyone together, but in practice, Konoha was merely an alliance of clans. How could they possibly call themselves one family? With the clans stagnating and the village's factions so sharply divided, it was little wonder that Konoha, once the strongest village, had now been overtaken by Kumogakure and Iwagakure.

Madara Uchiha was not a member of the Hyuga Clan, but his knowledge was vast and his perspective far-reaching. How many people alive could rival his understanding of ninjutsu and his combat experience? The seemingly innocent questions he posed through seven-year-old Uchiha Itachi's body were, in truth, his way of pointing Hayato Hyuga toward a clear path forward.

After hearing Madara Uchiha's second, blunt reminder, even Kazuhiko Sarutobi, who had been defending the Hyuga Clan, fell silent.

Besides Gentle Fist, the Hyuga Clan had powerful, advanced Secret Techniques such as Rotation and Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists. These were the true foundation of the clan's strength. Unfortunately, branch family members were forbidden from learning them. The Main Family not only restricted the branch family's freedom with the Caged Bird Seal, but also limited their strength through its monopoly on ninjutsu.

"Hmph, what do you know? I might not be from the Main Family, but I have a very powerful teacher. With him teaching me, there's no reason I can't learn the Hyuga Clan's advanced Secret Techniques. My teacher is Lord Hizashi, the younger brother of Hiashi, the head of the Hyuga Clan. As long as I train hard, I'll learn Rotation and all those other techniques too!"

Faced with Madara Uchiha's second suggestion, Hayato Hyuga firmly rejected him again. After all, he was only twelve. Throughout his upbringing, he had been taught that the Hyuga Clan's Secret Techniques were the strongest. That belief had been drilled into him from beginning to end. Abandoning his powerful clan to walk a path no one had ever successfully traveled, all because of a seven-year-old's suggestion, seemed absurd no matter how he looked at it.

Unlike Hayato, Kazuhiko Sarutobi actually found himself agreeing somewhat with Madara Uchiha after hearing what he had to say.

For one thing, as an experienced jōnin, Kazuhiko Sarutobi had seen many different ninjutsu. The Hyuga Clan's techniques were certainly powerful, but they also had their flaws. Kazuhiko had once wondered, for example, why anyone who could land all sixty-four strikes of the Hyuga Clan's Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms did not simply slit their opponent's throat with a kunai instead. A great clan with centuries of history might have its traditional techniques, but that did not make those techniques perfect. Geniuses capable of improving them were simply rare.

For another, even if Hayato Hyuga's teacher was Lord Hizashi of the Hyuga Clan, the branch family was still the branch family. After Lord Hizashi had been separated from Lord Hiashi into the branch family, he was nothing more than a branch family member himself. Even if he truly knew Rotation and the clan's other Secret Techniques, would he really dare teach those Main Family techniques to Hayato?

Unlike the young and inexperienced Hayato, Kazuhiko Sarutobi was pessimistic about that prospect.

Rather than hoping Hizashi would teach Hayato the Hyuga Clan's Secret Techniques, Kazuhiko thought it would be better for Hayato to learn other ninjutsu. As for Madara's suggestion that Hayato develop a new use for the Byakugan himself, that was something even Kazuhiko dared not dream of. He did not believe Madara Uchiha could accomplish it either. No matter how outstanding Madara appeared, he was still only seven. Forging a new path required more than talent; it also demanded an immense wealth of experience.

"All right, enough arguing. Whatever you decide to do in the future, Hayato, you still need a solid foundation. You can't even walk on water, which shows just how poor your chakra control is. How about this? Itachi, teach Hayato how to control chakra in the soles of his feet and climb trees."

With the talent and temperament Hayato had shown so far, he would surely have had a brighter future if he had belonged to the Main Family. Kazuhiko sighed inwardly and changed the subject. Whatever else happened, he should first help Hayato shore up his weaknesses. When their four-man ninja squad had crossed the river after wiping out the bandits, Sosuke and Madara Uchiha had already learned to walk on water. Only Hayato had still needed Kazuhiko to carry him across, so Kazuhiko had long since decided to strengthen his foundations. Earlier, with the shadow of Orochimaru's appearance hanging over them, he had not dared linger anywhere in the Land of Rice Fields. Now that they were finally nearing the Land of Fire, he had some room to relax.

Seeing Madara Uchiha strike up a conversation with Hayato Hyuga for once, Kazuhiko wanted to take advantage of the opportunity and have Madara teach him, while also helping his subordinates grow closer.

"Chakra control is simple enough. You can teach him yourself, Sensei. I'm not interested."

Madara Uchiha had never expected Hayato Hyuga to defy his clan, abandon Gentle Fist, and follow the path he suggested just because of a few words. He had spoken to Hayato to plant a seed in his heart. Now that the seed had been planted, Madara did not mind waiting for it to take root and sprout. As for teaching Hayato chakra control, he would leave that to Kazuhiko. Madara had no desire to guide another foolish student through every step.

"Uchiha Itachi, just you wait! I'll defeat you someday!"

Hayato Hyuga roared again as he watched Madara Uchiha walk away without looking back. Kazuhiko Sarutobi awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. To him, Madara Uchiha's thoughts were truly impossible to fathom.

While Kazuhiko taught Hayato along the way, Madara Uchiha and the others made it safely back to Konoha. Upon their return, they first had to undergo questioning by the ninja on guard duty. Once that was over, Kazuhiko arranged to treat Hayato, Madara, and the others to a feast. Naturally, Madara could hardly refuse. While they were eating, several members of the Uchiha Clan's Hardliners spotted him dining with Kazuhiko and the others.

"Itachi, you've been serving under Kazuhiko Sarutobi lately, haven't you? You seem pretty happy hanging around those people from the Sarutobi Clan, the Hyuga Clan, and the Aburame Clan. Do you still remember that you're one of us, a member of the Uchiha Clan?"

After finishing the Yakiniku, Madara Uchiha entered the Uchiha Clan's district. Three teenage boys from the clan cornered him in an alley and began berating him.