Uchiha geniuses never obey

The smell of smoke hung in the Hokage's office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his broad desk, holding a report with his brow furrowed.

The desk was piled with official business waiting to be handled. This was the Hokage's daily routine.

He rubbed his temples, then took another couple of puffs on his pipe. These days, it wasn't a pleasure-it was what kept him going.

"Come in," he said without looking up.

The door opened, and an Anbu Ninja wearing an animal mask slipped inside and dropped to one knee.

"Lord Hokage."

"Go ahead." Hiruzen Sarutobi put down the report. "Any developments with the Uchiha?"

"Yes." The Anbu's voice was flat. "The Ninja Academy's first practical assessment has concluded. The Uchiha Clan's new generation... performed exceptionally."

"Exceptionally?" Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his eyes. "In what way?"

"Obito Uchiha, first-year Class A, defeated Aoki Uchiha in the Taijutsu assessment. Aoki's father is a Jonin, and he has received systematic training since childhood."

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "Obito? That... boy who's always late?"

"Yes. But in this assessment, he used an entirely new defensive Taijutsu technique. He took Aoki's full-powered strike head-on, then counterattacked to win."

"A new Taijutsu technique?" Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and took another puff.

"What else?"

"There is also Uchiha Makoto," the Anbu said. "First-year Class A. He scored eighty on the theory assessment and defeated his opponent easily in the practical assessment."

Many people agreed that he was the strongest prodigy in the first year.

The office fell silent for a few seconds.

Only the faint crackle of burning tobacco in the pipe remained.

"Uchiha Makoto..." Hiruzen Sarutobi repeated the name. "How talented is he really?"

"From what we have seen, very," the Anbu answered. "He has yet to meet his match in combat. His Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and tactical awareness far surpass those of his peers. But..."

"But what?"

"He has yet to reach the level Uchiha Fugaku displayed at his age."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded.

Not on Fugaku's level. That was a relief.

One genius like Fugaku per generation was enough.

With two, Konoha might struggle to cope.

"Keep watching," he said. "Uchiha Makoto in particular. Report once a week."

"Yes."

The Anbu saluted and prepared to leave.

"Wait." Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped him. "Find out who taught Obito Uchiha that 'self-created Taijutsu.'"

"We are already investigating. Our preliminary assessment suggests it may be connected to Uchiha Makoto. The two have been spending a great deal of time together lately."

"Uchiha Makoto..." Hiruzen Sarutobi repeated the name again. "All right. Go."

The Anbu vanished.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was alone in the office again, with that never-ending pile of paperwork.

He picked up his pipe and had barely taken a puff when the door opened again.

This time, there was no knock.

Hiruzen Sarutobi knew who it was without looking.

In all of Konoha, only one person dared enter the Hokage's office without knocking.

"Danzo." He didn't look up. "Remember to knock next time."

"A waste of time." Shimura Danzō walked in with his cane. Half his face was wrapped in bandages, and his exposed eye was as sharp as a hawk's. "I hear the Uchiha have produced more prodigies?"

"You certainly hear things quickly," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

"I have people in the Anbu," Danzo said as though it were perfectly natural. "Obito Uchiha and Uchiha Makoto. Two six-year-old boys. One apparently creates his own Taijutsu, and the other makes opponents injure their own feet when they kick him.

"Hiruzen, don't you think that's dangerous?"

"What's dangerous about it?" Hiruzen Sarutobi put down his pipe. "They're just two children."

"Children?" Danzo sneered. "Uchiha children, already capable of this at six. What happens when they're sixteen? Twenty-six? Who in Konoha will be able to keep them in check then?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't answer.

He knew what Danzo was getting at.

Danzo had been repeating the same arguments for years.

"The Uchiha Clan's previous generation has Fugaku, Yashiro, Inabi, and a whole host of Jonin." Danzo walked to the window and looked toward the distant Uchiha Clan Compound. "And now suppose the new generation produces several more prodigies. Hiruzen, tell me, is that normal?"

"Konoha needs prodigies," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

"What Konoha needs is obedient prodigies." Danzo turned, fixing his lone eye on him. "Uchiha geniuses never obey."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was silent for a moment before asking a question in return.

"What do you propose, then?"

"Control," Danzo said. "Talented Uchiha must either be snuffed out before they develop or placed in our hands. I recommend the latter. Have them join Root."

Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed. "Danzo, do you think the Uchiha would agree?"

"We don't need their agreement. We only need them to 'volunteer.'"

"How would they volunteer? Through genjutsu? Drugs? Or threats against their families?" Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice turned cold. "Danzo, this is Konoha, not your Root."

"Then what do you suggest?" Danzo countered. "Let them grow unchecked? Wait until they're too strong for us to control, then regret it?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi said nothing.

He picked up his pipe and took one puff, then another.

His face grew indistinct amid the curling smoke.

"Danzo," he said at last. "Do you know what kind of situation Konoha is in right now?"

Danzo didn't answer.

"The First died, Madara Uchiha defected, and the Second died in battle as well."

"It's only been a few years since the Second Shinobi World War. Konoha is no longer the village that once kept the Four Great Nations cowed."

"Kumogakure is stirring at the border. Iwagakure, Sunagakure, Kirigakure-which of them isn't watching for an opening?"

"We're still fighting other shinobi villages. We cannot afford internal strife, not even the slightest bit."

"So you'll let the Uchiha grow unchecked?" Danzo asked.

"That's not what I'm doing," Hiruzen Sarutobi said. "I'm buying time. Konoha needs time to recover, and it needs the next generation to grow. They are all Konoha's future. Our job is not to control them, but to guide them."

"Guide them?" Danzo scoffed. "Hiruzen, you're too naive. Betrayal runs in the Uchiha blood. The Second said so himself."

"The Second also said that the Uchiha were part of Konoha." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at him. "Danzo, don't forget that Kagami Uchiha was your teammate, and mine as well. He died fighting for Konoha."

Danzo fell silent.

Something flickered in his lone eye.

"Kagami was an exception," he said at last.

The two stared at each other.

The air was thick with smoke, and something heavier still.

"I won't agree to it," Hiruzen Sarutobi said at last. "Let Uchiha Makoto and Obito grow up normally at school. The Anbu will watch them, but nothing more. Danzo, I will not allow you to act recklessly."

Danzo stared at him for a long time.

Then he smiled.

It was a cold, hard smile, like stone in winter.

"Hiruzen, you haven't changed," he said. "Indecisive. Softhearted. One day, you'll regret this."

With that, he turned and walked out with his cane.

He paused at the door.

"Oh, one more thing." He didn't turn around. "I'll send someone to make contact with that Uchiha Makoto. Just contact, nothing else. Surely that's acceptable?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi said nothing.

Danzo took his silence as consent.

The door closed.

The office fell quiet again.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in his chair, gazing out the window.

"Uchiha Makoto..."