"Mm." Obito nodded, then turned his gaze toward Kurenai Yuhi.
"Kurenai, I can't train with you today. Do you want to come hang out at the Hokage Office Building with me, or head home first?"
Kurenai Yuhi rolled her eyes and complained, "Obito, you're awfully carefree. Something this serious needs to be dealt with at the Hokage Office Building, and you call it hanging out...?"
A confident smile crossed Obito's face. "Of course. I'm sure this won't affect me. They won't do anything to me."
Kurenai Yuhi looked puzzled. "Why? Didn't Clan Head Fugaku just say that man named Danzo was hard to deal with?"
"That's a secret for now." Obito smiled mysteriously and followed Fugaku toward the intersection ahead.
Obito naturally knew Danzo was hard to deal with.
Not only was he difficult, he was a sneaky old bastard.
But Obito was willing to bet that Hokoku Shimura had sent these three members of the Shimura Clan to cause trouble.
And Danzo didn't know about it yet.
Otherwise, why would Danzo have sent someone to bring Obito gifts just yesterday, hoping to recruit him into Root?
Wouldn't that contradict what he'd just done?
"Obito, stop keeping me in suspense. Hurry up and tell me why..."
Kurenai Yuhi pouted in frustration and hurried after Obito, pressing him for an answer.
"I'm not telling. You'll find out in a bit. Hehe..."
The three chatted as they walked and soon arrived at the foot of the Hokage Office Building.
Along the way, Fugaku had also tried to subtly sound Obito out about awakening his Sharingan.
But Obito brushed off every question with vague answers, and Fugaku didn't press him any further.
"Wait! Mr. Fugaku! What are you...?"
At the entrance to the stairway, two ninja guards stopped Obito's group.
"We have an urgent matter to discuss with Lord Third. Please let him know we're here."
Fugaku offered no further explanation. There was no point telling the guards about it.
"All right. Please wait a moment."
One of the ninja in green flak jackets agreed and jogged upstairs.
Before long, the ninja came running back down the stairs. "Mr. Fugaku! You can go up now."
"Mm. Obito, let's go." Fugaku nodded and headed upstairs first.
Obito and Kurenai exchanged a glance, then followed close behind.
The other two Uchiha clan members had a harder time of it.
They had to carry the three burly men from the Shimura Clan upstairs.
By now, all three men were awake. Their hands and feet were bound, and strips of cloth had even been stuffed into their mouths.
But all three struggled desperately, making them quite difficult to carry.
Fortunately, the two ninja guarding the entrance came over to help, and together they managed to haul all three men upstairs.
"Fugaku, what is all this...?"
On the second floor of the Hokage Office Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk, his eyes full of confusion as he watched the three men being carried in and dumped on the floor.
"Lord Third! These three men are all members of the Shimura Clan," Fugaku said truthfully.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked slightly taken aback. "Oh? What exactly happened? Tell me everything."
"Yes, Lord Third."
Fugaku nodded, then drew Obito to his side. "This is a member of our Uchiha Clan. His name is Obito Uchiha."
"Two days ago, Obito had a sparring match at school with a boy named Hokoku Shimura. However, that boy refused to accept his defeat..."
Following Kurenai Yuhi's earlier account, Fugaku explained the details to Hiruzen Sarutobi exactly as they had happened.
But from the moment Fugaku introduced Obito, Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze never left the boy as he studied him carefully.
So this little fellow is Obito Uchiha? Even Fugaku has come to put in a good word for him. It seems the Uchiha Clan has begun to take this boy seriously too...
Hiruzen Sarutobi mused to himself.
He knew perfectly well that, although Fugaku treated him with the utmost respect on the surface, things were different underneath.
The Uchiha Clan had suffered all sorts of oppression and restrictions in Konoha over the years.
Deep down, Fugaku had no desire to have much contact with him, the Hokage.
Hiruzen Sarutobi could even faintly sense the resentment Fugaku harbored toward him.
Yet now, Fugaku had come to the Hokage Office Building to speak on Obito's behalf.
That alone showed that Obito already held considerable importance in Fugaku's eyes.
It seems my earlier idea was right. I should nurture Obito properly and have him become a bridge between Konoha and the Uchiha Clan, just like Kagami. That's definitely the right course.
Hiruzen Sarutobi quietly made up his mind.
By then, Fugaku had more or less finished recounting the entire incident.
"Mm. I understand."
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, then turned his gaze back to Obito with a kindly smile.
"You're Obito, correct? I heard about you yesterday."
"Oh? Yesterday?" Obito feigned surprise.
But he already had a fairly good idea of what had happened.
Either an Anbu at the Ninja Academy had witnessed his match with Baoguo...
Or Liangtian had spilled the beans and told the Third Hokage about his awakened Sharingan.
After all, awakening the Three-Tomoe Sharingan was no small matter.
That much was obvious from the change in how everyone treated Obito after he awakened it.
Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and nodded. "Yes, Obito. You've done very well, and what happened today wasn't your fault."
As he spoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked toward the door and called out in a low, stern voice, "Someone, come in!"
A ninja guarding the door entered in his green flak jacket and bowed to Hiruzen Sarutobi. "Lord Third, what are your orders?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned. "Go find Danzo and bring him here. Tell him I need to see him! Oh, and bring his young nephew Baoguo along too."
"Yes, Lord Third!" The ninja in the green flak jacket nodded, then turned and jogged away.
"Fugaku, has everything been going well with the Konoha Military Police Force lately?" Hiruzen Sarutobi turned back to Uchiha Fugaku and asked with concern.
Fugaku rarely came to visit, so this was a good opportunity to bring them closer together.
"Lord Third, rest assured. Everything is running normally at the Konoha Military Police Force," Fugaku replied with a slight bow.
While the two discussed official business, Kurenai Yuhi tugged on Obito's arm and whispered:
"Obito, congratulations. Lord Third seems to think quite highly of you. It looks like he's going to stand up for you."
Obito chuckled. "I told you, didn't I? You could come hang out with me without worrying. Nothing was going to happen."
"You're so mean! You made me worry for nothing the whole way here, and you still won't tell me why." Kurenai Yuhi pouted again, looking playful and adorable.
Before you continue