Each with his own agenda

Anyone who could awaken the Three-Tomoe Sharingan could be considered a pillar of the Uchiha Clan.

If he could find a way to win over Obito Uchiha and bring him into the Hokage's own faction, the boy would surely become a powerful asset to him in the future.

Having made up his mind, Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped his desk and called softly, "Someone, come in!"

The moment he spoke, a ninja wearing a silver vest slipped through the window and dropped to one knee before his desk.

"Lord Hokage, what are your orders?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "That boy named Obito Uchiha-go fetch his records for me."

"Yes, Lord Hokage!" the ninja answered with a nod. In a flash, he vanished from the room.

About ten minutes later, the Silver Vest Ninja returned and handed Hiruzen Sarutobi a file.

"Lord Hokage! Both of Obito Uchiha's parents are deceased. They died on the battlefield, and his grandmother is his only remaining immediate family."

"Also, Shisui Uchiha is Obito Uchiha's younger cousin."

"Shisui?" A flicker of surprise crossed Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had never paid much attention to Obito, but he was quite familiar with Shisui.

Shisui was a descendant of Kagami Uchiha.

Kagami Uchiha had once served as a guard to the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, and he had also been Hiruzen Sarutobi's teammate for many years.

Relations between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha had been strained for years.

Back then, Kagami Uchiha had served as a bridge between Konoha and the Uchiha.

Kagami Uchiha had mediated between the two sides, easing their tensions and keeping their relationship from deteriorating.

But Kagami Uchiha had died alongside Tobirama Senju in the shinobi war.

Since then, no one like Kagami Uchiha had emerged from the Uchiha Clan to ease relations between the two sides.

In recent years, the Uchiha Clan's control of Konoha's Military Police Force had led to all sorts of frequent disputes with the village's other clans and residents.

As those conflicts intensified, relations between the Uchiha and Konoha grew worse and worse.

Deep down, the Third Hokage did not want to see this happen.

No matter what, the Uchiha Clan was still part of Konoha and should not have been isolated like this.

But some things were beyond even the Third Hokage's control.

He could not control the villagers' feelings.

Still less could he dictate how the Uchiha Clan's Konoha Military Police Force handled its affairs.

"If I nurture this boy Obito properly, perhaps he could become a great asset to me in the future, just like Kagami."

Hiruzen Sarutobi stroked his chin, secretly pleased with himself for coming up with such a brilliant plan.

He also read through Obito Uchiha's file in detail.

Most of it described Obito as the dead last at school and noted that his classmates did not like him much.

Admittedly, Obito's sudden awakening of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan was surprising, even hard to believe.

But with his outstanding strength, Obito had already become a highly desirable prospect in the Third Hokage's eyes.

The Third Hokage had no desire to dwell on those minor flaws.

At worst, he could simply ask Obito about the details later.

"Have someone keep a close watch on this boy Obito. Once the school's graduation examination is over, assign him to Minato's team."

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave the order to the Anbu ninja before him.

Minato was Jiraiya's student, which made him Hiruzen's grandstudent.

By placing Obito under Minato, he would naturally make the boy a ninja of the Hokage's faction.

Later, he could bring Obito to his side, whether to serve as a guard or as a bridge between the Uchiha and Konoha.

In short, when the time came, everything would be perfectly legitimate.

The Anbu ninja nodded. "Lord Hokage! Rest assured, I'll make the arrangements."

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved a hand. "All right, that's everything. You may go."

The Shimura Clan residence.

In a spacious, luxurious courtyard residence, Shimura Danzō sat in the main hall, cradling a teacup in both hands as he slowly savored the fine tea within.

Before long, hurried footsteps sounded in the corridor outside, accompanied by a young voice:

"Uncle Danzo! Are you there?"

Before he even saw the visitor, the sound of that voice had already brought a smile to Shimura Danzō's face.

"Ah, Baoguo. What brings you here today?"

Danzo had once had a son whom he dearly loved, but sadly, his son had died on the battlefield during the war.

Fortunately, the Shimura Clan now had a nephew like Baoguo.

Although Baoguo was still young and had yet to graduate from the Ninja Academy, he showed promise.

He excelled in every area, and Danzo was very pleased with this nephew of his.

Soon, Baoguo hurried into the room.

When Danzo saw Baoguo's bruised face, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. "What happened, Baoguo? Who were you fighting?"

Looking aggrieved, Baoguo complained to Danzo, "Uncle Danzo, don't even ask. It was all that guy Obito Uchiha's fault. He beat me up! You have to send someone to teach him a lesson."

"Obito Uchiha? Who is that?" Danzo asked in confusion.

Seething with indignation, Baoguo gave him a rough account of what had happened that afternoon at the School Playground.

He embellished the story along the way, saying all sorts of nasty things about Obito.

Those included the rumors about Obito peeping at the Women's Bathhouse, and about him not bathing for three months...

But the more Shimura Danzō heard, the more astonished he became.

His attention was not on how Baoguo had been beaten or bullied by Obito.

It was on the fact that Obito had awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan at just eight or nine years old.

Like the Third Hokage, Danzo began thinking about winning Obito over.

"Baoguo, are you sure you're not lying to me?" Danzo asked.

Baoguo nodded. "Of course I'm not, Uncle Danzo. You have to teach Obito a lesson. Give him a good beating!"

Danzo shook his head. "Beating him is out of the question. Baoguo, a man who wants to achieve great things must not get hung up on trifles."

For Obito to awaken the Three-Tomoe Sharingan at such a young age, his future potential had to be limitless.

That old fellow Hiruzen Sarutobi already had plenty of outstanding ninja around him.

No matter what, he had to get to this boy Obito Uchiha first and recruit him into Root.

Tears streamed down Baoguo's face. "Uncle Danzo, what do you mean? You won't help me anymore? Don't you love me anymore?"

Danzo patted his shoulder and comforted him. "Baoguo, just put up with this for now. Who knows? You might even have a chance to work together in Root someday."

"Uncle Danzo, I hate you! Boo-hoo!" Baoguo burst into loud sobs and stormed out of the room.

"That boy..." Danzo shook his head helplessly, then tapped the tea table and called softly, "Someone, come in!"

Outside, two figures appeared in quick succession, both dropping to one knee before Danzo.

"Lord Danzo! What are your orders?"