Mere ants

Neither of them had ever heard such lofty words before. They were the ultimate tool for showing off.

In their eyes, only the Uchiha Clan deserved to use such words.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Yan was happily weighing the scroll in his hand. A few casual words had earned him a ninjutsu, and with the one Fugaku had given him, he already had two.

That leaves just eight more to reach ten. If I go look through the documents at the Shrine, won't that complete the ten?

This deduction opportunity is hard to come by. I need to go back and think carefully about what to ask, and enter the plot and setting details I know, so I can try to get the result I want in a single deduction.

As soon as he returned to Fugaku's home, he saw Uchiha Itachi sitting at the entrance with Sasuke in his arms, entertaining him with a wooden kunai.

"Itachi, have you eaten?"

"Senior Yan, you're back!"

At the familiar voice, Uchiha Itachi's eyes lit up.

"Senior Yan, is Senior Kakashi really that amazing?"

"As a ninja, he's first-rate. As a person? He doesn't qualify yet!"

"Huh?"

Uchiha Itachi's head was full of questions. "What do you mean? Isn't Senior Kakashi human?"

"He has a human shell, but none of a human's spirit! Itachi, you mustn't learn from him."

"I don't understand!"

"Good! You're still young. You'll understand someday.

"Go get me some paper and a brush. I'll be leaving the village on a mission soon, so I need to write out the books you're going to read first.

"Once you've read them, you'll understand the difference between humans and beasts."

"All right! Senior, please watch Sasuke for me!"

Uchiha Yan stepped forward and took Sasuke into his arms, then returned to his room, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. So cute as a child. How did he grow up into such a show-off?

Yan felt neither dislike nor affection for the characters in Naruto. He had never truly taken part in their experiences, so how could he have any feelings for them?

Thus, neither Uchiha Itachi's massacre of his clan nor Naruto's miserable childhood stirred any sympathy or disgust in Yan.

This was also why Uchiha Yan was struggling to decide what to ask. He had no emotional attachment to the people of the Shinobi World, making the Sharingan path a difficult one to take.

Spending his limited deduction opportunities on the Sharingan would be an absolute waste.

Before long, Itachi came in carrying a huge armful of blank scrolls.

"Senior Yan, these are all the blank scrolls in the house. If they're not enough, I'll go buy more now."

After speaking, he took two more scrolls out of his clothes.

"Father asked me to give you these. He said they're the Phoenix Flower Jutsu and the training notes of the Uchiha successive clan leaders."

"That's enough! Thank the clan leader for me."

Looking at the scrolls piled higher than Itachi, Uchiha Yan waved his hands repeatedly.

"Itachi, tell the clan leader I'll be staying in my room writing books for the next few days. Let me know when the funeral starts."

"Senior, can I stay and watch?"

"Of course. I'm writing them for you to read anyway!"

"Thank you, Senior."

Uchiha Yan was in no hurry to take out the ninjutsu scrolls and train. Instead, he picked up a blank scroll and began writing a Confucian classic.

He slowly wrote two characters on the blank scroll: Great Learning.

The Way of the Great Learning...

He was putting so much effort into writing books for Uchiha Itachi not merely to reform the Uchiha. He also wanted to see whether cultivating the inner self could affect the Sharingan.

Negative emotions could awaken the Sharingan, while inner peace could balance negative emotions. Would that lessen the mental illness the Sharingan brought?

If it did, he would have no need to ask the Tianyan System how to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan. There were so many tailed beasts; he could simply find one and absorb its negative emotions, and perhaps awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.

While Uchiha Yan wrote furiously, the Uchiha Shrine was packed with Uchiha Chunin and above, with Fugaku seated at the head as clan leader.

"Rumors suddenly began circulating in the village today. Someone is presumably targeting the Uchiha. Tell me what we should do."

"Clan leader, arrest a few people and bring them back to the Konoha Military Police Force. That'll make them behave!"

"No! Some villagers are speaking up for us. If we arrest the wrong people, we'll lose more than we gain!"

"No again! Last night, when we suggested fighting our way out to save the Fourth Hokage, you opposed it. Now you're opposing this too.

"If we'd fought our way out yesterday, would the Fourth Hokage have died? Could so many Uchiha clansmen using their Sharingan to control the Nine-Tails really be inferior to a single traitor outside the village?

"You bear the main responsibility for the Fourth Hokage's death."

"How were we supposed to fight our way out? That was Root! Do you want to betray the village?"

"What do you mean, betray the village? The Uchiha founded Konoha. The Hokage position should have been ours!"

Bang!

Fugaku slammed his hand heavily on the table. "Arguing, arguing, arguing! You argue every day! I asked for solutions, not arguments.

"The Third Hokage has already clarified matters, but it hasn't been very effective. What would he think if we started arresting people without cause at a time like this?

"But if we leave it alone, things will only get worse. Sooner or later, even the villagers who trust the Uchiha now will be swayed."

"Clan leader, we only know how to kill people. How would we know what to do?"

"Exactly! We only made you clan leader because you're smart. Otherwise, you have three tomoe, and so do I. What makes you qualified to lead the clan?"

Uchiha Fugaku's head was starting to hurt. These fellows were brainless idiots. Discussing things with them was pure self-torture. They couldn't even compare to a child like Uchiha Yan.

Just as Uchiha Fugaku was about to activate his Sharingan to suppress them, an angry voice rang through the Shrine.

"The fallen cannot be forgiven! To think the mighty Uchiha would care about the words of ants. How sad and pitiful!"

"Well said, Xiaren! The Uchiha are a great clan with thousands of years of heritage. Why should we care what ants say?

"The flames of the Uchiha are meant to burn away all darkness in the Shinobi World, not to incinerate ants.

"You fallen ones have forgotten the Uchiha's glory and our ancestors' aspirations!"

"Jinyan, there's no need to say so much to them! They've either had their minds corrupted by power or become cowards who cling to life.

"We'll find whoever first spread the rumors ourselves, then send them to the Hokage Building for judgment.

"Do you still remember the duties of the Konoha Military Police Force?"

"Of course!"

At that, the two rose together and headed for the door. The lingering rays of the setting sun shone on them, lending them a touch of sanctity.

"We shall bring salvation to the people of the Shinobi World in the light! With blades in hand, we shall mete out judgment in all directions!"

Everyone stared blankly at their retreating backs. Since when did the Uchiha ancestors have such aspirations? Why didn't I know?

Damn, why do those two look so impressive? I'm a little jealous!

Fugaku was equally stunned. Where did those two learn those words? Could a person really come up with something like that? But they certainly sounded wonderful.

"Clan leader! They're going to investigate whoever is behind this. Should we stop them?"

"Why stop them? Everyone is on edge right now. These rumors must have been spread by spies from other ninja villages to damage relations between the Uchiha and Konoha.

"I'll go speak to the Third Hokage now. The rest of you, go help Xiaren and the others capture the spies immediately."

"Yes!"

"One more thing! Don't forget the Uchiha's glory. Ants aren't worthy of angering the Uchiha. Don't lay a hand on any ants other than the spies.

"If anyone ruins the Uchiha's glory, the Uchiha's flames will surely burn those fallen ones to ashes."

"Yes! Rest assured, clan leader. We're all Uchiha. We only strike at the strong!"

By the time they left, Uchiha Jinyan had already arrived at the Barbecue Restaurant and found someone badmouthing the Uchiha.