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"Obito, why are you interested in that kid?"
Under the silver moonlight, in the dimensional space above the Hokage Rock in Konoha, half of a pale face emerging from a Venus flytrap-like structure curiously looked at Obito.
He couldn't quite understand the meaning behind Obito's actions, but he didn't care—after all, even that black guy didn't fully grasp Obito's intentions.
"I'm not interested in him. He's just an ordinary person, slightly stronger than average, that's all." Obito shook his head.
Although White Zetsu was a bit foolish, these guys had accompanied him through his darkest moments, so he didn't mind chatting with them.
"What interests me is his teammate, Uchiha Shisui, and a new toy I've found."
"Didn't you call him a 'seed' last time?" The pale face asked in confusion.
However, upon seeing the look Obito gave him, he immediately waved his hand with a chuckle.
"Alright, alright, whether it's a toy or a seed, it doesn't really matter."
"Hmm." Obito withdrew his gaze and nodded decisively.
At that moment, the black half of the flytrap-like creature spoke. "You intend to use this kid to influence Uchiha Shisui, or even Uchiha Itachi, don't you?"
"That's part of the plan." Obito didn't deny it and spoke straightforwardly.
"With my help, Uchiha Itachi has already awakened his Sharingan, but that's not his limit."
"As for Uchiha Shisui, barring any unexpected circumstances, he should already possess the Mangekyō Sharingan. Given that, it would be a waste not to test things out."
"Whether it's understanding Shisui's eye abilities, acquiring those eyes, seeing if he can be lured away from Konoha, or pushing Itachi to a higher level—these are all things worth trying."
The flytrap-like creature nodded; it was indeed a strategy worth considering. However, there was something else that piqued its curiosity.
"It's a solid plan, but how do you intend to execute it?" One simple question left Obito silent.
He hadn't thought it through yet, as he often acted impulsively.
For example, upon overhearing Kakashi mention that Kushina was the previous Jinchūriki, he immediately initiated the Nine-Tails incident.
"Seems I was too hasty." The black half of the creature understood Obito well.
Though Obito's silence was deafening, he quickly filled in the gap. "We don't know much about this kid yet, so we should gather more intel before moving."
"Alright, let's do that."
...
"Achoo!" In Konoha, inside a barbecue restaurant, Shigenari Shuuzawa suddenly sneezed, drawing a concerned glance from Yuugao beside him.
"What's wrong? Catching a cold?"
"Not sure." Shuuzawa shook his head, then smiled. "Maybe someone's talking behind my back."
"You…" Yuugao couldn't help but laugh. Who would be so bored as to gossip about him?
"Just joking. Here, senpai, try this."
Without waiting for her response, Shuuzawa picked up a piece of grilled meat and placed it in her bowl, making Yuugao slightly embarrassed.
"I can do it myself. People are watching."
"So, does that mean when no one's around…?"
"Stop spouting nonsense."
Seeing Yuugao's slightly flushed face, Shuuzawa simply smiled and said nothing more.
He understood well that sometimes, being shameless was the way to go.
As he and Kabuto used to say, "Without indulgence, life loses its charm."
While he wasn't one to go overboard, he figured—he was already in this world, so why not take multiple wives?
Of course, Shuuzawa was also a man who knew how to prioritize.
His primary objective was to kill *cough* *cough* "inheriting Danzō's legacy."
But that didn't mean he couldn't make preparations for himself along the way.
"Besides, Konoha has so many unique flavors—it'd be a shame not to enjoy them. And technically, I'm doing a good deed here, right?"
Shuuzawa silently patted himself on the back while glancing at the other attendees of the gathering.
Originally, it was supposed to be a small get-together for their three-man squad, but for some reason, Shisui hadn't shown up yet.
After what had happened with Kakashi earlier, they had two unexpected guests.
Kakashi had decided to join them to show his gratitude, bringing along the man they had just rescued—Tenzo, formerly known as Kinoe in Root.
Tenzo seemed a bit reserved, but he was closer to Shuuzawa than the others, given their past as former colleagues—even if they had never interacted back then.
"Shuuzawa, I appreciate what you did this afternoon."
Kakashi, paying no mind to the little interactions between Shuuzawa and Yuugao, smiled as he spoke. "Thank you."
"Yeah, thanks a lot, Ow—uh, Shuuzawa. I doubt I would've made it out so easily if it weren't for you."
Tenzo quickly added though he seemed somewhat used to addressing Shuuzawa using his old root codename.
"No need to thank me. It was the Hokage's order. And don't call me by that codename anymore."
"Also, congratulations on getting out of there." Shuuzawa smiled at the two while placing food in Yuugao's bowl.
After a moment, though, he turned to Yuugao with a puzzled expression.
"That's strange. Why isn't Shisui here yet? He's usually the fastest to arrive. Why is he so late today?"
"Oh, you didn't hear?" Yuugao, watching Shuuzawa's actions, pursed her lips before pretending not to notice and answering softly.
"After we disbanded earlier, he said he finally had some free time and wanted to train with his younger brother, so he might be a bit late tonight."
"Brother?" Shuuzawa's expression immediately turned strange.
Uchiha Shisui's younger brother must be Uchiha Itachi, the one who would eventually massacre his entire clan.
"Speaking of which, his younger brother is quite the genius." Unaware of Shuuzawa's thoughts, Yuugao continued with a smile.
"He graduated from the Academy at a very young age and nearly broke Kakashi-senpai's record. I heard he'll be taking the Chūnin Exams soon."
Kakashi, rubbing the back of his head, hadn't expected the conversation to shift to him. After thinking for a moment, he responded.
"Honestly, I don't think graduating early is necessarily a good thing. Staying in the Academy gives you a chance to make more friends."
This was something Kakashi genuinely believed. His past had been rough, and he had almost given up on himself entirely.
But in the end, it was the very friends he once looked down upon who pulled him back from despair.
"That depends on the person, though. The Uchiha are a different case." Shuuzawa shrugged.
The Uchiha tended to be extreme, and Itachi had spent most of his time with Shisui rather than his classmates.
He even used Shadow Clones to attend classes while he trained with Shisui himself—clearly, he didn't care about making school friends.
Besides, even if Itachi wanted to stay in the Academy, his crazy father probably wouldn't have allowed it.
The same father who, despite having the ability to resist, chose to give up everything and watch his "dutiful" son slaughter his entire clan.
Shuuzawa, as a normal person, couldn't comprehend whatever went through that man's mind.
"Speaking of the Uchiha…" Suddenly, something came to Shuuzawa's mind.
"Wasn't there a particularly powerful Uchiha who got buried underground somewhere?"
Talent was important, and Shuuzawa valued talent highly. Perhaps, in the future, he could try searching for that person.
Just as he was lost in thought, there was a knock on the sliding door of their private dining room.
"Sorry, sorry, I'm late." Shisui entered the room, looking apologetic.
"I didn't expect to see you here too, Kakashi-senpai. And this is…?"
"We went through something pretty interesting this afternoon, senpai." Shuuzawa grinned mischievously.
"I can't share the details, but let's just say—it was quite an event."
Not only is this interesting—it's a monumental event for the Uchiha! Who orchestrated the plan to wipe them out?
Danzo! And today, they barged straight into Danzo's stronghold and fought inside.
In a way, isn't this an early form of revenge? Unfortunately, Shuuzawa missed the opportunity to seize that revenge, which is truly regrettable.
"Uh, is that so?" Shisui had no idea what Shuuzawa was thinking.
But since Shuuzawa said it was confidential, he decided it was best not to ask. Still, he did have something else on his mind today.
It wasn't that he was with Yuugao and accompanied Itachi—he had gone to speak with his clan elder.
The factions within the Uchiha were rather complex. Before the Nine-Tails incident, they were split into three groups.
One was the radical faction, inheriting the ideology of Uchiha Setsuna, who believed that using force would "make the Uchiha great again."
Another was Shisui's group, who sought to integrate the Uchiha into Konoha peacefully.
The last was the neutral faction, indifferent to the infighting and willing to side with the victors.
However, after the Nine-Tails incident, the entire Uchiha clan was forcibly relocated to a remote area.
Combined with malicious rumors spreading throughout Konoha, tensions escalated.
The formerly neutral largely shifted toward the radicals, making things increasingly difficult for those who advocated for peace, like Shisui.
Fortunately, Shisui joined the Anbu, earning the Hokage's trust. But that alone wasn't enough—they needed more people to gain such trust.
Still, Shisui felt they required even more allies. And Shuuzawa's mission this time impressed Shisui and left a deep impression on the Third Hokage.
Today, he had subtly discussed Shuuzawa with his elder.
While Anbu's missions couldn't be openly talked about, he tried to nudge the conversation in that direction. Unfortunately, his elder seemed to trust "their own people" more.
"All right, let's drop this topic." Shuuzawa shook his head, raising his juice with a smile. "It's our break time—no more mission talk.
Too bad we can't drink alcohol. Otherwise, we wouldn't be leaving sober tonight."
"Come on, we're shinobi. We can't just drink recklessly," Yuugao interjected. "Besides, don't forget about the Three Prohibitions for shinobi."
"But I've heard some things about Lord Jiraiya," Shuuzawa said, blinking playfully as he turned to Kakashi.
"Kakashi-senpai, Lord Jiraiya didn't seem to care about the Three Prohibitions at all, yet he was still a powerful ninja, wasn't he?"
"Cough, cough, cough, cough!" Kakashi awkwardly cleared his throat.
He had no way to answer that. Was he supposed to say that people have different constitutions? That would be nonsense!
"I think it's best for us young shinobi to avoid alcohol. It makes people drowsy and sluggish," Yamato said earnestly, scratching his head before glancing at Shuuzawa.
"We've all had missions like that before—waiting for the target to get drunk before taking them out."
Yuugao and Shisui were speechless. Weren't they supposed to avoid talking about work?
Yet here Shuuzawa was, rubbing his chin thoughtfully and nodding.
"That's true. Drunken targets are the easiest to handle, and accidents are easy to stage—like falling to their deaths. But after all the people we've taken out, a little alcohol—"
"Alright, that's enough!" Yuugao couldn't hold it in anymore. She clamped a hand on Shuuzawa's shoulder. "You two, cut it out!"
"Kakashi-senpai, you also have a Sharingan. I'd like to exchange insights with you," Shisui said, attempting to shift the topic.
Kakashi's Sharingan had once sparked huge controversy within the Uchiha clan.
Though the clan head ultimately suppressed the issue, Shisui never understood why.
However, since it was already settled, he had no say. Still, he had to admit—this outsider skillfully wielded the Sharingan.
They never had the opportunity to discuss it before, but now was a good chance.
"Sure." Kakashi didn't refuse, and the two quickly started a quiet discussion.
Meanwhile, Shuuzawa pursed his lips and glanced toward Yamato. Mokuton was something he found fascinating—and something he deeply desired.
Even though his physical constitution was strong, he wasn't sure he could survive contact with Hashirama's cells.
He wouldn't even dare gamble on White Zetsu's cells.
"After all, I don't have Yamato's resilience, nor do I have a Sharingan to balance it out."
To Shuuzawa, Hashirama was the most unique reincarnation of Asura!
Forget that his chakra was more absurdly powerful than Naruto's, even with half the Nine-Tails—his entire approach to battle differed from past Asura reincarnations.
Throughout history, Indra's reincarnations have relied on their strength, while Asura's sought unity with others.
But when it came to Hashirama, he did unite people—except he never actually needed them. He single-handedly crushed Madara.
"So, in the end, I can only rely on myself."
Shuuzawa stroked his chin. He had always felt that Mokuton wasn't a simple Kekkei Genkai—it was a Kekkei Tōta!
Yamato's Mokuton, as far as he could tell, was a fusion of Earth Release and Water Release.
It wasn't completely ineffective, but its biggest achievement was "boosting the home improvement industry."
"So the key to Mokuton must be in controlling Yang Release. Only by injecting the right amount of Yang Release can true Mokuton be achieved!"
Shuuzawa silently pondered. He figured it was about time to start working toward this goal.
His stats were off the charts, but he understood the dangers ahead.
Especially if he intended to inherit "Danzo's legacy"—without enough power, what could he use to claim it?
"What's wrong? Are you mad?"
Just as Shuuzawa was lost in thought, Yuugao's somewhat uneasy voice reached his ears.
"Sorry, I just thought this wasn't the right time to bring up that topic."
"Don't overthink it, senpai. I'm not that petty," Shuuzawa said with a smile, cutting her off.
"Besides, that was my fault. Running into old Root comrades made me lose control a little. I should be thanking you for stopping me."
"Really?" Yuugao blinked, and Shuuzawa immediately nodded.
"Yes. I hope you'll keep looking out for me in the future. Can you?"
Yuugao glared at him at first but then nodded seriously. "Don't worry, I'll always have your back."
But as soon as she said it, she suddenly froze.
That "always"—how long was it supposed to be?
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