In the twenty-third year of Konoha Village.
Time flew by quickly, and four years passed in the blink of an eye.
In front of a smooth, rectangular grave, Tōshirō, now ten years old, stood, gazing sadly at the names engraved on it—one of which was his former classmate, Nara Shikō. Tōshirō sighed heavily, filled with sorrow.
In just a few months, he would graduate from the Ninja Academy.
Due to the war, the original six-year study period had been reduced to five, and since he had entered the academy a year early, it meant he would graduate two years earlier than usual and become fuel for the war.
In reality, the duration could have been even shorter; most students graduated after two or three years. It was rare for a student like Tōshirō to remain until the fifth year, so rare that he was the only one in this situation.
Of course, the academy wouldn't grant him any special treatment or assign him private teachers; instead, he had to blend in with the younger students, which meant he was essentially repeating a grade...
Tōshirō had approached the family elders and requested not to become a ninja. The family didn't immediately reject his request but instead summoned a ninja younger than him by several years, named Uchiha Fugaku, and asked him to fight Tōshirō.
Tōshirō was familiar with this scenario.
In the original series, Hinata, who was considered the family's heir, was abandoned after losing to her younger sister, Hanabi.
So, Tōshirō accepted the challenge and deliberately lost quickly.
He thought that by doing so, the family would give up on him, but he later realized he was wrong.
They told him clearly, "You must become a ninja."
These words were a firm stance from the family elders.
At first, the family was seriously considering giving up on him after seeing that he was performing poorly in the academy, but after that battle, they abandoned the idea.
Through the Sharingan, the Uchiha clan could see the chakra flow in Tōshirō's body, which far exceeded his age, and they could also see that he was pretending to be incapable.
Ordinary people might not notice it, but those with the Sharingan had unmatched vision and could easily distinguish between truth and deception. They realized that Tōshirō was using his intelligence to avoid becoming a ninja.
At first, Tōshirō strongly denied it, insisting that he was just a weak person.
However, when the family members' eyes turned red, like some kind of eye disease, Tōshirō was forced to confess everything. He didn't want to be controlled by the Sharingan, as he didn't know what might be asked of him.
As Tōshirō wallowed in his depression, he heard a soft voice from the air.
"I have good news for you."
Tōshirō stopped breathing and turned to find a girl with golden hair, beautiful and gentle—Tsunade.
In the four years that had passed, nothing had changed about Tsunade except her chest. Her face had started to lose some of its childish fullness, and since girls mature earlier, she had become more beautiful and attractive.
Tōshirō lazily said, "Well, honestly, unless the news is that you won't force me to be a ninja, I don't think anything can interest me right now..."
Tsunade replied, "You really... Well, I'll tell you something. The village is planning to form an alliance with the Cloud Village? Teacher Sarutobi has joined the delegation as a guard."
"An alliance?"
"Yes, if the alliance succeeds, I think the war will end soon. And maybe the Ninja Academy will return to its previous six-year study system. That means you might get an extra year to slack off."
Tōshirō knew what was coming.
He looked at Tsunade meaningfully.
If my memory serves me correctly, this should be the time when the Second Hokage is ambushed by Kinkaku and Ginkaku from the Cloud Village and ends up dead.
Tōshirō tried to indirectly warn Tsunade about Kinkaku and Ginkaku, but he wasn't sure how effective it would be.
But most likely, the warning wouldn't be of much use; with Tobirama's intelligence, he had surely already realized there might be a trap, but he had to go to discuss the alliance and stop the war.
Tsunade asked, "What's wrong?"
Tōshirō replied, "Nothing, I just tried a new potato chip recipe. Would you like to try it?"
When Tsunade heard about something new, her eyes lit up with excitement, and she said, "Yes, I'd like that... But, why don't you seem happy at all?"
Tōshirō sighed deeply and said, "Even if it takes another year, I don't think the family elders will allow me not to become a ninja. It's frustrating that I've tried everything to show I'm unworthy, yet these people still refuse to give up on me."
Tsunade said in a nonchalant tone, "You should give up. With those eyes of yours, you're a natural-born ninja."
Tōshirō's expression suddenly changed, and he quickly denied it: "Eyes? What eyes? Don't say such things."
Tsunade: ...
Tōshirō looked around to make sure no one was there, then leaned closer to Tsunade and whispered in her ear, "Did you tell anyone about my matter?"
Kozan gently conveyed his words into Tsunade's ear, causing her to feel a slight tingle with a bit of itchiness. Tsunade lifted her foot and stomped on the ground hard, causing Tōshirō to yelp in pain, "What are you doing?"
With a sly smile, Tsunade brushed her hair away from her face and said, "I know I'm very beautiful now, and it might be difficult for you boys at this stage to control yourselves, but you need to keep it in check. Your actions might backfire."
Tōshirō looked at Tsunade from head to toe.
Tsunade threatened in a sharp tone, "If you keep looking at me like that, I'll gouge out your eyes."
Tōshirō replied nonchalantly, "I admit you're beautiful, but if you think I judge people based solely on appearance, you're underestimating me. A beautiful appearance might be common, but a unique spirit is one of a kind. For me, I value a person based on the breadth of their heart more than their looks."
Then he added while looking at her with interest, "Do you have that breadth? Or are you narrow-minded like the flatlands?"
Tsunade replied sarcastically, "Do you have the guts to say that? Don't you remember who was caught in the bath with Jiraiya?"
Tōshirō quickly replied, "I know, it was Orochimaru."
Tsunade: ...
Orochimaru was dragged into trouble by these two idiots.
Tsunade was about to mock Tōshirō, but she suddenly stopped when she realized something.
Tōshirō was usually unserious in his speech, often hiding his true intentions behind his words, using double meanings. Sometimes, when a certain phrase came out of his mouth, its meaning would change entirely.
In such cases, one must study the context and analyze each word carefully.
Tsunade thought for a moment, then felt frustrated.
Everything about her was great now—her skin, her height, her appearance—but there was one fatal flaw.
In the past, she had hoped it would change over time, but now she saw that everyone around her had "grown," while she remained the same. Tsunade was worried about it, and now Tōshirō had pointed it out in a roundabout way, sparking her anger: "I'll kill you twice!"
Killing Tōshirō once wasn't enough to vent her anger; she wanted to attack his body after death.
Facing the furious Tsunade, Tōshirō was smart enough to flee immediately.
Tsunade's violent strength had become even more ferocious, and she no longer held back her power, so Tōshirō didn't dare face her head-on.
After being chased madly by Tsunade, Tōshirō needed a lot of effort to escape from her. When he returned to the village, he was out of breath and ran into an old man with white hair and eyes full of wrinkles, standing next to a small boy with black hair and black eyes.
"Ah... Old Itachi."
Tōshirō greeted the old man with respect.
Honestly, when he first heard this person's name, he wanted to make fun of him badly—had Uchiha Itachi come from another dimension?
It wasn't until he learned that this old man had a disciple named Uchiha Fugaku that he finally understood.
Fugaku wasn't just obsessed with naming his son after his leader's father, but he also had an obsession with naming his eldest son after his teacher.
Tōshirō, who came from an empire of food lovers, found this behavior strange. It's not normal to name your children after your leader's father, is it? That might raise suspicions.
Is it enough to make your leader your son, but you also want to make him your grandfather?
In reality, if a leader at work knew about this, they would be the first to punish their subordinate, asking what they were doing. How can you make me your grandfather after I was your father?
Do you want to rebel or what?
But after understanding more, Tōshirō realized that naming a child after another famous person could carry certain meanings, similar to what happens in some other countries. They hope that their children will
Often, the person whose name is used feels pleased rather than angry, as they consider it a form of appreciation.
Then, the old Itachi spoke in a deep voice: "Tōshirō, do you have time?"
I don't have time...
Well...
Tōshirō wanted to say that, but he didn't dare. The old man was asking him respectfully, so how could he be rude?
"I have time, how could I not have time?"
Tōshirō replied with a wide smile: "If old Itachi needs me, of course, I have time."
The old Itachi nodded and said, "Come with me."
Then, he sent Fugaku away.
Tōshirō obediently followed him, and soon they arrived at a quiet house with fresh air.
Tōshirō put his hands behind his head and said: "Old Itachi, why did you bring me to your place, what's the matter?"
The old Itachi smiled gently and said: "Are you still holding a grudge because I forced you to stay as a ninja?"
Tōshirō shook his head and said: "No."
"Good..." The old Itachi fell silent for a while, then his face became serious as he asked: "Tell me honestly, have you awakened the Kekkei Genkai?"
(End of Chapter)
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