Genshin turned away from Itachi, whose face had scrunched up from trying to work through all this, and looked at Shisui with genuine surprise.
“Actually, Shisui—you figured out that Danzo wants the Uchiha Clan to disappear?”
In the original story this dopey kid had been played for a fool by Danzo, and only after losing an entire eye did he finally realize that Danzo had never intended to let the Uchiha Clan live in the first place.
Shisui forced out a trace of a bitter smile.
“I only pieced it together by following your line of thought.
As a member of ANBU, I do have some understanding of Lord Third’s stance—but Danzo… from beginning to end, he’s never once let down his guard against the Uchiha.
Most of Root’s people keep the Uchiha residences under watch.
I’ve noticed it several times whenever I go back to the clan.”
As he spoke, his fingertips unconsciously stroked the hilt of his wakizashi.
“Before, I actually thought it was my efforts at mediation that made him uneasy.
But thinking about it now, he can’t wait for the Uchiha to stir up trouble.”
Itachi was still full of confusion, and asked quietly, “Then what do we have to do to completely dissolve the rift between the village and the clan?”
“There are two paths,” Genshin said.
“The first: wait for Lord Third to step down, and replace him with a Hokage who holds no prejudice against the Uchiha—someone like the Fourth Hokage.
Lord Third is already quite old anyway; if the Fourth hadn’t died so young, he would’ve retired long ago.
The new Hokage deals with the Radical Faction in the village, and then you two persuade the clan head to handle the Radical Faction inside the clan.”
“The second: follow the same road the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara took back in the day when they settled the strife between the two clans.
Meaning, the three of us get strong enough that we could tie up everyone in the village and the clan together and thrash the whole lot of them at once—then let’s see who won’t fall in line?”
“These two aren’t in conflict, but both need time.
As long as we keep the current situation stable, time is on our side.”
Itachi’s eyes slowly lit up.
His head felt itchy, and the road ahead was gradually becoming clear.
So he finally gets it?
At that moment, Genshin suddenly felt a soft tugging against his leg.
It was A-Bao, who had listened to them talk until it dozed off and had now woken up.
The round little ball came toddling and nuzzling over, its two paw-pads clutching Genshin’s pant leg, its little head rubbing back and forth against the fabric, its tiny whimpering sounds thinning out the oppressive mood that filled the field.
Genshin reached down and rubbed its soft black-and-white fur.
Truly a national treasure—just a couple of rubs and his own mood lifted.
Even the heavy-hearted Itachi found his gaze drifting to the little panda without meaning to, and his tense shoulders loosened a little.
Rubbing A-Bao—who refused to let go of him—with one hand, Genshin turned back to Itachi, his tone softening somewhat.
“Right now, the most important thing is for you and Shisui to train hard, and then expand your own say within the clan.”
“Shisui, if you get the chance, you can make a play for the position of clan head.
And wait—Itachi, I’m not telling you to raise your hand against your own family.
The clan head’s position is decided by strength too, isn’t it?
Try to keep bloody conflict to a minimum.
Stabilizing the family is what matters.
Understood?”
Shisui looked at Genshin, so clear-minded and eloquent.
Sigh—six years old.
Then he looked at the one-track-minded Itachi.
Sigh—eight years old.
And finally he looked at himself—forget it, never mind.
Contending for the position of clan head would inevitably mean facing the Radical Faction within the clan; the road ahead was still hard.
But at least… he was no longer lost.
The setting sun slanted across the top of the Hokage Rock, and the evening glow spread across the horizon.
Shisui pulled along the still-dazed Itachi, and the two bid Genshin farewell and headed off toward the Uchiha residential district.
Having walked a long way, Shisui still turned back to glance at the training field.
In all of Konoha, the only one who could think for the Uchiha so free of prejudice, so sincerely—was probably this child alone, wasn’t it?
The training field fell quiet once again.
Genshin bent down and scooped up A-Bao, who was climbing up his pant leg.
He was worn out today and couldn’t be bothered to cook, so he’d drag Naruto out to eat at a restaurant.
Right now the clan-versus-village antagonism inside the village churned with undercurrents, and in the future there’d still be the Akatsuki and the alien tree-planters.
With all these pressures stacked on top of one another, he had to complete his training faster and reach the entry-level standard of the Fallen Star Pool Senjutsu as soon as possible.
After everyone had left, another ten minutes passed…
In the shadows of the woods not far off, a lizard carrying a scroll on its back crawled away without a sound, heading straight for the Root stronghold.
It handed over the intelligence of the three’s meeting to a Root shinobi, who, after confirming it was accurate, in turn reported the information to a one-eyed old man.
In the dim underground office, Danzo finished listening to the report, his fingertips gently tightening around the armrest, his face still expressionless.
So the Uchiha Clan has set its sights on this little brat too?
He had surveilled Genshin for months on end.
At six years old the boy had mastered a mimicry of Strength, possessed an innate affinity for three elements, and had Chakra brimming with life force just like the First—perfectly suited for the Wood Release cell transplant experiment.
Every single one of these traits made his eyes turn green with envy, and having them all concentrated in one person meant Danzo had no choice but to take a desperate gamble for it.
This child should not be in the hands of the Third or Tsunade—and he absolutely cannot be allowed to grow into a force that checks me.
At that moment a figure of earth slowly rose from the ground, then gradually transformed into a person.
This man was tall and slender, with long black hair, golden slit-pupiled eyes ringed by purple markings, and pale skin—none other than one of the Sannin, Orochimaru.
“It seems you’ve run into trouble, Lord Danzo.”
“You took too long to get here, Orochimaru.”
“Heh heh heh… I’ve been away so long the village feels a little unfamiliar now.”
Danzo tossed a scroll to Orochimaru, and after Orochimaru finished reading it, the scroll spontaneously combusted and burned away.
“So the target is to capture this little brat of the Uzumaki Clan alive?
I’m quite curious—what secret could this child possibly hold that would make Lord Danzo seek out a rogue ninja like me to lend a hand…”
“Shut up, Orochimaru.
Capture this brat, and the deal is done.
Don’t ask about anything else.”
“Heh heh heh, very well… Lord Danzo.”
Indeed—in order to obtain Genshin, Danzo had chosen to take the desperate gamble of striking a deal with Orochimaru, who had been a rogue ninja for years.
Sending his own Root to act was not only far too risky, it could easily let Hiruzen catch him by the tail.
And unless he moved personally, just the barrier of the ANBU protecting Genshin would be no easy pass.
So even though Orochimaru named an outrageous price, he could only grit his teeth and agree—all to ensure this plan went off without a hitch.
To protect this little brat, you’re really willing to pay a steep price, aren’t you, Hiruzen… But in the end, this brat is still mine!
…
Time rewinds to that morning.
At this moment, Tsunade had just finished reporting to the Third Hokage about Genshin’s contract with the Fallen Star Pool, and the sheer volume of information left Hiruzen Sarutobi lost in thought for a long while.
“You’re not telling a story?”
“I’m not.”
“You’re not lying to me?”
“I haven’t reached your senile age yet, old man!”
This oddly familiar scene made Tsunade’s hackles rise at once, and the irritated Tsunade slammed the table and shot to her feet.
“I’ve already met with Lord Slug and confirmed it.
The Fallen Star Pool truly exists, and Lord Slug even addressed the Great Panda Sage as ‘senior,’ which shows that this Great Panda Sage is at least no weaker than Lord Slug.”
Ssss… haah——
Taking a puff of his pipe, Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped the desk lightly with his aged fingers.
“All right, I understand.
I’ll go see the child in person later; there are some details I’d like to learn more about as well.”
“Pass down the order: the bear at Genshin’s side need not be kept under caution—just treat it as a Summoning Animal.”
The ANBU in the shadows vanished at the command, and the office fell quiet once more.
After the ANBU had left, Tsunade looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
“Old man, how do you plan to deal with Danzo’s side?
Even I noticed Root’s surveillance of Genshin—don’t tell me you didn’t know.”
____
👻🔥Heey!
Walnut-chan for more chapters!🔥👻
🔥 New history: DanMachi: