Hokage Residence, top-floor office.
Smoke billowed in curls.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, held his pipe between his teeth, quietly listening to Ryuichi Matsumoto’s report, which was so excited it bordered on incoherent.
“…Lord Hokage!
Every word I say is the absolute truth!
The power of Ryuha Uchiha’s technique easily reached B-rank, if not higher!
And it had no hand seals—it was instant!
His chakra control is refined to a frightening degree!
This is without a doubt a once-in-a-century—no, a once-in-a-millennium genius!
Konoha must throw all its resources into cultivating him; we cannot let him go to waste…”
Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly exhaled a ring of smoke, the haze obscuring the expression on his face.
“Matsumoto, calm down,” he said peacefully.
“Do you have proof for all of this?”
“Yes!
Of course!” Matsumoto hastily pulled a sealing scroll from his robes, offering it respectfully with both hands.
“These are soil samples from the battlefield in Black Pine Forest, as well as the residual chakra traces left by the two rogue ninja who fled.
I recorded them all using a Secret Technique!
You can inspect them yourself!”
Hiruzen took the scroll, but didn’t open it immediately.
He merely tapped his pipe lightly against the desk.
“I see.” He looked at Matsumoto, his eyes deep.
“Who else knows about this?”
“Besides the other two kids on Team 7, only me!” Matsumoto quickly guaranteed.
“I have strictly ordered them not to speak a word of it to anyone!”
“Mm.” Hiruzen nodded.
“You did well.
The village will keep a close watch on Ryuha Uchiha.
As for mission ranks and resource allocations…
there is no rush.
He is still young and needs time to mature.
Too much attention isn’t necessarily a good thing.”
Matsumoto opened his mouth to say more, but meeting Hiruzen’s all-seeing eyes, he ultimately lowered his head.
“…Yes, I understand.”
“You may go.” Hiruzen waved his hand.
“Classify today’s matter as B-rank confidential.”
“Yes!” Matsumoto bowed respectfully and left the office.
The door closed.
Hiruzen remained silent, taking a few more puffs before slowly opening the sealing scroll.
Channeling chakra into it, the sealing formula on the scroll flickered with a dim glow, bringing forth several clumps of charred soil and two faint traces of lingering chakra.
The Third Hokage’s eyes rested on those remnants, remaining motionless for a long time.
After a long pause, he blew out a long plume of smoke, his expression complex.
“Casting Fire Style without hand seals…
fire-natured chakra compressed to the extreme…
mental force substituting seals…”
Each phrase weighed heavy as a mountain.
As the Professor of Ninjutsu, he understood what this meant better than anyone.
Should he expect anything less from the Uchiha Clan?
They never failed to produce extraordinary geniuses.
“Ryuha…
Uchiha…” Hiruzen murmured the name.
He recalled the report from the Ninja Academy graduation exam a few days ago, and remembered that unknown Kekkei Genkai called the Mind’s Eye.
He recalled the statement of guarantee secretly submitted by Fugaku Uchiha regarding Ryuha Uchiha’s “loyalty to the clan.”
“Kagami, what do you think?” the Third Hokage spoke suddenly.
In the dark corner of the office, a figure wearing a cat mask materialized silently.
“Dangerous.” Anbu Captain Kagami’s voice was completely flat.
“Talent too high, unknown Kekkei Genkai, Uchiha background.
Properly guided, he could be a future pillar of Konoha.
If he loses control…”
He didn’t finish the sentence, but the Third Hokage understood.
The Uchiha Clan was inherently one of Konoha’s most unstable factors.
And an Uchiha boy possessing such talent and unknown capabilities…
was hope, but also a hazard.
“Have Foundation’s people pull back,” the Third said slowly.
“Starting today, you will personally oversee the surveillance of Ryuha Uchiha.
S-rank priority, but do not disrupt his daily life.
I want to know his every move, every spike in strength, and…
every person he comes into contact with.”
“Understood.” Kagami’s figure dissolved into the shadow and disappeared.
Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned back against his chair, looking out at Konoha’s night sky, deep fatigue and anxiety filling his eyes.
It had only been a few years of peace, yet the tensions between the major hidden villages were becoming almost uncontainable.
There probably wasn’t much time left before the Third Shinobi World War broke out.
At a critical juncture like this, for such a variable to appear…
was it a blessing or a curse?
He didn’t know.
All he knew was that the great ship of Konoha was sailing toward violent, unprecedented storms.
…
Meanwhile, in the Foundation base.
Danzo looked at another, far more detailed report in his hands—sent by the Foundation ninja who had been “looked at” by Ryuha.
The report contained not only Matsumoto’s briefing, but also Foundation’s own assessment:
“Target Ryuha Uchiha suspected to possess extremely high sensory capability; can easily pierce Special Jonin-level stealth.”
“Hand-seal-less casting ‘Shakaho’, power estimated at B+ to A- rank.
Precision in nature transformation is extraordinarily high, suggesting innate fire affinity.”
“‘Mind’s Eye’ Kekkei Genkai performance exceeds previous estimates; likely possesses multiple unknown applications.”
“Target possesses mature intellect, skilled in deception.
Threat level: S (under observation).”
Danzo’s finger tapped heavily on the “S” rating.
S-rank threat.
In Foundation’s evaluation system, this rank meant one thing: must be controlled, or must be eliminated.
“Hiruzen really dispatched Anbu to take over surveillance…” Danzo sneered.
“Trying to use him as a pacifier for the Uchiha?
Naive.”
He stood up and walked over to the wall inscribed with Foundation’s creed.
“Ryuha Uchiha…” Cold light gleamed in his single eye.
“Don’t let me catch an opportunity!”
…
Uchiha Clan Compound, Training Ground on the rear mountain.
Ryuha Uchiha sat cross-legged on a boulder, eyes closed as he gathered his thoughts.
In his mind, the system panel expanded:
[Current Side Quest: Swan Song of the White Fang (Time remaining: 85 days)]
Time was running short.
Opening his eyes, he looked in the direction of Konoha’s village center.
In his Spiritual Pressure perception, the Foundation presence that had been faintly trailing him quietly vanished earlier this evening.
Replacing it was a gaze of surveillance that was more hidden, more powerful, and distinctly more “gentle.”
Anbu under the direct command of the Third Hokage.
It seemed Matsumoto’s report had taken effect.
The Konoha higher-ups had placed him on the priority watch list.
This was both good and bad news.
The good news was that gaining more “legitimate” attention would make future actions much easier.
The bad news was that his every move would now be under the Third Hokage’s watchful eyes.
But…
Ryuha adjusted his glasses, the lenses reflecting the pale moonlight.
He had never intended to hide in the first place.
On the contrary, he needed a measured degree of “exposure” to secure certain advantages.
For instance, a “legitimate reason” to make contact with Sakumo Hatake.
Over the past few days, he had been deliberately gathering intelligence on Sakumo Hatake.
Mission failure, abandoning a mission to save comrades, public condemnation across the village, accusations from the very companions he saved, misunderstanding from family…
Everything was unfolding along the trajectory of the original story.
That hero of Konoha was being dragged, inch by inch, into the abyss by the very things he fought to protect.
Ryuha stood up and brushed off the dust on his clothes.
He needed an opening.
A natural, logical opening to approach Sakumo Hatake without stirring anyone’s suspicion.
And that opening was right now at Konoha’s Training Ground 3.
…
Under the night sky, Training Ground 3 lay open and silent.
Moonlight washed over training posts and targets, casting long shadows.
A group of older Academy students was surrounding a white-haired boy, shoving him around.
“Hey, Kakashi, heard your dad failed his mission?”
“It wasn’t just failure, he abandoned the mission to save a teammate!
Ended up causing huge losses for the village!”
“Haha!
Some ‘Konoha’s White Fang’!
Turns out he’s just a coward!”
“Exactly!
Abandoning a mission just to save a few useless trash…
he made Konoha look pathetic!”
“Your dad’s a coward!
A piece of trash!”
Surrounded in the middle, the white-haired boy—Kakashi Hatake—clenched his teeth so hard they bled.
His tiny fists squeezed tight, nails digging deep into his palms.
He wore a face mask, leaving only a pair of lifeless eyes exposed.
In those eyes burned anger and humiliation.
But even more than that, there was a deep exhaustion and…
confusion.
Was Father wrong?
Was it wrong to abandon a mission to save comrades?
Then why was everyone saying so?
Why were even the comrades Father rescued turning around and condemning him?
“Don’t you…
insult my father!” Kakashi spat out through gritted teeth.
“Oho, mad now?” A tall student sneered.
“Did I say anything wrong?
Your dad is trash!
He made Konoha a laughingstock in front of all the other villages!
If you ask me, he should commit seppuku to apologize!”
“You—!” Kakashi jerked his head up, intent to kill flaring in his eyes.
But there were five of them, all Genin-level students two or three years older than him.
No matter how genius he was, he was still only six years old; two fists couldn’t beat four hands.
“What, want to throw hands?” The tall student stepped forward with a cruel smirk.
“Come on, let me see if the son of ‘Trash White Fang’ inherited his trashy tricks!”
He reached out, shoving hard at Kakashi’s shoulder.
Kakashi tried to dodge, but two others had already blocked his exit.
Just as that hand was about to make contact—
“That’s enough.”
A calm voice rang out from the edge of the training field.