Yusuke was no exception.
He was still growing, after all.
Until a cultivator reached the stage where they could abstain from food, eating remained incredibly important.
Miss one meal, and hunger would come roaring back.
As for the claim that ordinary grains were useless for cultivation—what did mortals know about cultivating immortality?
Besides, this was food prepared by his own mother.
Yusuke ate three bowls of rice every day just to feel half-full.
After all, the essence refined into energy also included the vital essence contained within food.
As always, under Mikoto’s gentle gaze, Yusuke devoured four bowls of white rice.
He then quietly waited for Itachi to finish eating at his usual unhurried pace before getting up to help his mother clear the dishes.
Afterward, he happily took Itachi to school.
Today would be another fruitful day.
With his younger brother beside him, Yusuke arrived outside Izumi’s house and lightly knocked on the door two or three times.
A moment later, the door opened, and Izumi’s tiny head peeked out from behind it.
The moment she saw Yusuke, a faint blush appeared on her face.
A trace of delight flashed through her eyes.
“Good morning, Yusuke-kun!”
“Morning, Izumi!
Let’s go to school together today.”
Yusuke greeted her with a smile.
Izumi hurriedly nodded.
She opened the half-closed door and stepped outside with a charmingly proper air.
The three of them walked toward the Academy together.
As usual, the villagers along the road cast probing glances in their direction.
“Yusuke-kun, what made you decide to wait for me today?”
Izumi asked playfully.
“Because I want to be friends with the adorable Izumi.
Didn’t we agree yesterday?
We’re friends now, and friends naturally go to school together.”
The moment Yusuke finished speaking, the system’s voice rang out in his mind again.
+10.
+10.
…
How could Yusuke possibly neglect his precious treasure girl?
Izumi’s little face reddened as she turned her head slightly away.
“Yusuke-kun, you really are a sweet-talking boy.”
“Hehe.
Izumi, I’m only telling the truth.
You really are adorable.”
Walking behind them, Itachi watched the two chatting and laughing together.
A strange melancholy suddenly rose in his heart.
For some reason, it felt as though someone was about to steal away the older brother he loved most.
Even the villagers’ gazes, which usually bothered him, no longer seemed quite so important.
Meanwhile, inside the Hokage Building, Konoha’s four-man leadership council sat facing one another once again.
Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped the ash from his pipe.
“Have you determined what caused the battle at Fugaku’s residence last night?”
“Not yet,” Danzō replied darkly.
“The battle ended too quickly, and it occurred late at night.
No one witnessed exactly what happened.”
Hiruzen nodded.
“The Uchiha clan meeting should have begun by now.
I wonder what conclusion they will reach.”
“Hmph!
If we order them to relocate, do they dare refuse?” Danzō said forcefully.
“It has not been long since the Nine-Tails’ attack, and suspicion still hangs over the Uchiha clan.
That alone is enough to prevent them from openly opposing the village.”
Hiruzen released a long sigh.
“I only hope the Uchiha can understand the village’s difficulties.”
“Sarutobi, you are far too softhearted.
Why should we show the Uchiha any courtesy?” Danzō snapped.
“You saw the Sharingan reflected in the Nine-Tails’ eyes that night.”
“And then there is what happened yesterday.
The story spreading from the Uchiha compound claims that a mysterious assailant attacked their clan head’s residence again.
Utter nonsense.
Even if they wish to clear themselves of suspicion, this is hardly the way to do it.”
His expression grew colder.
“Especially that brat from Fugaku’s family.
He possesses no Will of Fire whatsoever.
To prevent an Uchiha uprising, I believe we should intensify our surveillance of the clan.”
Hiruzen fell silent for a moment before taking another pull from his pipe.
“I will leave the matter to your Root.
Be mindful of the consequences.
The village is still at war.
We cannot afford to have the front lines under pressure while chaos erupts behind them and turns us into a laughingstock before the other villages.”
“Hmph!”
Danzō let out a dissatisfied snort, rose with the aid of his cane, and left the Hokage Building.
At the same time, the Uchiha clan meeting hall was in complete uproar.
The moment Fugaku announced the proposed relocation of the clan compound, fierce arguments erupted throughout the hall.
Seated at the front, Fugaku felt a pounding headache coming on.
“Why should we relocate to the banks of the Naka River?
Can that even be called relocation?
They are exiling us!”
“Clan Head, I absolutely refuse to accept this!”
An elder sprang to his feet and shouted furiously.
“This is clearly a conspiracy by the village leadership!”
“Exactly!”
“We cannot move, Clan Head!”
The clansmen below immediately joined the uproar.
“Silence!”
Fugaku roared.
The hall instantly quieted, and countless clansmen stared at him with crimson eyes.
Clearly, this matter had crossed the limits of what many of them were willing to endure.
“You must understand that most of the clan’s elite Jōnin have been deployed to the border with Kumogakure.
No matter how loudly we protest, we currently lack the strength to oppose the village’s decision.”
As Fugaku’s words settled over the hall, many of the clansmen gradually calmed down.
However, the silence did not last long.
“Even so, we cannot move!” one of the more radical elders shouted.
“I refuse to believe the village would dare force us out!”
“After the Nine-Tails’ attack, the Uchiha clan was already pushed to the fringes of political power.
Now they want to exile us to the edge of the village as well.
Are they trying to isolate us completely?”
The meeting hall, which had only just fallen quiet, erupted into chaos once again.
The argument continued without pause until the clan meeting finally ended.
Seeing that no agreement could be reached, Fugaku had no choice but to adjourn the discussion and announce that they would reconvene that evening.
When Yusuke, Izumi, and Itachi returned from the Academy, all three immediately sensed that something was wrong within the clan compound.
Every Uchiha they passed wore a grim expression, and the atmosphere was unbearably oppressive.
After saying goodbye to Izumi, Yusuke brought Itachi home.
There, they found their father sitting beside the dining table with a deeply troubled expression.
Normally, Mikoto would have finished preparing dinner by this time.
Today, however, the table was completely empty, and their mother was nowhere to be seen.
“Father, has something happened?”
Yusuke and Itachi knelt on the cushions as Yusuke asked in a solemn voice.
“Yusuke, you are already a powerful shinobi.
You will attend tonight’s clan meeting with me.”
Fugaku was clearly under tremendous pressure.
He had no choice but to use the weight of his genius son’s presence to strengthen his own authority within the clan.
Yusuke naturally knew what this was about.
It could only concern the relocation of the Uchiha compound.
He did not know how the matter had been resolved in the original story, but this time, with him involved, he would never allow the Third Hokage and the others to brush the Uchiha aside so easily.
They wanted the entire Uchiha clan to relocate without offering anything in return?
They could keep dreaming.
“Understood, Father,” Yusuke replied, his eyes flickering.
Beside him, Itachi looked visibly anxious.
He wanted to attend as well.
Fugaku seemed to notice his thoughts.
After several seconds of silence, he spoke.
“Itachi may come too.
However, you cannot enter the meeting hall.
You will listen from outside the door.”
A trace of disappointment crossed Itachi’s face, but he still nodded.
He knew the rules of the clan meeting.
To be admitted, one had to prove their strength before the clan.
Although Itachi already possessed the ability of a Genin, that level of strength was nowhere near enough for his father to make an exception on his behalf.
He would have to work harder.
He would graduate from the Academy early, just as Shisui had, and prove his strength to both his father and the entire clan.
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