Uchiha Itachi was one of anime’s Four Maniacal Laughers.
Some readers found him incredibly charismatic, while others considered him an absolute bastard.
To Arashi, however, Itachi was a priceless treasure.
Forget the claim that he possessed the mind of a Hokage at a young age.
The fact that he could awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan and master a forbidden technique like Izanami proved that his talent was one in ten thousand.
“This…”
Fugaku froze slightly.
“But Itachi is only six years old.”
“Yet the talent he has displayed already far exceeds that of an ordinary six-year-old.”
Arashi smiled faintly.
“He even graduated from the Academy early and became an official genin, didn’t he?”
“Or are you reluctant to part with your son, Clan Head?”
Of course Fugaku was reluctant.
Itachi was not only his eldest son, but also an astonishing genius Fugaku was personally training.
He was the hidden trump card upon which the entire clan’s future rested—the hope of the Uchiha.
Shisui was currently the clan’s public symbol of military power, a blade displayed for all to see.
Itachi, meanwhile, was an unpolished jewel hidden in the shadows.
With enough time and care, he would eventually shine brilliantly.
With those two forces, one in the light and one in the dark, the Uchiha might finally have a chance to rise again, just as Konoha possessed both its “Fire” and its “Shadow.”
Arashi had demanded both of them at once.
He might as well have reached directly into Fugaku’s chest and torn out his heart.
“Itachi is simply too young…”
“I won’t send him into actual combat.”
“At most, he’ll help organize documents or run errands for me.
He could secretly gather quite a lot of valuable information for the Uchiha.”
Arashi narrowed his eyes again.
“Shouldn’t that make you happy, Clan Head?”
Fugaku drew a deep breath.
He knew that from the moment he agreed to let Obito undergo Hashirama-cell treatment, he had already lost the option to retreat.
As clan head, Fugaku understood that handing over Itachi was the best decision.
As a father, however, he could not stop hesitating.
Therefore, Arashi decided to give him a reason he could not refuse.
“Clan Head, I assume you know how the advisory council works?”
“I do.”
Fugaku did not understand why Arashi had suddenly changed the subject, but he answered instinctively.
“Whenever the village faces a major decision, the Hokage must discuss it with the advisory council.”
“Normally, the chief advisor records everything said during those meetings.”
“However, the Fourth Hokage trusts me deeply, so I will often need to speak on his behalf or make judgments during the discussion.”
“I won’t always have time to keep the minutes.”
“For that reason, I plan to appoint an official recorder for the Hokage’s advisory council.”
Fugaku’s eyes immediately brightened.
The highest-level meetings in Konoha were naturally those attended only by the Hokage and his advisors.
Below them were broader meetings that included the heads of the major clans.
As the Uchiha clan head, Fugaku was qualified to attend the latter.
Unfortunately, Danzo had constantly targeted him, and Fugaku was gradually being pushed toward the edge even there.
As expected, Arashi continued.
“Of course, such an important position cannot be assigned carelessly.”
“It must be held by someone with seniority, great contributions, and, most importantly, absolute loyalty to Konoha.”
Arashi regarded Fugaku through his narrowed eyes.
“No one can deny the Uchiha clan’s history or achievements.”
“And Clan Head, are you not among the people most loyal to Konoha?”
“Advisor Kaeda is absolutely correct.”
After a moment of hesitation, Fugaku finally lowered his proud head.
“I entrust Itachi to you.
Please remember that he is still a child and…
take good care of him.”
“Of course.”
Arashi’s smile deepened.
“I will take very good care of him.”
After all, Itachi was a ruthless man capable of slaughtering his entire clan for the Will of Fire he believed in.
Properly cultivated, he would become an incomparably sharp blade.
At that moment, someone knocked on the office door.
“Clan Head, Uchiha Shisui has arrived.”
“Let him in.”
Fugaku quickly composed himself and deactivated his Sharingan.
The door opened, and a young man wearing the Uchiha Military Police Force’s standard uniform entered.
He had short black hair with slightly raised ends, refined features, and a well-proportioned build.
His most striking feature was naturally his pair of dark eyes.
Even without the Sharingan active, those eyes were calm and unfathomably deep, as though they had already seen both the light and darkness of the shinobi world.
The young man was none other than Uchiha Shisui.
Judging by the current timeline, he should have already awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan and gained the terrifying ultimate technique known as Kotoamatsukami.
At present, Shisui was undoubtedly the strongest Uchiha.
He was experienced, careful, and highly capable.
His only real weakness was his excessive willingness to sacrifice himself.
His belief was simple: “Shinobi are nameless people who support peace from the shadows, but forcing obedience with weapons and maintaining order through violence can never be called peace.”
Whenever possible, Shisui refused to deliver killing blows.
Yet it was precisely that merciful refusal to kill that eventually allowed Danzo to take his life.
Shisui might have been righteous and powerful, but he was far too innocent and kind.
Despite possessing a divine technique like Kotoamatsukami, he was manipulated effortlessly by old men like Hiruzen and Danzo.
Now that Arashi had arrived in this era, he would never allow that to happen.
A power as overwhelming as Kotoamatsukami had to remain under his control.
Would Hiruzen and the others agree?
That did not matter.
At present, they did not even know Kotoamatsukami existed.
Shisui was not an idiot.
He would never reveal the ability of his Mangekyo to everyone.
Only when the conflict between the village and the Uchiha became impossible to resolve did Shisui finally reveal his trump card.
Danzo then stole it almost immediately.
“Shisui, this is Chief Advisor Kaeda Arashi.”
“The Fourth Hokage strongly recommended you as his personal guard.”
Fugaku handed over the official order and patted Shisui’s shoulder.
“Advisor Kaeda is extremely important to both the village and our clan.
You must protect him well.”
Shisui’s gaze shifted subtly.
He strode before Arashi and dropped to one knee.
“Advisor Kaeda, Uchiha Shisui reporting for duty as your personal guard.”
“I’ll be relying on you from now on.”
Arashi smiled and helped him to his feet.
“It’s already getting late.
Report to my office tomorrow morning.”
“But your protection tonight—”
“There’s no need to worry.”
Arashi waved dismissively.
“I live beside Minato.
I doubt anyone would dare challenge the authority of the Yellow Flash.”
He turned toward Fugaku.
“Clan Head, I’ll take my leave.”
“Advisor Kaeda, why not stay and share a simple meal with us?”
Now that Fugaku had decided to place the clan’s fate on Arashi, he naturally wanted to improve their relationship.
“Another day, certainly.
But today…”
Arashi pointed upward.
“I’ve remained here for too long already.
Certain people may become unhappy.”
“You’re right.”
Fugaku also realized the problem.
“Shisui, escort Advisor Kaeda back to his residence.”
Shisui immediately noticed that Fugaku was acting far too warmly.
Given the Uchiha’s hostility toward outsiders, they might not behave this way even if the Hokage himself visited.
Had this man reached some agreement with Fugaku that offered enormous benefits to the clan?
Shisui instantly grasped the general truth, but revealed nothing.
“Yes.”
With Shisui walking beside him, Arashi received no more cold or hostile looks on the journey back.
The two moved in silence, as though whoever spoke first would lose.
Only after reaching Arashi’s door did the younger Shisui finally lose patience.
“Advisor-sama, it wasn’t the Fourth Hokage who chose me, was it?”
“You were the one who recommended me as your guard.”
“Impressive insight.”
Arashi smiled.
“Are you wondering what I’m plotting?”
“I wouldn’t dare.”
Shisui immediately lowered his head.
The strict hierarchy between superior and subordinate found in Japan was just as deeply rooted in the shinobi world.
“There’s nothing daring about it.
Doubt is perfectly natural, and it proves that you’re intelligent.”
Arashi spoke calmly.
“As for my intentions, you’ll have to watch carefully and slowly uncover them yourself.”
“If you wish to understand me, you must first ask yourself one question…”
“What is the Will of Fire?”
After saying that, Arashi entered his home and shut the door.
Shisui remained outside for a moment, lost in thought, before eventually leaving.
Inside the house, however, another Arashi was sitting with a rubber ball in his hand.
His face looked painfully constipated, while the clean floor around him showed that his training had made little progress.
As a Naruto fan who had transmigrated into this world, Arashi naturally had no intention of relying solely on his mind.
He wanted to learn those powerful and spectacular ninjutsu as well.
Unfortunately, without a special advantage or a powerful family supporting him, gaining access to any decent techniques was extremely difficult.
In theory, Arashi had memorized the hand seals of many techniques during his most obsessive teenage years.
Yet after arriving in this world, he discovered that simply forming the seals did not produce the corresponding ninjutsu.
At first, he assumed he lacked control over chakra.
However, even after training relentlessly and mastering fundamentals like tree climbing and water walking, he still could not produce so much as a Great Fireball.
Minato eventually explained the problem.
Performing ninjutsu required more than hand seals.
One also needed to understand the precise path chakra followed through the body.
That path differed for every technique.
Those internal chakra routes were the true secrets passed down through the great clans from generation to generation.
Arashi had been disappointed, but he did not give up.
Minato was still willing to teach him several techniques, and the first one Arashi selected was naturally the Shadow Clone Technique.
Its most valuable feature was the return of the clone’s memories.
That allowed Arashi’s real body to work in the office while his clone secretly trained at home, accomplishing both tasks without wasting time.
The second technique he had chosen was naturally the Rasengan.
To be honest, Minato was not a particularly good teacher.
He was an undeniable genius who understood most things after seeing them once, making it difficult for him to teach an ordinary person like Arashi.
Fortunately, the Rasengan was the only technique in the entire series with a complete, clearly explained training process.
When Jiraiya taught Naruto, he divided the training into several stages.
Arashi had already completed chakra concentration and the water-ball exercise.
He was now stuck on the third stage: the rubber-ball exercise.
“Whew…”
There had only been one clone, but the moment Arashi dispelled it, overwhelming exhaustion flooded his entire body.
Using hundreds of shadow clones to train truly was a privilege reserved for a protagonist like Naruto.
One clone had already reduced Arashi to this state.
Forget two clones.
Had his real body trained alongside it, he would probably be unable to move now.
‘My Rasengan hasn’t improved at all.
This can’t continue…’
Arashi lay on his bed, physically exhausted while his mind continued racing.
‘It looks like it’s finally time for Might Duy to enter the stage.’
…