"Danzo. Why are you looking for me today?"
Uchiha Itachi had planned to pick up Sasuke from the academy today, but unexpectedly, he encountered Danzo here—and was even led to this spot!
He knew Danzo had something to say, but... he didn't want to hear pointless nonsense.
His tone was cold and distant.
"Look at Konoha, such a peaceful and serene place. Look at these children." Danzo's gaze landed on the academy children, his single eye finally settling on one child walking out of the academy.
So, this was Itachi's younger brother.
"Konoha has always been peaceful," Itachi replied, his eyes also resting on Sasuke. His tone remained icy.
"Heh... peaceful? But there are some people—no, an evil clan—intent on disrupting this hard-won peace," Danzo continued, though now his voice grew colder.
It had been six months since he orchestrated Shisui Uchiha's death, yet the Third Hokage had shown no response. This left him uneasy.
Thus, with the start of the academy term, he sought out Itachi.
"No one can disrupt this peace," Itachi answered, glancing at Danzo again.
His tone carried a solemn weight.
Since Shisui's death, Itachi had truly realized the difficulty of being caught between his clan and the village. His voice grew heavier with resolve.
"No one will disturb Konoha's peace. But... your clan doesn't seem to think the same," Danzo sneered, his words deliberate.
His face bore a faint, inscrutable smile.
"I won't let that happen," Itachi shook his head firmly. But as he glanced toward Sasuke, waiting outside the academy for him, he began walking toward the gate.
"Sasuke's done with the academy. I'm leaving now."
With those words, Danzo was left behind.
"Itachi, think carefully about the choice you need to make!" Danzo called out after him, watching his retreating figure.
Itachi seemed as if he hadn't heard anything and kept walking forward. Growing impatient, Danzo raised his voice and tried to sound threatening: "Your time is running out. I'll come to you again. Next time, I expect a satisfying answer!"
As Danzo finished speaking, two masked ninjas appeared by his side.
He didn't feel entirely at ease facing Itachi alone, so these ninjas were there to ensure his safety.
"Lord Danzo, are you just going to let him leave like that?" one of the masked ninjas asked, standing beside him.
These two were Danzo's most loyal subordinates. They always considered his best interests, and seeing Itachi show such blatant disregard for him filled them with anger.
Knowing that the Uchiha clan was planning a coup only deepened their disdain for the clan.
"I will find him again," Danzo said, a cold glint flashing in his single eye as he continued to watch Itachi.
When he noticed Itachi smiling slightly at his younger brother, Sasuke, Danzo's lips curled into a faint smirk. "A ninja should never have a weakness. Otherwise... no matter how strong they are, that weakness will bring them down. Itachi now has a weakness."
"Heh... if there's a weakness, the Root will find a way to exploit it."
At the academy gates, Itachi seemed to sense Danzo's piercing gaze. He frowned and turned in Danzo's direction, their eyes meeting.
Danzo gave a peculiar smile, but to Itachi, it felt more like a threat. His expression darkened instantly.
"Brother... what are you looking at?" Sasuke asked curiously, noticing his older brother's strange behavior.
"It's nothing. We should head home," Itachi replied, shaking his head. He took Sasuke's hand and began walking away.
On their way, Sasuke's popularity with the girls at the academy became evident. Little girls would occasionally wave or greet him, and Sasuke, still cheerful and unscarred by the tragedy to come, would sometimes smile and respond.
Watching Sasuke's smiling face, Itachi's eyes unconsciously softened with satisfaction.
As the brothers walked further away, Genya, who had been observing them from a distance, had a glimmer of light in his eyes.
In the following days, Genya visited the academy a few times but soon stopped going. Instead, he focused on patrolling Konoha.
One day, while patrolling, he heard an argument coming from a nearby alley that caught his attention.
"Hit him! Beat him up! Does he still dare to defy us?" A boy's arrogant voice echoed through the area. "Hmph, still acting all cool and untouchable? What are you? Just a commoner, aren't you?"
His words dripped with disdain for commoners.
He and his lackeys took a few steps forward. In a narrow alley, they saw a group of boys surrounding and beating up another boy.
The boys were around eleven or twelve years old, their faces filled with arrogance. The leader stood out with his Byakugan, a clear Hyūga trait, though the others appeared to be heirs of other prominent clans, not Hyūga themselves.
The boy being beaten had a determined look in his eyes. He glared at them silently, refusing to show weakness.
"Yo, Hiro-niisan, this kid's still not backing down!"
"Haha... Isn't he just a commoner? No matter how talented he is, can he ever compare to us, the ones with special bloodline limits or secret techniques?"
"I even looked into it—his parents aren't even shinobi!"
Their contempt for the commoner was evident in their sneering tones.
"He's supposed to be some prodigy at ninjutsu, right? Then let's break his hands. Let's see how he competes with us after that!"
Their voices grew increasingly cruel, showing no regard for the life of a commoner.
"Hiro, let's just rough him up a bit. If we break his hands, we'll get in trouble."
"He's just a commoner. The village won't care about him. Besides, isn't your great-uncle the Hokage?"
"Yeah, he's nothing more than a commoner!"
Their casual conversation revealed their intent to cripple the boy, treating it as if it were a trivial matter.
The boy tried to resist, but with several heirs from noble clans holding him down, he couldn't fight back.
His eyes, locked onto his attackers, were cold as ice, burning with hatred.
"Stop it! Who gave you the right to beat someone up?" A sharp voice interrupted them.
It was Genya, shouting in anger. Turning to the person behind him, he commanded, "Uchiha Furin, record their crimes and take them to the Police Force!"
The Uchiha following Genya, Furin, glanced at the group. Disgust flashed in his eyes as he prepared to act.
Ever since following Genya, he had seen quite a few cases of powerful clans bullying commoners.
But he never expected someone to be so cruel, trying to sever a ninja's arm.
A few spoiled heirs, even though they graduated from the Ninja Academy, were quickly captured by Uchiha Furin and his team.
"Are you from the Uchiha Police Force Division? You can't arrest me! I am from the Hyuga main family!"
"Why are you arresting me? I just hit a commoner!"
"I am Sarutobi Tenmaru! The Hokage is my great-uncle!"
"Why are you arresting me?"
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