Chapter 48 (Patreon)

Uchiha Itachi, who was only six years old, asked a question even Fugaku could not answer.

I’d rather not have eyes like these.

Fugaku fell silent.

Only after a long while did he speak in a low voice.

“Itachi… this is how the Uchiha survive.”

“No.” Itachi shook his head hard. “There has to be another way.”

“If strength can only be gained through pain… then I don’t want that kind of strength.”

Back then, when that hell of Wood Release had erupted—

Itachi had truly believed Yujiro would die beneath such overwhelming ninjutsu.

And in that instant of anger, fear, and despair…

His Sharingan had awakened.

“Itachi, you need to understand…” Fugaku sighed quietly.

“I—”

Before Itachi could argue, a calm voice came from outside the hall.

“That way of thinking is wrong, Itachi.”

Yujiro’s voice drifted in.

A moment later, he walked in leisurely, dressed in a black martial arts uniform, a sword at his side.

Itachi stared at him without blinking.

“You said your Sharingan awakened because of despair and pain.”

Yujiro smiled faintly. “But the way I see it, despair is only a wall.”

“If you break through it, you become stronger.”

“And once you’re stronger, you can protect what you want to protect.”

“Pain itself doesn’t matter.”

His eyes settled on Itachi.

“What matters is what you do with it.”

Yujiro stepped closer and lightly tapped Itachi’s forehead with his index finger.

“Turn pain into strength. Then use that strength to protect the people beside you.”

“Got it?”

The moment those words fell, Fugaku, who had been seated at the head of the room, could no longer remain calm.

His eyes widened slightly.

“Turn pain into strength… then use that strength to protect the people beside you…”

He murmured the words under his breath.

Then he inhaled deeply.

Such a simple sentence.

And yet, it struck directly at the core of the Uchiha clan.

The Sharingan often awakened through intense emotional pain.

After that pain, many Uchiha were consumed by hatred, obsession, or extremity.

But…

Wasn’t the strength born from the desire to protect someone supposed to be used for that very purpose?

Surely, the people who had died would not want those who awakened their eyes to lose themselves in hatred.

Fugaku looked at Yujiro with a complicated gaze.

This child…

He could actually see that deeply.

For a moment, Fugaku even felt the presence of a leader from him.

This boy’s future was impossible to measure.

Perhaps…

The change between the Uchiha clan and Konoha would begin with him.

“Got it?” Yujiro tapped Itachi’s forehead again.

Itachi had been standing there in a daze.

Slowly, the confusion in his eyes cleared.

Then his gaze became firm.

“Yes.”

Yujiro nodded. “Good.”

Itachi was smart.

Too smart, even.

He thought about far more than children his age should.

For someone like him, there was no need to explain everything in detail.

A single push was enough.

The rest depended on what he chose to understand.

“Itachi, I came to tell you something.”

Yujiro turned slightly.

“Tomorrow morning, eight o’clock. Seventh Training Ground.”

After saying that, he left as casually as he had come.

He really had only stopped by on the way.

After meeting Minato, he had simply come to pass on the message.

Still…

Yujiro was beginning to look forward to it.

He wanted to know where the limit of his current strength truly was.

Even during the last mission, when he fought Obito, it had only been a brief clash.

Yujiro still had many abilities he had not used.

At that time, Obito had not been in the mood to continue either, so their battle had ended without a real result.

Jiraiya?

That might be interesting.

Yujiro left the Uchiha compound.

Night had already fallen.

He walked alone through the forest outside the village.

Five minutes later, he suddenly stopped.

Then he spoke calmly.

“Come out, Orochimaru.”

From the moment he left the Uchiha compound, Yujiro had sensed a cold, unsettling presence following him.

That kind of chill belonged to only one person.

Orochimaru.

At the edge of the dense forest, a figure slowly stepped out from between the trees.

Orochimaru’s golden eyes narrowed slightly, and his lips curled into a faint smile.

“Yujiro-kun… you really are interesting.”

He licked his lips, his voice low and eerie.

Yujiro looked him up and down.

“Did you come here to fight me?”

Orochimaru’s chakra did not feel especially overwhelming.

Which meant…

Had he already begun researching the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique?

Or had he already succeeded?

“No.” Orochimaru shook his head. “Not tonight.”

“I simply want your body.”

His smile grew colder.

“As my next vessel.”

Yujiro’s expression did not change.

“So you came to capture me?”

“No.” Orochimaru shook his head again. “I can feel it. You are not ordinary.”

“But what exactly makes you dangerous… I still cannot say.”

His voice lowered slightly.

“I came to tell you something.”

“Root has already begun moving against you.”

“I would rather not have my future vessel die before I can claim it.”

“Root, huh?”

Yujiro smiled faintly.

So Danzo had finally set his eyes on him.

Fine.

Yujiro had never been afraid of Root.

On the contrary, if those deeply buried rats really came after him, it would suit him perfectly.

After all, if he wanted to keep unlocking his Limiter, training alone would not be enough.

Real pressure was necessary.

Real danger was necessary.

After saying what he came to say, Orochimaru turned and disappeared into the darkness.

He had truly only come to deliver that message.

Orochimaru never bothered hiding his ambition.

His meaning was simple.

Yujiro, I want your body.

Root has noticed you too.

So until I take you as my vessel, don’t die.

Yujiro stood alone beneath the night sky.

He was not afraid of Danzo.

If anything—

He was looking forward to it.

Hopefully, Root would not disappoint him.