When Kakashi suggested going out of the village to train, Uchiha Souji didn't even pretend to think.
"No complaints, no complaints! I've been wanting to travel for a long time!"
He answered almost too fast.
To Kakashi, it looked like youthful enthusiasm.
To Souji, it was the perfect opportunity he had been waiting for.
A chance to get some distance from Konoha.
A chance to scout the outside world.
A chance to prepare more escape routes…
And most importantly—
A chance to walk around without constantly checking over his shoulder for Orochimaru, Danzo, or assassins from the Cloud.
Kakashi nodded, though he secretly sighed inside.
To be honest, he didn't really want to travel.
He liked staying in Konoha, reading his novels, and pretending to work while actually slacking. But Souji's growth rate forced his hand. Some things could only be learned outside the village.
"Alright," Kakashi said. "I'll make the arrangements."
---
A short while later, he was standing in front of a familiar door.
The Hokage's office.
He raised his hand to knock—
And inside, at that exact moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen was grinning like a suspicious old man.
The Third Hokage leaned over his crystal ball, smoke from his pipe curling upward. The image in the crystal was hazy, steamy… clearly showing a women's bath scene somewhere in the village.
Even at his age, Hiruzen still hadn't completely given up his bad hobbies.
He chuckled to himself.
"Ho ho… youth…"
He didn't even get a nosebleed. For his age, that counted as excellent cardiovascular stability.
Then—
BANG BANG BANG.
The sudden loud knocking on the office door almost made him fall out of his chair.
Hiruzen panicked, quickly yanking a red cloth nearby and throwing it over the crystal ball. He cleared his throat, wiped the suspicious moisture from the corner of his mouth, and forced his face into a serious, "I am the wise leader of the village" expression.
He then picked up his pipe and took a slow, calm puff, trying to look as if he had been deep in documents and village affairs.
The knocking came again, more respectfully this time.
"Come in," Hiruzen said, voice steady and authoritative.
He was very good at this kind of acting.
Decades of being Hokage had turned him into a professional.
---
Kakashi opened the door and stepped in.
The room was filled with smoke, giving the illusion of hard work and heavy thinking. On the desk lay opened scrolls and scattered papers. Sarutobi Hiruzen was frowning at one of the scrolls, looking like the burden of the entire world sat on his shoulders.
Completely different from the old man peeking at the bathhouse five seconds ago.
"Lord Hokage," Kakashi said, bowing slightly, "I'm here regarding Uchiha Souji."
Hiruzen set the scroll down slowly and looked up.
"What is it, Kakashi?"
Kakashi stood at attention.
"Souji's growth has exceeded my expectations," he said. "His chakra control is already at the level required for Chidori. I would like to take him out into the ninja world for a time. On the one hand, to broaden his experience and stabilize his mindset…"
He paused.
"And on the other hand… to correct—"
He stopped there.
He struggled to decide whether he should say the rest out loud.
Hiruzen watched him for a few seconds, then took two quiet pulls from his pipe.
"The influence of the Uchiha clan on him, I assume?" Hiruzen said calmly. "You worry he may be affected too deeply if he stays only among them while he's still young?"
Kakashi nodded slightly.
"That is part of it."
He didn't say the rest, but the thought was clear:
No one wanted another Uchiha Madara.
Better to let Souji see the broader world before certain ideas took root. Let him interact with others. Let his vision grow beyond clan walls.
Even a short period of outside experience could change a person's heart forever.
Just like some people, out of pure curiosity, once did something disgusting—like eating something no sane person would ever try—and even if it only happened once, that memory would follow them for life, forever changing their view of the world.
Once certain things had been experienced, they could never be undone.
And Kakashi wanted Souji's experiences to include sunlight, friends, and the realities of the world—not just the silent resentments within Uchiha stone walls.
Hiruzen exhaled smoke slowly.
"Souji is a good seed," he said. "He must be cultivated well. If things go as they should, it doesn't matter if he becomes Hokage one day."
Kakashi's visible eye widened slightly.
Hokage?
Hiruzen continued, his gaze turning distant.
"It's time for the village to change from the original pattern it had since the First Hokage. The same style of leadership cannot last forever. Someone new must rise."
He sighed.
"Konoha is currently at its lowest point. No war yet, so there is peace. But peace can easily make people lazy, blind, and soft. We need the next generation to stand up early. That boy is one of those who can."
Kakashi stayed quiet, listening.
Hiruzen waved his pipe lightly.
"I understand what you want to do, Kakashi. Take him. Train him. Temper him. But be careful."
He leaned forward slightly.
"I'll assign several Anbu to follow you secretly. The pack of wolves in Cloud Village are still staring at Souji. They won't give up easily."
He paused.
"And also… watch Shimura Danzo."
The air became heavier at that name.
Hiruzen took a deeper drag from his pipe, looking conflicted.
To be honest, he didn't want to move against Danzo. Danzo had been his comrade, classmate, and battle partner since youth. When Hiruzen became Third Hokage, Danzo's support and actions helped shape that path.
They had fought together.
Bled together.
Survived together.
Hiruzen knew Danzo had done terrible things. He also knew many of those things were done "for Konoha"—but in ways that crossed lines Hiruzen himself couldn't bring himself to cross.
Like his former student said…
Sarutobi Hiruzen had grown old. And soft.
The clean, sharp principle of "cut it off when it becomes rotten" had blurred in his heart. He knew he should rein Danzo in, yet he kept hesitating—for the sake of old friendship, for the sake of shared past, for the sake of not wanting to destroy what little remained of that bond.
He shook his head, clearing out the thoughts.
Enough.
Now was not the time to dwell on it.
---
He picked up a different scroll from the side and placed it on the desk, pushing it toward Kakashi.
"Since you're going out anyway, help me with another matter."
Kakashi stepped forward and took the scroll.
"Lord Hokage?"
Hiruzen looked slightly irritated now.
"Find Jiraiya. After the last summoning to Mount Myoboku was used up, we couldn't contact him anymore. You'll have to look for him the old-fashioned way."
He took another deep drag, his eyebrow twitching.
"Tell him about Orochimaru's defection. Ask him when he intends to come back and take over the Hokage position!"
By the end of the sentence, Hiruzen's calm tone had turned into angry frustration.
He really, truly, from the bottom of his heart, envied Jiraiya's lifestyle.
Every day, that idiot wandered around:
Today a red-light district.
Tomorrow an izakaya.
Morning peeking at the women's baths.
Night drinking and researching "material" for his next adult novel.
And he made money from it.
Pocket money from filth.
Originally, that was supposed to be Hiruzen's own retirement life.
Enjoying his final years with hot springs, sake, and nostalgia.
But what happened instead?
One chosen successor defected from the village in pursuit of twisted immortality.
The other successor ran away, wrote books, avoided responsibility, and pretended not to hear the word "Hokage" ever again.
So here Hiruzen was.
Still at the desk.
Still drowning in paperwork.
Still spying through his crystal ball when he had a sliver of free time.
He felt bitter.
---
Kakashi scratched his cheek awkwardly.
He tucked the scroll into his vest.
"I understand. I will look for Jiraiya-sama in the Fire Country's capital first. That was his last known location."
Hiruzen nodded.
"The last time anyone saw that idiot, it was indeed in the capital. Start your search from there. I doubt he's managed to drag himself very far."
Kakashi bowed.
"If there is nothing else, Lord Hokage, I will temporarily hand over Anbu duties today and depart with Uchiha Souji tomorrow morning."
Hiruzen waved him off.
"Go. And be careful. The world outside is calm on the surface, but the undercurrents are still there."
"Yes."
Kakashi turned and left the office.
Hiruzen watched him go, then glanced at the covered crystal ball on his desk.
After a few seconds… he coughed, checked the seal on the office door, and slowly lifted the red cloth again.
Well.
He was still an old man, after all.
---
Night fell over Konoha.
The village's lights flickered to life one by one like stars landing on rooftops. Most people returned home. Some ninjas rotated into night shifts. Others, like ANBU and Root, slipped silently into the darkness for their shadow work.
Far beneath the peaceful streets, in a hidden underground base,
Shimura Danzo sat on a chair under dim candlelight.
The flame flickered and danced, throwing uncertain shadows across his face, making his single visible eye look even colder.
He held a scroll in his hand.
The fingers gripping it were pale and tight.
"Uchiha Souji… you are really damned."
The words slipped out like poison.
He slammed the scroll onto the table beside him.
The scroll contained detailed reports—Root's information network was still sharp, even if Hiruzen tried to suppress it. The content was simple but infuriating:
> Uchiha Souji will leave the village with Hatake Kakashi.
This journey will be both training and escort.
And in the process—
Kakashi intends to teach him Chidori.
That was the point.
That was the part Danzo couldn't tolerate.
Chidori was not an ordinary ninjutsu.
It was Kakashi's personal killing technique. His signature.
It was S-rank material, extremely deadly, tightly linked with Sharingan use.
And now he was planning to give it to an Uchiha child?
To a child who already had powerful eyes, a demon blade, clan backing, and rising reputation?
Danzo's nails dug into the wood of the chair.
"First, he draws the admiration of the clan. Then, he gains the trust of the Hokage. Now even Kakashi wants to train him personally…"
He could see it.
He could see the future forming in front of him like a map:
Uchiha Souji.
Skilled in swordsmanship.
Blessed with Sharingan.
Master of Lightning-style assassination.
Loved by people.
Possibly connected to Jiraiya or others in future.
A boy like that, if allowed to grow freely…
Would become extremely difficult to control.
Danzo's eye narrowed.
"We already lost control of Uchiha Shisui in another life," he thought coldly. "We will not let another unpredictable Uchiha rise so easily."
His gaze hardened.
"Uchiha Souji… you are dangerous."
And dangerous things, to Shimura Danzo—
Were things he wanted to either use…
or erase.
For now, he couldn't move openly.
The Hokage was watching.
ANBU would be guarding.
Kakashi was no fool.
But Danzo was patient.
He had spent his whole life waiting for chances.
And he could wait a bit longer…
For the moment when Uchiha Souji took one wrong step.
---
Far above, Konoha slept.
Tomorrow, a certain boy and his lazy teacher would stand at the gate, ready to leave for a "journey of training."
Some saw it as growth.
Some saw it as danger.
Some saw it as opportunity.
But one thing was certain—
Uchiha Souji's path was no longer just a clan's story.
It was about to become a story that spread across the entire ninja world.
And in the shadows,
people like Shimura Danzo were sharpening their hatred,
whispering:
> "Uchiha Souji, you are really damned."
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