The group Natsuhiko had been thinking about was indeed troublesome.
In all of Konoha, the faction with the most talent—highly emotional, less rational, and not particularly well-liked—was, no matter how one looked at it, only that one group.
The Uchiha clan, who controlled the Konoha Military Police Force.
It had to be said—the Uchiha were truly a fertile field.
Their talent was astonishing.
But here was the problem:
Their situation was also extremely bad.
Natsuhiko felt that too much contact with them might even bring trouble upon himself.
They were already internally divided.
One faction claimed they were being treated unfairly and considered using force to win the village's recognition.
The other believed violence would not solve anything and wanted to negotiate openly and peacefully with the village.
In Natsuhiko's view, neither path would lead to a good outcome.
Go to war with Konoha?
Yes, Konoha was weakening.
But how much strength did the current Uchiha truly have?
If he remembered correctly, at this time the Uchiha might not even have a Mangekyō Sharingan.
Even if they did, it was likely just one pair: Fugaku Uchiha's.
While it was true that the future held more Mangekyo users, two of them were destined to be brainwashed and led astray.
And as for Fugaku's personality—
Just look at how, in the original story, he calmly waited to be cut down by his own son during the clan massacre.
At the Kage level, they were almost negligible.
As for middle and lower-tier strength—
Yes, the Uchiha members were elites.
But how many ninja did Konoha have in total?
Furthermore, Sarutobi Hiruzen had inherited Tobirama Senju's strategies for dealing with the Uchiha.
He had long since deepened the divide between the Uchiha and the village.
There were countless people who harbored resentment toward them.
"This would be a completely unequal war. No wonder Fugaku never dared to take the lead. If he hadn't been forced into a corner, he might have kept enduring indefinitely."
Natsuhiko shook his head.
As for negotiating peace with Konoha?
It wasn't impossible.
The question was whether anyone was willing to negotiate with them.
The only person both willing and capable of doing so was the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
And yet—
He would die in the Nine-Tails' attack.
With that, the one person who could offer the Uchiha hope would be gone.
Their future would truly be bleak.
"Should I make contact with the Uchiha?"
Natsuhiko silently calculated in his mind.
In terms of talent and potential, winning over the Uchiha would be enormously helpful to his plans.
But the problem was—
He was currently only an Anbu squad captain.
And beyond that, the relationship between the Senju and the Uchiha was what it was.
Within a year, once the Fourth Hokage died, he would have even less foundation for drawing them in.
"This really is a headache. I'll take it one step at a time. If necessary, I'll just make contact with the two who'll enter the Anbu in the future."
Among the Uchiha who would enter the Anbu, there were two:
Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi.
To be honest, Natsuhiko didn't particularly admire either of them.
Mainly because of some of their decisions.
Of course, if one limited their perspective to a single village and a single clan, their choices weren't entirely incomprehensible.
At the end of the day, they were ninja—not policymakers.
The real issue lay with Fugaku.
"And of course, their own worldview and values are somewhat problematic.
If they enter the Anbu and haven't been completely brainwashed yet, perhaps I can approach them.
If they've already been reshaped—then forget it."
Natsuhiko quickly made up his mind.
If possible, he had no intention of giving up on the Uchiha—the fertile field of talent.
But the people he could realistically approach were limited.
Moreover, the influence of the "Will of Fire" was incredibly strong.
He had no desire to create unnecessary trouble for himself.
After all, for so many years—whether at the Academy or within the Anbu—
Natsuhiko had always presented himself as someone who perfectly embodied the Will of Fire.
Whenever he was asked about his dreams, his answer was always textbook-perfect:
"To protect the village and strive to become Hokage."
He would never say something like wanting to protect a specific person.
In times of war, no one believed in that future "bonds" rhetoric.
Wartime had wartime policies.
Peacetime had peacetime strategies.
If a war was lost, the price would be unimaginable.
That was how the tragedy of Sakumo Hatake came to be.
Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that Kakashi's father's prestige had already exceeded what Sarutobi Hiruzen and his faction could tolerate.
Sakumo Hatake did not seem to belong to the Second Hokage's lineage.
And at the time, public opinion was extremely unfavorable toward him.
It was even said that the very people he saved hated his actions.
How many hands were pushing events behind the scenes was obvious at a glance.
Because Sakumo's rise posed a fatal threat to the Second and Third Hokage's political lineage.
Natsuhiko would never follow that path.
He hadn't even "finished off" teammates who dragged him down.
Honestly, his teammates should be thanking him.
That was political correctness.
Knock knock knock.
Just as Natsuhiko was deep in thought, someone knocked on his door, snapping him back to reality.
He remembered that the elder had mentioned preparing a gift for him.
As for what that gift was, Natsuhiko wasn't entirely sure.
He only knew that once members of their clan reached a certain age, they could choose to learn specific techniques.
The Senju clan had once been wealthy and powerful.
Although many techniques had been "donated" to Konoha for various reasons, they had still kept numerous copies.
Some things hadn't been handed over at all.
For example, Sage Techniques were absolutely not given to the village.
Of course, Konoha likely knew this.
But Sage Mode training was extraordinarily difficult—Jiraiya's example proved that.
And Konoha also had to maintain some sense of propriety.
If they acted too aggressively, it could cause unnecessary friction.
Even if they weren't afraid of trouble, they didn't want resentment brewing among the clans.
Especially since such an issue might spread to other families—that would hardly be worth it.
Opening the door, Natsuhiko saw a middle-aged man standing outside.
His name was Uesugi Gen.
Natsuhiko was quite familiar with him.
Although he had been raised by the elder, his foundational ninja training had been guided by Uesugi Gen.
"Uncle Gen," Natsuhiko immediately wore a gentle smile and bowed slightly. "The elder mentioned it earlier. I didn't expect you to be the one delivering it."
"I live nearby. And it's been a while since I've seen you," Uesugi Gen said with a smile.
He patted Natsuhiko on the shoulder, a mysterious grin appearing on his face.
"I think you already know why I'm here. Take a guess—what did I bring you?"
"More secret techniques from the Second Hokage?" Natsuhiko blinked, asking uncertainly.
He had once casually mentioned during training that the Second Hokage's secret techniques were something people deeply coveted.
Before Orochimaru, the greatest researcher in the ninja world had been Tobirama Senju—without exaggeration.
Even now, Tobirama's techniques still exerted significant influence across the ninja world.
Natsuhiko hoped to obtain one—even just a single technique would suffice.
The Water Release techniques he currently practiced weren't true secret arts.
They were merely powerful water techniques.
"What are you thinking? At your age, you're only allowed to learn one," Uesugi Gen shook his head.
Then he handed the scroll directly to Natsuhiko.
"Here. Though… I hope you'll put in the effort."
"Put in the effort?" Natsuhiko asked, puzzled.
But the moment he opened the scroll, he understood.
Because written clearly across it were several unmistakable words:
Flying Thunder God Technique.
PS: Damn it, I accidentally posted this to my old book!
Sorry, sorry—don't subscribe over there, that was my mistake!
QAQ