Someone who was one step ahead of their peers was a genius, but someone who was many steps ahead was an absolute monster.
Before Jie Uchiha, the only ninja renowned for graduating early was the famous Kakashi Hatake. Yet, even Kakashi had obediently studied at the Ninja Academy for a full year before taking the exam. Jie, on the other hand, applied for early graduation on the exact same day he enrolled. The difference between the two was staggering.
Furthermore, Kakashi's graduation exam pitted him against an ordinary Chunin, and he barely managed to survive the required five minutes by heavily relying on tactics. Jie, however, faced Kakashi himself as his proctor. Not only had he seized the absolute initiative during the fight, but he even edged out a slight victory in the end.
While it was true that Kakashi hadn't gone all out and held back several of his deadlier techniques, the villagers didn't care about the nuances. All they knew was that Jie Uchiha had won.
Practically overnight, Jie became the village's golden child—the genius everyone compared their own children to. Whispers already painted him as Minato Namikaze's successor and the future Hokage of the Hidden Leaf.
While the villagers joyfully celebrated the rise of another super genius, the one person who should have been the happiest was currently stressing in his office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took another long, slow drag from his pipe. If a talent of this caliber had emerged in any other village, their Kage would have undoubtedly stepped in to personally mentor them, pouring every available resource into their development. Even if this genius had been born into the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the Hyuga, or any of Konoha's smaller clans, Hiruzen wouldn't have a headache right now. He likely would have already shown up at their door to take the boy as his disciple, further consolidating the village's core strength.
But as fate would have it, this genius belonged to the Uchiha clan.
The thought alone made Hiruzen take another heavy puff from his pipe.
"Sarutobi, I told you long ago. The Uchiha clan is a plague," Danzo stated, hobbling into the Hokage's office with his cane. His face was entirely devoid of emotion. "Hand Jie Uchiha over to me. I will forge him into Konoha's most powerful weapon."
Hiruzen didn't even have to think before shaking his head. "Impossible. Fugaku would never agree, and neither would the rest of the Uchiha."
"You are the Hokage," Danzo argued, suppressing the anger rising in his chest. "If you issue a direct order, do you really think the Uchiha would dare disobey?"
"It is not that simple," Hiruzen sighed, shaking his head again. "Jie is the young head of the Uchiha clan. He is tied to too many political threads. If we force their hand, it will only push the Uchiha toward rebellion. And if that happens, the other clans in the village will lose faith in us. The cost far outweighs the benefit."
Of course, there was one thing Hiruzen didn't say out loud: If he handed the boy over to Danzo, it would be impossible to tell whether Konoha's 'most powerful weapon' would actually serve the village, or if he would merely serve Danzo.
Having worked alongside Hiruzen for decades, Danzo understood his old teammate's unspoken thoughts perfectly. His expression darkened.
"You will regret not giving him to me today, Sarutobi," Danzo said coldly. He stared at the Hokage for a few heavy seconds before turning around and marching out of the office.
Hiruzen shook his head, brushing off Danzo's attitude as usual. However, Danzo's aggressive demands had actually sparked an idea in the Hokage's mind. Pulling out a fresh scroll, Hiruzen penned an official invitation, stamped it with his personal Hokage seal, and dispatched an Anbu operative to deliver it directly to the Uchiha compound.
'Hopefully, this works,' he thought.
.....Later that night, deep within the Uchiha clan grounds.....
'What? Old man Sarutobi is inviting me to join the Anbu?' Jie stared down at the handwritten letter in his hands, utterly bewildered. 'Is my hearing shot, or has that old man completely lost his mind?'
He knew from canon that Itachi Uchiha would eventually enter the Anbu, but wasn't that just a calculated move by Hiruzen to brainwash him and bait him into betraying his own family? By inviting Jie into the Anbu now, did Hiruzen actually think he could brainwash him into becoming a loyal lapdog?
"I actually think this is a fantastic opportunity, Jie," Fugaku said, his voice trembling with suppressed excitement. "With your talent, you should be able to secure a position of authority within the Anbu very quickly. You can gather vital intelligence on the village from the inside, and the Uchiha clan will fully support you from the shadows. Once you've accumulated enough merit to step out from the Anbu's secrecy, you might just be able to make a direct play for the Hokage's seat."
In Fugaku's eyes, this invitation was a clear sign that Hiruzen Sarutobi was softening and making peace overtures toward the Uchiha clan.
Jie, however, didn't share his father's optimism. Knowing Hiruzen's true nature, unless the old man dropped dead in the next second without leaving a will, there was absolutely no way he would ever allow an Uchiha to become Hokage. The idea was pure fantasy.
That being said, joining the Anbu wasn't necessarily a bad move for Jie.
Given the nature of his System, a peaceful village environment simply couldn't provide him with the nutrients he needed to grow stronger. The Anbu, however, spent their time hunting down missing-ninjas and executing high-risk, bloody missions. That was exactly the kind of environment where Jie could harvest the best rewards.