With even the toads of Mount Myoboku making their move, a creeping sense of urgency finally took root in Jie Uchiha's heart.
Sure, he was confident that no one in the current ninja world could rival his raw strength. But who knew what kind of hidden trump cards a millennium-old toad might be sitting on?
Even though Jie knew the timeline of the ninja world like the back of his hand, these ancient, deeply buried secrets were ultimately just guesswork.
After all, the Naruto he remembered was just an anime and manga. It only focused on the main characters and the core plot. But now? He was living in a real, breathing ninja world. Every single person—even the nameless characters—had real lives and real emotions.
He couldn't afford to be careless.
A few days later, Jie finished his work and returned home. After eating dinner and chatting with his family for a bit, he retreated to his room, ready to resume his training in the Lightning Release Body Forging Technique.
The deeper he got into his training, the more he realized just how profound the technique really was.
Not only did it continuously temper his physique, but it also seemed to be slowly unlocking the potential of a high-tier Sage Body. On top of that, as his control over his Lightning Release chakra grew, he began to vaguely sense something in the air resonating with it.
Whenever this mysterious resonance triggered, his progress with the Body Forging Technique skyrocketed.
'What exactly is going on?' Jie pondered, furrowing his brow. 'Could this resonance be a reaction between my Lightning Release chakra and natural energy? But what does natural energy have to do with regular chakra?'
If this were some standard cultivation world, the answer would be simple...his body was absorbing natural energy from the environment to strengthen himself from the inside out.
But this was the Naruto world. Here, regular chakra was created by molding the physical energy from the body's 130 trillion cells with spiritual energy. Where did natural energy fit into that equation?
Then, a thought struck him. The God Tree.
The tree absorbed ambient natural energy from the earth and air, processing it through complex transformations to eventually bear a Chakra Fruit. Had he somehow, unwittingly, developed a similar ability?
With so little information to go on, overthinking it was useless. Unable to find a logical explanation right now, he decided to push the matter to the back of his mind.
Just as he steadied his breathing to begin his training, a soft knock sounded at his door.
"Come in."
At this hour, only two people would ever knock on his door... Itachi or Sasuke.
But tonight, Fugaku had dragged Sasuke off to the clan's training grounds to drill basic ninja concepts into his head. So, the visitor could only be Itachi.
Sure enough, the door opened, and Itachi stepped inside.
"Itachi. Did you need something?" Jie asked calmly.
"Brother... I have an idea," Itachi said, his voice hesitant. "I want to leave the village."
"Leave the village? Why?" Jie frowned at the sudden request. A dark thought immediately crossed his mind. "Did someone say something to you?"
Lately, the villagers had been constantly comparing the two brothers. Itachi was exceptionally talented, yes, but standing next to a Hokage brother, anyone would seem overshadowed.
Jie worried that the village gossip had finally gotten to him—that Itachi wanted to run away just to escape his shadow.
Leaving the village wasn't a huge deal on its own. But if Itachi went out there, got exposed to some strange, twisted ideology, and reverted to the horrific "filial son" who massacred his own parents? Jie wouldn't even know how to handle it.
He was confident he had drilled a strong sense of loyalty to the clan and village into Itachi's head. But human minds were fickle. Who could really predict how a person might change?
Hearing the sudden tension in Jie's voice, Itachi hurriedly waved his hands.
"It's not like that, Brother! The villagers might talk, but I haven't taken any of it to heart. It is an absolute honor just to be your younger brother. I only hope to follow in your footsteps for the rest of my life."
Jie stared deeply into Itachi's eyes. He could tell the boy wasn't lying.
His curiosity piqued, he asked, "Then what exactly do you want to do outside the village?"
Itachi hesitated for a second, gathering his thoughts.
"I fought in the battle between Konoha and Iwagakure. I saw it firsthand, Brother. Under your guidance the Konoha shinobi fought with incredible bravery and skill. Meanwhile, the Iwa ninja had completely lost their fighting spirit."
"By the end of the war, Konoha suffered almost zero casualties, while Iwagakure took disastrous losses."
As he spoke, Itachi's voice grew stronger, ringing with absolute conviction.
"This was all because of your Will of Fire."
"Because of what I saw, I am convinced that your Will of Fire is the true key to leading the ninja world into an era of genuine peace. That's why I want to spread it across the entire ninja world...I want everyone to bask in its radiance so that there will never be another war!"
He clenched his fists, his eyes burning with pure determination.
"But to do this, staying cooped up in the village simply won't do. So I need to leave, Brother. I want to travel the world and spread this ideology among everyone!"
Listening to Itachi's incredibly passionate, methodical speech, Jie just stared at him blankly, suddenly feeling an overwhelming wave of suffocation wash over him.
'Did I go too far?' Jie thought wildly. 'How did a perfectly normal kid turn out like this? Since becoming Hokage, did I accidentally master some ultimate, brainwashing version of the Will of Fire?'
Otherwise, why would Itachi be spouting this stuff every single day? Wanting to convert the entire world to it?
Thinking about Itachi's grand, zealous ambitions, Jie felt a massive headache coming on.
'Little brother...you really are my precious little brother. Always finding new ways to give me a hard time.'
Did awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan too early make Itachi forget his own age? He was still only ten years old! A ten-year-old kid wanted to roam the vast ninja world as a missionary?
If Jie actually agreed to this right now, Mikoto Uchiha would tear him to shreds within ten seconds flat.
Of course, Jie conveniently forgot one minor detail... he himself had joined the Anbu and started running dangerous, high-ranking missions across the ninja world at the ripe old age of six.
Compared to him, a ten-year-old Itachi wanting to travel the world was practically restrained.
As the saying goes... 'like brother, like brother'.
Moreover, when Jie thought about it carefully, the ninja world was about to enter a long era of peace—barring any unforeseen disasters. And historically, peacetime was the absolute hardest environment to rapidly increase one's strength.
Jie, of course, had his System. He had already hit the world's strength ceiling, so he didn't need to worry about the daily grind.
But for Itachi? ...Roaming the untamed corners of the ninja world was undoubtedly the fastest way to grow.
Besides, with the entire Uchiha clan and Konohagakure backing him—not to mention Itachi's own Mangekyo Sharingan—Jie honestly couldn't think of anyone who could actually threaten the boy. Well, aside from a few specific freaks in the Akatsuki.
After weighing the pros and cons repeatedly, Jie finally nodded.
"I can agree to your request."
A bright light instantly flashed in Itachi's eyes, his expression lighting up with pure, unadulterated joy.
"However," Jie added, raising a finger, "you have to convince Mother and Father yourself. As long as they—especially Mother—agree to it, I'll let you leave."
Hearing that single condition, Itachi's face immediately plummeted.
Convincing their mother, Mikoto Uchiha...
Just thinking about it made it feel like an absolutely impossible task.
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