"Mikoto's due date is in June of this year."
"I will soon have my first child. I plan to name him Itachi."
"Itachi Uchiha!"
Inside the Uchiha compound, at the center of the district, stood a magnificent "Shinden-zukuri" style mansion. Sitting in a washitsu room with the veranda doors wide open, allowing the moonlight to spill across the floor, Ren Uchiha listened to Fugaku Uchiha speak.
After Fugaku poured tea for both of them, he gazed at the bright moon in the sky and fell silent for a moment. Whether it was the touch of emotion from being a first-time father or Ren's own lack of social grace, the atmosphere between them felt a bit stagnant.
"The name 'Itachi'... I recall it doesn't have a very positive connotation, does it?" Ren asked, holding the steaming teacup with both hands. "Why give the child that name?"
In the Shinobi world, a weasel (Itachi) was considered a very unlucky animal. Ren couldn't help but think Fugaku was something of a "naming disaster" genius. The eldest son was named Itachi, and the younger son was named Sasuke—directly after the Third Hokage's father.
Ren couldn't wrap his head around Fugaku's logic. Whether in his past life's memories or now, this man seemed covered in a veil, making him impossible to read. Was he a Dove? Yet he was willing to lead a coup. Was he a Hawk? Yet he often made baffling, frustrating decisions. He was an enigma.
"This child is being born into an ill-omened era," Fugaku said, shaking his head. "War, fire, blood, hatred, and resentment stretch across the horizon. In such a world, if he can be born as someone 'unlucky,' perhaps he might live a slightly easier life... After all, our lives are already painful enough."
Fugaku seemed to want to say more, but he ultimately held his tongue. He looked up suddenly and changed the subject.
"Ren Uchiha, I'm already aware that the Great Elder has nominated you to be the Young Clan Head."
"Then you..." Ren looked up in shock. Fugaku's tone was as calm as still water, as if he were discussing a trivial matter—as if Ren becoming the successor wasn't taking away the position that should have belonged to this young man before him.
Fugaku shook his head at Ren. "It doesn't matter. Who becomes the Clan Head isn't important. What matters is what that person can bring to the clan."
"To be honest, Ren, I actually feel a sense of relief because of this." Fugaku took a sip of tea and exhaled with a look of genuine release.
"I have the resolve to be the leader, but I know my own limits. Compared to the former-former leader Madara Uchiha, who led the clan to found Konoha, or the former leader Kagami Uchiha, who served as the Second Hokage's personal guard and bridged the gap between the village and the clan... my abilities are insufficient."
"There are many things I understand and see, but I cannot solve them. I can only watch them rot and try to mend the fold after the sheep are gone. However—"
Fugaku suddenly stood up, his eyes fixed on Ren with intense focus. "Ren Uchiha, you are different!"
"Your growth rate has left me utterly speechless! From your first battle relying only on Fire Style and shuriken, to fighting Kage-level figures at the Jashin Cult, to becoming a disciple of the Sannin and gaining the power of a Tailed Beast..."
"To outsiders, this looks like twelve years of silent accumulation finally exploding. But only I know—you achieved all of this in just three days!"
"There is no doubt, Ren. You are a genius even more terrifying than Madara Uchiha! A bird that doesn't chirp for years, but when it does, it startles the world!"
"Wait, that's just..." Ren stammered, feeling hesitant. He knew his "rocket-like" rise wasn't due to his own innate talent; it was luck, coincidence, and "cheats." Without the specific circumstances and his system, he never would have progressed this fast.
It gave him a sense of vertigo, as if he were standing on a pavilion in the sky, terrified that the foundationless structure might collapse at any moment. What would be left of him then?
Furthermore, after returning to the village, the frequency of intense battles had decreased, and his rate of growth had already begun to level off. Any progress after reaching the threshold of "Kage" would be slow and subtle. After all, the ceiling of the Shinobi world was fixed.
If one didn't reach the Six Paths, everything was ultimately empty.
"Ren... I understand how you feel." Fugaku looked at Ren's troubled expression. His eyes softened; he saw a reflection of his former self—the same hesitation, the same confusion, the same lack of self-confidence.
But he also didn't quite understand what Ren was worried about. The boy already possessed power that rivaled Kagami Uchiha with his Mangekyō Sharingan. He was already stronger than the current Fugaku, and his future was bound to be even more terrifying.
Fugaku concluded it was simply the weight of such a heavy responsibility falling on a teenager's shoulders. His gaze turned gentle; the expression on Ren's face was exactly like his own when, at sixteen, he had defeated three elite Jōnin to earn the position of Police Force Captain.
Fugaku smiled slightly, walked over to Ren, and squatted down. He placed a hand on Ren's shoulder, looking at him as if looking at a kindred spirit. "Rest easy. I will help you!"
Ren looked up at Fugaku's moved, "I-understand-you" expression and his lip twitched.
Again! Here we go again! Are these Uchihas all crazy? The Great Elder, Seiichiro, Shinichi, Shisui... and now even Fugaku is doing it. What the hell is he imagining in his head right now?!
"Back to business," Fugaku's expression turned solemn. "It's rude to ask about another's techniques, but this is vital for the training the clan has arranged for you. Ren, are you now able to use the Fire Style: Chakra Mode without taking damage?"
Ren frowned slightly but eventually nodded. He had only used it twice in front of other Uchiha, but the clan's intelligence network was not to be underestimated; they had deduced this "impossible" result accurately.
Seeing Ren admit it, Fugaku nodded grimly. "The Great Elder sent word from the Valley of Hell about this. If it's true, then for the next period, aside from the clan's forbidden jutsu, you will train in Uchiha-style Kenjutsu and its supporting Genjutsu. You must master the clan's secret S-rank forbidden Kenjutsu mystery..."
"The Dance of the Halo (Nichiun no Mai)!"
"Furthermore, the clan has invested 300 million ryo into Orochimaru's laboratory. You will need to cooperate with him to complete experiments to nurture the Tailed Beast inside you."
"Additionally, Orochimaru informed us that you are training a special ability that requires a vast array of medicinal ingredients for trial and error. To provide these resources, the clan has spent another 500 million ryo to buy out half of the Nara Clan's medicinal fields. We also spent 30 million on..."
As Fugaku counted off the investments on his fingers, Ren's face grew paler and paler. He was seeing for the first time what "unlimited funding" actually meant.
Investments in living arrangements and gear alone cost nearly 100 million. Then the lab, then half a clan's fields, then buying a subsidiary of the Konoha Hospital and diverting most of its pharmacists and doctors to research recipes for his Cursed Seal training... If the main Konoha Hospital had been for sale, Ren suspected they would have bought that too!
All in all, the Uchiha Clan had poured over one billion ryo just to facilitate his training! They were literally trying to turn him into a "pay-to-win" warrior!
After finishing the financial report, Fugaku pulled out a kraft paper envelope and pushed it toward Ren.
"By the way, this letter arrived from the Land of Hot Water. It was addressed specifically to you. The sender seems to be someone named... Hidan?"
"Huh?" Ren was stunned. He quickly took the letter. A letter from his "little brother" Hidan? It had been nearly a month; he hadn't heard anything about the situation in the Land of Hot Water since he left.
He tore open the envelope and unfurled the paper. Halfway through the letter, his eyes landed on a specific line.
Ren stood up abruptly. He looked at Fugaku, his face darkening with gravity.
"The war... is about to break out!"
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