Sarutobi Hiruzen: "I heard... you're planning to leave Konoha? Mind telling me why?"
The reason Toji had been summoned was because the news had gotten out.
Toji had sold off his property and hired a ninja escort to take him out of the village.
"Hokage-sama, to be honest, I've been thinking about this for a long time. Konoha has given me some good memories, no doubt. But it's also the place where I've experienced the most pain."
"I just want a fresh start somewhere new. I hope you'll understand."
That was Toji's real goal all along.
Shinichi, Miyata Yuya's last bit of life force, and the 7,000 blackening points he used — all of it was to get Sarutobi Hiruzen to fully lower his guard.
Rather than waste energy worrying whether the old man would try to eliminate him…
Toji chose to get involved directly — to take advantage of Shinichi and Miyata Yuya, two men who were ready to throw away their lives and squeeze out their final bit of value.
And just as he expected…
After everything that had happened, and given that Toji was just a regular civilian from Konoha without the ability to even utilize chakra…
Sarutobi Hiruzen let his guard down.
He agreed quickly. And before Toji left, he even said a few polite words:
"Alright. I'll authorize the paperwork for your departure. If you need anything, just let us know. And remember, Konoha will always be your home. You're welcome back anytime."
Not that he actually cared whether Toji stayed or not.
Three days later.
The approval to leave was finalized.
Toji had sold off all his property in the village.
And in broad daylight, he hired Uchiha Itachi to escort him out of Konoha.
This raised enough eyebrows for Sarutobi Hiruzen to call Toji into his office again. But after hearing Toji's explanations — "Uchiha Itachi is a Genin, so he's cheaper" and "I've always wanted to meet the village's genius" — his suspicions eased up and he gave the green light.
He even offered Toji a discounted rate.
dam what a good guy
What Sarutobi didn't know was that Toji's reasons went beyond money — although yes, he really couldn't afford a higher-ranked ninja. There were two other major reasons he chose Uchiha Itachi:
1. Security.
Out of all the Genin, Uchiha Itachi was the only one Toji actually trusted. Itachi's character was solid. If anything happened, Toji was confident Itachi would do everything in his power to protect him.
Sure, Sarutobi wasn't watching him anymore.
But who could say Danzo wouldn't try something?
Better safe than sorry.
2...
The second reason?
Toji kept that to himself.
It was more of a long shot anyway. If things played out as he hoped, great. If not, no harm done.
Meanwhile…
At the mission desk…
While Toji was in talks with Sarutobi, Uchiha Itachi arrived after being notified that someone had specifically requested him for a mission.
But there was a snag.
Mission Desk Attendant: "Itachi, you know the rules. No matter how well you've done, Genin aren't allowed to go on missions alone. You need a team."
This was not long after Itachi had awakened his Sharingan — right after all his teammates had died and killed by the masked man.
He was also dealing with his father's reaction, or lack thereof. Fugaku didn't care about the deaths — only that his son had unlocked the Sharingan early.
Because of that, Itachi had become colder, emotionally distant from people except his little brother.
"It's fine," he said. "I can handle the mission myself."
Attendant: "Itachi you know that's completely against protocol—"
Before he could finish, someone stepped in.
Another Uchiha, wearing the clan's high-collar shirt and triangular guard.
Uchiha Shisui.
He walked over to Itachi, gave him a pat on the shoulder, and said, "I'll go with him on this mission. That clears things up, right?"
When Itachi saw Shisui, his expression softened.
"Brother Shisui!"
The two nodded at each other.
Then turned to the desk attendant.
No more objections.
With Shisui leading, no one wanted to risk upsetting the Uchiha clan.
"Alright, alright. I'll process your papers now," the attendant said with a nervous chuckle.
And with that, they left the building together.
Walking through the streets…
Shisui: "Itachi, I know how you feel. But since your teammates gave their lives, you should try to live well — live for their sake too. Help protect the peace they died for. I hope you can understand that."
Toji might have thought Itachi was cold toward everyone.
But not with Shisui.
He didn't answer out loud, but he clearly took the words to heart.
Shisui didn't push.
Eventually, he added, "I won't walk the whole way with you. I'll stay hidden and watch from the shadows. Don't let me down."
The next morning.
Toji packed up.
Slinging a large cloth bag over his back, he headed to the mission desk.
Didn't take long.
Soon, he saw young Uchiha Itachi arrive, right on time.
Toji approached with a smile.
"Judging by your outfit, you must be Uchiha Itachi, right? Nice to meet you. I'm your client, Toji. Please take good care of me."
He held out his hand, unsure if Itachi would shake it.
To his surprise, Itachi did — and even responded kindly.
"Hello. I'm Uchiha Itachi. Thank you for trusting me with this mission. I promise to get you there safely."
That caught Toji off guard.
From what he knew of the timeline, this version of Itachi should've been more aloof — emotionally withdrawn from everything after his teammates' deaths.
Why the friendliness?
"Alright, great!" Toji laughed. "Hey… are you the only one coming?"
He was a little uneasy. According to Konoha's rules, Genin weren't allowed to go on missions outside the village alone.
"Don't worry, Mr. Toji," Itachi replied with a smile. "This is just a C-rank escort mission. I can handle it myself, no problem."
Toji still had concerns.
Not about Itachi's skills — but whether there was a high-ranking ninja watching over them from a distance.
He didn't want to raise any red flags.
So, until they were fully out of the village, he kept up his "harmless civilian" act.
"Well, you're one of Konoha's most genius ninja. I have nothing to worry about!"
"Don't take it the wrong way — I was just curious."
"I mean, it's not like I've made any enemies. I asked for you because I admire your reputation, that's all."
"Hope that's okay with you."
Itachi nodded calmly and assured him it was fine.
He was trying to live up to Shisui's expectations — knowing Shisui was somewhere nearby, watching.
And so, after a bit more small talk…
The two walked out of the village together.