Uchiha Renjiro was so stunning, far surpassing his peers.
Whether in talent or mentality, this kind of existence made Uchiha Junko place the second big bet of his life.
In the first round, twenty years ago, he chose between the clan leader—Uchiha Madara—and the Great Elder—Uchiha Retsuken.
That time, he abandoned faith and pride for stability and prosperity.
Back then, Uchiha Madara was too extreme and conceited. He attempted to break away from the Land of Fire and Konoha Village, to stand apart from the Five Great Nations.
He believed the Uchiha clan needed no partners and could still stand proudly at the top of the shinobi world on the strength of one clan.
He wanted to lead his people away from Konoha, but was stopped by the Great Elder with a few pointed questions.
"Clan Leader, under your leadership our Uchiha can indeed stand tall in the shinobi world—right now. But what about the future? The Mangekyō Sharingan is too difficult to awaken.
In the past few hundred years, only you and the late Izuna-sama have ever awakened it. What if you, Clan Leader, are no longer here?
"Without Mangekyō, can the Uchiha continue to stand firm in this world? Consider the five great shinobi villages. Our power not only frightens them, it breeds their greed as well!
"When that time comes, will our eyes still belong to us? What will protect our parents, our wives and children, our brothers—another Mangekyō granted by heaven?
"Rather than a homeless mouse scurrying between great powers, better to lean on Konoha and be the tiger everyone fears!
"Master, have you thought about the Uchiha's future? Have you heard the clan's longing for stability? Uchiha is, and should remain, Konoha's largest clan—should it not?"
Facing Uchiha Retsuken's questions, Uchiha Madara sneered, sarcasm thick in his laughter.
"A tiger basking in Konoha's shade? Konoha's largest clan? Hah… hahaha!"
Madara's smile faded to cold seriousness. His Eternal Mangekyō eyes swept indifferently over the clansmen.
"You? You… none of you will leave? No one will go with me???"
Wherever his gaze fell, heads bowed. No one dared meet his eyes.
A few were willing to follow him—but the proud Madara rejected even them.
"Hahahaha!!! Fine then. I need no one standing behind me!"
Madara looked achingly lonely.
"Izuna, I can no longer fulfill my promise to protect the Uchiha. The people I wanted to protect… no longer trust me…"
Uchiha Junko had originally agreed with the Great Elder Uchiha Retsuken, and time proved his choice correct.
Look at the recently destroyed Uzumaki clan, and recall their glory during the Warring States era.
The Uzumaki had powerful bodies, terrifying vitality and chakra.
Their members lived long; their sealing arts were unmatched.
Most importantly, they were low-key and non-confrontational, rarely active in the shinobi world.
And yet, they could not escape destruction.
Facts proved it is difficult for a single clan to survive on strength alone.
When news of the Uzumaki's destruction came, Uchiha Junko couldn't help but feel relieved at his decision.
However, in recent years he had also noticed that the Uchiha were in danger. This was no exaggeration—he had already seen the signs.
He saw the clan's decline. Perhaps the Uchiha were not far from collapse.
Not only were the Uzumaki destroyed, even their former rivals, the Senju, had fallen.
The Uchiha—arrogant, blindly conceited, lacking soul and faith, corroded within, marginalized and suppressed by Konoha's upper echelons—how far could destruction be?
What could save Uchiha?
Uchiha Junko believed the best way was to cultivate another "Uchiha Madara" for the clan.
Uchiha urgently needed a hero, a spiritual core—more than that, a common belief.
Now, too many held power: six elders in total. Factions contended in the light and the dark, each acting alone. Though numerous, the Uchiha could not unite.
Uchiha Junko felt the clan needed one voice.
Uchiha Renjiro might one day become the master of that voice.
As long as he grew smoothly and didn't die young, he would someday hold a place in the clan.
Uchiha Junko firmly believed it.
"You haven't returned to the district for a month, have you?"
Renjiro nodded. "It's too remote and inconvenient."
He did not intend to tell Uchiha Junko about Uchiha Kari. He wanted to kill that man with his own hands.
He felt it wouldn't take long to deal with a Chūnin—give him one to two years with his Two Tomoe Sharingan.
"Alright…"
Uchiha Junko nodded.
"Anything else you want?"
Hearing this, Renjiro grinned. It seemed the Third Elder had seen his value and decided to bet on him.
"Um… could I borrow one or two hundred thousand ryō to start with?" Renjiro asked, face calm.
"???"
"Are you trying to rob me? Do you think I'm a banker? Asking for a hundred thousand or eight hundred thousand just like that? And why does a kid need so much money?"
Uchiha Junko was stunned, then cursed spiritedly. Although he oversaw clan registry and real estate and had strong capital—his net worth in the tens of millions—Renjiro's casual request sounded like he didn't think money was money. He was also curious what a kid would do with so much.
Renjiro fell silent.
He could support himself by hunting now, but butchering, cleaning prey, cooking, drying jerky—too time-consuming.
If possible, he wanted to use that time to train.
"I must have owed you in a past life, you little brat—you're here to collect the debt!"
Seeing Renjiro's silence, Uchiha Junko rubbed his temples, cursing as he shot Renjiro a fierce glare, then flicked his sleeves and left.
Watching Junko's back, Renjiro bowed and called out loudly:
"Thank you!"
After parting with Uchiha Junko, he returned to camp, ate quickly, and began his night training again.
He felt that although his physical condition was now comparable to his peers, he lagged far behind top students like Fugaku.
The biggest reason Fugaku lost so badly today was mentality.
After all, they were just five- or six-year-old kids—easy to break.
Of course, without the Phoenix Fire Technique, relying on bare-handed fighting he would have died miserably.
Even one Uchiha Fugaku was enough to beat him down.
He didn't know any formal taijutsu yet; his training only strengthened his body.
In close combat, he relied entirely on sharp reactions born of powerful mental strength.
Taijutsu needed a teacher and repeated battles to learn.
From what Renjiro knew in his previous life, Konoha's two most representative taijutsu were Gentle Fist and Strong Fist.
Gentle Fist required Byakugan cooperation and targeted meridians and internal organs—the Hyūga clan's specialty.
Strong Fist focused on fractures and surface trauma; at present, the most representative figure was Tsunade.
As for Mighty Guy? He hadn't been born yet…
"I don't know if Old Dai has completed the Eight Inner Gates in this period. I'll have to look for him when I can, keep in touch. It'd be great if we could become sworn brothers or something!"
Renjiro muttered to himself, envious of the Eighth Gate Formation, even knowing its harsh conditions and cost.
As he trained and pondered, a shinobi from the Uchiha clan appeared beside him.
This was a Jōnin.
End of the chapter.