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***
After finishing Mikoto's usual chores, Itachi remained awake, despite the scorching heat of the season.
He sat on the roof of his house, gazing out into the distance.
From there, he could see the entire Uchiha clan territory and a portion of Konoha Village.
Itachi's current mood was mostly joyful, but not entirely.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, a gentle breeze brushed across his face, like silk, soft and soothing.
He took a deep breath, feeling refreshed.
In Itachi's mind, everything that had happened before seemed like a dream.
He had died in battle with Sasuke, and then his space and soul had been absorbed into the Totsuka Blade.
These experiences had no sense of time.
Some unknown force had brought him back to this moment.
Itachi was overjoyed to see his father and mother again.
And if it were now, he would have so much to do.
"What should I do next?"
He gazed at the magnificent, bustling village before him, its streets busy with people, its atmosphere peaceful and tranquil.
This year marked Konoha's forty-eighth year, just over a year since the end of the Third Shinobi World War.
In that epic war, which lasted five or six years, Konoha had sacrificed countless ninja and paid a tremendous price to achieve the peace it now enjoyed.
However, Itachi knew that this peace would be altered in just a few months by a devastating event.
The Nine-Tails would arrive, its devastating power plunging the entire village into disaster.
To prevent the Nine-Tails from destroying the village, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, who had succeeded to the throne just a year after the Third Shinobi World War, would sacrifice his young life to seal the Nine-Tails.
Itachi's memory of the Fourth Hokage was vague.
He only vaguely remembered meeting him a few times when he was younger.
But in his heart, he naturally held a deep respect for him.
The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, the only Hokage of commoner origin, achieved widespread fame in the Five Great Nations at a young age, even surpassing the three previous ninja of Konoha to ascend the throne.
Itachi, a prodigious talent in his own right, was forced to admire the Fourth Hokage's natural talent as a ninja.
The Fourth Hokage's sacrifice during the Nine-Tails Incident was a key factor in the subsequent suspicion and rebellion of the Uchiha Clan by the village's higher-ups.
The Nine-Tails' attack wasn't a natural occurrence, but rather orchestrated by someone behind the scenes.
Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly, recalling that the man who manipulated the Nine-Tails to attack Konoha was the mysterious masked man from the Akatsuki, who called himself Uchiha Madara.
Madara claimed that he had been severely injured in his battle with the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and was therefore far less powerful than before.
Itachi had doubted his identity, but after interacting with him, he realized that among the Uchiha clan, only Madara possessed the knowledge and experience he claimed.
It was Madara's use of the Sharingan to control the Nine-Tails and attack Konoha that further intensified the already strained relationship between the Uchiha clan and the village leadership.
To this day, the village leadership is wary of the Uchiha clan.
They don't want to see another Madara Uchiha emerge.
Therefore, the most important step in improving relations between the Uchiha clan and the village leadership is to prevent Madara from manipulating the Nine-Tails to attack the village and prevent the death of the Fourth Hokage.
"I remember the day the Nine-Tails attacked the village," Itachi thought silently.
The night the Nine-Tails attacked, his father and mother were out on important matters, leaving him home alone to care for Sasuke.
That day would leave a deep impression on every Konoha ninja.
"Less than three months left," Itachi muttered.
Yesterday was Sasuke's birthday, and the Nine-Tails attacked the village on October 10th.
"October 10th should be Naruto's birthday," Itachi muttered.
Before his final battle with Sasuke, he had made a point of visiting Uzumaki Naruto, the son of the Fourth Hokage.
Like his father, the young man possessed a heart that loved his village and his comrades.
Naruto was determined to recapture Sasuke, his former ninja teammate, at all costs.
His affection for Sasuke rivaled even that of his older brother, Itachi.
However, Naruto likely didn't know at the time that his father was the Fourth Hokage, the man he had admired since childhood.
Furthermore, both his parents passed away on the very night he was born.
Itachi hadn't specifically investigated Naruto's birthday, but before his death, the Fourth Hokage had his child serve as a Jinchūriki, sealing the Nine-Tails into Naruto's body.
His predecessor, Naruto's mother, Kushina Uzumaki, had been a Jinchūriki.
Itachi hadn't heard from Madara what exactly happened sixteen years earlier, but the details are easy to surmise.
While Madara possessed the eye power to control the Nine-Tails, Kushina was protected by the Fourth Hokage, and even the Uzumaki clan's seal, which had sealed the Nine-Tails, was difficult to counter.
Therefore, Madara likely took advantage of Kushina's labor, when the power normally suppressing the Nine-Tails had been transferred to the fetus and the seal weakened.
Madara's power was already diminished, and only by taking advantage of Naruto's birth, when the Fourth Hokage was distracted, could he have succeeded, detaching the Nine-Tails from Kushina and controlling it.
Therefore, Itachi didn't necessarily need to possess the power to influence events himself to change the situation.
He only needed to pass on the information he knew to the Fourth Hokage, and if the latter was prepared, Madara would have little chance of succeeding.
However, if Itachi revealed the information, it would be equivalent to exposing his own rebirth.
"The fewer people who know about this, the better. I can't pass it on to the Fourth Hokage through my father."
Itachi had already behaved strangely in front of Mikoto and Fugaku.
If they knew about his rebirth and questioned him, Itachi would not know how to face his parents again.
So, after much thought, he decided to tell the Fourth Hokage directly.
But Itachi was still undecided, because he didn't know Minato Namikaze very well, and some of the information he knew was somewhat unfavorable to the Uchiha.
"I remember that Mom, Uzumaki Kushina, and the Fourth Hokage were classmates at the Ninja Academy. Maybe I can get some information from her."
Itachi raised an eyebrow, leaped off the roof, and headed towards Mikoto and Fugaku's room.
...
"Mom."
Itachi entered the room.
Mikoto was packing the baby clothes she had prepared for Sasuke.
She turned and gave Itachi a gentle smile.
"Are you done? Thank you for your hard work," she said.
A five-year-old would normally be coquettishly at their parents' knees, but from a younger age, Itachi had already shared much of the burden with her and Fugaku.
Itachi walked over to Mikoto and sat down beside her.
"Mom, how are you feeling?"
"Much better," Mikoto said, staring at Itachi's face.
"Is there anything you want to tell me?"
Itachi was startled.
He hadn't said a word yet, but his mother already knew what he was thinking.
This was what parents are all about.
No one knows their children better than they do.
So, without beating around the bush, Itachi asked directly.
"I want to know what kind of person Minato Namikaze, the current Hokage of Konoha, is."
Mikoto raised her brow.
"Why do you suddenly ask that?"
"Just now, I was watching the newly-appointed Fourth Hokage from afar on the rooftop, and I've suddenly become curious," Itachi said, having already prepared his explanation.
"I remember you and him were classmates at the Ninja Academy, and I think he even came to our house when I was little."
He continued, "Among all the previous Hokage, he seems to be the only one from a commoner family. I want to know how he achieved this."
Itachi displayed a childish curiosity, but he was genuinely curious.
Although he had heard a lot about the Fourth Hokage, most of it was hearsay.
In his previous life, even though the man had been dead for over a decade, legends about him persisted.
Mikoto nodded, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Well, Minato was truly a remarkable man."
"He must have been a very good student at the Ninja Academy, right?" Itachi replied, picking up where Mikoto had left off.
"No, back in ninja school, his grades were decent, but they weren't particularly eye-catching," Mikoto chuckled.
"But judging by what happened later, he was acting that way deliberately at school, just like an adult wouldn't put on a show in front of a child."
"What a strange person." Itachi thought.
That was something he had never imagined, but in fact, he had been like that in his ninja days.
"People like that must be hard to get along with, right?" Itachi lowered his eyes slightly, as if recounting his past.
From childhood to adulthood, he had undoubtedly been something of an outlier, with only one person he could call a friend.
"No, he was someone who easily connected with others. Back in ninja school, everyone in his class got along very well with him," Mikoto shook her head.
"What?" Itachi wondered inwardly.
Mikoto continued, "From that time on, Minato's dream was to become Hokage. Because he wanted to protect everyone, to safeguard the village."
Itachi nodded.
The grown-up Minato Namikaze certainly did just that.
Because of him, Konoha was able to turn the tide in the Third Shinobi World War, where Konoha faced four enemies alone.
During the Nine-Tails Incident, he would sacrifice himself to seal the beast away, even allowing his newborn son to become a Jinchūriki.
"So, to achieve this goal, he's always worked very hard, with love for everyone in this village in his heart," Mikoto chuckled.
"Everyone felt Minato's feelings, which is why they all supported him becoming Hokage."
"I haven't met the First and Second Hokage, so I don't know their personalities very well. But if you ask me, among all the Hokage, Minato may not be the most accomplished or the most powerful, but his love for the village and his concern for everyone are no less than those of the previous three Hokages."
Hearing his mother's assessment of the Fourth Hokage, Itachi formed a rough conclusion.
He came to two extreme conclusions.
Either Minato Namikaze was a genius, flawless in both character and ninja talent, or he was a man with a deep mind, possessing scheming from a very young age.
Itachi currently leaned towards the first option.
He had seen Minato's son, Naruto, a boy who had been looked down upon by the villagers since childhood.
Far from harboring any resentment, he was desperately striving for universal approval.
"You mean everyone supports him becoming Hokage? I remember my father almost ran for the Fourth Hokage, right? They were rivals, so he wouldn't think that way, right?"
There was one most important thing Itachi needed to confirm: Minato Namikaze's attitude towards the Uchiha clan.
After all, he was the Third Hokage's disciple.
If his feelings were the Third Hokage's, Itachi could never reveal his rebirth to him directly.
His own safety was secondary, but he absolutely could not bring the clan into turmoil.
"While I wouldn't say he supports it, your father has told me more than once that Minato becoming the Fourth Hokage would be a good thing for the Uchiha Clan," Mikoto said.
"Your father says that because he and Minato both want to change things, but so far, it's been difficult to achieve."
There was something else going on, but some of it involved political matters, which she wouldn't elaborate on in front of five-year-old Itachi.
But even without her, Itachi could guess.
Minato Namikaze became Hokage primarily due to his achievements during the Third Shinobi World War.
And from what his mother had said, it seemed the Fourth Hokage's ideas weren't entirely aligned with those of the current village leaders.
Therefore, even as Hokage, he couldn't wield complete power.
Furthermore, the war had just ended, and handling all these matters was already taxing.
Maintaining the balance between the factions within the village was a huge burden.
While peace seemed to be fading, the Fourth Hokage position was no easy task.
Itachi was too familiar with the methods of the Third Hokage and the other Konoha high-ranking officials.
With their presence, even if Minato Namikaze had different ideas about the Uchiha clan, he would not be able to implement them for the time being.
"I see. I really want to meet him," Itachi said, looking at Mikoto with a look of longing.
Mikoto smiled and said, "Sooner or later, the opportunity will come. I believe you will like him after meeting him in person."
Itachi nodded, but at the same time, he was thinking, "Mom, but there is not much time left to wait for this opportunity to come."
.....
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