The Third's speech had ended.
Before leaving, Sarutobi Hiruzen said a few words to Iruka. Amane did not know what they were. He only noticed Iruka's look was a little strange when he returned.
Faces he knew filled his view.
The Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the cute and shy Hyuga Hinata, the heir of secret techniques Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and one of the future members of the team led by his blockhead little brother, the bit-part player Haruno Sakura.
There was no doubt they would become Konoha's pillars in time. The Third would pay them great attention.
Add Rock Lee, Tenten, and Neji, and the Twelve of Konoha were complete.
To be honest, the others did not interest Amane much.
He wanted to meet Hyuga Neji at this age.
By character and personal charisma, Neji had left a deep mark on him.
It was a pity.
In the end, the boy who longed to break the seal and fly free still died under the hand of fate.
His father died to protect the elder brother. He died to protect the main family.
A plot kill in every sense.
His death drew countless sighs.
When someone who should not die dies, regret is all that remains.
Amane shook his head and looked out the window.
Neji had been born a year earlier and was in the class above them.
Nothing to feel down about. Those who should meet would meet. He would be in Konoha a long while. The Uchiha already had arrangements. The road was set.
As for classmates and companions, such words did not seem to belong to the Uchiha.
If Sasuke had not been Indra's vessel, would Naruto still have dogged him the way the story told?
Others did not know. Amane did not believe it.
He pushed his frames up and yawned.
On the first day, the flow never matched formal classes. First came Hiruzen's indoctrination, then everyone introduced their so-called dreams.
That was day one.
The Third's silver tongue dragged introductions into the afternoon.
Uchiha Amane.
Innocence without guile.
That was how he introduced himself. It was the hope Fugaku and Mikoto had given that name.
Sadly, a boy like him was not meant for innocence.
With Uchiha blood on his back, how could he be innocent?
Too lazy to listen to the nobodies, Amane opened his system panel.
Host: Uchiha Amane.
First Fist King Lineage: Kusanagi Kyo.
Unlock Progress: 20.1%
Moves Unlocked: Ultimate One Hundred Twenty Four - Wild Bite, Hyaku Shiki - Oniyaki, One Hundred Twenty Two Ten - Koto Tsuki You, Intermediate Taijutsu.
Daily Quest: Resist Brainwashing (Completed)
Daily Training: Not completed.
Dominance Points: 113.
In half a month, plus the reward for disrupting the Third's brainwashing, he had pushed the Kyo template to twenty percent.
He had added Oniyaki and Koto Tsuki You, both fierce fire control techniques with solid bite.
The title Fire God was no longer far.
Amane stayed clear headed.
Twenty percent of Kyo was not enough to control everything.
Measured against the night of the clan's fall, this strength was not weak, yet not decisive.
He was growing fast, but the massacre loomed.
Mind, foresight, and preparation were his edge. Stabilize the field, launch his plan, let the Uchiha ride out the disaster, then spend time in bulk to raise himself.
That was the right path.
After half a month, his talks with Fugaku had reached the crux.
All that remained was to wait.
Wait for a trigger to make Fugaku believe what was coming.
That trigger was not far.
Even so, Amane knew his own strength mattered most.
If he was strong enough, conspiracies and schemes were clouds.
He would not neglect training.
The system meant his path was to cast off the glasses and become a brawling master of taijutsu. Yet the system claimed it had not chosen him. He had chosen it.
The meaning was clear. Uchiha Amane was born a gentleman scoundrel.
Daily training, getting intimate with his moves, raised chakra reserves and sharpened fighting skill, the best road to power.
The power of the Fist King might not be much in the shinobi world, but feeding it with chakra changed everything.
The Kyo template held boundless potential. Clean red flame control felt like a Logia without side effects.
He had not mastered any body of flame. The golden finger was a tool. The one who must be strong was himself.
He knew that well.
Power.
He clenched his fist, eyes bright.
...
Calm days were full yet dull.
He went to school, listened to mere-chunin Iruka teach basics, and watched him nudge Naruto not to care about the stares. That was Amane's routine.
It was not about rescuing Naruto.
It was more like guiding him to another road.
A road of self-salvation.
Could other people's approval fill an empty heart?
When would he realize that humans live for themselves.
Minato's tragedy, Kushina's dying hopes and words.
The man who should have fallen into darkness chose to guard Konoha.
Such a man was fated for tragedy. He became Hokage, spent his life in an office, crushed by mountains of paperwork.
Was that really Naruto's life to live?
Self-salvation.
Amane did not expect a few words to wake him. Naruto was still young and malleable.
Even so, he had the right to know his parentage, to know his parents' hopes, to know why he had been treated this way.
Amane would tell him at the right time. He even looked forward to Naruto confronting the Third.
"Second Brother, today is a rest day."
Downstream of the Naka River, not far from Itachi and Shisui's secret rendezvous.
Amane dragged Sasuke to the spot they had come to every day lately.
He even skipped classes to bring Sasuke here.
He had weighed whether to bring him along, and in the end chose to let him see the world.
Sasuke was Itachi's little brother, and he was Amane's little brother too.
"Cut the chatter. We fish like always, or I beat you."
Amane said no more. He flicked the line, set his rod, and closed his eyes to rest.
After a while.
Half asleep, Amane heard something and snapped his eyes open.
"Holy crap, Second Brother!"
"I hooked... huh? What is this?"
"Damn it, Shisui-san took the bait!"