Hyuga Satoru's gift for sensory ninjutsu was extraordinary—so much so that even Uzumaki Kushina, with her proud Uzumaki heritage, couldn't help but be amazed.
As a member of the Uzumaki Clan, Kushina's own talent for sensory arts far exceeded that of ordinary shinobi. Yet Satoru's progress still surpassed hers.
In just one afternoon, he had already grasped the essence of the technique. During his very first attempt, the previously dim landscape of his inner world was illuminated—and he could even sense the massive chakra sealed within Kushina's body: the Nine-Tails.
After several hours of focused practice, Satoru's sensory field could now cover nearly the entire bustling district of Konoha.
The Hokage's residence, though not grand, was located at the very heart of the village—less than a kilometer from the Hokage Building. For Satoru's sensory field to extend across the entire commercial sector meant his detection radius had already surpassed three thousand meters.
To achieve such range on his first day of training—while still lacking complete mastery—was nothing short of monstrous. Once he truly refined the technique and delved deeper into its workings, his sensory power might one day rival—or even surpass—that of Kushina herself.
And as his awareness spread outward, Satoru began to feel the village in a way he never had before.
Within his perception, countless chakra signatures flared across Konoha—some warm and steady, others cold and sinister.
From their positions, he could roughly determine where each source was located:
The Hokage Building…
The Uchiha District…
The bustling marketplaces…
And—oddly enough—one strong presence emanating from the village cemetery.
"Hm?"
The cemetery?
As the sunset dyed the sky crimson, Satoru's brows furrowed. Focusing on that particular chakra, he immediately sensed a chilling aura from it—its flavor eerily similar to several he'd felt emanating from the Uchiha compound.
"Could it be…?"
Narrowing his eyes, he formed a quick seal. Veins bulged at his temples as his Byakugan activated.
Gazing in the direction of the Konoha Cemetery, his vision pierced through walls, trees, and distance—until the graveyard came into view.
It was dusk. The cemetery lay empty and quiet, except for a single child, roughly Satoru's age, standing motionless before the memorial stone.
Satoru studied the boy's small back—and immediately noticed the Uchiha clan crest embroidered on his clothes.
"…Huh?"
That's not him?
He had initially assumed the powerful chakra belonged to Uchiha Obito. According to his memories from his previous life, long before Kushina's delivery, Obito had already infiltrated the village in secret, beginning his covert operations.
From what he knew, Obito's presence in Konoha served two purposes. One was personal—he couldn't let go of his beloved Nohara Rin, often visiting her grave. The other was to confirm the truth of Madara's "Eye of the Moon Plan."
Since his own Mangekyo Sharingan was far from Madara's peak power, Obito had yet to fully decipher the ancient Uchiha tablet left beneath the clan's shrine. Every time his ocular power advanced, he would sneak in again, attempting to read more of it—but without success.
Thus far, Obito had made no actual move toward executing the plan. He was still watching, still scheming.
Of course, Satoru knew the ugly truth—that the stone tablet's message had long been tampered with by Black Zetsu. But such information was impossible for him to reveal.
Not that it would matter. Ever since the day Madara had saved Obito, the boy's heart—literally—had been branded with Madara's curse mark.
And both Black and White Zetsu, who accompanied him, were less allies than surveillance tools placed to watch him in Madara's stead.
Still, the boy Satoru now saw wasn't Obito—but another Uchiha altogether.
Even though it was his first time seeing him, Satoru recognized that sharp, composed face instantly.
"Uchiha… Itachi."
He didn't know why someone as young as Itachi was standing silently before the memorial stone, but he assumed the boy had his reasons. After all, the Third Hokage had once described him as "a child who thinks like a Hokage."
Yet to Satoru, that wasn't a compliment—it was a warning.
He had no desire whatsoever to get involved with someone like Uchiha Itachi.
This was a man who had murdered his own parents and slaughtered his clan. To Satoru, that kind of "idealist" was utterly incomprehensible.
Their philosophies could not be more opposite.
If his family was threatened, Satoru would never hesitate—no matter the enemy, even if it were Konoha's own leadership. Anyone who endangered his loved ones was unforgivable.
But Itachi… he was "noble." Noble enough to sacrifice everything—even blood and kin—for the sake of "the village."
To Satoru, it was madness.
What was a village, if not a haven—a refuge where weak clans gathered to survive the chaos of war?
If preserving that "village" required destroying one's family, wasn't that the ultimate betrayal of its purpose?
In that belief, Satoru's thinking wasn't far from that of Uchiha Madara himself.
Madara had created Konoha with Hashirama to protect his friends and kin—only to discover that Hashirama was willing to sacrifice those same bonds for the village's greater good.
That was the very definition of losing sight of what truly mattered.
Watching the boy in front of the stone, Satoru's mind swirled with conflicting thoughts.
At that moment, Kushina, sitting nearby, noticed something odd. She waved her hand playfully in front of Satoru's face.
"Hey, kid—what's with the Byakugan all of a sudden?" she teased. "Daydreaming already?"
Her lighthearted tone snapped him back to reality. Deactivating his Byakugan, Satoru's expression turned thoughtful.
"Teacher Kushina, I wasn't daydreaming," he said seriously. "While practicing sensory ninjutsu, I picked up a powerful and evil chakra signature… so I used my Byakugan to check."
A glint flickered in his eyes as he spoke—the spark of a plan forming.
He had seen Itachi in the cemetery, but what he said he saw? That was entirely up to him.
"A strong and evil chakra?" Kushina repeated, frowning slightly. She closed her eyes to sense for herself—but found nothing.
Even so, she didn't doubt him. Satoru was a true prodigy—the Hyuga heir. In her mind, there was no reason for him to lie about something like this.
"At least… that's what she thought."
"You used your Byakugan, right? So—what did you see?" she asked curiously.
At that, Satoru's lips curved faintly.
"Hmm… that person seemed to notice my gaze," he said after a pause. "He vanished the moment I focused on him."
"But before that… I did see his face—or part of it."
He frowned, as if recalling the details. "He wore a tiger-patterned mask. Underneath, his face was strange… half normal, half disfigured. Like yin and yang split across his features."
As he spoke, Satoru's gaze drifted—seemingly by accident—toward the table in the living room, where a photo frame rested among several albums.
Then, with a look of feigned surprise, he pointed.
"Ah! The unharmed half of his face… looked a lot like that guy in that photo!"
Kushina blinked and turned to look.
The frame he was pointing to contained a group photo—four smiling figures.
Namikaze Minato, Uchiha Obito, Hatake Kakashi, and Nohara Rin.
Her heart gave a sudden, painful thump.
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