[In the blink of an eye, another half year passed.]
[Under young Naruto's deliberate control, everything progressed in an orderly manner.]
[Only the Uchiha line seemed to be growing more unstable by the day.]
[The Hyūga side, however, was becoming increasingly solid.]
[Yet the two clans seemed to have agreed on something—half a year had passed, and they still stubbornly refused to give him any major events from roughly the last ten years in Konoha.]
[Finally, on this day, young Naruto celebrated his fifth birthday.]
[On this day, all his little friends arrived.]
["Naruto, happy birthday~!" x5]
"Happy birthday!"
People across the ninja world also sent Black-Frame Naruto their congratulations.
Kushina's lips trembled, and tears slipped down her face.
She really couldn't handle scenes like this.
Thankfully, she had her close friend Uchiha Mikoto beside her, comforting her.
[After the birthday, life returned to normal. A few weeks later—]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi visited once again.]
[He brought the application for enrollment into the Ninja Academy.]
[And during the few days young Naruto was preparing to start school—]
[A major incident occurred within the Uchiha.]
[Of course, aside from Konoha's upper leadership and the Uchiha themselves, no one else knew.]
["The village… and the glory of the Uchiha clan… I'm leaving it to you to protect."]
[Uchiha Shisui dug out his other eye and handed it to Uchiha Itachi, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.]
[After leaving his final words, Uchiha Shisui leaned back—and jumped off the cliff, ending his own life.]
[Falling into the Naka River, his body drifted away with the current.]
["Shisui… AAH—!!!"]
[Eleven-year-old Uchiha Itachi witnessed the death of his closest friend and teacher with his own eyes.]
[The shock hit him like a hammer. He shut his eyes in agony, a line of bloody tears flowing down.]
[When he opened them again, his three-tomoe Sharingan evolved into the Mangekyō Sharingan.]
Uchiha Izuna: Strange!
Uchiha Izuna: That kid named Shisui—shouldn't he have had Mangekyō too?
Uchiha Izuna: Why would he let someone steal his eye, and then choose such a weak way out?
Senju Tobirama: That look… is he Kagami's descendant?
Ino Yamanaka: "Godfather, don't overthink it—if something feels off, just pin it on that dog Third. It'll make sense."
Danzō Shimura: "Exactly! Hiruzen, say something! Feeling guilty?!"
[In the end, Itachi still left with Shisui's eye.]
[He didn't avenge Shisui.]
[Facing the clan's suspicion (that he was involved in Shisui's death), proud as he was, he disdained explaining.]
[That night.]
[In the study, Uchiha Fugaku ordered him to control a Konoha high-ranking official.]
[Itachi closed his eyes and said nothing, but he had already completely lost hope in the entire Uchiha clan.]
[He didn't care to explain anything, nor did he want to. He had his own ideas, his own clear goal—he knew exactly what he should do, and when.]
[Seeing his son like this, Fugaku's brows tightened.]
[In the end, he waved his hand, dismissing Itachi.]
[Then Fugaku left the house and headed deep into the clan compound.]
[In the shadows, a figure slowly turned around.]
[A tiger-skin mask, long black hair, and the image of someone revealing only a single eye—within the darkness, the pressure was immense.]
["Uchiha Madara—let's call you that for now, since that's what you claim to be."]
["Was Shisui's incident related to you?"]
[Fugaku's voice was cold, yet still controlled.]
[Ultimately, Fugaku trusted his son, Itachi, more.]
["You suspect me? Then perhaps I should also reconsider whether I ought to cooperate with you." The masked man who called himself Uchiha Madara spoke icily.]
"Uchiha Madara?"
"Wasn't Uchiha Madara already dead?"
"How is this guy showing up again?"
"And isn't Uchiha Madara still in the chatroom—under the identity of a dead man?"
Questions erupted.
Uchiha Obito: "Who the hell is this guy?"
Uchiha Obito: "Could Shisui's death really be related to him?"
Hatake Kakashi: "Obito!"
Kakashi's whole body jolted. Forgetting all hesitation, he spoke directly in the chat.
Obito…!
That was—he—
Uchiha Obito: "Hmph. Stupid Kakashi, you're still as dumb as ever."
Black Zetsu panicked and rushed to pound on the laboratory door.
"Obito, you—what—are—you—doing?!"
Even Uchiha Madara narrowed his eyes slightly.
"This useless trash… don't tell me he's about to expose himself?"
"Hmph!"
"Wasting time!"
"You've already captured the Nine-Tails, and you're still playing this boring game in Konoha… useless!"
"If it weren't for that night, so many troubles wouldn't have happened!"
"That Uzumaki Naruto— even if he's Asura's reincarnation, without the identity of the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, he might not even grow up properly."
"Luckily, the Gold-Frame world doesn't have any major problems."
Inside the underground base—
Obito glanced at Black Zetsu expressionlessly.
"Clearing suspicion."
"I've already appeared in the Black-Frame world. If people connect the dots, that'd be bad."
"I had to say something. Otherwise it wouldn't match my style in the fake world."
Black Zetsu: "..."
Idiot!!!
"Do you want to take a look at what you just said?!"
Black Zetsu was genuinely furious.
This guy!
Absolute trash!
Under the mask, Obito's brows furrowed.
Only then did he realize—
What he thought was 'clever' suspicion-clearing…
Had turned into him exposing himself.
His avatar was lit. His messages had quotation marks.
In an instant, Obito felt his pride take a hit.
However, not many people paid attention to him.
And Kakashi was still drowning in sheer shock and joy.
No one noticed Obito's change.
More importantly—
What was happening on the black-framed screen was far too attention-grabbing.
[For the future of the Uchiha, a coup is necessary.]
[At present, Shisui—who possessed the Mangekyō—has disappeared. It can essentially be concluded that he is dead.]
[Within the clan, they can only place their hopes on this "Uchiha Madara" who once triggered the Nine-Tails incident.]
["I understand."]
[Fugaku took a deep breath and bowed to "Uchiha Madara."]
["Hmph!" The masked man snorted coldly. Then spiral-like spatial distortions formed around him. After a few breaths, he vanished from Fugaku's sight.]
Uchiha Izuna: Who is this kid?
Uchiha Izuna: My big brother despises nothing more than hiding your head and showing your tail.
Uchiha Madara: True. This kid has guts—daring to impersonate me. Unfortunately, he doesn't understand me.
[The Ninja Academy's opening day arrived.]
[That day, young Naruto was neatly dressed. Holding the enrollment application Sarutobi Hiruzen gave him, he headed toward the Academy.]
[Walking down the street, it was the same as always.]
[He ignored them completely.]
[As for earning their recognition—pranks and such…]
[That was just talk. If you take it seriously, you've already lost.]
["Naruto~!"]
["Over here, over here~!"]
[At the Academy gate.]
[A few of them arrived earlier.]
[Since their parents brought them, they didn't come to register together with young Naruto.]
[Yamanaka Inoichi's eye twitched. He held down his daughter, who was about to jump up, and shot a resentful look at the blond kid in the distance.]
[Hyūga Hiashi remained stern as ever. He glanced at young Naruto, then lowered his gaze to his feet, lifting his eyes again to silently question his daughter.]
["Go. Even at school, don't slack off. Don't shame the Hyūga main family."]
["Yes~ Father~!" Hinata immediately showed a sweet smile.]
[Watching his daughter trot away, Hiashi sighed. Still, thinking positively—Hinata was the most talented Hyūga in many years!]
[Just two and a half months after she started eating her fill, she fought the Hyūga branch family's genius, Hyūga Neji, to a draw.]
[After a year, none of her peers could even see Hinata's 'taillights' anymore!]
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