Sasuke was Itachi's only weakness. He would never allow anyone to harm him.
Sensing the undisguised killing intent, Konosuke sneered.
"Want to kill me? Then try. Let's see whether the Uchiha's genius can kill the Sarutobi clan's disgrace. I'm looking forward to it."
"Honestly, I'd like to see where I stand now. I've played the fool for so long, I almost forgot my own strength."
He raised a single finger toward Itachi.
Brilliant, dangerous light gathered at its tip.
Itachi's Sharingan spun violently. He hadn't expected this so-called "Shame of the Sarutobi" to be hiding strength—let alone a bloodline ability he had never seen before.
After a moment, Itachi closed his Sharingan.
"What you told Shisui… about the higher-ups not being trustworthy. Is that true?"
Seeing that Itachi had no intention of attacking, Konosuke dispelled the light.
"Trustworthy or not depends on how you see it. If someone tells you to slaughter the entire Uchiha and leave only Sasuke alive—that person isn't trustworthy."
"But if someone tells you to eliminate only the hardliners, that's probably someone willing to accept a Uchiha that doesn't rebel."
He lit a cigarette.
"If they leave only Sasuke alive, that's not acceptance. That's leverage. They'd be using him to control you."
He turned and started walking home. After a few steps, he paused and glanced back.
"One more thing. Stop contacting Shisui so often. He's too naïve. Don't drag him into this."
"And don't tell the Hokage about me. I just want to teach. I don't want to be involved in your clan's mess."
"I'm telling you all this because I don't want Shisui hurt. He's one of my few friends."
With that, Konosuke left without another word. He had already said too much.
Itachi watched him go.
He had wanted to strike. But instinct told him not to. If they fought, he might die.
Konosuke himself wasn't entirely sure where he stood in terms of power. But he knew he wasn't weak.
Even without the Glint-Glint Fruit, his ninjutsu was solid.
His taijutsu? He could hold out against Guy for several minutes—Eight Gates excluded.
And since he was immune to genjutsu, he wasn't afraid of Itachi.
By his estimation, he could fight Itachi to a draw in a short exchange. If he used his trump cards, there was a strong chance he could kill him.
What surprised him most was that Itachi had already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
In the original timeline, that happened after Shisui's death. He didn't know what had triggered it now.
But he didn't care. He had no interest in the Sharingan.
On his way home, Konosuke felt like he'd exhausted himself for Shisui's sake.
If not for him, he wouldn't have revealed any of his strength.
He wasn't afraid of exposure. As a Sarutobi, the schemers wouldn't dare move against him easily. And he could protect himself.
The real problem?
If Hiruzen found out how strong he was, he might not be allowed to slack off anymore.
That would be unacceptable.
Meanwhile, in the Uchiha compound, Itachi reported everything to his father—Uchiha Fugaku, the clan head.
Fugaku's expression was normally unreadable. But for a brief moment, something shifted.
"Itachi. What do you think? Can Sarutobi Konosuke truly resolve the conflict between the Uchiha and the village?"
"I don't know," Itachi replied coldly. "But I want to try. There's no room left for reconciliation. I want to gamble once."
Fugaku folded his arms and thought carefully. After a long pause, he shook his head.
"No. We cannot entrust the clan's fate to a child's promise. We'll proceed cautiously. Continue your work in the ANBU. Observe the village's stance. I'll speak to the clan. It's time to discipline certain voices."
Typical of Fugaku—harsh toward his own clan, timid toward the outside.
No wonder rebellion was brewing.
The next morning, Konosuke and Shisui went to the Academy together.
Konosuke's routine in the office remained unchanged: slacking. Namely, sleeping.
There was hardly any entertainment in the shinobi world. Sleep was the best option.
By afternoon, it was time for his class.
He did nothing but tell the students to continue practicing Chakra extraction. Those who could already extract Chakra were to practice the Substitution Technique.
Then he lay down and went back to sleep.
Recently, he had been unusually drowsy. If no one disturbed him, he could sleep twenty hours a day.
He didn't know how long he'd been asleep when someone started nudging his arm.
He opened one eye.
Naruto stood there, looking hopeful.
"What?" Konosuke muttered. "Learned Chakra extraction yet? If you have, go practice Substitution. Don't interrupt my sleep."
"Konosuke-sensei, I can't extract Chakra properly. Do you have any method? I—"
"No. Get lost. Don't disturb my sleep. If you don't know how, ask someone else. Interrupt me again and I'll kill you."
Choji crunched on chips and nudged Shikamaru.
"Konosuke-sensei sleeps even more than you. Does the Academy not have other teachers? Why did we get this one?"
"I think it's great," Shikamaru yawned. "A teacher like this means fewer headaches. No calling parents. Fewer problems."
While they were whispering, Naruto grabbed Konosuke's arm and shook him violently.
"Sensei! Stop sleeping! Teach me Chakra extraction! Grandpa Hokage said I should come to you if I had problems. Get up and teach me!"
This time, Konosuke opened both eyes and lowered his feet from the desk.
He stood, stretched, and lit a cigarette.
"Sigh… You're really asking for it. Since you want me to train you, don't regret it."
Naruto instinctively took two steps back. He had a bad feeling.
It wasn't that Konosuke suddenly wanted to stop slacking.
The system had just reminded him—if he didn't properly guide Naruto, he would lose his first mission reward.
The Glint-Glint Fruit was tempting, but without sufficient Chakra, it was useless.
So Konosuke made a decision.
If the world offered no entertainment, he would create some.
Time to increase the difficulty.
Time to let these brats experience the cruelty of society.