Uchiha Fugaku walked up to the Great Elder and bowed respectfully.
"Great Elder."
"Mm." The Great Elder nodded. "You saw it all?"
"Yes." Fugaku straightened up, then hesitated. "Great Elder, there's something I don't understand."
"Speak."
"That child is an outsider." Confusion showed on Fugaku's face. "Why are you treating him so... favorably?"
The Great Elder looked at him without answering right away.
"What do you think?"
Fugaku was silent for two seconds.
"I am too dull to understand."
The Great Elder turned around and looked up at the darkening sky.
"Fugaku, how many years have you followed me?"
"Five years."
"Five years..." the Great Elder repeated. "Then you should know what kind of situation the Uchiha clan is in now."
Fugaku's expression shifted slightly.
The Great Elder continued, "The Uchiha and Konoha have already begun drifting in opposite directions."
Fugaku lowered his head and said nothing.
"If this continues, we'll be isolated by the entire village." The Great Elder's voice was calm, but every word landed like a stone. "And do you know what happens to those who are isolated?"
"It leads to destruction." The Great Elder sighed.
Fugaku lifted his head, a complicated light flashing in his eyes. "But Great Elder, what can that child possibly change?"
"That child is an opportunity," the Great Elder said meaningfully.
"An opportunity?" Fugaku still didn't understand.
"Our Uchiha clan—including the man I used to be—has always been too proud." There was a trace of self-mockery in the Great Elder's voice. "So proud that we looked down on outsiders. So proud that we shut ourselves inside our own district. So proud that we believed bloodline alone would keep us strong forever."
He looked at Fugaku, his expression grave.
"But what have we gained? Not only have we fallen behind in strength, we've also drifted farther and farther away from the village."
Fugaku remained silent.
"That child." The Great Elder pointed outside. "The fact that he can be friends with Toru means he does not reject us. That alone is an opportunity."
"But..." Fugaku hesitated, then still spoke his mind. "He's only five years old."
"A five-year-old child will grow up." The Great Elder paused. "And besides, that child is no ordinary child."
Fugaku froze.
The Great Elder pulled a sheet of paper from his sleeve and handed it to him. "This is what I had investigated the moment he entered the district."
Fugaku took it and quickly scanned it.
A few lines were written on it:
Nohara Shinnosuke, age five. Father: Nohara Hiroshi (chūnin). Mother: Nohara Misae (civilian).
Third place in the ninja academy exam.
Hatake Sakumo personally instructed him in swordsmanship. Might Duy (genin) once instructed him in taijutsu.
The Third Hokage gifted him the Leaf Guardian Bell and called him "a good child capable of inheriting the Will of Fire."
Fugaku's eyes widened slightly.
The Leaf Guardian Bell.
That was something the Third Hokage had once used in his younger days. It had been with him for many years.
And he gave it to a five-year-old child?
"Do you understand now?" said the Great Elder.
Fugaku looked up, his expression complicated.
"Great Elder, you mean..."
"You need to think farther ahead." The Great Elder clasped his hands behind his back. "A mere Fire Style jutsu—Konoha has long since archived such things. What use is it to us to keep hoarding it?"
Then he turned and looked at Fugaku.
"Better to use it to win favor with the future."
Fugaku was silent for a long time before finally speaking. "Even if, in the future, he ends up as nothing more than a chūnin?"
"Even if he only becomes a chūnin." The Great Elder nodded. "As long as he grows up remembering that the Uchiha treated him well, remembering that he has friends here in the Uchiha clan, then one day he will become a bridge between us and the outside world."
He paused, his voice dropping lower.
"We need more bridges."
Fugaku lowered his head and bowed deeply. "I understand."
Meanwhile, the Shin-chan they were talking about was happily walking home with a small box of chocolate sticks in hand.
As he neared the edge of the Uchiha district, he suddenly heard a dull sound nearby.
Pfft.
It sounded like someone blowing air.
Shin-chan blinked and looked toward the sound.
It came from an old, worn-out training ground. The stone slabs on the ground were cracked in several places, as if no one had repaired it in ages.
A single figure stood inside, forming hand seals. The sequence looked strangely familiar.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Pfft.
Another puff of black smoke came out of his mouth, making him cough violently.
"Cough, cough, cough... failed again..."
Shin-chan walked a little closer and finally recognized him.
It was Obito.
Obito was crouched on the ground, looking miserable, still muttering to himself. "The hand seals were definitely right... I focused my chakra too... so why does it always come out like this..."
Shin-chan walked up behind him and tilted his head.
"What are you doing?"
Obito jumped so hard he nearly shot into the air. He spun around, and when he saw it was Shin-chan, his face turned green.
"Y-You... what are you doing here?"
"Just passing by." Shin-chan pointed outside. "I'm going home."
Obito's mouth twitched. "This is the Uchiha district. How did you even get in here?"
"Toru brought me in."
Obito froze. "Uchiha Toru?"
"Yeah." Shin-chan nodded.
Obito let out an "Oh," though it wasn't clear what he was thinking.
Shin-chan leaned in and looked around the training ground. "What are you doing here?"
"Practicing ninjutsu." Obito turned his face away, clearly not wanting Shin-chan to see how frustrated he looked.
"What are you practicing?"
"Fire Style." Obito paused, then said quietly, "The Great Fireball Jutsu."
Shin-chan's eyes lit up. "Is that the one with Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger?"
Obito froze. "How do you know that?"
"I just learned it."
Obito's mouth twitched. "You just learned it?"
"Yep."
"Who taught you?"
"An old grandpa at Toru's house."
Obito was silent for two seconds, then laughed. "Who are you trying to fool? There's no way the Uchiha would teach Fire Style to an outsider."
Shin-chan tilted his head. "But that old man did teach me."
Obito didn't believe him. "Then show me."
Shin-chan nodded, walked to the middle of the training ground, formed the hand seals, and took a deep breath.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A burst of flame shot from Shin-chan's mouth, more than a meter long, exploding in the air and scorching several leaves off a nearby tree.
Obito's jaw dropped wide enough to fit an egg.
Shin-chan turned back and looked at him innocently. "Was that right?"
Obito stood there frozen, unable to say a word for a long while.
He had practiced for so long, and every single time, all he managed was a puff of black smoke. If he got lucky, he could spit out a few sparks.
But this guy...
"You really just learned it?"
"Yeah." Shin-chan nodded. "I practiced for a little while at Toru's house just now."
Obito's expression looked like he'd just eaten bitter melon.
Seeing that, Shin-chan tilted his head and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Obito looked away, his voice low and stuffy. "I just think you're pretty amazing."
~~~
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