For example, whether there were any difficulties living with Sasuke in the Uchiha clan's district, whether the villagers targeted them, and some other situations.
Finally, they talked about the document sent by Kirigakure (a marriage contract).
"Hokage-sama, this…", Upon seeing this document, which was actually Terumi Mei's marriage contract, Uchiha Kage finally understood why Terumi Mei had previously asked if he wanted to live in Kirigakure.
"Do you want to go to Kirigakure?"
"Of course not, I am a ninja of Konoha," Uchiha Kage firmly shook his head.
"If she truly likes me, she should marry into Konoha instead of me going to Kirigakure."
"Haha, what a good child…"
'Not even the favor of the young and beautiful Mizukage can shake him.'
'It is the same before. Even when he has such a good relationship with Uzuki Yugao, he never revealed Uchiha Itachi's name.'
'As expected of the second coming of Uchiha Kagami, as Iruka and the others call him.'
'Loyal to Konoha, loyal to me, the Hokage.'
"However, getting the future Mizukage of Kirigakure to marry into Konoha is harder than an S-rank mission. No matter what, do not provoke the other side, understand?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
"Very good, next, I have a mission for you that I think you'll like," Seeing Uchiha Kage's confident and loyal expression, Sarutobi Hiruzen became even more satisfied.
The future of the Anbu needed such talents.
And the fact that he was an Uchiha who couldn't awaken the Sharingan made it even more reassuring.
"Some troublemakers have infiltrated the Chunin Exams. I will assign you to secretly protect your former classmates. How about it?", Becoming a Chunin without taking the exam and even being assigned to protect the exam as an Anbu, what young person could resist such an opportunity to show off in front of their classmates?
However, beyond using this as a 'reward' for Uchiha Kage's loyalty, Sarutobi Hiruzen really had no one else available.
"Yes!"
Sasuke was still in the exam. As his father, even if Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't assigned this mission, Uchiha Kage would have gone to check on him.
Besides, without war, the Chunin Exam site was the place where the most ninja fragments dropped.
He had no reason not to go.
Even if most of them were Genin, even a small amount was still valuable.
"Oh right, you can ask Yugao to add members to your Anbu team. With just you and Sai, you might not have enough manpower."
"Understood. Thank you for your guidance, Hokage-sama."
'Sai…', Since Uchiha Itachi had already been squeezed out, there was no need to keep Sai around.
"But speaking of which, it's strange—when I went to Anbu today, Sai seemed to be absent the entire time. Is he on another mission?"
First, plant some doubts. Later, if a conflict arises, Sarutobi Hiruzen would have an excuse.
"Oh? Is that so?", Sarutobi Hiruzen gestured to an Anbu outside his office.
After whispering something to the Anbu, his face darkened slightly.
It seemed that, like Uchiha Itachi, Sai also had ties to Danzo…
"Maybe he just had some personal matters to handle. We're all comrades from the same village, it's nothing to worry about," However, when facing Uchiha Kage, Sarutobi Hiruzen still maintained his kind demeanor.
"You may go now."
"Yes."
"Wait, be careful in the Forest of Death during the Chunin Exams. It could be dangerous."
Uchiha Kage was a promising young talent. Sarutobi Hiruzen thought for a moment and decided it was best to keep him alive.
"Yes!"
———
[Chunin Exam, Forest of Death]
"So weak, the Genin in this exam…", Casually tossing aside an enemy ninja from another village who had been charred by his Fire Release, Uchiha Sasuke smirked proudly, showing off his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Compared to the original timeline, participating in the Chunin Exam now felt the same as Gaara's experience, he was crushing everyone.
"Naruto, where did you learn that half-baked jutsu?", Ignoring Sakura, who was cheering for his victory, Sasuke turned to Naruto, who was still practicing the Rasengan against a tree.
With his Sharingan, Sasuke could clearly see the immense chakra contained in that little sphere in Naruto's hand.
Even though the technique was unfinished, its power when hitting the tree was already comparable to his Chidori.
"It's not half-baked! I'm about to master it!", Panting slightly as he dispelled his Shadow Clones, Naruto felt he was just one step away from grasping the Rasengan.
"As for who taught me, I won't tell you! Nyah-nyah!", Once he mastered this jutsu, the first thing he'd do was step all over that smug Sasuke.
But if Sasuke found out that Kage had taught him, he'd probably learn the Rasengan soon after.
For this reason, Naruto had no intention of revealing the source.
And Sakura, who also knew, hadn't been asked by Sasuke, so she had no reason to bring it up.
However…
"I really don't know who's stronger—Sasuke or Kage…", Recalling how Uchiha Kage had effortlessly defeated Neji that day, as well as how he dealt with that kunoichi from Kirigakure, Sakura muttered curiously.
"Obviously, Kage is stronger. Sasuke can't compare to him."
"Hmph, Kage hasn't even awakened the Sharingan. How could he match my strength?", Sasuke dismissed Naruto's words as nonsense.
"But… Kage is definitely stronger than you, the dead-last idiot."
Sasuke had originally thought about looking after Kage during the Chunin Exams.
Turns out, there was no need.
———
"Subarashii!", Hiding nearby, Orochimaru watched in excitement as Sasuke effortlessly defeated the Sound Village ninjas he had sent. He licked his lips with his long tongue.
'As expected of Itachi's younger brother, possessing the Three-Tomoe Sharingan at such a young age, proficient in Fire Release, and skilled in shuriken techniques…'
'With just a bit more chakra and taijutsu training, this Uchiha kid can already rival some Jonin.'
'A perfect body.'
"Kabuto really found me something good."
Although he wanted to take Sasuke's body immediately, due to his recent battle with the Kazekage, he had been forced to prematurely switch vessels with the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique. He knew he had to wait three years before he could possess Sasuke.
So, he decided to spend these three years carefully nurturing him.
Even though Sasuke was already a genius, he was still not on Itachi's level.
His body needed further refinement…
To achieve his goal of surpassing Uchiha Itachi, Orochimaru formulated a plan.
'It's time to personally test him,' Having waited in the shadows for so long, Orochimaru could no longer resist the urge to touch this Uchiha prodigy.
Preferably leaving his own mark on him.
"Let's see if he can withstand my Cursed Seal of Heaven. Only by surviving it can he prove himself worthy of my attention—a true genius!"
———
Meanwhile, completely unaware that he was being watched, Uchiha Sasuke was casually collecting Heaven and Earth scrolls from other teams in the Forest of Death.
"Weak, too weak!"
'This is nothing!'
'Not even enough for warm-up.'
'Maybe my strength has already surpassed that of Uchiha Itachi!'
The Sharingan he obtained from that strange dungeon, the several times increase in chakra within his body, and Naruto still struggling to learn the Rasengan…
All of this made Sasuke more and more arrogant.
"…Hmm?", Until he suddenly felt a murderous intent far colder than even Zabuza's from before, emanating from behind him…
"Wait a moment, Uchiha prodigy."
A man dressed as a ninja from the Sound Village, Orochimaru, stood on the tree trunk not far behind Sasuke and his group. With a smile on his face, he revealed his snake-like pupils to Sasuke.
———
"Chunin Exam?"
Samui was indeed looking forward to Uchiha Kage teaching her the secret techniques of Lightning Release.
But what she hadn't expected was that not only did he teach her the key points, but he also gave her the opportunity to go to the Chunin Exam venue in Konoha with him.
"What? You don't want to go?", While stimulating Samui's acupoints with Lightning Release chakra, Uchiha Kage casually mentioned that he would be heading to the Chunin Exam venue later.
"No… I… Mm…", Her whole body trembled under the stimulation of Lightning Release chakra, but Samui could clearly feel her body becoming more energized under this stimulation.
This was exactly what she had been training so hard for, the Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
"I said I would help you, and I won't go back on my word."
Even if she had said she wanted to kill him, she would definitely follow through.
"But how do you know my acupoints so precisely?", Not only could he make the needle-like Lightning Release chakra flow continuously through her body, but it also didn't harm her at all.
No matter how well someone understood the human body's acupoints, no one could achieve such precision.
"Because I have the Byakugan. No matter where your chakra points are, I can see them all clearly."
"Hmph… How could an Uchiha have the Byakugan…"
'His pupils are clearly black, yet he is trying to fool me by claiming he has the Byakugan.'
'If he doesn't want to tell me, fine. But does he really have to use such an obvious lie that even a child can see through?'
"Alright, from now on, before you sleep at night, I will help stimulate your acupoints. Once you become familiar with my techniques, you'll be able to activate the Lightning Release Chakra Mode just as proficiently as I do."
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