14 Chapter – 13 Start of the Fated Rivalry?

After the Shuriken training at the Ninja Academy, Sasuke attended the rest of the classes while doing his own stuff. A few hours later the bell rang, and classes for the day were over.

The moment trainees started leaving the class, Sasuke packed up his stuff, got up from his seat, and hurriedly disappeared to the seventy-ninth training field, he was going to continue with the Obstacle Course since it's a good method to not only work on building up his foundation, but also to gain maneuverability, and perform physical workout for physical strengthening.

For better Chakra reserves, a strong mind and body are needed. There is no problem with regard to mental strength, but physical development is not the best, he needs to work on it, and the obstacle course is a good way to start. 

In fact, Sasuke has also given it some thought and realized that he can also work on mastering his Sharingan using the ever-changing obstacle course. After all, he needs to adapt to the high-level insight granted by the Sharingan to make full use of it, if he doesn't adapt his body to the Sharingan, his mind and body won't coordinate properly which can be very dangerous in battles.

But of course, he would only start to master the Sharingan once he completes the obstacle course because using Sharingan from the very start would defeat the purpose of that training exercise, which is to lay the foundation for the footwork aspect of Kenjutsu.

Naturally, he plans to break Shisui's record too. He doesn't know if he will be able to break that record or not, but he has to give it a try, if he doesn't even try to break that record, then there's no way he will be able to attain the level of strength he wants to attain by the time he graduates from the Konoha Ninja Academy.

With such a mindset, Sasuke arrived in front of the Obstacle Course. He looked around and upon confirming that no one was around, he hung his bag on a nearby tree. The bag doesn't contain anything important. He would never make such a beginner-level mistake as to leave anything important inside his bag which he is going to leave unprotected. The bag only contains some textbooks from the Ninja Academy, and that's it, so it wouldn't matter to him if anyone messed around with them. The reason he hung the bag on the tree. It's just that carrying a bag while trying to complete the obstacle course can be very troublesome and lead to injuries, something he did not want to go through again in such a short time.

"Alright…" muttered Sasuke as he stretched his arms and legs to make sure that there was no problem, then dived into the Obstacle Course.

While Sasuke started his training for the day, on the other side, Naruto also arrived near the stream where he often comes to catch fish. Unlike other times, along with a fishing rod, he was also carrying a few wooden target focus on his back that he had temporarily borrowed from the Shuriken Training Field at the Academy without Iruka's permission.

While arranging the target focus on different trees, Naruto smiled to himself, "I am going to train and train and train and become so good that I will be able to immediately defeat that prick using a single Shuriken, I wouldn't even have to rely on many Shurikens, just a single Shuriken would be so powerful that it would be able to defeat all my enemies with just that and become the greatest Hokage!"

Naturally, it wasn't just Uchiha Sasuke who disappeared from the academy as soon as the bell rang. Watching Sasuke leave in a hurry, Naruto also quickly left to train. Although he did say that he did not care about Shurikenjutsu and would become the greatest Hokage even without it, he was feeling bitter about the difference in their skills and knew that he must train if he wished to defeat Sasuke and kick his ugly butt.

…

The rooftop of the Hokage Residence

Sarutobi Hiruzen was standing on the rooftop looking at the bustling village with a melancholic expression. He took a smoke from his tobacco pipe and exhaled it lightly with a tired sigh, 'I am really getting old…' he could feel it in his bones.

At this time, an Anbu with long purple hair appeared on the rooftop with a body flicker and kneeled beside Hiruzen. The Anbu did not speak anything but remained in that position while waiting for the command.

Hiruzen didn't turn to the Anbu, he continued to look at the village, and after a moment of silence, he spoke the Anbu's name, "Uzuki Yūgao…"

Yūgao removed the Anbu mask, and respectfully bowed to Hiruzen, "Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen nodded, "Alright…" and asked, "You are here for the report?"

Yūgao nodded, "Yes, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen stroked his beard lightly, and asked, "How is the boy? Is he adjusting well? Is he opening up? Has he made any friends?"

A month has passed since the night of the Uchiha Genocide, and since then, Uzuki Yūgao has been closely watching over Sasuke. Hiruzen wants to hear Yūgao's personal observation of the boy.

Yūgao nodded, "He doesn't seem to have sought any friends so far in the Ninja Academy, and I wouldn't go so far as to say that he has completely opened up either. Uchiha Sasuke is still quite reserved about most things that do not involve a sword, but he has indeed shown signs of opening up to some extent. When it comes to Kenjutsu training, he is willing to both speak and listen, and he also ensures to prepare meals for me in order to continue the training as part of our deal."

"I see…" nodded Hiruzen with a smile while thinking to himself, 'It's good that the approach is working… Slowly and steadily, he would open up.' Naturally, Hiruzen is aware of the terms of the so-called 'deal' that Uchiha Sasuke & Uzuki Yūgao made, and it was only because of his approval that Yūgao accepted the offer made by Sasuke. If not for the fact that he approved of the deal, how could Yūgao, an Anbu agree to teach Sasuke Kenjutsu just for the sake of some home-cooked food? Things are not always as simple as they may seem on the surface.

As for the reason why he 'allowed' Yūgao to accept the deal? It's to observe Uchiha Sasuke closely, and further develop fetters in the heart of that boy. With the Uchiha Clan annihilated, there's nothing in the village that binds that boy to the village, which is something he can't allow. The boy must have fetters that tie him down to the village and develop a desire within him to protect the village.

The potential of a Uchiha driven by intense emotions is very high, however, a Uchiha that's not useful to the village is not a good Uchiha. Hiruzen wants Sasuke to be a good Uchiha, especially because Sasuke was named after his very own later father. He wants the boy to live up to that name, that's why he allowed Sasuke to take the copies of all the scrolls that he would need to become strong in order to exact his vengeance from the object of his hatred, gave permission to Uzuki Yūgao to train the boy in Kenjutsu, and even made arrangements for him to use the obstacle course of the seventy-ninth training field without any trouble. 

It's all for the sake of making Uchiha Sasuke understand that Konoha has always been very kind to him, all for the sake of making him develop familial bonds and gratefulness toward the village such that he inherits the Will of Fire and protects the village from all threats.

In this manner, not only will Konoha be able to cultivate a first-class Shinobi, but Itachi will also be assured that his little brother is getting proper treatment and wouldn't do anything to harm the village. 

Moreover, giving love and care to Sasuke would also make it difficult for him to harm the village should he somehow manage to learn the truth of the Uchiha Genocide. While Hiruzen doesn't think that Sasuke would ever learn of that considering that Uchiha Itachi has decided to shoulder everything upon him, there's always an 'if.' People change with experience, and Hiruzen can't say that Itachi wouldn't change. 

If Itachi does change and decides to take revenge on the village for what happened to the Uchiha Clan, at that time, Sasuke would become Konoha's shield.

"Alright, there's no need for constant monitoring of the boy. You can return to the Team Rō, and continue to carry out your Anbu duties…" ordered Hiruzen, and added, "Of course, do make sure to give the same care to the boy whenever you are free."

"As you command, Hokage-sama," and disappeared from the rooftop of the Hokage residence.

Naturally, Yūgao who is clueless about the truth of the Uchiha Genocide is unaware of Hiruzen's internal thoughts. She believes that Hokage-sama is worried about Sasuke considering what he went through.

Left alone on the rooftop, Hiruzen once again took another puff of smoke from his tobacco pipe, and sighed, "Even a Clan as powerful as the Uchiha is on the verge of disappearing, the world of Shinobi seems to be on the verge of Changing. Sigh, I don't know if I will be able to keep the village safe..."

…

Inside an underground dungeon

A frail, old man looked at the moon from the small hole in the roof. He had shaggy black hair, a bandage covering his right eye, and an X-shaped scar on his chin. The old man was wearing a white shirt with a black robe over the top of it covering from his feet, to just over his right shoulder.

At this time, the old man struck the wooden cane in his hand to the ground, immediately, a shinobi wearing a mask appeared beside the frail old man, and respectfully bowed, "Danzō-sama." 

Danzō did not look at the shinobi, he continued to look at the moon, and questioned, "How is the Uchiha boy?"

The Shinobi with a mask replied, "So, far there's nothing out of your expectations." He paused and added, "The boy is either at his apartment, at the academy, or at the training fields training relentlessly to exact vengeance. When he is not carrying out training, he is reading some scrolls that he had retrieved from the Uchiha Compound."

"I see…" muttered Danzō, then added, "How are Hokage's Anbu dealing with the boy?" Because he has been put under house arrest since the night of the Uchiha Genocide, Danzō isn't aware of the exact arrangements made by Hokage for Sasuke. Of course, just because he has been put under house arrest, and his Anbu & Foundation has been temporarily dissolved doesn't mean he doesn't have people keeping an eye on several things.

The Shinobi with a mask answered, "Hokage-sama seems to have made an Anbu guardian of the boy, and that Anbu is watching over him. That Anbu and a Chunin named Hayate Gekkō are also personally training the boy in Kenjutsu."

Hearing the shinobi's words, Danzō thought to himself, 'Hiruzen seems to have some plans for the boy… Is he planning to cultivate the boy to eliminate Uchiha Itachi…? Well, that would make sense… but… not just anyone can deal with Uchiha Itachi…' Danzō isn't sure whether Uchiha Sasuke is up to the task. He shook his head, and asked another question, "How about the boy's Sharingan? Has he shown any signs of awakening it?"

The Shinobi with a mask shook his head apologetically, "So far, the boy hasn't shown any signs, but… it's also probably because he isn't put in a difficult situation. Should I test him to see if he has awakened the Sharingan?"

Danzō shook his head, "There's no need to do anything for now…"

The Shinobi with a mask was surprised, and asked, "Would that be an appropriate solution to the Uchiha problem Danzō-sama?"

"I wouldn't call it appropriate, but this is the best solution for the time being." Answered Danzō.

He doesn't know if Uchiha Itachi left behind a method to keep watch over his younger brother from the shadows. Considering that it's Itachi, such a thing wouldn't be impossible. Knowing this, he doesn't want to risk it by carelessly taking action against the boy when the time is not ripe. If Itachi were to feel that Sasuke's life is in danger, he would most definitely leak secret intel to all the enemy nations and the village would suffer terribly because of that. The trouble outweighs the benefits, so it's not worth it… Moreover, Danzō needs Uchiha Sasuke to eliminate Itachi. Once the threat of Itachi is neutralized, that's when they will make an active move on the boy.

Not to mention, Danzō also doesn't want to do anything to attract Hiruzen, or the other two elder advisor's attention to himself for some time. He has some very important things to do in this period and believes that until that thing is completed it is best to remain silent and continue to keep an eye on the boy from a distance.

Danzō turned to the Shinobi with the mask and ordered him, "Continue to keep a watch over the Uchiha boy from a distance, don't carelessly approach him unless his life is at risk."

The Shinobi with a mask nodded, "I understand," then disappeared from the underground place.

Left alone, Danzō looked at the moon and smiled, "With the annihilation of the Uchiha Clan that has existed and ruled since the beginning of times, a new chapter is about to begin for the world of Shinobi and Konohagakure…" He retrieved his gaze back and blended in with the shadows as he walked away. "Soon, very soon I will have that power… and once I have that forbidden Jutsu, I will be the one who will bring Konoha to its former glory!"

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