Chapter 35 — Uchiha Yujiro: I Will Rein in the ANBU Forces
And so Yujiro briefly became a member of Konoha's ANBU.
Hiruzen and Minato were both pleased about it. As the village's biggest training ground for the "Will of Fire," they had the means and patience to handle a clever, ambitious troublemaker. One failed brainwashing session didn't matter—keep feeding him the village line, and sooner or later Yujiro would, like his counterparts in the original storyline, be clucking the expected slogans.
Minato in particular breathed a huge sigh of relief when Yujiro agreed to be bound by shared interests. Besides Kakashi, here was another trusted blade at his side. Even someone as simple and sunny as Minato understood what ANBU meant to a Hokage: it's the hard core, the silent shield. That's why, despite the pretty speech about healing Kakashi's wounds, Minato had quietly put his protégé in ANBU—to make sure the inner circle was solid.
Yujiro rolled his eyes at that excuse. If Minato wanted to really comfort Kakashi, he could have sent him on a long vacation to Maldive-style islands; sending him to ANBU and claiming it was therapy felt like a transparent pretext. Still, Yujiro understood why Minato did it—politics, risk management, and the need to protect his succession.
Minato couldn't casually put his kids in positions of power like Hiruzen could; he didn't have the same family network to call on. If he didn't keep Kakashi close now, who knew what Danzō or other schemers might arrange later? It made sense, ugly as it was.
With such thoughts, Yujiro followed Danzō through the ANBU entrance and down into the bowels of the Hokage building. The ANBU headquarters lived up to its name—hidden, dark, labyrinthine. If Danzō hadn't led the way, Yujiro would've spent ages finding the door.
Inside, the place contradicted its modest exterior: the facilities were top-notch. This was a well-funded, professional operation—something the Uchiha didn't possess even in their own clan strongholds. Compared to the Uchiha-run Police Corps, ANBU was the real instrument of force and espionage, the Hokage's sharpest blade.
ANBU's origins traced back to Tobirama Senju. Unlike his genial older brother, Tobirama was cold, calculating, and ruthless in design—an architect of institutions rather than a man of open warmth. He had poured thought and resources into ANBU, and Hiruzen later treated it as Konoha's most effective covert tool. With Danzō's later influence and the Root program, ANBU grew into both the village's most formidable enforcement arm and its primary intelligence apparatus.
Yujiro admired it. The deeper he looked into ANBU, the happier he felt: here were facilities, archives, and forbidden doctrines that even the Uchiha clan library lacked. This place resonated with him. If ANBU belonged to him someday—if he could kick Danzō out and become the second head of Konoha's shadow—what an opportunity that would be.
Of course, Yujiro knew fully well that copying Sharingan powers wholesale wasn't a thing. If it were that easy, the entire shinobi world would unite to crush the Uchiha. Still, the resources and training ANBU wielded excited him. He imagined redirecting those assets into the Uchiha's renaissance—the tools to rebuild, to protect, to dominate.
As he walked behind Danzō, Yujiro felt the dangerous flicker of hostile affection: the urge to replace the man who tried to recruit and brainwash him. Danzō was confident in his ability to turn Yujiro into a tool; Yujiro quietly thought the opposite. He wouldn't be anyone's puppet—and if he had to play along for now, he would make sure he led the dance in the end.
He could use Uchiha Yujiro mercilessly, drain him of every ounce of value, and then toss him aside like a rag when nothing was left.
The thought stirred a twisted thrill in Danzō's chest.
"Danzō-sama."
"Danzō-sama."
"Danzō-sama."
Everywhere they walked, ANBU operatives stopped whatever they were doing to bow and greet him. His authority here was palpable. If not for the stain of Orochimaru's future betrayal, Danzō would no doubt have extended his control far beyond Root—he might have wrapped the entire ANBU in his fist.
"Terrifying, isn't it? The darkness of shinobi…" Yujiro murmured inwardly, careful not to let the words slip past his lips.
"This way," Danzō said, his expression as impassive as carved stone.
Ahead lay the ANBU's deepest sanctum: a sealed laboratory guarded by his most loyal retainers. Behind those doors, the world-shaking arts of tomorrow were being born—experiments in body replacement, the refinement of Edo Tensei, cloning procedures, synthetic humans, cellular grafting, genetic manipulation.
It was the forge of abominations.
Yujiro drew in a slow breath. He had known this meeting was coming, but knowing was different from standing on the threshold. Facing Danzō was one thing; facing Orochimaru was another entirely.
Unlike the old schemer beside him, Orochimaru was someone Yujiro grudgingly respected. Dangerous, yes—but brilliant, relentless, impossible to underestimate.
And yet, Yujiro's wariness was absolute. He often mocked Obito for becoming less than human, murdering Minato and Kushina without hesitation—but truth be told, anyone who could kill the Third Hokage and set his sights on Tsunade was no more "human" than Obito.
Not every Uchiha could play at being Orochimaru's adoptive "wild father" the way Sasuke would someday. Yujiro had no such illusions. Perhaps, after enough reincarnations, when Orochimaru tired of immortality and power and instead drifted into domestic whims, he might be safe to trust. But here and now, he was still one of the most terrifying creatures in the shinobi world.
The heavy door creaked open under Danzō's push.
Inside, the monster himself turned. Orochimaru's golden eyes met Yujiro's—and he smiled, soft and welcoming.
"What a rare guest," he said smoothly.
And Yujiro, though prepared, felt the chill coil down his spine.