Kuroha tilted his head, studying Guy with mild disappointment.
"So what else can you do?"
It sounded casual, almost bored. Exactly the tone he wanted Guy to hear.If Guy believed Kuroha wasn't impressed yet, he'd dig deeper.Ideally into the kind of forbidden taijutsu that bent a person's limits—the Eight Gates.
Guy brightened.
"I have another technique. Even without a kekkei genkai, it can push someone to the level of the strongest shinobi!"
A beat later, he froze, realizing what he'd implied.
"I— I didn't mean you don't have a kekkei genkai! I just—"
"It's fine."Kuroha waved it away with a small smile. He truly didn't care about Guy's slip. And unlike Guy assumed, his eyes could evolve—just not through normal means.
"I'll reach the top of the shinobi world. I'm sure of it."
Guy felt heat surge beneath his skin.
"YES! That's the spirit of youth! I can feel it burning!"
Kuroha watched him with faint amusement, his dual-pupiled gaze flickering.
"So… what's that technique you mentioned? Can you actually teach it?"
Guy inhaled sharply.
"The Eight Gates. They release the restraints inside the body, allowing explosive growth in power. But—"
He paused, brows tightening.
"I can't teach you yet."
"Why not?" Kuroha asked, blinking innocently.
"Your body isn't strong enough. If you opened even one gate right now, the recoil alone could cripple you."
Fair. And exactly what Kuroha expected.
"Then when can I learn?"
"Run with me every day. Train until your body is ready. When the time comes, I'll know."
Guy shooed him toward home.
"Time's up. Head back, little warrior."
"See you tomorrow, Big Brows!"
Kuroha waved and jogged home.
Back at the house, he devoured an entire table of food until his stomach finally stopped aching from hunger.Senju Akari fussed over him, and Uchiha Jōan nearly cried proud tears when he heard Guy had taken interest in their son's training.
A Month Later
The routine settled into place.Morning runs.Taijutsu drills with Guy.Then practice at the Uchiha training grounds.
Kuroha's only problem was chakra.
His mutated eyes drank the chakra from his core like a bottomless well, leaving him with only the unstable traces stored in his cells through the Internal Conditioning Flow. Those traces weren't stable enough to perform even a basic Clone Technique.
The ridicule was constant.
Especially from Itachi and Sasuke.
"See? He can't even make a clone."
"What a waste."
"Monster or not, he's useless."
Kuroha's fingers twitched.He wanted to break someone's jaw.But brute irritation wouldn't solve his real problem.
Until I build a stable alternative to a normal chakra pool, I can't use jutsu. If I turn all cells into storage points, I can bypass the issue entirely.
It would take years.But it was the only path.
A soft voice cut through his thoughts.
"Kuroha, don't let them get to you. You'll master ninjutsu soon."
He looked up.
Uchiha Izumi stood there, bright and earnest.
"I'm fine," he said, relaxing a fraction. "Really."
Izumi was the only one besides Guy who treated him normally.The others avoided him—or mocked him.
Even Uchiha Akemi, Daemura's son, stayed polite but distant.Kuroha didn't blame him. His father had joined Jōan's merchant network, and the other clan children clearly disapproved.
Still, the business was thriving.With several elite Uchiha joining the convoys, bandit attacks had dropped to almost nothing.Hiring them had actually reduced costs instead of increasing them. Strength had a way of stabilizing trade routes without a single fight.
The Hokage's Office
In the dim light of evening, the Third Hokage—Sarutobi Hiruzen—sat behind his desk, fingers tapping rhythmically against the wood.
A young shinobi stood before him.Calm, composed, wearing the Uchiha crest.
Uchiha Shisui.
If the clan were a storm, Shisui was the one gust that still blew toward the village.
He waited silently, unsure why he'd been summoned.
The office felt suffocatingly quiet.
At last, Hiruzen lifted his gaze.
"Tell me, Shisui… has the Uchiha clan shown any unusual movements lately?"
The words were polite.The tone was not.
Shisui blinked, genuinely puzzled.
"No, Hokage-sama. Things feel the same as usual."
Hiruzen's smile didn't change, but the air sharpened.
"Strange. I've heard their emotions are growing unstable. Some are… dissatisfied with the village."
Shisui's breath caught.
Not because the Hokage might be wrong.But because the Hokage might be right—and already preparing countermeasures.