The morning after the bandit camp was cleared, the Uchiha compound was buzzing. A wagon train filled with high-grade construction timber and iron—supplies that had been "lost" for weeks—rolled through the gates of Konoha. At the head of the caravan walked a nine-year-old boy with his hands in his pockets, looking as though he had just gone for a light stroll.
Dan didn't go to the Hokage. He didn't go to the Police Station. He went straight to the Naka Shrine.
Fugaku Uchiha was waiting on the steps. Beside him stood a younger boy, perhaps five years old, with curly hair and a wide, inquisitive smile.
"You delivered," Fugaku said, his voice holding a rare note of genuine approval. "The materials are already being diverted to the Western Gate. The merchants are singing the praises of the Uchiha."
"I didn't do it for the songs, Fugaku-sama," Dan replied. "I did it for the leverage. The elders of the village can't claim we are a threat to peace while we are the ones literally rebuilding their walls."
The small boy beside Fugaku stepped forward, his eyes shimmering with curiosity. "How did you take down twelve Rain mercenaries without getting a single scratch on your cloak? I checked the bodies. They were magnetized. I've never seen that kind of Ninjutsu."
Dan looked down. This was Shisui Uchiha. In the original timeline, Shisui was the genius of the Body Flicker. But in this world, Dan had already claimed that title.
"It's just physics, Shisui," Dan said. "If you vibrate lightning chakra at the right frequency, the world becomes your puppet."
"Can you teach me?" Shisui asked eagerly.
Dan looked at Fugaku, who nodded slowly. "Shisui is the most promising of the next generation. If you are to lead a division, you need subordinates."
"He's too young for the field," Dan said, "but he's perfect for the Architecture. Shisui, follow me."
The Hidden Laboratory
Dan didn't take Shisui to a training ground. He took him to an abandoned basement beneath a tea shop in the outskirts of the Uchiha district.
Inside, the room was filled with scrolls, but not just jutsu scrolls. There were maps of Konoha's sewer systems, blueprints of the Hokage's administrative building, and ledgers of the village's food supply.
"What is this place?" Shisui whispered, looking at a map pinned to the wall with red string.
"This is where the 'Shadow Architecture' lives," Dan said. "The village thinks being a ninja is about throwing kunai and breathing fire. They're wrong. Being a ninja is about control. If we know where every loaf of bread comes from and where every drop of water flows, we don't need the Sharingan to rule. We become indispensable."
[System Notification: 6-Hour Sync Complete.]
[Status: 'Presence Masking' has evolved into 'Conceptual Erasure' (Rank S).]
[Clone is now shifting focus to: 'Genjutsu: Layered Realities'.]
Dan felt the familiar hum of the system. His brain was being mapped with new ways to trap an opponent in a dream without them ever realizing they had left the real world.
"I want you to be my eyes, Shisui," Dan continued. "You have a natural talent for the Body Flicker. I'm going to give you a training regimen that will make you the fastest thing in this village. In exchange, you will watch the Uchiha Elders. I want to know every word they whisper about a coup."
Shisui's face turned serious. "A coup? But... we're a family."
"Families fight, Shisui. Sometimes they kill each other," Dan said, his voice cold. "I'm trying to make sure that doesn't happen."
Recruiting the Snake's Apprentice
Later that afternoon, Dan walked toward the Academy. He wasn't there for the Uchiha. He was there for a girl with purple hair and a loud mouth, who was currently pinning a training dummy to a tree with a barrage of senbon.
Anko Mitarashi.
She was a year older than Dan, currently a Genin under Orochimaru. In the canon, she would become a victim of the Cursed Mark and a woman haunted by her past. To Dan, she was the perfect recruit: she had access to the Research Division through her sensei.
"Nice grouping," Dan said, leaning against a tree.
Anko spun around, a kunai in her hand. When she saw the Uchiha crest, she relaxed, but only slightly. "Oh, it's the 'Ghost Boy.' What does a big-shot war hero want with a lowly Genin like me?"
"I heard your sensei is looking for 'unorthodox' talent," Dan said. "I'm looking for the same. I need someone who isn't afraid of the dark parts of this village. Someone who knows how to handle poisons and seals."
Anko smirked, wiping sweat from her brow. "And why would I work for a kid younger than me?"
Dan didn't answer with words. He used a Void-Step.
He appeared behind her, his hand resting lightly on her shoulder. Anko gasped, swinging her elbow back, but Dan was already five feet away, holding the ribbon she had used to tie back her hair.
"Because," Dan said, "I can teach you how to move so fast that even Orochimaru won't be able to catch you."
Anko stared at the ribbon in his hand. Her eyes widened. "You... you're faster than the rumors say."
"The rumors are three months out of date," Dan replied. "Meet me at the tea shop at midnight if you want to be more than just a snake's shadow."
The Night Grind
As the moon rose over Konoha, Dan returned to his apartment. He sat in the center of the floor and closed his eyes, entering the Eternal Mirror Space.
The space had expanded. Now, instead of just one spectral clone, the system allowed for sub-routines.
Clone A: Practicing the Third Gate of the Eight Inner Gates (Current Stability: 88%).
Clone B: Analyzing the Flying Thunder God (Hiraishin) formula Dan had glimpsed while watching Minato. (Progress: 0.12% - Extremely Slow).
Clone C: Perfecting Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning.
Dan's real body began to glow with a faint violet light. The "Sync" was becoming more intense. He could feel his bones getting denser, his nerves becoming more conductive.
System, Dan thought. If I continue at this rate, when will my physical body be able to handle the Mangekyō without the risk of blindness?
[Calculation: With current 'Body Refinement' and 'Cellular Regeneration' training, the risk of blindness will be neutralized in 4.5 years.]
Too long, Dan thought. The Nine-Tails attack is in five years. I need to be at full power before then. I need to find a way to accelerate the 'Eternal' evolution without taking another's eyes.
He stood up and looked out the window. Across the village, in the Hokage Rock, he could see the silhouette of the monument. He wasn't interested in being a face on a mountain. He wanted to be the hand that moved the mountain.
The "Shadow Architecture" was growing. With Shisui as his eyes and Anko as his link to the village's R&D, Dan was no longer just a soldier.
The first 100 chapters of his life had been about survival.
The next 100 would be about Dominion.