"Uchiha Touhuan?" Obito's face darkened when he heard this name.
Back in the village, because of the Fourth Hokage, Obito had not fought on the battlefields of Kirigakure, where the Uchiha clan was active, during the Third Shinobi World War. Even so, he had heard many stories about his younger cousin, who was several years younger than him.
Even now, in Kirigakure—the very village where he was stirring up trouble—the name Uchiha Touhuan was a nightmare to many veteran ninjas who had experienced the Third Shinobi World War. Countless Kirigakure ninjas had been buried beneath the ninja sword Swift Lightning, known as the Bloodless Blade.
But what Obito did not expect was that his cousin, who had achieved such terrifying battlefield feats, would also possess this kind of ability.
Under his secret manipulation, the entire Uchiha clan had already been pushed to the edge of collapse. Yet he had only been away from village affairs for a short time, and Uchiha Touhuan had already unified the Uchiha forces—something Obito found completely unacceptable.
As someone born into the Uchiha clan, Obito understood very well how terrifying the clan's potential was. Even with ordinary ninja talent, the Uchiha clan already stood at the peak of the ninja world. Not to mention the Mangekyō Sharingan, which completely defied common sense. This was a massive destabilizing factor for his Eye of the Moon Plan.
Therefore, to Obito Uchiha, only dead Uchiha were good Uchiha.
"What exactly happened to the Uchiha while I was away?" Obito took a deep breath and asked Black Zetsu beside him.
"I'll have White Zetsu explain the details later. But even White Zetsu didn't gather much information about this clan member," Black Zetsu replied.
"Even White Zetsu couldn't gather enough information?" Obito frowned deeply beneath his mask. He knew better than anyone how powerful White Zetsu's intelligence-gathering abilities were.
"This man's Lightning Release is special. There is a strange magnetic field within several meters of his body. Under its interference, it's hard for White Zetsu's spores to grow, let alone gather information directly," Black Zetsu explained.
After hearing this, a strange light flashed in Obito's exposed eye.
"So, Obito, should we eliminate this destabilizing factor?" Black Zetsu slowly moved closer and asked.
"For the sake of the Eye of the Moon Plan, all destabilizing factors must be removed," Obito said coldly, then turned to glare at Black Zetsu. "And call me Uchiha Madara."
After Uchiha Touhuan and Kakashi returned to the village, things were peaceful for a while.
During this period, Hiruzen Sarutobi often brought Jiraiya with him to public events, such as ribbon-cutting ceremonies for newly opened shops.
Although Jiraiya was famous as one of the Legendary Sannin, he rarely stayed in the village. Most villagers had heard of him but did not recognize him. Hiruzen Sarutobi did this to make Jiraiya more familiar to the villagers. Recently, stories of Jiraiya's heroic deeds in the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars also began spreading again.
It could be said that Hiruzen Sarutobi spared no effort in paving the way for Jiraiya.
However, after officially becoming the Hokage's advisor, Jiraiya found that things were not going smoothly.
Although Hiruzen had given Jiraiya authority to mobilize Anbu and Jonin teams, Jiraiya quickly noticed that, aside from the Ino-Shika-Cho clan and the Sarutobi clan, most ninjas were not very enthusiastic about following his orders.
While the missions were still completed properly, they were nothing like the enthusiasm shown when the Security Department requested manpower for joint missions.
This was understandable. Security Department missions came with extra pay, not to mention hidden benefits like food during and after missions. Compared to that, missions assigned by Jiraiya felt far less attractive.
What frustrated Jiraiya even more was his failure to recruit Genma Shiranui and other former subordinates of the Fourth Hokage.
He had thought that, as Minato's teacher, taking over his former student's group would be easy. Yet on the very afternoon he proposed promoting Genma and the others to Jonin, their transfer applications to the Security Department landed on his desk.
Though they were connected to Minato, in their eyes, Jiraiya's status as Minato's teacher was far less convincing than Kakashi's position as Minato's student.
After all, when the Fourth Hokage promoted Genma and the others from obscurity, Kakashi had fought alongside them as a comrade. And Jiraiya? At that time, he was traveling the ninja world gathering intelligence—and he was not even present on the night of Minato's death.
Worse still, after the Fourth Hokage's sacrifice, Jiraiya never once returned to visit Naruto, Minato's only son. And now he wanted their loyalty? On what grounds?
Jiraiya also noticed that many Anbu and Jonin had received favors from Uchiha Touhuan and Kakashi, and spoke highly of them. This deeply unsettled him.
"Looks like I need to have a proper talk with Kakashi," Jiraiya thought, sitting at his desk. "And I should also go see Naruto."
While Jiraiya struggled with matters he was not good at, Kakashi, on the other hand, was doing quite well.
Though he had officially started work in the Security Department, the special unit he was assigned to—jokingly called the Nakagawa Grand Hotel by Uchiha Touhuan—currently held only Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado. His daily work was relaxed, consisting mainly of checking interrogation progress.
The Uchiha clan members under him were extremely respectful. Every time Kakashi came to inspect, they would drag the two old men out and beat them, something Kakashi was more than happy to watch.
Aside from their confession—obtained through fists, kicks, and Sharingan genjutsu—that they had spread rumors about Kakashi, Kakashi had also grown during this period. Re-examining his father's case, he realized these two were definitely not innocent.
As a result, watching them get beaten became one of Kakashi's daily entertainments, second only to reading Jiraiya's novels in his office.
At five o'clock, the clock rang. Kakashi closed Make-Out Paradise and left work on time.
After work, Kakashi headed toward the Ninja Academy. There had been banquets every night recently, and he had neglected Naruto. By the time he returned home each night, Naruto was already asleep. Today, he decided to spend time with him.
When Kakashi arrived, the students were leaving. Soon, he saw Naruto walking out with Sasuke, Shikamaru, Chōji, and Kiba.
"Naruto!" Kakashi waved.
"Kakashi-nii?" Naruto looked surprised.
After saying goodbye to his friends, Naruto ran over.
"Why are you here? Aren't there banquets today?" Naruto asked.
"I was free, so I came to pick you up. What, you don't want that?" Kakashi laughed.
"Uh… not really," Naruto said guiltily, sticking out his tongue.
Kakashi said nothing and led him home.
When Naruto relaxed, Kakashi suddenly said, "That new Dreamy Soy Sauce Ramen doesn't taste very good."
"That's not true! I've been eating it every day—it's delicious!" Naruto blurted out.
Kakashi stared at him calmly.
"Didn't I have dinner delivered every night?" Kakashi asked.
"Sorry…" Naruto lowered his head.
"Eating only ramen isn't healthy," Kakashi sighed. "Fine. I'll come home for dinner more often."
At the Hatake residence, they met an unexpected guest. Jiraiya stood at the gate, holding a gift.
"Kakashi, you're back," Jiraiya said, then looked at Naruto. Seeing his blond hair, his eyes flickered.
"Uncle, are you related to Kakashi? You both have white hair," Naruto asked.
"Good question!" Jiraiya suddenly jumped back, formed hand seals, and with a bang, summoned a giant toad. Standing proudly on its head, he shouted, "I am the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku—Jiraiya!"
Naruto stared in shock. "Amazing…"
The smoke vanished, and Jiraiya landed, laughing.
Kakashi invited him inside.
After dinner, Kakashi poured Jiraiya a drink.
"Lord Jiraiya, what brings you here?" Kakashi asked.
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(End of Chapter)