Pure Bloodline

"Lord Hokage, this is the list of graduates for this year."

In the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, leisurely reviewed the list Iruka had submitted.

"Uchiha Sasuke performed the best…"

"What about Naruto?" Hiruzen interrupted Iruka's report, flipping to the last page of the list. It showed that Naruto had placed last on the written exam, achieved average scores in taijutsu and shuriken throwing, and, for ninjutsu, had only passed the Transformation Jutsu. He had failed both the Substitution Jutsu and the Clone Jutsu.

"Naruto most likely won't graduate this year." The final exam for the Ninja Academy this year was the Clone Jutsu, and Naruto… Iruka shook his head, recalling the various grotesque forms Naruto had produced with his attempts at the Clone Jutsu.

"Is that so?" Hiruzen nodded, then flipped back to the page listing the Uchiha clan members. "Besides Uchiha Sasuke, how did Uchiha Ying perform?"

"Very well. He has the potential to become a fine shinobi." If Naruto was the most mischievous student in the class, then Uchiha Ying was undoubtedly the most obedient. Iruka had a very favorable impression of him.

"Such high praise suggests you're quite fond of him."

"Anyone who meets that child would…"

*Knock, knock.*

"Lord Hokage, Lord Danzo requests an audience." Just as Iruka and Hiruzen were talking, a knock came at the Hokage's office door.

"Danzo?" After a moment of contemplation, Hiruzen understood Danzo's intentions. He had already seen the events unfolding outside in his crystal ball, and an ANBU operative had also reported to him. He simply hadn't expected Danzo to come knocking before he went looking for him. Of course, even knowing the full story, Hiruzen's expression remained impassive.

"Let him in." Hiruzen said, dismissing Iruka with a wave of his hand.

"Yes, sir!" Iruka gathered the student files and respectfully withdrew from the office.

Only after the purple-haired kunoichi had left did Uchiha Ying release the kunai hidden in his sleeve. Although it was just a false alarm, it had ruined his good mood for the day. "I need to find something to keep those two old schemers occupied, so they don't spend all their time on their petty squabbles and disrupt my life." With Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura constantly stirring the pot, he feared he would be targeted no matter how discreet he tried to be. Those two old vultures constantly circling Konoha kept him, an Uchiha, on edge.

"Th…This is where you live?" Having reached the end of Konoha's main street, Uchiha Ying finally led Naruto to the Uchiha Clan compound. Looking at the scarred and dilapidated streets and houses, Naruto felt a chill run down his spine. He had heard about the Uchiha clan massacre, but he couldn't truly grasp the devastation. Until today. Seeing this desolate, almost haunted place, even he, an orphan, couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Ying and Sasuke.

"It's all in ruins. Only that large house at the end is habitable." Stepping over the debris-strewn streets of the once bustling clan compound, Ying walked towards the mansion at its heart.

"Oh." Naruto scratched his head, unsure of what to say. Words of consolation seemed inadequate, yet he couldn't bring himself to act as carefree as he had been earlier. He simply followed Ying quietly. It wasn't until he entered the house and saw Sasuke frying eggs in the kitchen that he finally regained his usual boisterous demeanor.

"Hahaha, Sasuke, I never thought I'd see you wearing an apron and cooking!"

"You dead-last idiot…" Seeing Naruto clutching his stomach and laughing uproariously at him, Sasuke nearly snapped the spatula in his hand.

"Why did you bring an outsider into the compound?" He frowned, directing his question at Ying, who seemed to be enjoying the spectacle.

"I saw he was homeless and didn't have any money for food, so I brought him back." He was in a good mood today and felt some pity for Naruto. However, the most compelling reason was the amusement he derived from watching Naruto, the walking embodiment of chaos, irritate Sasuke. Sasuke shouldn't always be so serious. A more lighthearted Sasuke would be preferable.

"Tch, don't bring every stray dog back home in the future!" Although his words were harsh, Sasuke proceeded to fry another egg.

"I'm not a stray dog…" Naruto wanted to argue (or rather, shout) back at Sasuke, but he quickly remembered that he was a guest in their home. After muttering under his breath, he quietly sat on the sofa and drank the tea Ying offered him.

"Hiruzen, that Uchiha brat is a threat to the Nine-Tails!" Danzo's voice boomed the moment he entered the Hokage's office.

"Oh? Did Sasuke get into another fight with Naruto?" Hiruzen feigned ignorance.

"Not Uchiha Sasuke, but Uchiha Ying."

"Uchiha Ying? What did he do?" Hiruzen calmly polished the crystal ball on his desk.

"He…" Danzo glanced at the crystal ball, fully aware that the old man already knew everything. "Regardless, an Uchiha being near the Nine-Tails is dangerous. The Nine-Tails' rampage could happen again!" Tapping his cane on the floor, Danzo pressed his point. "Moreover, Uchiha Ying is a mistake left over from Itachi's failure. He's a useless, eyeless weakling. It's best to eliminate this mistake sooner rather than later!" His entire clan was slaughtered before his eyes, yet he couldn't even awaken a single tomoe. Such a worthless Uchiha was a liability. And he was even named Ying, a name surely indicative of grand ambitions! If Hiruzen hadn't been so lenient back then, and if the other Konoha shinobi hadn't arrived, he would have eliminated this threat on the spot. "That Uchiha Ying's appearance was suspicious from the very beginning. We must be wary, Hiruzen!"

"Preposterous!" The normally imperturbable Hiruzen suddenly slammed his hand on the table. If Ying hadn't been found amongst the corpses of the Uchiha clan, clearly a traumatized child, Hiruzen would have seriously questioned his identity. But the fact remained that, after all these years, to claim there was something wrong with Ying was pure fabrication. He was well-mannered, obedient, and not particularly strong. In many ways, he resembled Uchiha Kagami.

"Attacking a fellow villager without just cause, Danzo, who gave you the authority to do such a thing?!" How could an Uchiha who couldn't even awaken the Sharingan pose a threat to the Nine-Tails' seal? Danzo was undoubtedly after Naruto again. Hiruzen was genuinely furious, but not because Danzo had sent his men to attack Ying. He was enraged by Danzo's insubordination. He had explicitly told Danzo that his ANBU guard were sufficient to protect the Nine-Tails and that Root's involvement wasn't necessary. Yet, he still stubbornly sent Root operatives to spy.

"The Uchiha are no longer our com…" It wasn't just Ying. If it weren't for Itachi, Danzo would have wanted to eliminate Sasuke as well. This inherently evil Uchiha clan should have been completely eradicated.

"Silence! One more word of this nonsense, and you will return home and never leave it again!" Hiruzen had long regretted the Uchiha clan massacre. Of course, he didn't regret the deaths themselves, but he regretted losing such a valuable asset. Now, with Konoha facing a shortage of capable shinobi and the turbulent political climate outside, he truly regretted the loss of the Uchiha clan's strength.

"Hiruzen, your weakness will be your undoing!"

"Danzo, I am the Hokage!" Hiruzen fixed his old friend with an icy stare. "If I ever discover your men near Naruto or harassing the Uchiha again, Root will be disbanded!"

"You…" Hiruzen, so meek with outsiders, only dared to show his strength against him. Such a hypocrite. Danzo snorted and stormed out, slamming the door behind him. If he were Hokage, Konoha would be ten times more stable and prosperous! Unfortunately… Their sensei had been unjust!

"However, this Uchiha Ying…" After dismissing the fuming Danzo, Hiruzen sat alone at his desk, gazing at the portraits of the past Hokages and muttering to himself. The name Uchiha Ying seemed familiar… Hadn't the child the First Hokage found been named Ying? Old age was taking its toll on his memory. Hiruzen rummaged through the archives for a considerable time before finally locating the record— 'The First Hokage, after defeating Uchiha Madara, found an abandoned Uchiha infant the next morning and named him Ying.' Beneath this entry was a line of crossed-out text. Hiruzen recognized the handwriting as that of his teacher, the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. But why had Tobirama crossed out the words below? Hiruzen couldn't fathom the reason. And if Ying had been a child found by the First Hokage, how could he have so few memories of him after so many years in Konoha?

"Never mind, it was decades ago." There were many people with the same name in the village. It was highly unlikely that there was any connection to the current Uchiha Ying. Shaking his head, Hiruzen closed the archive door. However, he paused briefly as he passed the room containing the forbidden jutsu scrolls. "Naruto must become stronger quickly, and Sasuke as well…" Kumo's perfect jinchuriki was the envy of countless shinobi villages. He, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was no exception.