Chapter 6: Hokage's Plan

Ninja Academy.

"Chiya-kun, have you heard? Itachi-kun seems to be graduating early. He's only been enrolled for a year, and now he's graduating. That's really amazing!" Uchiha Izumi looked out the window at Uchiha Itachi, who was in the spotlight, and spoke to Fujiwara Chiya beside her.

"He really is amazing." Fujiwara Chiya didn't hesitate to praise him.

Unknowingly, the two had already spent a year together.

Although Fujiwara Chiya rarely came to school, through the memory of his shadow clones, he deeply understood that Uchiha Izumi was a gentle, kind-hearted, and understanding girl.

At this moment, there were still six years before the Uchiha massacre.

Fujiwara Chiya wasn't naive enough to try and save the entire Uchiha clan, and even if he did, they probably wouldn't believe him.

But letting Uchiha Izumi die at the hands of the two lunatics, Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Obito, was something he couldn't accept.

Perhaps, by then, it would also be the right time for him to leave the village.

After all, his original plan was to join the Akatsuki.

That Konan... no, that red cloud and black robe, he had been longing for it for a long time.

"Also, Chiya-kun is very amazing too. If Chiya-kun took the graduation exam now, you would definitely graduate early as well." At this moment, Uchiha Izumi's voice interrupted Fujiwara Chiya's thoughts.

"You're overpraising me." Fujiwara Chiya modestly responded.

In terms of talent, Uchiha Itachi was a true genius.

His combat intelligence was exceptionally high. Without the assistance of any special techniques, Fujiwara Chiya admitted he was far from matching Itachi.

The only shortcoming Itachi had was his almost zero emotional intelligence.

No wonder in the original story, despite being feared by Obito, he was still easily manipulated by the Konoha F4.

"No, it's true. Chiya-kun is really amazing." Uchiha Izumi leaned in closer, her warm breath accompanied by her gentle voice, "I think Chiya-kun has also been using shadow clones to attend school, right?"

"How did you figure that out?" Chiya was slightly taken aback, looking at Uchiha Izumi.

Although he knew she had awakened the Sharingan after losing her parents during the Nine-Tails attack, the Sharingan couldn't directly identify shadow clones. It could only deduce based on the difference between the clone and the original body. But he had rarely shown his true body alongside his clone.

"Chiya-kun, a girl's intuition is always sharper than you think." Uchiha Izumi took a step back, closed her left eye slightly, forming a crescent moon shape with her smile, and softly said.

"Then can you tell if I'm real or a clone right now?" Chiya suddenly became interested, a faint smile appearing on his face.

"Hmm..." Uchiha Izumi covered her lips with her delicate hand, carefully observing Chiya from head to toe before firmly answering, "You're real. No matter how perfect a clone is, its eyes can't lie. Recently, your gaze has been different. It should be because you were worried about being exposed after Itachi-kun was discovered using a shadow clone, so you switched to attending school with your real body, right?"

"You really are clever, but perhaps only you would notice that. Who else would pay attention to me every day like you do?" Chiya smiled gently, unconsciously raising his hand to gently pat Izumi's small head.

This instantly turned Uchiha Izumi's face bright red. Chiya awkwardly laughed and quickly withdrew his hand, "Sorry... sorry... it's just that you're too cute, I couldn't help myself."

Uchiha Izumi whimpered softly, turned her back to Chiya, and with a subtle smile, whispered to herself, "Chiya-kun is really too sly..."

Their interaction was immediately noticed by a group of girls in the corner of the classroom, instantly igniting their gossiping spirit.

"Wow... Chiya-kun and Izumi-chan are so sweet. How did I never notice Chiya-kun is such a handsome guy?"

"That's because your eyes were only on Itachi-kun. I've been shipping Chiya and Izumi for a long time."

"Really? Tell me more!"

"I want to know too... I want to know too..."

...

Hokage's Office.

"Third Hokage-sama, here is the information you requested on Fujiwara Chiya and his parents." An Anbu ninja respectfully handed over the files to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

[Name: Fujiwara Chiya

Gender: Male

Birthday: November 10

Parents: Fujiwara Ichiro (deceased), Fujiwara Rika (deceased)

Blood Type: O

Ninja Creed: To protect Konoha, hoping to prevent further bloodshed.

Hobbies: Helping elderly women cross the street.

Most Admired Person: Third Hokage-sama.

Dream: To become a great ninja like the Third Hokage.]

[Instructor's Evaluation: An outstanding civilian genius. With proper training, his potential could rival that of elite clan children.]

Hiruzen briefly glanced over the file and was generally satisfied. In all aspects like shuriken and kunai throwing, Chiya showed excellent aptitude, almost without any weaknesses.

Although he wasn't as dazzling as Uchiha Itachi, one couldn't forget — Chiya was just a civilian.

He had no extraordinary bloodline like Itachi, nor the privileged training of a noble clan. Yet, reaching this level was already remarkable.

But the key point was that Chiya idolized the Third Hokage and aspired to be like him — a testament to his strong will of fire.

And this was exactly the kind of talent Hiruzen needed.

"Fujiwara really did have a good son." Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe, exhaling a cloud of smoke while sighing with emotion. After a brief moment, he asked, "How are his social relationships?"

"He gets along well with his classmates... but..." The Anbu ninja hesitated.

"Speak." Hiruzen gently tapped his pipe, his gaze calm and composed.

"Fujiwara Chiya seems to have a particularly close relationship with a girl from the Uchiha clan. Reportedly, during the Nine-Tails attack, Chiya saved the girl, and they've been close ever since."

Given the growing tension between Konoha and the Uchiha clan, this report was sensitive.

"I see..." Hiruzen's brows eased, and a plan formed in his heart. Perhaps, he could use Chiya's admiration for him to subtly influence him — no, guide him — to monitor the Uchiha clan.

But before that, he needed Chiya to become a full-fledged ninja.

With that in mind, Hiruzen instructed, "Tell the academy to pay more attention to this child and help him grow quickly. The village needs such talent."

"Understood..." The Anbu ninja responded respectfully, then vanished using the Body Flicker Jutsu.

Watching the spot where the Anbu disappeared, Hiruzen lit his pipe again, exhaling another puff of smoke and sighing, "Peace... huh..."