Chapter 80: Itachi, You Can Attend the Naka Shrine Clan Meetings From Now On

Chapter 80: Itachi, You Can Attend the Naka Shrine Clan Meetings From Now On

The guardianship of Naruto Uzumaki had always been a difficult issue.

Due to the little fellow's sensitive identity, there weren't many people who were trustworthy and willing to take care of him. After all, ANBU ninjas were all single men and would continue to be single.

And most of Minato Namikaze's old friends had sacrificed themselves; even their children were waiting for others to take care of them!

There was actually one person who knew Naruto Uzumaki's identity and was willing to adopt and take good care of him.

Danzo Shimura was, after all, a big figure in Konoha. He had publicly and privately expressed his willingness to adopt Naruto, promising to take good care of him as he grew up and inherited the Will of Fire.

Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't possibly agree; Danzo was just a troublemaker.

The Fourth Hokage had left his child behind, not for others to turn him into a weapon. He had been trying to prevent the Jinchuriki from falling into Danzo's hands, so he didn't dare let ordinary people or the Konoha Orphanage adopt Naruto.

Currently, Naruto's state was pretty much one of being allowed to grow wild. Hiruzen Sarutobi, his trusted ANBU, and the female ninjas of the Konoha Medical Unit took turns taking care of him.

Biwako Sarutobi, who had once taken the best care of the second Jinchuriki, Kushina Uzumaki, had died in the Nine-Tails' rampage.

A Third Hokage without Biwako Sarutobi couldn't really take good care of a child.

On the other hand, there were the after-effects of the Nine-Tails' rampage.

There had always been a theory in the ninja world that Konoha had lost its Tailed Beast. If Danzo Shimura hadn't suddenly shown a strong hand, it's estimated that other major countries would already be coming for war and extortion.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was already considering, after Naruto grew a little older, to no longer conceal Naruto's Nine-Tails chakra outbursts, to suppress this theory.

As a result, the matter of Uchiha Obito happened tonight... It was unknown how the two rogue ninjas found out the Jinchuriki's identity and located Naruto.

When Hiruzen Sarutobi walked up to Uchiha Itachi, he had just brought the little fellow out of the sealing space. Naruto Uzumaki had fallen into a deep sleep.

"Itachi, give him to me!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped forward to take Naruto, his gaze sweeping over Kakashi and the others, "Thank you for your hard work."

The Third Hokage was very meticulous at times, but at his core, he was still a somewhat rough ninja. In the past, he had his wife as a capable helpmate to handle trivial matters.

The way he held the child made Uchiha Itachi's face darken with black lines.

Rather than holding, it was more like夹 (jiā - clamping/tucking under the arm), somewhat like how a ninja treats a captive on the battlefield.

"Lord Third." Uchiha Itachi kindly nudged Naruto, rescuing him from under Hiruzen Sarutobi's arm, "That's not how you hold a child."

"Oh? I really don't know much about these things. I usually see others holding them like this..."

How could this posture be wrong? He had clearly seen Shikaku Nara holding his son like this last time; Hiruzen Sarutobi had specifically learned it!

Hiruzen Sarutobi still grumbled but accepted the suggestion, gracefully hanging the little fellow on his body. After all, Uchiha Itachi was the only one in Konoha who liked to carry children around.

Itachi held the crow and said with a serious face, "But Naruto is very young, and his body is also too thin and weak."

"That's why I said you're not suitable for raising a Jinchuriki at all, Hiruzen..." Danzo Shimura walked closer, glancing at the Third Hokage with disdain, "Give him to me. I will send people to take good care of him."

"Hehe!" Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled, then suddenly stabbed his old friend in the back, "An old thing who has no one willing to take care of himself!"

"..."

Danzo Shimura's face visibly darkened. They just had different political views; why did this person always have to resort to personal attacks!

They had been together for almost fifty years, yet he still couldn't bring himself to approve of Hiruzen Sarutobi. Indeed, there was a reason for it.

The frustration in Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart eased slightly. He scanned the people around him and finally let his gaze fall on the white-haired head, "Kakashi, Uchiha Itachi, submit a mission report on tonight's incident tomorrow."

"Yes!" Uchiha Itachi's words were full of energy. Children really were spirited!

"Oh."

Kakashi Hatake was clearly somewhat listless. After Uchiha Obito left, his state had been very off.

What might cause others to break down, Kakashi was still barely holding on. The events of tonight were complicated enough to nearly cause a person's mental collapse.

Fortunately, he was not alone.

Might Guy stepped forward quickly and supported the staggering white-haired man, "Kakashi, you are my eternal rival! The hot blood of youth has not yet burned out; you absolutely cannot fall in a place like this!"

"I'm fine." The white-haired man forced a bitter smile, put an arm around Guy's shoulder, and looked up at the sky, "Maybe I'm already used to it!"

Used to the departure of close friends, and also used to the deceptions and schemes between ninjas.

"What?"

Might Guy's dense nerves were completely oblivious. To him, tonight was just a matter of the village having one more rogue ninja. If they encountered Obito again, they would just defeat him!

In his view, the matter was that simple and unadorned...

Occasionally, Might Guy's dense nerves also made Kakashi feel a bit envious. No need to think so much, nor would there be too many complicated emotions.

Just charge firmly towards the goal, paying no mind to the flowers and thorns along the way.

As the crowd dispersed, the people present gradually thinned out, until only Uchiha Fugaku and his son remained. There was pride on his face.

"Truly my son!" Fugaku patted his son's shoulder, "Even without relying on the Mangekyo Sharingan, you can subdue a rampaging Jinchuriki!"

"Dad..."

Uchiha Itachi weakly pointed his chin at the sleeping Kitahara in his arms. Every time his father praised him, Kitahara would always jump out to knock him down a peg.

But being able to instantly defeat the rampaging Jinchuriki tonight was all because of Kitahara's formidable strength. Uchiha Itachi's skin wasn't that thick in front of his family...

"Haha, Itachi is already very amazing." Uchiha Fugaku patted his little head, "After all, you could have just used the Mangekyo to subdue him!"

The old father sighed with emotion, "I always believed my son would one day become the strongest ninja in the Uchiha clan, I just didn't expect this day to come so quickly... Itachi, you're amazing!"

Before Fugaku revealed he had the Mangekyo Sharingan, the one in the clan most hopeful of awakening the Mangekyo was Uchiha Shisui.

No one had ever thought, not even Fugaku himself... that his son would overtake him at high speed, going from awakening his eyes to reaching the Mangekyo in less than two years.

In Fugaku's exchange with the Third Hokage tonight, there was still no real result. It could only be said that they had barely reached a consensus. Fugaku still had to suppress the irritable clan members.

As a price, Hiruzen Sarutobi guaranteed he would have the Konoha leadership give Uchiha Itachi a fair environment. As for how far he could go in the future, it would all depend on his own efforts...

Anyway, Itachi was still young!

The Third Hokage seemed to have opened the door to a new world. He had found the correct way to approach Fugaku, which was through Uchiha Itachi's future status and achievements.

It sounded as if Fugaku was using clan affairs to seek personal gain...

But in the long run, if the little boy had no great prospects for the future, he could only inherit the position of clan head.

Fugaku looked at the hope he had placed his trust in and said softly, "Itachi, from tomorrow onwards, you can attend the Naka Shrine clan meetings!"

(End of this chapter)