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The next morning, Aki showed up at the lake again as promised. Seeing that the First Hokage hadn't arrived yet, he started practicing chakra control on his own—standing upside-down on a tree while closing his eyes and going through the twelve standard hand seals with ease.
He hadn't been at it long when he heard kids yelling in the distance. Opening his eyes, he saw Jiraiya and Tsunade running toward him, following the First Hokage. Well, more accurately, Jiraiya was running away from Tsunade, who was chasing him and throwing punches.
With a quick mid-air flip, Aki landed neatly on the ground and walked up to the First Hokage.
"Morning, Sensei," he said with a bow.
Just then, Jiraiya pointed at Aki and shouted at the First, "Old man! That guy stole my Tsunade! Beat him up for me! Quick!"
"Get lost!" Tsunade yelled, launching Jiraiya into the air with a solid punch.
She turned to Aki and said, "Good morning! Are you really not going back to school anymore? Grandpa said he made you his student. Does that mean we can play together from now on? You never talk to me at school."
Aki gave her a calm smile. "Sometimes I get lost in thought and forget to reply. It's not like I'm ignoring you or anything. But now that we're training to become ninja, we should focus and work hard to build a happy future for ourselves. That way, we can grow up and live fulfilling lives, right, Tsunade?"
The First Hokage chimed in, "It's important to work hard for the future, but missing out on childhood fun is a mistake. I never had a happy childhood, and I don't want the same for you kids, got it?"
Then he looked at Aki and said, "No training today. Let's go! I'm taking you all to the amusement park to have some real fun. Training resumes tomorrow!"
Before Aki could say anything, the First Hokage had already grabbed Tsunade's hand and started walking off, dragging them both toward the amusement park.
Later that day…
"Ugh, I'm beat!" Aki groaned, stretching as he walked home. "Who'd have thought the First Hokage would be even more into playing than us kids? I swear, it's been years since I had that much fun."
Then he muttered, "Scary guy… He says training starts tomorrow for real. Is he serious or not? If I hadn't recognized Jiraiya, I wouldn't have even realized I was in the Naruto world. But now that I think about it, the First Hokage doesn't seem all that impressive. Just my luck—I'm stuck training on my own again."
As he wandered through the village, he reached the area where the Uchiha clan lived.
Because of the Uchiha's unique status, the Second Hokage had given them an entire street in a corner of the village as their home. It looked extravagant on the surface, but to Aki, it felt more like a prison. ANBU were watching their every move. Nothing the Uchiha did escaped surveillance.
As he was thinking this, he noticed the looks he was getting from some passing clansmen—they seemed strange, almost wary. Something bad must've happened again, he thought. "Whatever. Tomorrow I'll apply to drop out of the academy. I'll just stick with the First Hokage and learn ninjutsu from him. Once I'm strong enough, I can start changing the fate of the Uchiha clan."
After all, it wasn't something that could be done overnight. Earning the village's trust would take time. "One step at a time. No matter the world, only the strong have a say."
He clenched his fists. "I'm not gonna let what happened to my clan in Naruto's time happen again. I'll give up a normal childhood if I have to. I never got to experience love and family in my past life, but this time I'll protect them—no matter what. Even if I die, I'll make sure my parents live happily."
"And I'll have my own kids too, let them take care of my folks. No more being single and looking for comfort with random women. I'll marry, raise a big family, and grow the Uchiha clan strong again. There's only like fifty of us left… way too few."
With those thoughts, he finally reached home.
Uchiha Nanako, his mother, greeted him with a smile. "Welcome home, sweetie! How was your day? I heard you had tons of fun at the amusement park with the First Hokage's granddaughter. Starting to fall in love at six, huh? When are you bringing my daughter-in-law home for me to meet?"
She started teasing him nonstop—"daughter-in-law this," "daughter-in-law that"—driving Aki crazy with embarrassment.
At that moment, his father, Uchiha Hui, stepped into the room and said in a cold voice, "Come outside. We need to talk."
Then he turned and walked out.
Aki froze for a second. He glanced at his mother, who said, "Your father's just been overworked lately. Don't worry, he wouldn't dare take it out on you. But if he does, just tell me and I'll deal with him. I'm still waiting on grandkids, you know! Now go."
Sighing helplessly, Aki followed his father outside, grumbling to himself, "Parents are the same everywhere, huh…"
They stopped in a wooded area where the Uchiha trained with kunai. Hui faced a wooden training dummy and said coldly, "Our Uchiha clan has never bowed to the Senju—not in the past, not now. The only difference is, we used to have geniuses in every generation. We could stand toe to toe with them. Your grandfather—my father-in-law—Uchiha Madara, made a peace agreement with the First Hokage, and together they founded the Hidden Leaf Village. Our clan became one of its three noble families."
"But the good times didn't last. Your grandfather broke the treaty and attacked the First Hokage, aiming to destroy the village. He was killed at the Valley of the End, and ever since then, the Uchiha have been treated like a threat—like we don't belong here. No matter how humble we act, no matter how quiet we stay, they don't trust us."
"I've kept my head down for one reason—you. My son. You're the future of our clan. You'll be the next Uchiha leader. I've tolerated humiliation to make sure you can grow up safe and sound."
"But now they want you, too. I don't care what they're planning—you only have one option now. I'll have someone take you through the clan's secret tunnel. You need to escape. Once you're strong enough, you can come back and get your revenge. When that day comes, no one in the Leaf will be able to stop you."
He turned and looked at Aki.
Aki, completely caught off guard, asked, "But all the First Hokage did was take me to the amusement park. He didn't do anything to me! Why are you overreacting like this, Dad?"
Hui was silent for a moment, then said, "Today, the Second Hokage summoned me. He told me to pull you out of the ninja academy. Said someone would be taking you away to train. You didn't know?"
Aki chuckled. "You've got it wrong, Dad. Yesterday, the First Hokage asked me to become his student. He said he'd personally start training me tomorrow. I just didn't get the chance to tell you. Maybe the Second Hokage thinks it's a waste for me to stay in the academy, and that training under the First Hokage is the best way to develop my potential."
Hui was stunned. His thoughts raced: So the First really did make him his disciple... And here I was, jumping to conclusions, suspecting the worst… I've seriously misjudged them both.
He sighed. "Why didn't you say so earlier?! I almost made a huge mistake today. Just wait till I get back—you're in trouble!"
With a poof of smoke, he vanished using Body Flicker.
Aki stared at the spot where his father disappeared, feeling more exasperated than ever. "Man, what a day. He gets all worked up over nothing and blames me? Becoming the First's student isn't that big a deal. When I used to buy Naruto DVDs in my last life, they never even hyped up the First Hokage that much. I really don't get what everyone's so freaked out about."
What Aki didn't know was that the First Hokage—Hashirama Senju—was known as the God of Shinobi. The only person who could match him was Madara Uchiha. No other ninja in the entire world could stand on the same level. Right now, Aki had no clue that the strength of the Leaf Village wasn't built by many, but by this one man alone.
And he had just casually written him off!
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office…
Uchiha Hui bowed deeply before the Second Hokage.
"I'm sorry, Lord Second. I overstepped today and I deeply regret it. I understand my mistake. Please punish me as you see fit."
The Second Hokage stared at him in silence for a long time. Hui was drenched in cold sweat—he could feel the killing intent radiating from the Hokage.
Finally, the Second spoke, cold as ice. "Originally, after today, your Uchiha clan was going to be wiped out. Erased from existence. Do you know why that didn't happen? It's simple. My brother wouldn't allow it."
"I really don't want to see your clan's faces anymore. That's not an empty threat—you can probably tell I mean it."
"My brother taking Aki as a student needs to be kept quiet. I don't want word spreading. And just because he took in Uchiha Aki doesn't mean I'll change how I feel about your clan."
"I'm surprised you came to apologize. Didn't expect you to be so reasonable. Since I didn't explain things clearly, I'll let this one slide. But there better not be a next time. You're dismissed."
When Hui heard that the Second had planned to annihilate the Uchiha clan that very night, his blood ran cold. All this… just because of what happened today? Thank god I got here in time!
He quickly apologized again and left the Hokage's office.
As he walked away, the Second Hokage muttered, "With a clan leader like him, maybe the Uchiha still have a chance…"
A figure stepped out from behind a screen and said, "He's a rational man. As long as he doesn't make any big mistakes, he's doing a good job managing the Uchiha. He just got a little too worried about my student. You wouldn't understand—you don't have a kid. Not showing off or anything, just saying: when you have a child, you'll understand what it means to do anything for them."
"Oh shut up already! When I step down as Hokage, I swear I'm gonna have ten, no, twenty kids—more than you for sure!" the Second yelled.
"You're already in your forties," the First replied, laughing. "Ten or twenty? I doubt it. By the time you have a grandson, I'll already have a great-grandson!"
Still laughing, he leapt out the window and flew away, ignoring the Second's rage.
"DAMMIT I'M GONNA HAVE KIDS!!!" the Second's roar echoed through the Hokage building, leaving nearby ninja sweating nervously.
"....."