Naruto : I Can Evolve My Gene Infinitely

"Deal with the two remaining nuisances quickly."

"Then send someone to Amegakure. I'm worried that old salamander, Hanzō, might try something while our borders are exposed."

"The daimyō is getting impatient. He wants this war over—fast."

"The village's strategy for the Iwa invasion still lacks one key field commander. Do you have anyone in mind?"

The Third Hokage rubbed his temples, sagging into his chair, setting aside his pipe. The weight of the village bore down on him like never before.

With both Jiraiya and Tsunade absent, Konoha's roster of high-level shinobi had thinned dangerously.

That's why the Uchiha were being pulled in more and more.

"Don't worry. I'll deal with those two stragglers soon," Danzō replied confidently.

To him, Rin and Shisui were just low-level Uchiha—one of them a medic-nin, no less. Easy targets.

Even if they remained hidden in the clan compound, they posed no real threat.

"Iwa's not a major concern," he continued.

"Minato Namikaze—Jiraiya's student—handled the Amegakure assignment flawlessly. He's more than capable of leading this operation."

The Third gave no reaction.

That was how Danzō knew he'd struck the right note.

Hiruzen Sarutobi trusted no one whose ideas opposed his own.

Appease him, and things moved swiftly.

Suggest someone unexpected? He'd shut it down immediately.

"Minato?" the Hokage muttered, frowning as he opened a drawer and pulled out the boy's file.

"Aren't they saying he left ANBU to become a jōnin instructor?"

He flipped through the pages until Minato's face appeared—smiling warmly in a half-length photo.

Underneath were the names of his students:

Kakashi Hatake.

Uchiha Obito.

Nohara Rin.

Could these kids really handle a mission as vital as cutting Iwa's supply lines?

Or was this Danzō trying to dispose of Kakashi—Son of the White Fang?

Danzō had enough motive.

The White Fang's death still echoed in this office.

"…Or Orochimaru, perhaps?" Danzō offered.

"No," Hiruzen said without hesitation.

"Orochimaru just returned, wounded and humiliated. The village council's questioning him, and the public is beginning to doubt him."

"We can't send him again. The men won't follow him. Not right now."

The mission was dangerous—possibly fatal.

Hiruzen wouldn't send his prized student into that storm.

Danzō didn't argue.

He'd expected the refusal.

That was why he had suggested Orochimaru second—to push Minato as the safer option.

"Then there's no one else," he said, hands raised in mock resignation.

Hiruzen mulled it over.

"Fine. Assign it to Minato's team."

"Tell Nara Shikaku that if Minato fails, and Iwa makes a move, he is to immediately withdraw his forces. No extended engagements. Avoid a rout at all costs."

Shikaku had left ANBU around the same time as Minato, but now commanded his own units.

Minato was still a jōnin squad leader.

That's the difference between clan-born shinobi and those from civilian blood.

Minato's squad wasn't large—just three genin.

But one was the White Fang's son.

One was a Uchiha.

And they weren't weak.

Still, if the mission failed…

Sacrificing the team would be acceptable, if it meant preserving the larger force.

That was why Hiruzen had never even considered letting Shikaku support them.

Minato's squad was expendable.

"I'll deliver the orders," Danzō nodded.

And with that, the two parted.

Uchiha Compound.

Back home, Fugaku made quick work of the compensation process.

He pulled 520,000 ryō worth of grain from the family's storehouses. Combined with the 100,000 ryō in cash from Konoha, he declared a total of 1,000,000 ryō in death benefits for the families of the fallen.

The extra 40,000 went to the staff handling distribution.

Everyone who received their share quickly realized the value didn't add up.

The special 150,000 ryō that the Third had slipped to Fugaku privately?

That went straight to Elder Mei's son.

To the rest of the clan, though, it looked like Fugaku had fought hard on their behalf.

They praised his compassion, his loyalty, his courage.

Unaware of the backroom dealings.

But not everyone was fooled.

Many of the grieving families were furious.

Still, Fugaku didn't care.

They were few.

The rest of the clan, unaware of the details, saw only a benevolent leader doing his best.

They praised him.

And they praised the village.

Volunteers poured in.

Within two days, over one hundred Uchiha had signed up—more than required.

Some even wielded three-tomoe Sharingan.

After removing fresh genin from the list, the clan had assembled a true elite force.

Fugaku personally led them to the battlefield.

Ninja were not made for large-scale combat.

Most teams numbered less than ten.

Operations involved stealth, ambush, assassination, intel.

The heavy fighting?

That was for the samurai armies of each nation.

Even so, a 100-man ninja unit was more than enough to tip the balance in a region.

The so-called "Great Ninja Wars" were really just proxy battles—

The ninja villages acting as extensions of their nations' military might.

The Uchiha, under Fugaku's lead, unleashed their fury.

Against enemy shinobi, they were a scythe through wheat.

They shattered the Iwa-Konoha stalemate along the border, boosting morale across the Leaf.

Once again, the world remembered the name Uchiha.

But none of that mattered to Rin.

He had vanished.

Hidden deep within the clan compound, he began a different kind of battle.

Under Setsuna's protection, Rin launched the next phase of his plan: research into the true potential of the Sharingan.

Three hawk-aligned Uchiha willingly offered themselves as test subjects.

They believed in Rin's vision.

They offered their bodies, their lives, to unlock the truth of their bloodline.

Rin designated them as Test Subjects 1, 2, and 3.

For now, he didn't need to use them directly.

With the right medicine, he induced the awakening of their Sharingan and gained their unwavering loyalty.

First priority: relocate.

Rin had already chosen a new base—secure, undisturbed.

All he needed was Setsuna's approval.

And with the backing of the three volunteers, Setsuna gave it without hesitation.