Naruto: The Shadow of Uchiha

After Kakashi left the room, the Third Hokage sat quietly in his office, watching the door. A sly smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

'Good. That went exactly as planned.'

He was relieved that his manipulation of Kakashi had worked and that Ryosuke would be kept away from Naruto.

The next morning, Ryosuke was already deep into his physical training, focused on strengthening his body and refining his taijutsu. After all, his system rewards him for physical endurance and pain resistance.

But he couldn't rely on sparring with Might Guy forever. That wasn't sustainable.

Guy had his own responsibilities as a shinobi. He couldn't afford to get injured in constant training matches. Ryosuke, with his abnormal healing speed, could recover quickly, but Guy was just a regular jōnin—he couldn't bounce back from damage as easily.

Besides, Guy was a civilian-born ninja. Unlike Ryosuke, who came from the wealthy and powerful Uchiha clan, Guy still needed to do missions to earn a living. Ryosuke didn't want to interfere with that or burden him with unnecessary risks.

As Ryosuke trained alone, a familiar presence arrived nearby.

A masked man—Kakashi Hatake—stood quietly in the trees. Ryosuke stopped mid-motion and glanced over.

"What are you doing here?" he asked calmly. "Has the Third Hokage finally decided to properly protect Naruto?"

Kakashi sighed inwardly before stepping closer.

"No," he said softly. "The Third has ordered that you stay away from Naruto."

Ryosuke blinked. He had expected resistance eventually, but not quite so soon.

Still, he didn't flare up. Now was not the time to directly clash with the Third Hokage. He replied with a question instead.

"Then what exactly does he plan to do with Naruto? Is he going to announce his identity publicly?"

Kakashi hesitated for a moment. Then, deciding it wasn't a true village secret, he relayed the Hokage's logic.

The Third considered the hatred and ridicule Naruto suffered from the villagers to be a "trial"—a necessary hardship to strengthen his loyalty to the village.

As Kakashi spoke, Ryosuke's face darkened.

A trial?

What kind of ridiculous excuse was that?

It reminded him of what happened in Sunagakure, with Gaara—the One-Tailed Jinchūriki. Gaara's father, the Fourth Kazekage, had tried to "temper" his son by engineering constant trauma and assassination attempts, even using Gaara's beloved uncle Yashamaru to betray him.

That backfired horribly. Gaara nearly went insane. He became a killing machine, consumed by hatred. If Naruto hadn't reached him later on, Gaara would have completely fallen into darkness.

That so-called "trial" didn't create a loyal shinobi. It created a monster.

And now Konoha's elders wanted to put Naruto through the same?

Ryosuke stared hard at Kakashi.

"Do you agree with this... 'trial'?"

Kakashi lowered his gaze. "It's the Hokage's decision."

Though he didn't fully agree, he had no power to oppose it.

Ryosuke felt his respect for Kakashi drop sharply.

"The White Fang of Konoha—your father—was driven to suicide because of the villagers' scorn. Was that a trial too?"

"You really believe this kind of treatment is justified?"

Kakashi flinched. His father, Sakumo Hatake, had been a hero. He chose to save his comrades over completing a mission, only to be branded a disgrace by the very people he saved. Even his teammates turned their backs on him. In the end, it broke him.

Kakashi had never believed his father was in the wrong.

Was this the same thing happening all over again?

Naruto was still so young. If even his father couldn't survive such rejection, how could Naruto?

Kakashi exhaled slowly. "...No. I don't agree. But it's the Hokage's order."

Ryosuke's expression softened, just slightly.

At least Kakashi still had a conscience. He wasn't completely hopeless.

"Then go back and tell the Third Hokage this," Ryosuke said coldly.

"An Uchiha does as he pleases. If I want to associate with Naruto, I will. Tell him to stay out of it."

"Even if he is the Hokage, he has no right to dictate what the Uchiha clan does."

If the Third refused to ensure Naruto had a decent childhood, then Ryosuke would take that role upon himself.

Kakashi stood still, stunned by Ryosuke's bold declaration.

He had once thought Ryosuke might be different from the other proud, arrogant Uchiha—perhaps more like Obito.

But in that moment, Ryosuke's pride burned brighter than anyone else's in the clan.

"You're really going to do this?" Kakashi asked in disbelief.

The Uchiha clan was already on tense footing with the village leadership. If Ryosuke openly opposed the Hokage, it could inflame things even further.

Kakashi wasn't siding with the Hokage out of loyalty—he simply feared that another internal conflict would tear the village apart.

Ryosuke nodded calmly.

"So what if I defy the Hokage? He won't dare move against the Uchiha just yet—not with the upcoming negotiations with Kumogakure."

'He has bigger problems right now,' Ryosuke thought. 'Like the incident with the Hyuga clan…'

He was referring to the secret scandal where Kumo attempted to kidnap Hinata. The village covered it up by offering her uncle Hiashi's twin brother, Hizashi, as a scapegoat to avoid war.

That political stain had weakened the Hokage's grip on several clans—including the Hyuga.

No Hyuga currently served under Hiruzen in high-ranking missions.

Kakashi wanted to say something more, but ultimately held his tongue.

He knew he couldn't change Ryosuke's mind. And he couldn't change the Third's orders either.

In silence, he disappeared into the forest.

Ryosuke stood alone once again, resuming his intense training.

Only strength would give him the power to protect the people who mattered.

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