Naruto: I am Uchiha Shirou

Credits: YrageJustaGame

Konoha.

"Danzo, you've gone too far. This is wartime!"

Inside the Hokage's office, Shimura Danzo's face was ashen. He was already feeling aggrieved as Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu stared at him with dissatisfaction.

However, sitting at the Hokage's desk, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, remained silent for a long moment. After exhaling a puff of smoke, he looked at Danzo and said in a faint but stern tone:

"Danzo, I understand your dream of becoming Hokage, but this is wartime. The Root must prioritize external threats. This is the last warning."

Danzo was already feeling stifled by the distrust from Homura and Koharu, but Hiruzen's warning made his anger boil over.

"Hiruzen! Do you see me, Shimura Danzo, as that kind of person?"

For the first time, Danzo felt so wronged. For years, he had been the one leading the Root, stirring up trouble everywhere. And now, someone was pinning the blame on him.

What infuriated him, even more, was Sarutobi Hiruzen's silent expression when the matter of a recent leak of intelligence came up. It conveyed: If not you, then who else? Don't I know you by now?

"Danzo, we are comrades."

Hearing Homura and Koharu call him a comrade almost made Danzo spit blood. This was unbearable! He was truly innocent this time. But the methods involved in the leak were so similar to his own that if he didn't know better, he might have suspected himself.

"The Root will thoroughly investigate this matter!"

Danzo's voice was filled with suppressed rage. As he spoke, he suddenly froze. He realized that the three of them were united against him—without him even noticing.

How could such critical information have been leaked so easily? Who had the capability, and who stood to benefit the most?

Suddenly, a thought struck Danzo. Other than himself, who stood to gain the most from this incident?

The rising fame of the Uchiha and Senju clans would simultaneously sow a dangerous notion among the ninjas of Konoha: that the authority of the Hokage was being undermined.

If this matter were exposed publicly, it would isolate the powerful clans of Senju and Uchiha, showing the village that these clans held too much power—enough to threaten the Hokage.

Realizing this, Danzo's anger surged. He shot a fierce glare at Sarutobi Hiruzen. You sly monkey!

This isn't over!

...

The Land of Rain, a country perpetually shrouded in rain, was struggling under the overwhelming power of the great nations. Even Hanzo of the Salamander, known as a demi-god, found himself at a loss.

Years of war had devastated the Land of Rain's economy. Its civilians were displaced, bandits and rogue ninjas were everywhere, and ambitious factions thrived in the chaos.

Amegakure.

"Lord Hanzo, this is the latest intelligence. The Sand is preparing to seek a truce with us and join forces against Konoha."

Looking at the intelligence in his hand, Hanzo, wearing his trademark gas mask, let out a cold, sinister laugh.

"Heh… That old hag Chiyo is truly cunning. She occupies our land, pillages our resources, and now she wants an alliance? These great nations are even more shameless than us small ones!"

The Second Shinobi War had dragged on for so long that the once-ambitious Hanzo, who had dreamed of establishing a sixth great ninja village, had lost much of his fighting spirit. Now, all he wanted was for the war to end quickly.

"Lord Hanzo!"

Faced with his trusted aide, Hanzo fell silent for a long while before speaking in a hoarse voice:

"Inform the Sand. The Rain is willing to ally with them to fight Konoha."

"Yes, sir!"

After his aide left, Hanzo lowered his head, staring silently at the map on his desk. His eyes were filled with boundless anger.

"The Sand is greedy, but Konoha is no better. They spread their wars into small nations like ours. And the Land of Earth… they're the worst, taking advantage of the chaos."

This time, Hanzo saw the true faces of the so-called great nations: greedy and hypocritical. The Land of Earth, under the guise of peace, exploited the Land of Rain with cheap grain in exchange for precious resources.

"This war has gone on for too long. Either we join forces with the Sand to defeat Konoha, pushing the war into the Land of Fire's borders, or…"

Hanzo's eyes narrowed as his fingers hovered over Konoha's position on the map.

"…we ally with Konoha to end this war quickly."

The Sand and the Iwa were greedy, and Konoha was no better. But there was one key difference: Konoha, like him, wanted the war to end swiftly. The longer the war dragged on, the greater the risk of Cloud or Mist joining in—a scenario Konoha wanted to avoid at all costs.

"Perhaps we can hold a dialogue with Konoha."

At this thought, Hanzo glanced at the alliance scroll sent by the Sand and scoffed.

"To deal with these great nations, we must show strength. Otherwise, the Land of Rain will forever remain a minor player."

...

The soft patter of rain on the window created a misty atmosphere. In a desolate town, scattered civilians cautiously purchased precious supplies.

"Captain Shirou, the wounded have all recovered, and the disabled ninjas have been sent back to the village. However…"

Outside, the civilians of the Land of Rain were starving and cold. But inside a nearby building, a table was laden with extravagant goods.

It had been over three months since they arrived here. At just fourteen years old, Uchiha Shirou had grown tougher and more commanding. His aura of authority was palpable.

"What about the disabled ninjas?"

Hearing the report, Shirou raised his head, a look of doubt flashing across his face. The reporting ninja smiled bitterly and replied:

"Captain Shirou, your expectations are too high. Given the current state of the ninja world, most disabled ninjas are assigned to transport supplies in the rear. As for positions within the village…"

"What about positions within the village?"

The Uchiha member shook his head with a sigh and explained:

"The academy instructors and chunin team leaders are already fully staffed. Even if there are openings, how many can we accommodate? And those positions are already highly sought after by the Hokage and the higher-ups…"

Hearing this, Shirou remained unusually calm. He turned his head to gaze out the window.

"So, most of these disabled ninjas are being sent on missions as rogue or missing-nin to create chaos in small and enemy countries, is that correct?"

Ninjas are valuable resources. How could they be wasted? Disabled or not, they would still be used.

Shirou's calm tone made the reporting ninja nod silently. It was an undeniable truth.

"For those under my command, ensure the disabled are properly taken care of. Didn't the police force want to offload some of their tedious patrol duties? Assign the less severely disabled to those tasks. Do what we can. Let's not make our comrades bleed and cry."

Shirou's calm voice carried through the room, just as the door opened, allowing nearby ninjas to overhear. They were stunned.

This was the first time anyone cared so much about the disabled ninjas. Even the compassionate Third Hokage only focused on the academy's future.

A warm current flowed through their hearts. Perhaps this young genius, the youngest jōnin of the Uchiha, wasn't as cold as rumors suggested.

Though hesitant, the Uchiha member nodded. Shirou's calm gaze made it clear that his decision was final.

"Yes, I'll do my best to arrange it."

While logic told him this was a waste of resources, his heart swelled with warmth. Serving under such a leader was reassuring, even in death.

Shirou's calm exterior masked his understanding of the situation. What he was doing required effort and long-term investment, but he had no choice.

If he had options, the academy and orphaned ninja would have been his top priorities. But those were tightly controlled by the Third Hokage.

All he could do was invest in disabled ninjas, hoping their descendants would grow strong.

Thankfully, time was on his side. At his age, he could afford to plant seeds and wait for them to grow. His true stage would come during the Third Shinobi War after the Third Hokage stepped down.

That war would be his stage, one he had long prepared for.