Naruto: Pay-to-Win Ninja System

The contents of this secret order were simple.

[Order Fugaku to immediately begin mobilizing the remaining Ninja within the Uchiha Clan.

Then, arrive at the [Homura Hidden Village] established by the Uchiha Rogue Ninja within the designated time frame, and intercept operations from the [Homura Hidden Village]!

Be sure to eliminate no fewer than twenty Rogue Ninja from the Uchiha Clan and return with their corpses!

If not...]

The tone of the secret order was unusually harsh—nothing like how Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, usually spoke. 

Clearly, this time...

Koharu's death and the enemy village's Tailed Beast assault had really lit a fire under him.

That was why he'd issued this secret command personally.

To use what remained of the Uchiha Clan's strength during Konoha's war against Iwagakure and block the [Homura Hidden Village]'s moves.

Otherwise, when the main battle began,

that kid Shimoku might just snatch Konoha right from under their noses.

And that hard target of at least twenty corpses? That was Sarutobi's way of pushing Fugaku and others forward.

With such a quota in place, there was no way they wouldn't fight seriously against the [Homura Hidden Village].

If not…

Don't blame Konoha for taking drastic measures against the remaining Uchiha Clan members inside the village!

...

Fugaku put away the secret order, his expression unchanged.

As if he had expected it all along.

Instead, he calmly turned to Itachi and asked:

"Itachi, you already know about the battle outside the village the other night, right?"

"I am aware."

"This time... I used you."

"I know."

Itachi replied, calm and composed.

Fugaku was slightly surprised. "Hmm? Did you deliberately inform the higher-ups then?"

"Yes."

"But this wasn't your intention, Father."

"You already know who did it?"

Itachi glanced sideways at Hachidai without answering.

But the implication was obvious.

Fugaku raised his eyebrows and pressed further:

"Then shouldn't you report this again?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I wanted to test them. I wanted to give Root another chance. Let's see who is stronger?"

"What was the result?"

"Root was crippled..."

"And after that?"

"I want to choose again..."

"Have you made your choice yet?"

"Not yet."

...

This cryptic exchange between Fugaku and Itachi left Hachidai increasingly confused.

Actually, the meaning wasn't all that complicated.

In short,

Itachi wanted to test things once more through that previous night's scheming and counter-scheming—

Who was stronger?

Root, under Danzo's command,

or his cousin Shimoku on the other side.

As for the outcome...

Shimoku had won decisively.

He'd even taken out half of Root in one go.

So the pressure Root once put on the Uchiha Clan—and over Itachi's head—was finally gone.

So naturally, Itachi needed to make another choice now too.

Whether to keep giving his life for the village,

or return to the family's side...

...

In fact,

from the perspective of his clanmates,

Itachi, who decided to slaughter his own kin to protect his younger brother and preserve Konoha,

was indeed detestable! Truly despicable!

There's no excuse for it.

But people are inherently complex. No one is purely black or white.

Put someone else in Itachi's position, caught between the clan and the village, threatened by Root and Danzo.

They might not have done any better.

He does bear some blame himself.

After all, as Itachi himself admitted,

he had just awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan not long before.

Under its influence, he'd grown arrogant, believing he could solve everything on his own, letting emotions cloud his rational judgment.

That was what led to the tragedy.

Yet now, having witnessed his father's and cousin Shimoku's strength, having seen an alternative path,

he gradually abandoned his original obsession.

To put it simply, he got humbled...

Even if he still followed Danzo's orders now and slaughtered the rest of his clan,

it wouldn't affect those outside—Homura Hidden Village and Shimoku and the others...

Moreover,

the recent exposure of Root's evil deeds at the Orphanage had significantly worsened his view of them.

He couldn't even imagine if he wiped out the clan, leaving only Sasuke behind,

only for Sasuke later to fall under Root's sinister control and corruption.

That would be terrifying!

Clearly, after experiencing this series of upheavals,

Itachi had begun wavering in his choice between the village and his clan...

After this serious conversation,

the devoted father and dutiful son fell into a rare silence.

They remained quiet for several minutes before Fugaku finally spoke again:

"Itachi! Take some time to rest."

"Then prepare yourself. Come with me and attack the Homura Hidden Village."

"Pursue those Rogue Ninja clan members who betrayed the village."

"Let's also go see what kind of Hidden Village my cousin Shimoku has built..."

"After that, you can decide..."

Fugaku didn't pressure Itachi.

Instead, once again, gave the choice back to him.

Of course, the prerequisite was first going together to the Homura Hidden Village.

"Hai!"

"Thank you, Father!"

Itachi knelt deeply in gratitude.

Then he rose and left without delay.

...

Meanwhile, at the Hyuga Main House.

Inside the vast training hall,

a small, adorable figure was practicing the Gentle Fist alone.

Beside Hinata,

Hiashi Hyuga, head of the Main House, and his father were watching Hinata train while casually chatting.

Hiashi murmured:

"War is coming."

"Yes."

"This time, the Hokage is very determined. Perhaps because of Advisor Koharu Utatane's death..."

"Shhh!"

"Some things are better left unsaid."

Hiashi nodded, immediately shifting topics.

"Four of our Hyuga clansmen died the night before last..."

"What about the bodies?"

"We recovered only one. Another remains at the Orphanage—the burnt corpses there are too many to identify."

"The other two were turned to dust by the Tailed Beast Ball..."

"Pay attention, we must not let the Byakugan be lost again..."

Hiashi Hyuga: "The connection from the Caged Bird Cursed Seal of all four individuals has vanished. They are certainly dead."

"Tsk! At least they were Branch members..."

"In any case, if another great war begins, stay alert. We absolutely cannot allow Mist to seize our clan's Byakugan like last time."

"Hiashi, when it's time to be ruthless, don't even blink!"

Hiashi Hyuga: "Understood!"

Just then.

In the center of the training hall, Hinata, who had failed to properly control her chakra flow, accidentally lost her balance and fell flat on the ground.

*Bang—*

The sharp pain shooting up from her bottom made seven-year-old Hinata's nose scrunch as tears welled up in her eyes, almost making her cry then and there.

But seeing how serious her father and grandfather looked, she clenched her teeth, pushed through the pain, and quickly got back up.

To be honest, she just wasn't very talented in taijutsu.

And she'd never really been interested in taijutsu training either.

After all, apart from being the Hyuga Main House's heir, she was just a plain little girl next door with nothing particularly outstanding about her.

Though admittedly cute...

Therefore, toward the rigorous training required of the Main House, she always harbored some resistance deep down.

Now, watching his eldest daughter Hinata's mistake,

Hiashi Hyuga sighed inwardly but still kept his stern expression as he barked:

"Keep practicing!"

"Solo training rarely brings real progress. Hiashi, find someone to spar with Hinata."

"Fine."

With a firm nod, Hiashi Hyuga turned and strode out of the training hall.

Soon enough, he returned, bringing back a boy slightly older than Hinata: Neji Hyuga.

<><><><><><><><>

Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!

~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!

<><><><><><><><>

~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!

~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!

patreon.com/Tansnovel

<><><><><><><><>