Uchiha

Fresh from examining his attributes panel, he sketched a predatory smile. "Kakashi, come out of hiding. I don't like playing hide and seek."

With a crackle, Kakashi emerged from the shadows.

"What's troubling you, little Kakashi?" he asked, his tone falsely paternal. "Ah, let me guess. You're thinking about your father, aren't you? The great White Fang, Konoha's 'hero'."

"Hero?" Kakashi spat, his voice laden with bitterness. "If he was a hero, why did he commit suicide? Why did he abandon his mission to save his comrades? Why did he openly violate Kono-"

Crack!

Before he could finish, Luo Lei slapped him.

"Everyone can say that, but not you," Luo Lei growled, his eyes dangerously gleaming. "You're his son, after all."

"What a disappointment you must be to him now."

Kakashi, rubbing his cheek, let out a bitter laugh. "I'd rather not be his son."

"Emotions are an obstacle to fulfilling missions. Why save comrades and abandon the mission?"

He shook his head, a cruel smile playing on his lips. "Oh, Kakashi, you're so adorably naive. Do you want to know the truth? If Sakumo-sensei hadn't died, you might be dead. Even I might be."

At Kakashi's stunned look, he continued: "Abandoning the mission was just an excuse. Without it, the higher-ups would have found another. Your father finally saw that the 'Will of Fire' is a pretty lie. His mind broke, and he chose the coward's way out."

Kakashi stepped back, his face pale as death.

He's not a fool or naive.

The implication of those words was crystal clear.

"The Will of Fire is a fairy tale," Luo Lei approached, step by step, his presence overwhelming.

"Only the strong have the right to speak, to make the rules. And you, my little Kakashi, are weak. Become strong, or you'll be crushed like your father."

With a final look of contempt, he sat outside the tent, bathing in the moonlight. His expression was one of pure satisfaction, knowing he had planted the seed of doubt in Kakashi, molding him in his image.

Politics is cruel, and rules are just words of the powerful.

"I want to be stronger"

Kakashi suddenly declared with determination.

"I will become the new White Fang of Konoha."

Luo Lei sketched a scornful smile. "Oh, little Kakashi wants to play hero?" he purred, pulling a scroll from his pocket.

"Here you go, a gift from your favorite 'Superhero'. It contains some jutsu I've... studied, and my own interpretation of the Hatake Kenjutsu. Use it wisely, if you can."

Kakashi took the scroll reverently. Without another word, he walked away, the promise of power burning in his eyes.

"Poor fool," Luo Lei murmured, watching Kakashi's diminishing figure. "Your strength is so insignificant that you don't even have the right to speak, let alone change anything."

Sensing Obito's presence hidden in the shadows, he allowed a cruel smile to play on his lips. "I wonder what changes we'll see in our little dynamic duo," he mused aloud, his gaze fixed on the moon.

"After all, I'm not the savior of this pathetic world. I've done my part; what Kakashi becomes is his problem."

During his conversation with Kakashi, he had noticed the young Uchiha's emotional fluctuations, especially when he mentioned that only the strong have the right to speak and make rules. Obito's mind seemed on the verge of collapse.

...

In the days that followed, Luo Lei indulged in a life of pleasure. When he wasn't playing animals with Yugao, he delighted in demanding massages from Rin.

He watched with amused indifference as Kakashi and Obito immersed themselves in frenzied training.

__________

The Land of Waves, a small archipelago off the east coast of the Land of Fire, had become the setting for a front.

This country, known for its lack of its own ninja forces, was now the battlefield for two of the world's most powerful villages: Konoha and Kirigakure.

All civilians had been evacuated, leaving behind ghost towns and an unsettling silence, broken only by the occasional clash of ninja weapons.

On the country's west coast, the Konoha battalion camp stood like an improvised fortress.

At the heart of this military settlement, a huge tent dominated the central area, its interior housing a crucial meeting of the high ranks of the Uchiha clan.

The atmosphere inside the tent was dense, charged with frustration and desperation. The faces of the Uchiha leaders showed evident signs of distress.

Some clenched their fists tightly, while others struggled to maintain composure in the face of the desperate situation.

The mission in the Land of Waves, which initially seemed an opportunity for the Uchiha clan to prove its worth, had turned into a tactical nightmare.

The island environment, with its perpetually cloudy and misty climate, greatly favored the Kirigakure ninjas, experts in water and mist techniques.

In contrast, the Uchiha clan's skills, centered on the powerful Fire Style and enhanced by their Sharingan, were severely limited in these conditions.

This environmental disadvantage had resulted in a series of humiliating defeats. The Uchiha clan, proud of its lineage and power, had been forced to retreat several kilometers, ceding valuable territory to the enemy.

The statistics were disheartening. Of the more than 600 Konoha ninjas deployed in the Land of Waves, approximately half belonged to the Uchiha clan. In less than fifteen days of combat, about fifty of their most outstanding members had fallen.

Each loss was a blow not only to their military forces but also to the pride and morale of the clan.

"This cannot continue like this," declared one of the leaders with frustration.

"Either we receive high-level reinforcements, or we temporarily withdraw to the Land of Fire territory," added another.

A third intervened, his voice trembling with rage: "I-If we continue fighting, our Uchiha clan will suffer irreparable losses."

"What the hell are the higher-ups thinking?" burst out another. "Sending us to the Land of Waves to face Kirigakure ninjas is clearly a deliberate attack against our clan."

These comments emerged in the face of the patriarch's silence, Futen Uchiha. The high-ranking members of the clan could not contain their frustration, openly expressing their discontent with Konoha's strategy.

"Ah!" sighed Futen, rubbing his temples.

What should have been a demonstration of the Uchiha clan's glory in the Land of Waves had become a potential death sentence.

The move by Konoha's higher-ups had been masterful, not only displeasing the Uchiha clan but also subtly weakening it.

"Father, we must retreat!" urged Fugaku. "We cannot continue fighting under these conditions in the Land of Waves."

Futen, after a moment of reflection, waved his hand in resignation. "Let's vote," he proposed with fatigue.

"I agree," "I agree," "I agree"...

The voices rose one after another, without a hint of doubt. At that moment, concern for the clan's survival outweighed any consideration of Konoha's opinion.

Gritting his teeth, Futen announced: "Without opposition, we will proceed with the evacuation of the Land of Waves. We will withdraw to the Land of Fire and await support from Konoha."

But just when it seemed the decision was made, an indifferent voice resonated in the tent.

"I object."

The silence that followed was deafening.

The voice continued, laden with disdain.

"The supposed number one clan of Konoha, the Uchiha Clan, how can it fall into such shame?"

________

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