From Naruto onwards, I've become a dreamer.

Chapter 71 I am an audience member
The sun was setting in the west.
The vast Death Forest was bathed in a golden glow, and with the faint light of the setting sun, a figure was cast in an extremely long shadow.

"Is the matter resolved?" The ANBU guards stationed at the edge of the Death Forest lowered their guard upon seeing someone emerge from within. After recognizing Uchiha Muneki, they raised an eyebrow, crossed their arms, and asked with a smile, "Judging from your expression, you seem to have had a lot of fun, Owl."

"You flatter me, Deputy Minister Linjiao."

Bathed in the setting sun, Uchiha Muneki seemed to be gilded with gold. With a smile, he replied, "I was merely faithfully carrying out the Hokage's will."

"Excellent, you did a great job, Xiao."

Lin Jiao's tone also revealed a hint of closeness as he praised, "Lord Hokage has always admired you. Please don't let us down."

"You mean...?" Uchiha Muneki sensed the hidden meaning in his words and a look of confusion appeared on his face.

"Hehe, I can't say, it's the rule, you know."

Linjiao smiled, reached out and patted his shoulder, pressing down slightly, and said earnestly, "But in any case, there will be a surprise soon. I believe in you. Although you are from the Uchiha clan, you possess a Will of Fire that is second to none!"

Ah yes, yes, yes, it's the Will of the Old Fire.

Uchiha Munetsuki feigned surprise, but quickly regained his composure and nodded: "Don't worry, Vice-Captain Rinkaku, I will definitely not let the Hokage down."

"You've had a long day, go back and rest, Xiao." Lin Jiao saw the weariness that couldn't be hidden between his brows and said with concern, "Leave the rest to our Dark Division."

"Then I'll have to trouble Vice Minister Linjiao."

If someone volunteered to take over the job, Uchiha Muneki naturally couldn't refuse.

"Get some rest, something good will happen tomorrow."

Before leaving, Linjiao left a meaningful hint, then departed with a smile.

Is this a good thing?

Watching Linjiao's retreating figure, Uchiha Muneki raised his hand and gently pushed up his glasses: "Judging from this, Shikaku and Inoichi acted quite swiftly."

This right-hand man of the Third Hokage wasn't exactly friendly when he first met him.

Of course, a large part of the reason is due to the Uchiha clan.

Looking at their current attitude, the change is so drastic that it's astonishing.

It was obvious that he could guess without even thinking that Linjiao had received instructions from the Third Hokage. Otherwise, why would the Anbu, who was his right-hand man, show him kindness and closeness?
Uchiha Muneki walked slowly, his shadow growing longer and longer in the setting sun.

'The growing prestige of Konoha's White Fang in the village has seriously affected the power succession of the Hokage faction.'

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not want to break this tradition that the successor to the Hokage could only be from the Hokage faction, so he planned to secretly suppress White Fang's reputation.

However, what he did not expect was that the darkness in people's hearts can never be controlled. Danzo, who had been secretly coveting the position of Hokage, wanted to take the opportunity to eliminate a major rival. Thus, without either of them knowing each other's thoughts, a plan targeting White Fang was successfully implemented.

This is a logical coincidence, requiring only a little 'guidance' from someone.

Led by Hiruzen Sarutobi, the high-ranking members on the surface are trying to suppress White Fang's reputation; led by Danzo, the Root organization on the shadows is trying to squeeze out their rivals.

Pressure and discontent from above, along with unrest and ridicule from the populace, led White Fang to mistakenly believe that the cause of all this was his prestige surpassing that of the Hokage. Therefore, to protect young Kakashi and to prove his loyalty, White Fang ultimately chose to commit seppuku. White Fang's sudden suicide led both Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo to mistakenly believe that the other was secretly instigating the situation.

At that moment, tiny cracks appeared in the 'roots' that supported the leaves and the 'leaves' that grew upwards.

Somewhat surprisingly, despite the slight crack that appeared, the 'roots' and 'leaves' both tacitly chose to maintain the fragile balance they had maintained.

But this fragile balance often requires only a little 'external force'.

In Tsunade's letter, Hiruzen Sarutobi successfully created a 'misunderstanding' about Danzo, leading him to believe that the balance needed to be maintained, and thus he decided to take away some of Danzo's power.

Of course, these are not coincidences, but rather the result of multifaceted 'guidance'.

But what happened next made Hiruzen Sarutobi even more wary. He turned his attention to the Uchiha clan, a clan that was always full of ambition, and felt very uneasy about them.

In order to control the threat posed by the Uchiha clan in time, Hiruzen Sarutobi could only think of one person: Uchiha Munetsuki, an orphan. Unlike other Uchiha, he was not valued by the clan from a young age, but instead identified with the Will of Fire. He was also kind-hearted and simple-minded, and easy to control.

Hiruzen Sarutobi decided to test whether Uchiha Munetsuki's kindness and naivety were a carefully crafted mask.

Under the Hokage's orders, Nara Shikaku and Yamanaka Inoichi used the Chunin Exams as an excuse to successfully explore Uchiha Muneki's inner world.

The result was obvious: faced with the audience's disguised inner world, Yamanaka Inoichi was successfully misled.

Uchiha Munetsuki successfully passed Hiruzen Sarutobi's secret test. He will gain the Hokage's trust and become the key to controlling the Uchiha clan, playing a huge role at some point in the future. Hiruzen Sarutobi was absolutely certain of this.

To reiterate, this is not a 'coincidence,' but rather a guiding principle.

If you can't control your destiny, then control people.

The power of the human heart will eventually converge into a vast torrent that even a predetermined fate cannot resist, can it?
"That's reasonable."

Uchiha Muneki pushed up his glasses, his eyes gleaming and a gentle smile playing on his lips.

Walking along the bustling streets as the night lights came on, people walked past him one by one, but it was as if none of them could see him.

The crowd, influenced by an invisible force, unconsciously parted to create a passage, and he seemed to be independent of the world, enjoying a tranquility that belonged only to him, as he walked through the crowd.

Very interesting, isn't it?
The audience members sitting below the stage enjoyed the wonderful drama on stage.

In front of a bright red curtain, the actors vividly performed a script that was already known to them. The audience members sitting below the stage either clapped or shouted, thinking they had seen through the script. Little did they know that among the actors in front of that bright red curtain, there was another 'audience member'.

He coldly observed the audience below the stage and the actors on stage.

In the play, yet not in the play.

The script for the story is still in progress, just as he wished.

"I can't wait!"

Standing amidst the bustling crowd, he slowly raised his head, gazing at the bright full moon in the sky, and chuckled softly, "The next chapter will soon be yours, Uchiha Madara."

It's Friday again, a day that decides your fate! I wonder if there will be any recommendations today. Sigh, being a newbie is so tough! Please give me some monthly votes, recommendations, and add this to your favorites!
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(End of this chapter)