Chapter 438: Situation of the Uchiha Clan

"Oh boy! You should have seen the drama in my classroom when the eraser Kiba threw hit Ino instead of Shikamaru. All hell broke loose, you know. It was h..."

Unable to finish his story yet again, Naruto burst into laughter. Normally, Fujin would take an interest in Naruto's pranks. However, today his mind was preoccupied with his training. He just chuckled in response and let Naruto complete his stories while eating the ramen.

After some time, Naruto said, "During our recent sparring class, I managed to land a punch on Sasuke for the first time! He still beat me, but I will defeat him very soon, believe it!"

Naruto looked at Fujin and asked, "When do you think I can beat him, Fujin?"

Fujin replied casually, "From what I hear, he's still quite stronger than you. So don't get your hopes too high anytime soon. However, if you keep training seriously, you'll be able to catch up with him and even leave him in the dust in a matter of time. So, just keep training seriously. Though you have learnt two jutsus, you are still struggling with Wind Levitation jutsu."

During the last couple of months, Naruto had managed to learn Projectile Control jutsu to a sufficient level. Fujin had already taught him the next jutsu. Thanks to the training seal Fujin provided, his physique also made rapid improvements. So he was much more impressive than he was at the start of the series.

That was even more true in terms of pranks. The students, teachers, and normal citizens in Konoha were all getting more frustrated by the day! Despite their frustration, no one knew that the person behind this change was merely enjoying their misery while he kept training and eating delicious food.

The only person who linked the dots was Hiruzen. However, since Naruto didn't trouble him, he didn't bother looking much into it. He just took precautions to ensure that Fujin didn't suddenly take an interest in Konohamaru. Unlike Naruto, who tormented the village, Konohamaru focused entirely on challenging Hiruzen. As such, Hiruzen didn't want to risk facing the nightmare of a little kid with little control over jutsus targetting him dozens of times daily!

As for Fujin, he mostly just listened to Naruto describing the success of his pranks. At times, Fujin sent a Shadow Clone to watch and have some fun, but that was very rare due to his training. Regardless, he enjoyed the entertainment that Naruto brought in.

Naruto said, "I will keep training hard. Believe it!"

Naruto's words about Sasuke made Fujin recall some memories. In the last couple of months, Fujin had sent his clones to the new Uchiha clan compound. The fact that a few Uchihas survived was a major change to the story he recalled.

While the kids who survived were unlikely to make an impact with their strength in the Fourth Great Ninja War, they could cause some changes to the future due to their influence on a critical person like Sasuke.

In the original story, Sasuke was always alone. He was consumed with hatred for Itachi and didn't have anything to protect. In fact, his hatred was so great that he was willing to sacrifice his second goal, that is, to revive the Uchiha clan.

However, now Sasuke was the de facto leader of a few dozen orphans who represented everything that was left of the Uchiha clan. He had a responsibility to guide them. He had a responsibility to protect them. In Fujin's opinion, that should make Sasuke far more mature than what he remembered.

On the other hand, since he wasn't the only survivor, he didn't need to worry about the Uchiha clan disappearing if he died. As such, he could chase after Itachi even more recklessly. So Fujin was very interested in seeing what path Sasuke would take. Would he focus on being a good leader or would he focus entirely on avenging his clan? It was a decision that would impact the plans that Fujin would make.

To understand Sasuke better, Fujin sent his clones to check on the Uchiha clan several times. He initially intended to sneak in and check, but the security around the compound was just too good.

The compound was protected by a wall which was covered in Fuinjutsu inscribed by a Grandmaster. Four squads of Anbu always kept an eye on the compounds to ensure the safety of the Uchiha orphans. In addition, there were two Hyugas keeping an eye out for any trespassers.

These three factors working together made it very hard for anyone to sneak in. Even when they changed their shifts, they didn't let their guard down. While Fujin could still enter sneakily and observe the Uchiha clan without anyone noticing, it would require a lot of preparation and would involve some risk. So, he didn't bother and just showed up openly.

He claimed that he was interested in seeing the students from the Uchiha clan. Since he was a Council Member and had a good reputation in the village and the Anbu, no one turned him away. They allowed his clones to observe and only reported it to Hiruzen who took no action.

While he was intrigued, he didn't ask Fujin anything as Fujin had trained and guided young kids by himself several times. If a few Uchiha kids caught Fujin's eye and he decided to train them like Naruto, Hiruzen would only be pleased. As such, Fujin was allowed to observe as much as he wanted.

As he observed, Fujin noticed quite a few things. He analyzed, 'Though a lot of Uchiha orphans have survived the massacre. They are still very weak. I guess having this level of protection was something Itachi asked Hiruzen to do to ensure that they could grow up safely.

Still, Sasuke isn't much different from what I remember. I can see that he is still consumed by the desire to kill Itachi. And though there are many Uchiha orphans, he is still aloof and only interacts with them when they approach him. Pretty much everything in the compounds is taken care of by the caretakers employed by Hiruzen.

I guess his future path won't be much different. In fact, it might make even more sense for him to be willing to sacrifice his body to Orochimaru in return for his promise to kill Itachi. Still, what a shame...

Even though he has so much talent and has a desire burning inside him, he doesn't train hard enough and doesn't use that hatred as fuel to grow stronger. If he did, he could rise to the level of a Special Jounin within a year.

What a waste... That said, the blame doesn't entirely lie with him. He is already at the top of his class. In fact, no student in the academy comes close to matching him. And he has no idea how strong Itachi and the other strong ninjas are. So, I guess he just doesn't see any need to train harder and wouldn't see it unless someone from the Academy challenges him or he sees how strong Elite Jounins can be.'

As Fujin recalled his analysis, he couldn't help but shake his head. He thought, 'Despite having Naruto and Sasuke, two students who were at the peak of the world in terms of talent, Konoha didn't bother assigning anyone to train them properly and push them to become stronger.

Then again, this is just because no one knows their true talent. I wonder what Hiruzen would have done had he known how strong both of them would grow in the future...'

Fujin and Naruto were done eating. Naruto ran out of funny stories to tell as well. Fujin looked at Naruto and said, "Naruto, I'll be out of the village for some time. So you won't see me at my house for probably a couple of weeks. Feel free to use the training ground if you want though. Keep working on your training. By the time I am back, you should manage to cut the leaf entirely and do leaf concentration for 90 minutes."

Naruto was curious. He said, "I will train hard, believe it! Are you going out for a mission?"

Fujin nodded.

Naruto had a look of curiosity and longing as he said, "I have never been out of the village. I wonder how it is outside."

Fujin chuckled and responded, "Just train hard and become a strong ninja. You can then see as much of the world as you want."

Naruto nodded and claimed, "I will become strong enough. Believe it!"

Fujin chuckled and said, "I do. Now go and continue your training."

Naruto immediately left. Fujin left as well. He sent a clone to inform Guy of his absence and strolled towards the Mission Center in the Hokage's Building.