Naruto: Unlocking Kaido Template

"By the way, Uchiha Gen didn't come today. Isn't that guy always punctual?" Zixu noticed that Uchiha Gen, who was always an outstanding student, hadn't shown up on time today. It was completely out of character for him, and Zixu couldn't help but find it strange.

"Maybe something happened. Aburame Hatsuizumi isn't here yet either," Hatsuizumi said, sounding a little confused, but he didn't dwell on it too much. Taking a day off wasn't a big deal.

"I don't know..." Hyuga Chinano murmured. Although she had always lagged behind Uchiha Gen, she still cared about him. After all, a person who excelled both morally and academically, while also having a good personality, wouldn't be disliked by many. She admired Gen from the bottom of her heart, but that didn't change her desire to surpass him.

"Everyone, I have to announce something very sad today..." Gouda Takeshi's tone was more serious than ever. The students, who had been chatting casually, were immediately drawn in by his solemn demeanor. They all focused on him, waiting for his next words.

Zixu had a bad feeling. He sensed that whatever Gouda Takeshi was about to say had something to do with Gen's absence.

"Yesterday, a member of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Itachi, killed every single member of his clan… It's said that his younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke, is the only survivor. He did this just to test his own strength, and now he has defected from Konoha, becoming a rogue ninja."

There was undisguised anger in Gouda Takeshi's voice. He clenched his fists tightly and slammed them onto the podium. The wooden surface let out a loud crack as it broke under his force.

"Among the Uchiha who were killed... was our classmate... Uchiha Gen..."

Tears welled up in Gouda Takeshi's eyes. His dream had always been to train the next Hokage, and he believed his students had the potential to achieve that. Among them, Uchiha Gen had been the one he had the highest hopes for. Unlike most Uchiha, Gen wasn't arrogant. He had the qualities of a leader, the intelligence, the strength, and the heart necessary to become Hokage. Gouda Takeshi had even believed he could train the first female Hokage in history. But that dream was shattered overnight by a single massacre.

"How could this happen?!" Hyuga Chinano, usually so composed, suddenly lost her cool. She slammed her fist against the desk, her tone filled with shock and disbelief. She couldn't accept that someone she had spent every day with was now nothing more than a lifeless corpse.

"This has to be a joke! The Uchiha clan is a major clan! How could they be wiped out just like that? Sensei, you must be joking! Yeah... that's it. It's just a joke. Gen was so strong, she must've been able to—"

The one who lost it the most was a chubby boy sitting in the front row. Zixu recognized him—he was in Gen's group. His name was Maruyama. Right now, Maruyama staggered to the podium, grabbing Gouda Takeshi's arm and shaking it, as if begging him to say that this was all some cruel joke.

The usually strict and disciplined Gouda Takeshi was at a loss for words. How was he supposed to explain death to a group of 7- or 8-year-old children? How was he supposed to face Maruyama's desperate, searching eyes, hoping for even the smallest glimmer of hope?

"Enough! Maruyama, don't you get it?! Gen is gone! She wasn't strong enough, so she died. The power she had wasn't enough to stop Uchiha Itachi, so she died. If we want to survive, we have to keep getting stronger. Gen is proof of what happens when you fail. One day, I'll kill Itachi, just like he killed Gen..."

Yuanye voice was dark, his fists clenched so tightly that his already wrinkled clothes nearly tore under the pressure.

Even as he said this, his heart ached over Gen's death. But his belief that "the weak don't deserve to live" had only grown stronger.

Yuanye's words were like the final straw that broke the camel's back. Maruyama completely collapsed. Tears streamed down his face like a dam bursting, and hoarse cries escaped his mouth, but it was all in vain. Uchiha Gen was dead.

Aburame Hatsuizumi's body trembled with fear and confusion. When she recalled the strange, sweet smell they had noticed on the road that morning, her stomach churned, and she began dry heaving. The other students fared no better. Some had legs trembling uncontrollably, and others had an unmistakable dampness spreading down their trousers. But despite their fear, they all remembered one name today—Uchiha Itachi, the man who had slaughtered his entire clan.

Though Zixu was also shaken, he forced himself to maintain composure, suppressing his inner panic and anxiety. He kept repeating in his mind, Calm down. Impulse leads to mistakes. Mistakes lead to destruction. Little by little, his pounding heart finally settled.

Although he had never actually watched Naruto, he had heard of it from his college roommates. Among the names they often mentioned, "God Itachi" was one of them. From what he knew, Uchiha Itachi had reasons for massacring his entire clan, and he eventually died in a battle against Sasuke.

But whatever his past impression of Itachi was, one fact remained unchanged—Uchiha Itachi had slaughtered the Uchiha clan. And among them was Uchiha Gen, his own classmate. The Uchiha were many, and Itachi's hands had to be stained with the blood of the innocent. Only his younger brother was left alive. Perhaps Sasuke was irreplaceable to Itachi, but did that mean everyone else's lives were meaningless?

Should Gen—the girl who always tied her hair in a ponytail, who once said, My dream is to become a ninja greater than my sister, and who often wore a kind smile—really have died? Zixu didn't understand, but he knew this was an avoidable tragedy.

"Damn it, I'm still too weak… too lazy. If I had been stronger, if I had warned them earlier, maybe this could have been avoided..." Zixu wasn't someone overflowing with sympathy. Not everyone in the Uchiha clan was good, but there had to be innocent people—people like Gen.

"Teacher, are you saying that Uchiha Itachi alone wiped out the Uchiha clan?" Zixu asked, regaining his composure as he locked eyes with Gouda Takeshi, searching for any hidden truths.

"The report from the higher-ups only mentioned him..." Gouda Takeshi admitted, still struggling to accept that a mere teenager had single-handedly destroyed an entire clan. But when he remembered that Itachi possessed the Sharingan, the impossible suddenly seemed much more plausible.

"Just him?" Zixu asked again, as if he hadn't heard properly.

"Of course, just him..." Gouda Takeshi reassured, believing that Zixu was still in shock.

Hyuga Chinano, who had been standing to the side, suddenly realized the key issue in Zixu's questioning and spoke up.

"So Uchiha Itachi slaughtered his entire clan while Sarutobi Hiruzen—the powerful Third Hokage—was in charge of the village? And the Anbu and the Uchiha Police Force were all there?" Chinano's pale, glassy eyes widened as if they could pierce through the truth itself.

The other students began to murmur, doubt creeping into their minds.

"How could he massacre the entire Uchiha clan while the Third Hokage was in charge? Did he have some kind of ability to hide his movements? If so, wouldn't that mean Konoha isn't as safe as we thought? What if we're killed in our sleep one day?" Some students voiced their growing fears.

"Konoha is supposed to be the strongest ninja village! How could something like this happen?" Others struggled to process it, questioning everything they believed.

"There must be a traitor in Konoha! Itachi must have had help from someone inside the village! Damn it!" A few began to doubt Konoha's security itself.

Gouda Takeshi listened to their concerns, and he too recognized the inconsistencies. Could the Third Hokage truly have done nothing to stop a teenager? Were Konoha's Anbu—trained from childhood to be elite operatives—really unable to intervene? Had Konoha's leadership truly been powerless to prevent the massacre?

Some questions were best left unasked. Gouda Takeshi didn't know how to explain it to the children. Would the noble and powerful Third Hokage really just sit back and allow this to happen? Or had Konoha's higher-ups wanted the Uchiha clan wiped out?

As Chinano stood there, her vision suddenly blurred, overwhelmed by the flood of emotions and thoughts. She instinctively clutched her eyes and collapsed into her seat. Zixu and Aburame Hatsuizumi, who were standing beside her, noticed something strange happening to her eyes.

Her left eye gleamed even purer than before, an almost translucent white with a faint gray hue. Delicate bluish-white veins pulsed around the socket, giving her a mysterious yet captivating presence.

But her right eye was completely different. It turned a deep crimson, leaving only a dark red void at its center. Unlike the Sharingan, no magatama formed within it, making it clear that this was something else entirely.

Now wasn't the time to dwell on this, though. After instructing Hatsuizumi to look after Chinano, Zixu cleared his throat and waved to the class, drawing their attention back to him. He needed to shift the discussion away from Sarutobi Hiruzen and Konoha's failure.

"Everyone, listen to me. It's not that the Third Hokage didn't want to stop Uchiha Itachi. We all know that the Hokage has to handle international affairs and village security. It's possible he simply wasn't in the village at the time. Itachi must have seized the opportunity while Konoha's leadership was distracted."

Zixu knew he was spouting nonsense, but he had no choice. To deflect attention from Chinano's question and to show his loyalty, he had to speak.

"As for the Police Force, we all know that the Uchiha possess powerful dojutsu. Once their eyes awaken, they gain incredible abilities—especially in genjutsu. It's likely that the Police Force was overwhelmed before they could even react."

He paused before continuing, ensuring that his words sounded as reasonable as possible.

"And Anbu… who's to say they didn't fight back? Maybe the corpses we found were Anbu members who died protecting us. We're still alive now, thanks to them. Instead of grieving, we should focus on becoming stronger—so we can protect our village in the future!"

Zixu's words struck a chord with most of the class. For a moment, the students nodded in agreement, their doubt shifting into determination. Even Gouda Takeshi, standing nearby, nodded approvingly. He wanted to believe the little boy in front of him was right.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Do you want to read Advanced Chapters?

Visit my Påtreon

påtreon.com/Fanficlord03