Chapter 117: I Am Your Teacher
Uchiha Fugaku's words drew everyone's gaze to the silent, high-ranking official of the Land of Rain, who was also likely its strongest military representative and the Ninja World's only known owner of the Rinnegan—Nagato.
"Nagato," the Uchiha clan head asked, "are you interested in becoming my son's teacher?"
Seeing the red-haired man didn't answer immediately, the Uchiha clan head repeated his question, pulling his eldest son, Uchiha Itachi, closer.
Nagato's unhurried expression calmed everyone. If he agreed, a higher evolutionary path for the Uchiha Clan—one they believed existed—would be within reach. The clan would surely pry into all the secrets of Nagato's teachings from Itachi to make other clan members stronger.
"No."
Shaking his head, the owner of the Rinnegan had long been probed by the Uchiha Clan about how he awakened his eyes. But he himself couldn't explain it; in fact, he still didn't know what connection his Rinnegan had to the Sharingan. These eyes, which he'd had since he could remember, had benefited him immensely, allowing him to learn various ninjutsu with remarkable ease. Even his teacher, Jiraiya, had called him the "Child of Prophecy."
However, 'no' meant 'no'. No matter how strong he was, his abilities were for learning ninjutsu. What the Uchiha Clan wanted was how to evolve to the Rinnegan; mere instruction held no meaning for them.
All the high-ranking officials of the Land of Rain were gathered here, and Nagato's blunt refusal to Uchiha Fugaku, especially given the Uchiha Clan's misunderstanding, was somewhat impolite in front of everyone. Fortunately, most people didn't care for such formalities. The Uchiha clan head's expression merely flickered twice before he could only have his eldest son return to his seat.
"Nagato, it's just taking on a single apprentice; do you have to refuse so decisively?"
Yahiko approached Nagato, quietly asking for his thoughts. In his opinion, if Uchiha Fugaku asked him to take Itachi as a disciple, he would certainly agree.
"I don't understand the method for awakening the Rinnegan. Before I possessed the Rinnegan, I didn't have the Sharingan. It's not appropriate for me to teach Uchiha Itachi."
This wasn't spoken in the same low voice as Yahiko's. The red-haired man's gaze, revealing one of his eyes, directly met the Uchiha clan head's across from him. The latter nodded, signaling his understanding of the reason.
"I'm also not entirely sure how you confirmed that the Rinnegan is an evolved form of the Sharingan."
"This can be confirmed through the Sharingan's dōjutsu perception. The Rinnegan's dōjutsu power is similar to it in certain aspects."
"Uchiha clan head, if Itachi wouldn't mind, he could be my disciple."
Yahiko smiled, interjecting. Just as he'd thought, once he took on this apprentice, perhaps Uchiha Obito could help manage some of the Land of Rain's political affairs.
"Yahiko, you aren't a dōjutsu user. You wouldn't be competent enough to teach in many aspects."
"Nagato is also a dōjutsu user, and his teacher, along with mine and Konan's, was Jiraiya, one of the Sannin. He didn't possess dōjutsu either, yet he still trained Nagato into an outstanding shinobi."
"Jiraiya-sama?"
The Uchiha clan head and Yahiko frowned. This name, Jiraiya, was also legendary. It was unexpected that almost all the high-ranking officials of the Land of Rain present here had some connection to Konoha.
"This matter was never a secret. Teacher Jiraiya showed us great kindness. When we couldn't even protect ourselves, it was Teacher Jiraiya who taught us ninjutsu, enabling us to survive in this chaotic world."
"Entrust Itachi to me! I can certainly train him into an outstanding shinobi!"
Yahiko's confident words, coupled with his impressive strength and status, almost made the Uchiha clan head agree on the spot. What stopped him was catching sight of the silver-haired young man sitting beside Uchiha Obito, observing his conversation with Yahiko with an almost theatrical air.
Hatake Kakashi. He, too, seemed to be a dōjutsu user?
The faint blue, mechanical glow from his left eye was clearly visible in the dark whenever he channeled chakra. Although the clan head wasn't clear what this dōjutsu was called, the fact that Hatake Kakashi, at such a young age, could use his own strength to kill the leader of Root—the Darkness of the Ninja World, Danzo—indicated his eyes were certainly extraordinary.
Perhaps its abilities were no less than the Sharingan.
Indeed, it was more fitting for a dōjutsu user to be taught by another dōjutsu user.
"Yahiko, I believe there's someone else here even more suitable to teach my son."
"More suitable than me?"
Gulp.
Uchiha Itachi was chewing on one of his favorite three-colored dango. His mother had specially asked the clan chefs to make these sweets for the gathering. Because they resembled mochi dango, Mei Terumi also quite enjoyed them.
Hatake Kakashi glanced around at the people present, not yet realizing who Uchiha Fugaku was referring to.
Yet, a bad premonition welled up in his heart.
"Uchiha Obito, I think he might be talking about you."
"Me? Don't joke around. I barely have time to train myself; how could I possibly be a teacher?"
"True."
The bad premonition in his heart grew stronger. Sure enough, he saw the stern-faced Uchiha clan head slowly turn his gaze towards him.
"Hatake Kakashi, Jonin," Uchiha Fugaku addressed him, "may I entrust my son, Uchiha Itachi, to your tutelage? You are also a dōjutsu user, and Itachi's talent is astonishing; he would not diminish the glory of the Hatake Clan."
"The glory of the Hatake Clan?"
Hatake Kakashi felt as if the words "glory" had struck him like a club. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw young Uchiha Itachi also fix his gaze on him.
His left eye could be considered a dōjutsu?
It just wasn't what the Uchiha clan head imagined.
This left eye, composed of robots even smaller than nanobots, indeed possessed some special abilities.
Developed functions included "Attention Diversion," similar to genjutsu, and "Reflex Enhancement," similar to the Sharingan.
Other functions were still in an unexplored state for now, and he hadn't focused on them.
"The glory ceased to exist the moment I left Konoha," Hatake Kakashi replied. "However, if it's merely teaching a child, then yes, there's no problem."
Beside Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Mikoto breathed a sigh of relief. After all, if her son was rejected twice in a row from becoming someone's disciple, losing face was a minor concern; what was worse was if it dealt a blow to Itachi's confidence.
Though Uchiha Itachi genuinely didn't care who became his teacher… this child, who could learn the Great Fireball Jutsu simply by watching it once, always had a brain wired differently from other children.
"Alright, then I'll entrust Itachi to you."
Uchiha Fugaku offered Hatake Kakashi a friendly, middle-aged man's smile, making the latter feel several years older.
"Mom, who is Izumi's teacher?"
"Izumi? She doesn't have a teacher yet."
Uchiha Mikoto had a deep impression of the little girl her son kept mentioning; after all, she might just be her future daughter-in-law.
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