The middle-aged man who gathered at the agreed place stood in the center of the open space, looking very calm.

There was no subordinate genin beside him.

In fact, Itachi was the only one who came here to meet the middle-aged man.

This middle-aged man is Itachi's leading jounin, Minazuki Yuzuki.

A jounin with a slight reputation among Konoha, but he is not a powerful jonin himself, and he looks very ordinary, not a great big shot.

Almost three days have passed since the Joint Chuunin Examination ended.

The transfer order from the Hokage has been issued. Itachi will later serve as a member of the ANBU, directly under the command of the third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, and serve as a bridge of communication between Uchiha and the village's senior officials.

Therefore, he could not continue to stay in the usual team. In other words, he came to say goodbye to Ninzu Mazuki Yuzuki.

Moreover, there was always a doubt in his mind that remained unsolved.

This is also the main purpose that prompted Itachi to come here.

"Congratulations, Itachi."

As Itachi's leading Jonin, Minazuki Yuzuki showed a plain smile on his face and said congratulations to Itachi.

But there was no pride or joy in his eyes, only an inexplicable sense of exhaustion.

"Thank you. By the way, where are the others?"

Itachi saw that only Yuzuki Minazuki was alone in the clearing, and the other two genin in the team were missing.

"They are not strong enough. I have ordered them to return to the ninja school and re-study."

Minazuki Yuzuki said with a smile in a calm tone.

Itachi couldn't help but clenched his fist.

Although his former teammate Izumo Denma was killed due to what happened two years ago, Inari Mako quit the ninja industry because he realized the cruelty of the ninja world, returned to inherit the family property, and opened a tea shop in Konoha with a prosperous business.

However, two more teammates were added later. Although the relationship was not harmonious, they were sent back to the ninja school to re-study...Itachi couldn't help but get to know his leader Yuzuki Minazuki again.

This man may be very despicable.

"Don't you have anything to explain?"

Itachi asked.

Seeing Itachi's calm expression gradually recovering, Yuzuki Minazuki couldn't help but admire: "You are truly a genius of the Uchiha clan. It is precisely because of your status that you can stand out from me."

"What?"

Itachi frowned.

"You guessed it right. It was my intention to let the two of them return to the Ninja School to re-study."

"Why do what?"

"This has nothing to do with you, the eldest son of the Uchiha clan, right? Or do you want to teach me a lesson?"

Minazuki Yuzuki smiled.

Itachi couldn't help but tense up.

Even though he passed the chuunin exam, with his current strength, it might be very difficult for him to deal with a jounin.

Yuzuki Minazuki must have paid attention to the battle in which he used illusion to defeat his opponent, and would not easily fall into his illusion.

In this situation, it would be unwise to fight the Jonin.

However, he didn't come here this year just to fight Minazuki Yuzuki.

This is still Konoha Village, and even though he is disdainful of Minazuki Yuzuki's behavior, he is still a member of Konoha after all.

"Chuanma said something to me before he died. I didn't understand it before, but I understand it now."

Itachi suddenly mentioned Izumo Denma, who had been dead for two years.

His death prompted the birth of Itachi's Sharingan.

Minazuki Yuzuki continued to laugh and said: "Really? Although that boy Denma is usually careless, he is extremely sensitive in some aspects. He must have already seen that I have the intention of hiding you. However, you can see 'friend' in your eyes

These two words are really not easy."

"What's the meaning?"

"You are too aloof, Itachi. The reason why you never forget Denma is probably because his death became the nourishment for your Sharingan."

Minazuki Yuzuki seemed to have seen through something.

"So what? Carrying the will of my companions to die and protecting the village is what I want to do."

"That's really great. Forget it, I'm not qualified to scold you. Now that you are a chuunin, you really don't need to look at my face to speak... You have graduated from the fledgling stage, Itachi."

Minazuki Yuzuki's tone was very complicated, but this time the congratulations were serious.

"Then why do you want to do this? In the past few years, you have been avoiding letting me participate in the Chunin Exam. If the village's higher-ups hadn't allowed me to participate in the Chunin Exam alone, I might never have made it."

Itachi said this.

He wanted to know Minazuki Yuzuki's reason for doing this.

Is it really just boring jealousy?

Even if it is jealousy, it is too much to reach this level.

"Haha." Minazuki Yuzuki suddenly laughed out loud, looked at Itachi who was confused, and said to him: "You are thinking too much. Even I don't have the ability to hide you. It's just your father who thinks it's okay.

It’s just not time to take action.”

"Father?"

"Yes, political things are always unclear. The adults are far more terrifying than you think. However, as an Uchiha clan, you may not be able to avoid it. As your teacher, although in the past

I'm sorry for you, but I still want to remind you not to have too much trust in the village's senior officials."

Seeing the dissatisfaction on Itachi's face, Minazuki Yuzuki just laughed at himself, shook his head, and turned around to leave.

"As expected, you are just a child. The answer to the question you asked is - I once followed Namikaze Minato."

After leaving these words, Minazuki Yuzuki's figure walked further and further away until he disappeared from Itachi's eyes.

"I once followed Namikaze Minato"... What does this mean? Itachi couldn't understand the meaning of this sentence.

Minazuki Yuzuki kept sending his genin back to the ninja school in an almost rude manner, and even suppressed him, a genius of the Uchiha clan. What does it have to do with the deceased fourth generation Hokage Namifeng Shuito?

◎

After saying goodbye to Itachi, Minazuki Yuzuki was walking alone in the park. What he felt was not despair, but a kind of confusion.

He didn't deceive Itachi.

Because he had a reason to do so.

During the time when the Fourth Hokage was confirmed, he offered his loyalty to Namikaze Minato, thinking that he could do great things with the energetic Hokage.

At that time, he was in his thirties, at the peak of his powers as a ninja, and his passion had not faded. He did not want to live a life of death struggle.

It is reasonable to be attracted to the young Hokage Namikaze Minato.

He had always believed that Namikaze Minato could become the master of Konoha's revival and remove the solidified remnants of the era from the village.

In addition, Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Tingza and others also joined the camp, which made him feel that Konoha still has the potential to move forward.

When they were all carrying out such a great undertaking with great hope - the fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato died.

This bad news directly defeated all the ninjas who took refuge in him.

After that, the old Third Hokage returned to power, and the subordinates belonging to the Fourth Hokage, resigned, reorganized, and hid... suffered unprecedented suppression.

As an ordinary Jonin himself, Minazuki Yuzuki knew that he had no power to resist the Third Hokage.

He is just a commoner, and he has become a Jonin through more than thirty years of hard work.

There is no family behind him, and ninjutsu is very simple.

If targeted, he would be the first.

It is definitely not possible to rather die than surrender, as that will really "disappear" from within Konoha, and it will not affect the Third Hokage at all.

Because the person who takes action will definitely be Shimura Danzo, the root leader.

When the Fourth Hokage dies, his power will naturally be divided among the upper echelons.

Since he does not have a family background like Nara Shikaku, he can rely on the strength of his family to prevent Danzo from acting rashly. Relying on the influence of the Nara clan, Nara Shikaku can still inherit his father's position and become the Jounin squad leader of Konoha.

Unlike Hatake Kakashi, who became famous at a young age and saved the life of Jiraiya, one of the three ninjas, he could still be highly regarded by the Third Hokage afterwards, join the ANBU, get steadily promoted, and be close to the core of the village.

This is the sadness of being a little person.

If you want to survive, you can only use self-destruction to let Danzo catch him and escape the fate of being wiped out.

In this way, it is tantamount to leaving your life completely to the roots to decide.

Just as he had guessed, Danzo let him go and used these handles to develop him into a non-staff member and act as an informant.

After that, Minazuki Yuzuki felt that his dream had been shattered.
To be continued...