I, Naruto Uzumaki, don't need your approval.

Hearing this, Itachi also looked over. He knew Sasuke's strength and was somewhat surprised.

Although Sasuke's strength is not as great as his father's at that time, he is definitely the best among his peers, so how could he be second?

Seeing that Sasuke was a little uneasy, Mikoto comforted him, "It's okay that you didn't get first place. Just try harder next time. Getting second place means you still have room for improvement."

Fugaku said with a stern face, "It's really alright. I didn't expect you to surpass Itachi anyway, but since you're better than Itachi, you naturally won't disobey your father or disobey my orders."

Fugaku had never had high expectations for Sasuke.

Both Itachi and Sasuke used the Fireball Jutsu, but Itachi learned it after just one glance, while Sasuke took much longer. This is the difference in their talent.

Sasuke was too scared to speak and could only silently eat his rice.

Mikoto seemed to remember something and looked at Sasuke: "Your friend is Naruto Uzumaki? Isn't he the one with blond hair and a few whiskers on his face?"

Fugaku looked as if he had just realized something: "Oh, it was him."

Sasuke nodded, looking curiously at Mikoto and Fugaku: "Father, Mother, you know Naruto too, but isn't he the demon fox from the village?"

Mikoto paused for a moment, then said, "I have heard of him. He is a very pitiful child who lost his parents at a young age and was treated as a fox demon by the villagers. Sometimes, I have even thought about adopting him."

Sasuke found it strange: "Adopt Naruto?"

Fugaku gestured to Mikoto to shut up and said, "This is an adult matter. Children shouldn't meddle. However, it's not unacceptable if Naruto is ranked higher than you."

Sasuke was even more curious about Naruto's identity, but his good upbringing prevented him from pressing the issue. Instead, he cautiously asked, "Father, Mother, I would like to invite Naruto to our home as a guest, is that alright?"

Chapter 30 Sasuke's Invitation

Sasuke's thinking was simple: Naruto was his first friend, so naturally he wanted to introduce him to his parents.

This also allows Naruto to experience the warmth of family. Although his brother and father always quarrel, they both love him, while Naruto has never had anyone care about him.

The speaker was unquestioning, and the listeners were attentive; both Mikoto and Fugaku looked at Sasuke.

If Sasuke weren't their own son, they would all suspect that he had ulterior motives and was deliberately instigating trouble.

Mikoto, Kushina's best friend, had long heard about Naruto's tragic life and even considered adopting him. But was it a matter of whether she wanted to or not, or whether she could do it?

Naruto is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of the village, and the higher-ups would absolutely not allow the Uchiha to adopt him.

In the entire Hidden Leaf Village, only the Third Hokage had the ability and the right to adopt Naruto. Even if others knew Naruto's identity, they could only discuss it in private and could never make it public.

Itachi looked at Sasuke, his brotherly instincts making him suspect that Sasuke might be being used, and he planned to find an opportunity to ask him privately.

At this moment, Fugaku, who had been silent for a long time with a stern face, slowly said, "Since he is your friend, bring him over if you want. Let's see if he is qualified to be a friend of the Uchiha."

Upon hearing this, Sasuke smiled faintly.

Itachi frowned, staring intently at Fugaku. Mikoto was about to say something when Fugaku interrupted her, speaking in an unquestionable tone:

"It's a good thing that Sasuke has made new friends. Do you want him to lose face in front of them?"

When it came to Sasuke, Itachi hesitated to speak, but his cold expression revealed his true feelings: he didn't want Naruto to visit his home, as it would exacerbate the conflict between his clan and the village.

After dinner, Itachi changed into his ninja uniform and left home, making a point of glancing at Fugaku's study before he left.

He left home under the pretext of carrying out a mission, but instead of going to the Dark Side base, he came to a corner of the clan's territory and knocked on the door of the Shisui family.

When Shisui saw that the visitor was Itachi, he gave him a warm welcome and then inquired about Itachi's purpose for coming.

Itachi quickly told Shisui about Sasuke's invitation to Naruto and expressed his concern that Fugaku might launch a coup.

After thinking it over carefully, Shisui said, "It is somewhat inappropriate to have a Jinchuriki visit your home, but it is unlikely that the clan head would attack a Jinchuriki in public. If the clan wants to attack a Jinchuriki, there are plenty of opportunities. There is no need to do so openly."

"Itachi, you're still being too sensitive."

Itachi thought there was some truth to it, and sighed softly, saying, "I hope so. Recently, the resentment towards the village has been growing at the clan meetings. I'm worried that the clan might really launch a coup."

At that moment, Itachi seemed to remember something and said, "Shisui-nii, if there were an irreconcilable conflict between the clan and the village, which side would you choose to help? The clan or the village?"

After pondering for a moment, Shisui smiled and said, "I will try my best to prevent this from happening. If the village and the family want to harm each other, they will have to step over my dead body."

Upon hearing this, Itachi fell silent; his thoughts differed from Shisui's.

If that day really comes, he will definitely have to choose between his family and the village, and try his best to preserve one of them.

……

Noon the next day.

Naruto took out the lunchbox he had prepared in advance, sat on the rooftop, and enjoyed a quiet afternoon nap.

After finishing his lunchbox, Naruto looked at the crowd in the distance, enjoying the breeze as he searched for classmates worthy of being 'friends' so he could get more living expenses and ninjutsu scrolls from the Third Hokage.

Although the three generations of old men never had a good impression of him, they still diligently provided him with resources for his growth.

Soon, Naruto had a few good candidates in mind.

Sakura Haruno, born a commoner; Ino of the Yamanaka clan; Kiba of the Inuzuka clan; and Shino Aburame, who is unknown and virtually nonexistent.

Sakura and Kiba were the first to be eliminated by Naruto.

Sakura is devoted to Sasuke, while Naruto is simply a dog lover and doesn't harbor much malice towards Kiba.

Ino, on the other hand, gave Naruto a bit of a headache. He didn't like interacting with girls, so he could only choose the quiet and unassuming Shino. Getting to know him might reduce his own presence.

As for the remaining three members of the Twelve Little Strongmen, they were all senior students and had little interaction with him.

Just as Naruto was pondering how to meet his quota, Kurama lazily said, "That Uchiha brat came looking for you. I don't know what's been going on lately, but that Uchiha brat is appearing more often than Hinata."

Ignoring the increasingly orange-tinged Kurama, Naruto turned to Sasuke behind him: "Preparing to challenge me again? If you haven't improved, you'll be in for a tough time."

Sasuke said coldly, "Defeating you is only a matter of time, but I have something else to discuss with you today."

Naruto asked curiously, "What's wrong? Is it a problem with your training?"

Sasuke, who was usually aloof, hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "Yesterday I told my parents about training with you, and they asked me to invite you over so they could get to know you better..."

Towards the end, Sasuke noticeably sped up his speech, as if he were talking about something embarrassing.

Naruto was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "You're the one who wanted to invite me over, right? It's clearly your own idea, but you're making excuses to your parents. That's not like you."

Sasuke regained his composure and said calmly, "It's true that I invited you, but my mother seems to know you. She even considered adopting you before. Aren't you going to ask her?"

Does Mikoto Uchiha have plans to adopt me?

Naruto frowned in thought. In his memory, Kushina and Mikoto Uchiha were indeed best friends. However, the Uchiha's idea of ​​adopting a Jinchuriki was probably wishful thinking, unless someone from the Uchiha clan became Hokage.

Sasuke assumed Naruto's silence meant rejection and said somewhat dejectedly, "If you don't want to go, that's fine. I won't invite you next time either. I hope you won't regret it."

Naruto snapped out of his reverie and, upon hearing Sasuke's words, smiled and said, "If it's your invitation, I'd be happy to accept. However, this is my first time visiting someone's home, so perhaps I should bring a gift?"

Sasuke shook his head and said, "The thought is what counts. The gift isn't important. I also want to know what your relationship is with my family. My father and mother always stammer when you're mentioned."

Naruto smiled without saying a word, thinking to himself: That's not stammering; he understands my identity and the significance of a Jinchuriki appearing in Uchiha territory. But since it's an invitation, he won't refuse.

Chapter 31 The Enemy is in the Hokage Building

After school, Naruto came to the Uchiha clan's territory at Sasuke's invitation.

The Uchiha clan's territory, also known as the Uchiha Territory, holds a similar position within Konoha Village as a village within a village. Originally, it was located away from the core area, but after the Nine-Tails' attack, the Uchiha clan's territory was moved to a corner of the village.

Although it occupies a much larger area, it is far from the bustling areas, which is why it is criticized by most Uchiha.

After passing through the gates separating the village from the clan, Naruto officially arrived at the Uchiha clan's territory. With Sasuke's enthusiastic introduction, he curiously looked around at everything within the clan's grounds.

"Naruto, that's Inahisa-san's house. He has a very bad temper, but he's very gentle with children."

"That's Izumi-neechan's house. She's always with Itachi-nii-san, which means he never has time to spend with me."

“It used to be a small shop, supposedly run by an old lady, but her grandson died in the last war, and not long after, she died alone at home. It was my father and the others who came to collect her body.”

"And there, that's where Zhishui-ge's house is. He's treated like an older brother by his brother, but he's very mysterious."

As Naruto listened to Sasuke's introduction, images flashed through his mind, and he gained a clearer understanding of the Uchiha clan, which was why he accepted Sasuke's invitation.

Only by personally investigating the Uchiha clan's territory could he formulate his next plan.

Soon, Naruto's gaze fell upon the tall building opposite the Uchiha clan's territory, and he asked Sasuke curiously, "Sasuke, what's that building? Is it a landmark of your Uchiha clan?"

Sasuke looked in the direction Naruto was pointing and shook his head: "I don't know, but it has existed since I was born."

Naruto said "Oh," and then turned his gaze to the other buildings. If even Sasuke didn't know their specific purpose, then they must be the places where the Anbu were monitoring the Uchiha clan's territory.

The Uchiha clan, who were plotting a coup, had actually been living under the surveillance of the Anbu all along, and two of the clan's top fighters were even on the side of the Hokage Building.

In this situation, the Uchiha clan is, to some extent, a dark joke.

While noting down the terrain of the Uchiha clan's territory, Naruto, led by Sasuke, headed towards the clan head's residence, and he began to look forward to meeting Sasuke's family.

……

In the room where the Anbu were monitoring the Uchiha clan's territory.

The person in charge of monitoring the Uchiha clan's territory was none other than Uchiha Itachi.

After spotting his younger brother Sasuke and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki Naruto in the surveillance footage, Itachi frowned, his expression becoming uncertain.

Naruto actually accepted Sasuke's invitation. Didn't Shisui tell the Third Hokage about this?

Although Itachi and Shisui both joined the Anbu, becoming the only two Uchiha to do so, Itachi was loyal to Danzo, while Shisui was loyal to the Third Hokage.

Just as Itachi was about to do something, the Root ninja who was monitoring Itachi also noticed the footage on the monitor.

The Root ninja said coldly, "Itachi, you want to delete the above footage? The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki has actually appeared on Uchiha clan territory. What exactly are you Uchiha trying to do? Rebellion?"

Upon hearing this, Itachi turned around and retorted, "Whether the Uchiha have rebelled or not can only be determined by the Third Hokage. Root does not have the authority to make that decision. Let's continue watching the surveillance here."

The Root ninja dared not utter any treasonous words, and could only snort coldly, saying, "I will report all of this to the leader, and he will make the right judgment. You'd better do as you say and not act rashly."

……

Inside the Hokage's office.

The Third Hokage sat in his office chair, listening to Shisui's report on the Uchiha clan.

Upon hearing that the security force's attitude towards the village was becoming increasingly aggressive, the Third Hokage sighed softly. He no longer knew how to deal with the security force that had become so powerful.

Cutting funding raises concerns about a strike by the security forces, which could increase security costs.

Sending ANBU to manage the affairs risks provoking opposition from the Uchiha and potentially leading to a larger conflict.

He originally had the prestige to lead other large and small clans in a united effort to restrain the Uchiha, but since the Cloud Village delegation incident, the Hyuga clan has maintained complete neutrality and does not participate in any village-related affairs except for hiring.