Naruto: I, the villain template, was hailed as a savior.

Chapter 184 Minato Namikaze in a Fury

Bang bang bang!

The rain pounded heavily against the window, and leaden clouds swirled across the sky above the fallen leaves.

The occasional flash of lightning made people instinctively hold their breath, only to breathe a sigh of relief when the rumble of thunder followed.

Shinji Uchiha stood at the entrance of the Konoha Ninja Academy building, looking at the Konoha flag fluttering wildly in the wind over the training ground in the distance.

Three students were gathered around the flagpole, bending over to avoid the rain as they lowered the flag. But when one of the boys grabbed the flag, which was flapping wildly in the wind, he was thrown backward by the flag.

Another boy instinctively lunged forward to grab him, but he wasn't heavy enough and they were both blown away, landing in the muddy grass, looking like disheveled drowned rats.

Finally, the boy pointed at the two boys' comical appearance and burst into laughter. The two boys, who had fallen into the mud, looked at each other and realized who they were. They were initially angry, but they also pointed at each other and laughed.

On the other side, students leaving school, wearing raincoats and scurrying around like headless flies, searched for their parents who had come to pick them up. Their shouts and cries were shattered by the heavy rain and disappeared into the mud, making them seem like a group of tadpoles unable to find their mother in murky water.

Under the eaves at the entrance of the Ninja Academy, Shinji Uchiha watched this scene expressionlessly, exuding an aura of indifference, as if everything in front of him was irrelevant, completely detached from the emotional peers around him.

Until most of the students had left, Shinji Uchiha politely and coldly refused the teacher's suggestion to take him home, standing there quietly as if waiting for something.

"This is the first time I've ever seen Konoha get this much rain. I wonder how it compares to the Land of Rain described in my textbooks."

Just as he was staring blankly at the rain, a gentle voice came from behind him, breaking his thoughts.

Shinji Uchiha glanced behind him out of the corner of his eye and saw a blond boy walk up to him.

Shinji Uchiha realized that he actually remembered this boy.

Minato Namikaze was in the same class as them but not in the same grade. However, their teacher would often ask them to learn from Minato Namikaze in the next class during class, praising him as a model of ordinary ninjas who were talented and hardworking.

Besides, this well-behaved student has recently done some unexpected things.

Shinji Uchiha's previous impression of him was limited to rumors, but now it seems that another label can be added to him.

—He's naturally outgoing.

Are you waiting for someone? Or are you unable to get home?

Minato Namikaze walked over and squatted down beside him, hiding with him under the eaves of the teaching building. Looking at the illusory scene of rain rising and falling before them, he asked with a smile.

Shinji Uchiha was certain that he had never met him before, but now he was sitting down next to him naturally and talking to him.

This made Shinji, who had no friends at school, feel a little awkward. They were like a pigeon and a crow, both seeking shelter from the rain but completely different kinds of creatures.

"...waiting for someone."

Although he didn't want to pay attention to him, Shinji knew very well that if he didn't say anything, the guy would assume that he was a child who had no one to pick him up and would keep pestering him to go home with him.

Therefore, Shinji uttered two words in a cold tone, appearing aloof and unapproachable.

"Oh, I see."

Minato Namikaze was somewhat surprised by his coldness, but clearly didn't mind, his bright smile remaining unchanged: "I remember, your name is Shinji?"

Upon hearing his name, Shinji looked down at him and couldn't help but frown.

He couldn't understand how this guy, whom he had never met before, recognized him and even called him by his name.

"I saw your practical course grade sheet when I was helping the teacher organize things."

Seeing Shinji's confusion, Minato blinked and smiled, "Your kunai and shuriken throwing scores are both A+, just like mine."

"...I remember you too."

Shinji paused for a moment, then said in a detached tone, "Last week you beat up a few students and sent them to the infirmary, and then you chased away the genin they called in."

He paused, looked up, and asked, "Why?"

"Why? Why?" Minato reached out to catch the rainwater, asking the question without even looking up, clearly knowing the answer.

"You're probably the obedient type, right?" Shinji frowned. "Aren't you afraid of getting scolded and punished by the teacher for doing this?"

"Yeah, I'm still scared, after all, it's my first time." Minato smiled and looked up at him. "But what they said was so awful, I couldn't hold back."

"What did you say?" Shinji asked instinctively.

Minato patted his wet hands, tilted his head, and chuckled helplessly, "Something like 'monster,' 'grotesque,' or 'go to hell'?"

It sounds a bit harsh, but in Shinji's opinion, these words are really only that level.

After all, people had used these words to insult him before, and perhaps they still have now, but he no longer cares.

Moreover, based on Shinji's understanding of the blond boy in front of him, his first reaction upon hearing someone use such words to insult others should have been to tell the teacher, not to beat the student and send him to the infirmary for it.

Because they are still children.

With just this one reason, any mistake can be forgiven.

unless……

"Are they insulting people you know?" Shinji asked.

Minato gave a somewhat forced smile. Although he didn't answer his question, it was clear that he was already certain.

It's not just that we "know" each other; that person is also "important."

This slightly changed Shinji's impression of this "little sun".

In his view, if someone is very gentle and likes everyone, being gentle to everyone is equivalent to being indifferent to everyone.

A gentle and righteous person will find it difficult to survive in this world, because this world is neither gentle nor righteous.

But now it seems that this "little sun" isn't so "correct" and "gentle" after all.

"Phew! Time to go."

Minato propped himself up on his thighs and looked at Shinji with a gentle smile, "Since you have someone to pick you up, I won't go with you. See you next time."

Seeing Shinji nod expressionlessly, Minato grabbed his schoolbag, put it on his head, and dashed off, his figure gradually blurring out of his sight.

In the distance, a white figure swayed listlessly in a tree, hidden by the branches and leaves, looking down at the bushes below and asking, "Hey, Fei, can that human brat really satisfy Lord Madara?"

In the bushes, A-Fei ignored Bai Jue and instead squatted on the ground with a tree branch, drawing something while muttering something to himself.

"Hey, Fei, what are you doing?" the White Zetsu asked curiously, sticking its head out from the tree trunk.

"Don't bother me, you idiot!" Afei muttered somewhat disgruntledly. "From my observation, human poop actually has slight differences in shape and color. I'm trying to distinguish between different kinds of poop. Maybe I can find a way to poop."

As he spoke, he drew lines on the ground without looking up, as if he thought it was some extremely important topic that could shock the ninja world.

"..." Bai Jue scratched his head and said enviously, "That's great, Fei, you can still find something meaningful to do."

Most White Zetsu are of ordinary level, and their will is controlled by others from birth.

It's as if the greatest meaning of being born is that there is no meaning to existence.

However, even among White Zetsu, their individual abilities actually vary greatly.

Individual White Zetsu like Tobi are extremely rare and exceptional among all White Zetsu.

Therefore, Afei, a White Zetsu with "ideals," is actually the envy of many White Zetsu.

Although Madara always calls Tobi an idiot, it's really nice.

"I wonder what Lord Madara is doing right now," White Zetsu muttered listlessly.

"As for Lord Madara, he's probably just sitting in his dark base pretending to be deep and mysterious," Tobi complained. "Humans are so complicated. They're always scheming against this or that, and all the errand runners are just us White Zetsu who never complain."

As soon as he finished speaking, he received no agreement from his companions, but instead a cold voice rang out.

"Oh? Ah Fei, it seems you're quite dissatisfied with me."

The familiar voice made Afei freeze instantly, and he creaked as he looked up at the tree like a machine.

Suddenly, the aged-looking Madara Uchiha appeared on the tree. If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't sweat, Tobi and the White Zetsu would definitely be covered in cold sweat by now.

"Ahaha, Lord Madara."

Afei was about to explain something, but Madara Uchiha had no intention of listening. Looking at Shinji Uchiha in the distance, he said indifferently, "The person you're talking about is him?"

Just then, under Madara Uchiha's watchful gaze, Shinji Uchiha, who had told Minato that someone was picking him up, also walked out of the school in the rain after seeing that no one was around.

Although it's only evening, a time for rest and shopping, the weather today clearly discourages many people from going out. The heavy rain and the gloomy, gray sky have shrouded everything in a gray hue, and the usual flow of people on the streets has been cut off by the knife-like rain.

Raindrops splashed onto Uchiha Shinji's body as he silently walked into a quiet, deserted forest.

He turned his head to look left and right, and after confirming that no one was around, he looked up at the sky, and two tomoe appeared in his eyes.

As if he had discovered something, his pupils dilated, and he awkwardly formed a hand seal.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Strike Technique!"

boom!!

A burst of white light, accompanied by thunder, struck down from the sky. The surging white light, along with lightning, spread out, instantly illuminating half of the surrounding dark rain curtain. Even the torrential rain was dispersed by the impact, leaving a perfectly circular space completely dry.

A crack was left on the ground in front of him, and wisps of electricity shimmered in the pool of rainwater, rising as white mist under the intense heat.

Under the cover of the rainy weather, no one noticed what was happening here.

As he watched his ninjutsu finally being successfully released, a hint of joy flashed in Shinji Uchiha's eyes, and he subconsciously raised his hand to touch his eye socket.

Although he had long felt that he had mastered the only lightning release ninjutsu his father had left him, this was the first time he had successfully unleashed it.

Seeing this, Tobi, who was following closely behind, became excited and looked up at Madara, grinning, "Lord Madara, that's him, Uchiha Shinji. His father was a Jonin of the Uchiha clan, and his mother was just a commoner ninja. Both his parents died in the war. Although he's only a teenager, as far as I know, this human brat has already awakened two tomoe."

Orphaned at a young age, he skipped the single-magatama stage and went straight to the double-magatama stage.

The ninjutsu he just used looked somewhat familiar.

It must be a lightning-summoning technique created by a member of a certain tribe.

Using the Sharingan's powerful perception, he observes the patterns of lightning on rainy days and uses very little chakra to connect with the lightning.

There are actually quite a few ninjutsu that utilize the natural phenomena and terrain, and they can generally unleash power far exceeding one's own strength.

Madara Uchiha seemed to have thought of something, a hint of reminiscence flashing in his eyes, but his tone remained indifferent: "That's far from enough."

As the former head of the Uchiha clan, having journeyed from the Warring States period to the present day, he has witnessed far too many children awaken their Sharingan before the age of ten due to war and fear.

During the peak of the Warring States period, the Uchiha clan had hundreds of members with three tomoe, each of whom was at least a Jonin level, and most of them could be considered elite Jonin.

But that's not enough, far from enough.

What he needs is not the three-tomoe Sharingan.

What he needs is a child with the potential to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Only the Mangekyou Sharingan can bear his name and walk in the ninja world in his place.

Of the hundreds of Uchiha clan members who awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan, only a few ultimately awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Madara Uchiha knew very well that while talent was indeed important in awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan, it was only the most basic thing.

Having no parents and no relatives, this alone makes it impossible for Shinji Uchiha to become his "proxy".

"This is the person we can find who best meets your requirements, Lord Madara." Afei shrugged helplessly, but quickly chuckled and said, "Don't worry, Lord Madara, just keep looking, I'm sure you'll be satisfied."

Meanwhile, having confirmed that he had mastered "Lightning Release: Lightning Strike Technique," Shinji Uchiha was worried that someone would discover him, so he did not linger any longer.

He returned to the neighborhood, walked through several streets, and arrived at a dilapidated two-story old house. He went up the stairs to the second floor and opened the door.

Click.

Shinji pushed open the door and entered the room. He paused for a moment, then said softly, "...I'm back."

Welcome back.

As soon as she finished speaking, a woman wearing round-framed glasses poked her head out of the kitchen. She was wearing pajamas, a kitchen apron, and pink cotton slippers, and was holding a spatula in her hand.

Feeling the warmth that rushed towards him, Shinji's cold expression gradually melted away.

Seeing this scene from a tree in the distance, Madara Uchiha, who had been feeling lazy, sat up straight.

"That's interesting."

Looking at the two people in the room, he narrowed his eyes and finally became interested.

(End of this chapter)