Chapter 32: Orochimaru's Defection
When Yusuke mentioned the term "trolley problem," Itachi shook his head—he had never heard of it.
Yusuke began slowly, "Imagine this: there are five people tied to a railroad track, and on a branching track, there's one person tied up. A train is barreling down the main track, and you're standing next to a lever that can switch the train to the other track."
"So—would you pull the lever? Would you sacrifice one person to save five?"
He calmly described this classic ethical dilemma from his previous life.
Even though Itachi hadn't answered yet, Yusuke had a pretty good idea of what his student would choose.
Sure enough, Itachi didn't hesitate long before saying, "I'd pull the lever."
Yusuke nodded, then followed up, "Okay—what if five people are suffering from organ failure: heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys. They all need healthy transplants to survive. Now, a perfectly healthy person appears."
"Would you kill that healthy person and distribute their organs to save the five?"
This time, Itachi shook his head. "No. I wouldn't."
As soon as the answer left his lips, he caught a glimpse of Yusuke's half-smile—something clicked, but the full realization eluded him.
"Sensei," Itachi murmured, confusion creeping into his tone, "your questions… they've made things even more unclear for me."
Yusuke's voice was low and calm. "Life isn't a matter of pure arithmetic. You don't have the right to take one life just to save five. In the same way, the conflict between the village and your clan shouldn't be weighed purely by size or numbers."
"The clan isn't necessarily wrong. And the village isn't necessarily right."
"If the village's stance toward the Uchiha is inherently flawed—should we just accept that?"
Itachi fell silent. He didn't know how to respond. After a long pause, he asked, "But Shisui said clan-centrism is narrow-minded. If every clan in Konoha only thought of themselves, wouldn't the village fall apart?"
Yusuke chuckled, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "That 'narrow-mindedness' Shisui speaks of—that's just a value judgment based on numbers."
"If loyalty to the clan is considered narrow by the village, then doesn't the village's supremacy become narrow when viewed from the perspective of the entire shinobi world?"
"If sacrificing Konoha could save the other four Great Villages… would you do it?"
"You're a smart kid, Itachi. I believe you'll understand, in time, what it is you really should protect. Know where you stand—and don't disappoint the people who truly care about you."
"I'm not telling you to choose between the village and the clan. I just want you to think clearly. Don't automatically assume the clan must be sacrificed just because the village seems more important."
Yusuke finished speaking, gently patted Itachi's shoulder, and walked off, leaving the boy lost in deep and painful thought.
For the next few days, Yusuke didn't see Itachi at all.
By now, his students were no longer beginners. Their foundations were solid, and they didn't need him to guide every step of their training anymore. So their schedules and locations for practice gradually became more flexible.
Kabuto had fully turned into a science nerd, obsessively diving into jutsu development and experimentation. Izumi, ever in awe of her older brother, even had a custom tachi made like his and had begun training in the Uchiha sword style.
On the clan's training grounds, Izumi had just finished a sword form and looked at Yusuke with bright, expectant eyes. "Onii-san, how's my sword technique now?"
"Not bad," Yusuke nodded, "you're at chunin level already."
Izumi pouted. "Only chunin level?"
Yusuke chuckled and shook his head. "You're too eager. Still learning to walk, and already dreaming of flying."
Just then, Itachi arrived on the training ground, walking steadily toward them.
One look into his clear, unwavering gaze, and Yusuke knew: Itachi had made up his mind.
"Sensei, I've thought it all through—everything you said the other day."
Yusuke nodded. "So, what will you do now?"
"I'll keep training, hard. I'll get strong enough to change the clan. Change the village."
"And if I don't have that kind of talent… I'll use everything I have to protect my clan. To protect the people important to me."
His words rang with quiet determination.
As he spoke, Itachi's eyes drifted toward Izumi.
For the first time in her life, being stared at by Itachi like that—gentle but unreadable—made Izumi blush and drop her head shyly, her cheeks turning pink.
"You're truly my disciple," Yusuke said, pride in his voice. "I believe in you, Itachi."
Yusuke had never been quite able to read Itachi completely. He had always wanted to talk to him about the clan and village conflict, but never found the right chance.
Now that he'd successfully shaken Itachi's dangerous belief in sacrificing the clan for the village, Yusuke finally felt a weight lift from his chest.
Leaving Itachi and Izumi to continue their training, Yusuke returned to his lab. The lab had been specially authorized within the Uchiha compound, co-developed with Fugaku, and was now shared by Yusuke and Kabuto.
Ever since he and Orochimaru developed the Dual Polarity Seal together, Yusuke had been working on a counter—Inverse Dual Polarity Seal, a jutsu seal designed specifically to suppress yang-style chakra.
The original Dual Polarity Seal used Hashirama cells, rich in powerful yang energy, to suppress yin chakra.
To create the inverse, Yusuke needed a material rich in yin-style chakra to suppress yang.
"If Hashirama's cells are the pinnacle of yang-style chakra… then what's the equivalent for yin-style?"
"…Maybe fragments of Madara's soul? But where the hell would I get those?"
Though the theory was sound, Yusuke couldn't find any suitable yin-based materials.
Countless experiments with Kabuto yielded some results, but none strong enough to suppress tailed-beast-class yang chakra. The seals they developed worked—just not at the scale they needed.
Two more months passed in a flash.
And then—just as Yusuke was still knee-deep in seal development—Orochimaru defected from the village.
Thanks to his academic partnership with Yusuke in this timeline, Orochimaru was far stronger than in the original story. He didn't fall into Hiruzen's exploding-tag trap and, during his escape, even managed to seriously injure Jiraiya.
After recovering, Jiraiya rejected the Third Hokage's pleas to stay and left the village in pursuit of Orochimaru—hoping to bring him back.
With that, all three of the Legendary Sannin had left Konoha.
The era of the Sannin… had officially ended.
Not long after, a letter arrived from their ally, Sunagakure.
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Hokage's Office, Konoha.
Yusuke stood before the Third Hokage's desk, alongside fellow jonin Hayama Shirakumo, receiving details of their next mission.
"Suna has invited Konoha to participate in their upcoming chunin exams," Hiruzen explained.
"As strategic allies, it's only right that we send a few teams to maintain goodwill—and to showcase the strength of our young shinobi."
Hayama Shirakumo was a veteran elite jonin of Konoha—ponytailed, with a scar on his right lip, and an expert in Konoha-style swordsmanship.
He was calm, meticulous, and had a sharp tactical mind, known for his distinguished service during the Second Great Ninja War.
"This time, we've selected six elite genin to form two teams. The two of you will serve as their jonin instructors and escort them to Sunagakure for the exams."
"You're both top-tier jonin—be sure to guide these genin well, and help them earn good results."
Both Yusuke and Shirakumo bowed slightly. "We won't fail you, Lord Hokage."
Originally, Hiruzen had planned to send Yusuke and Kakashi—two of Konoha's brightest younger jonin—to impress Suna with their talent. The village was in a weak state, and showcasing future power served as subtle deterrence.
Unfortunately, due to lingering grudges between Kakashi's father, Sakumo the White Fang, and the Sand Village, it wasn't appropriate to send him.
So another jonin was chosen to take his place.
"Lord Hokage," Yusuke asked, "who are the six genin selected this time?"
He already knew Itachi was one of them—but hadn't expected to be sent as his team leader.
Hiruzen whispered to his assistant, who promptly stepped out and returned with six young shinobi.
Yusuke scanned the group. Aside from a brown-haired girl he didn't recognize, the rest were all familiar faces from the original timeline.
Each did a brief introduction: Hayate Gekkō, Yūgao Uzuki, Mizuki, Kyoko Kurama, Anko Mitarashi, and Itachi Uchiha.
The Kurama clan, known for their genjutsu, likely earned Kyoko her spot.
But what surprised Yusuke most… was Mizuki's inclusion.
Could it be that his presence in this timeline had somehow altered Mizuki's growth?
All six genin were young—Itachi was just seven, and the oldest, Mizuki, was thirteen. Except for Anko, they were visibly excited.
After Orochimaru's defection, Anko had been imprisoned and interrogated extensively. Once cleared of suspicion, she was released—but no longer viewed as a rising star. Just another genin.
Betrayed and abandoned by the mentor she admired most, Anko now wore a cloud of gloom that hadn't existed when Yusuke first met her.
Looking over the six assembled genin, Hiruzen addressed Yusuke and Shirakumo:
"They've been handpicked for their talent. You two may divide them into teams as you see fit."
Shirakumo glanced at the genin, then turned to Yusuke with a smile.
"They all seem to admire you. Why don't you pick first? Save me from any complaints later."
Given Yusuke's reputation across the shinobi world, the genin—except for the brooding Anko—all looked at him with clear admiration.
Yusuke chuckled. "You flatter me, senpai."
"But if you insist… I'll gladly accept the honor."
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