Time Skip: 6 Months Later
The gates of Konoha were no longer a barrier for Dan; they were a threshold. Since his return from the "unofficial" mission in the Mist, the village elders had been forced into a corner. You couldn't arrest a boy who had technically secured a non-aggression pact with a Great Nation, even if he did it without permission.
Dan walked through the Uchiha district, his cloak billowing. He no longer looked like a child. At nearly thirteen, his frame was lean and packed with the dense muscle of a Sage-in-training.
[System Notification: Sage Mode Stability — 72%]
[Status: 'Inorganic Animation' has evolved into 'World-Scripting' (Rank A).]
[Physical Body: Cell regeneration at 400% of standard Shinobi.]
He stopped at the small training ground behind the Naka Shrine. There, a seven-year-old Itachi Uchiha was moving through a series of shuriken katas that were, frankly, terrifying for his age. Every blade hit the center of a target, even those hidden behind trees.
"Your left heel is lagging by two centimeters, Itachi," Dan said, leaning against a cedar tree.
Itachi froze, then turned, his face brightening. "Dan-san! You're back."
"I'm back. And I see you've been practicing the 'Multi-Angle' trajectory I showed you," Dan said, walking over. He picked up a shuriken. With a casual flick—no visible effort—the blade curved in a literal U-turn in mid-air, slicing through three targets before returning to his hand.
Itachi's eyes widened. "How? There's no wire."
"It's not wire, Itachi. It's gravity," Dan said. "I've taught you how to be a Shinobi. Now, I'm going to teach you how to be an Architect. Follow me."
The Internal Reform: The Police Force Takeover
Dan didn't take Itachi to a forest. He took him to the Konoha Military Police Headquarters.
As they walked through the halls, hardened Uchiha officers—men who used to scoff at "prodigies"—stood up and bowed. Not a shallow bow of respect, but a deep, disciplined bow of subordinates.
"The clan is changing, isn't it?" Itachi whispered.
"The clan is surviving," Dan replied.
They entered the main briefing room. Shisui was there, looking over a map of the village's underground sensory net. Beside him stood a reformed Uchiha Yashiro, the man Dan had once broken with a Genjutsu. Yashiro was no longer shouting for a coup; he was managing the "Logistics and Intelligence" wing of the Architecture.
"Report," Dan said.
"The Uchiha are now the primary shareholders in the Konoha Research and Development division," Yashiro reported. "We've effectively phased out ROOT's influence in the weapon-smithing guilds. Danzo's remaining loyalists are being 'retired' to the civilian sector."
"And the Hokage's reaction?"
"Lord Hiruzen is... quiet," Shisui said. "Minato-sensei is shielding us. He's arguing that the Uchiha's 'Economic Integration' is the best way to prevent the civil war everyone was afraid of."
Dan nodded. This was the "Golden Path." By making the Uchiha indispensable to the village's stomach and wallet, he had made a massacre politically and economically impossible.
The Lesson for Itachi
Dan turned to Itachi. "Itachi, you've been asked to join the ANBU soon. The village wants you to be their spy within the clan. The clan wants you to be their spy within the village."
Itachi looked down, his small hands clenching. "I don't want to choose, Dan-san. I love the village, but I love my family."
"Then don't choose," Dan said, his 3-Tomoe Sharingan spinning. "Build a third option. That is what the Architecture is for. You will join the ANBU, but you will not report to the Hokage or the Clan Elders. You will report to me."
Dan reached out, his hand glowing with a soft, violet light. He touched Itachi's forehead.
[Executing: 'Architect's Seal' — Tier 1.]
[Function: Mental Shielding & Direct System Link (Limited).]
Itachi gasped as a flood of data entered his mind. He didn't see the "Mirror Space," but he felt the presence of the System—a cold, calculating logic that organized his thoughts, filtered his emotions, and boosted his chakra perception by tenfold.
"This... this is what you see?" Itachi asked, breathless.
"This is how we prevent the tragedy, Itachi," Dan said. "We don't rely on 'will' or 'hope.' We rely on data. Now, your first mission."
The Seed of the Nine-Tails
"Minato-sensei's wife, Kushina, is pregnant," Dan said, his voice dropping an octave. "The village thinks the birth will be in three months. My calculations suggest that's when the 'Ghost' will strike again."
"The man with the mask," Itachi said, his face hardening.
"Yes. He wants the Nine-Tails to reset the world. I want the Nine-Tails to power the village," Dan said. "Itachi, your job in the ANBU is to find the 'Hidden Birth Site' before the Elders do. We need to set up the Architecture's spatial anchors there."
"And what if the Hokage finds out?"
"He won't," Dan said, looking out the window at the Hokage Rock. "Because by the time he realizes what's happening, the Nine-Tails won't be a monster anymore. It will be a battery."
The Midnight Grind: Sage Mode Evolution
That night, Dan sat in the Mirror Space. The clone was no longer a person; it was a swirling mass of violet Natural Energy.
System, can I integrate the Three-Tails Essence into the Sage Mode?
[Calculation: Yes. The Sanbi's 'Water/Ice' nature will stabilize the 'Petrification' risk of the Stone Sage Mode.]
[Warning: This will change your elemental affinity permanently to 'Abyssal Frost'.]
"Do it," Dan ordered.
[Syncing... 10%... 40%... 100%.]
[Evolution Complete: 'Sage Mode — Abyssal Architect' Unlocked.]
Dan opened his eyes in the real world. A thin layer of frost covered his apartment. His breath came out in a white mist. His stone arm was gone, replaced by a limb that looked like human skin but felt as cold and durable as a glacier.
He was ready. The Uchiha were ready. Konoha was ready.
The "Nine-Tails Incident"—the event that was supposed to destroy the Uchiha and kill Minato—was only weeks away. But the script had been shredded.
"Let him come," Dan whispered, his violet eyes glowing in the dark. "I've already calculated his defeat."