"Oh, by the way, Lord Danzo..."
"On my way here, I encountered four interesting fellows."
"They don't seem too keen on me completing the mission and coming back alive... I wonder if you recognize them?"
Exiting the Hokage's office, when Yu reached the door, he seemed to suddenly remember something, turning back to look at Danzo with interest.
"Hmph, irrelevant... I have no idea what you're talking about."
Seeing Yu bringing up this matter in front of Lord Third and two other Elders in the office, Danzo squinted slightly, but his expression gave nothing away.
Truly a cunning old fox... Keep pretending, continue your damn act.
Looking at the deeply scheming Danzo in front of him, Yu couldn't help but sneer inwardly.
"Oh? It seems Lord Danzo doesn't recognize them..."
"That's a pity... because I've already sent all four of them to meet their end."
However, seeing Danzo outright deny it, Yu paid no mind and intentionally put on a look of regret, disgustingly facing him.
In reality, Danzo held substantial power in Konoha, second only to the Hokage, and was a Elder with real authority. Moreover, he was a former teammate of Lord Third and two other Hokage advisors during their youth. Danzo also had his independent organization called 'Root' under him.
Although Yu had undergone a significant leap in strength, he was still too young and lacked sufficient experience. Moreover, he hadn't accumulated any military achievements, making the vast difference in status and position between him and Danzo apparent.
Yu planned to wait until he firmly established himself in Konoha. At that point, it wouldn't be too late to crush this old fox underfoot.
As for the purpose behind Danzo sending someone to assassinate him this time, even without asking, Yu could guess it.
Compared to Suna's defeat and surrender, aligning with Konoha, Danzo, as a pro-war faction, clearly preferred to maintain a chaotic state in the ninja world. This way, he would have the opportunity to weaken the power of the Hokage faction, seizing the chance to ascend to the position of Hokage.
It was precisely because Yu had discerned Danzo's intentions that he felt even more disdain for the actions of this old man.
"What a load of nonsense about protecting Konoha," Yu saw through his true nature at a glance.
In the original story, Danzo, who secretly contributed to wiping out the entire Uchiha clan to obtain their Sharingan, was that also for Konoha's sake?
Where was he during the Nine-Tails invasion?
Where was he when the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, sacrificed himself?
And where was he when Pain, with the power of the Six Paths, single-handedly attacked Konoha?
These indelible stains, even characters like Nagato and Uchiha Obito could be whitewashed, but for some reason, Danzo was the one who remained unable to be cleansed.
"Hmph..."
Sure enough, after hearing Yu's words, Danzo let out a cold snort. He didn't immediately erupt, but the gaze from his exposed left eye became even colder.
Although there would be no emotional response to the sacrifice of a mere Genin, the elite ninjas he had just sent out were from the Root organization. Unexpectedly, Yu's strength had already reached the point where he could kill them all. Even Danzo couldn't help but feel a twinge of discomfort.
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Danzo?
Hearing the vague conversation between Danzo and Yu, Lord Third furrowed his brows and glanced at Danzo. While he had some understanding of Danzo's usual actions, Lord Third could never have imagined that Danzo's actions would be so brazen.
However, given the current situation, Lord Third chose not to directly question Danzo. He knew that the other two Elders would likely side with Danzo to balance against him. Therefore, even if he were to expose the truth, it would be meaningless at this moment.
"It seems one can't stay young forever..."
"Young people these days are really something."
Watching Yu leave the Hokage's office, Lord Third suddenly sighed.
"Perhaps... after this war comes to an end, I should consider retiring."
The Third Great Ninja War, now erupting for the third time, had finally made Lord Third, a prominent figure in the ninja world for decades, realize his limitations. He recognized that Konoha had reached a point where it needed a renewal and a change of leadership.
For example, in this war, the shining new star Minato Namikaze, who performed exceptionally well, was considered by Lord Third as one of the excellent candidates.
Hearing the sigh and the subtly concealed warning from Lord Third, Danzo, who remained silent beside him, instinctively tightened his cane. The gaze from his exposed left eye was as deep and profound as water...
After the events in the Land of Wind,
Upon returning to Konoha, Yu's life seemed to return to normal. The news of independently completing the S-rank mission assigned by the Hokage and Konoha's Elders naturally sparked a frenzy of discussions among the village's ninja.
One day, Yu sat alone in the office of Konoha's medical unit, manipulating two scrolls in front of him. Due to his outstanding Medical Ninjutsu skills, despite his young age, Yu's status in the medical unit had risen rapidly.
This independent office was specially allocated by Konoha's medical unit for him, and usually, he delegated the healing tasks to his Shadow Clones to carry out outside.
"It makes no sense at all... both are just scrolls."
"Why can Explosive Tags be crafted into simple scrolls, but Healing Jutsu can't?"
Staring at the two scrolls in his hands, Yu furrowed his brow in contemplation.
Observing how ninjas commonly used Explosive Tags in battles, finding them both convenient and practical, Yu had a whimsical idea. Since Explosive Tags could seal explosive powder using a technique in the scrolls, could he do the same with Medical Ninjutsu, creating a kind of Medical Seal?
Such a concept undoubtedly held groundbreaking significance for the entire ninja world. However, after tinkering for several days, Yu encountered a technical challenge. No matter how he experimented, he couldn't seal Medical Ninjutsu, which existed in a Chakra nature, into the scrolls.
"Forget it, it's giving me a headache... I'll slowly research it next time."
"It seems turning a genius idea into reality isn't such a simple and immediate matter."
Discarding the two scrolls in his hands, Yu rubbed his slightly throbbing temples. He picked up the white coat from the Konoha medical unit nearby and draped it over himself before heading out for a stroll.
After a meal, the sunlight was just right. Walking on the streets of Konoha in the afternoon, Yu felt a sense of ease and leisure in his heart.
The tree-lined path was filled with the fragrance of flowers, and there were a few pedestrians on the road, occasionally accompanied by children dreaming of becoming ninjas, playing and chasing each other.
"The weather is really nice..."
Hands in his pockets, strolling lazily between the forest paths, Yu couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the vivid blue sky and white clouds overhead. The air in this two-dimensional world of Naruto, he thought, was fresh and incomparable to the city life of his previous existence.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
Unconsciously arriving at a training ground, Yu was drawn to the sounds of intense collisions. Approaching the edge of the training ground and peering through the iron mesh, he saw a figure covered in sweat, vigorously striking a tree in the center.
Each move and technique produced a powerful shockwave, and with every strike against the tree trunk, a shower of leaves fell. All the while, the person continued to encourage themselves.
"If I can kick ten thousand times today, I'll duel with Kakashi tomorrow! If I win, I'll run twenty laps around Konoha! If I lose, then I'll do five thousand push-ups!"
Is this... Might Guy?!
Although Yu had already known about Might Guy's diligence from the original work, witnessing this scene with his own eyes still shocked him. Even on such a leisurely afternoon, Might Guy was earnestly practicing alone!
Yu also knew that he typically set some strange rules for himself, such as running 500 laps around the field today. If that couldn't be done, then he would do 2000 push-ups. If push-ups weren't achievable, then he would do 1000 squats. If all of those were completed, he would qualify to challenge his self-perceived rival, Kakashi.
Through long-term, self-inflicted, and crazed training like this, even an ordinary person without any talent would become incredibly strong. After all, this was the world of Naruto, this Ninja realm where such feats were possible.
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