Contact with the Uchiha

"That concludes the report."

In the Hokage Building, Minato respectfully reported his mission to the Third.

He was smoking his pipe as usual, his eyes slightly narrowed, making it impossible to discern his true feelings—a quality expected of someone in power. However, compared to the once formidable "Shinobi Hero," the Third was now showing signs of aging.

"Hoo~" The Third exhaled a deep puff of smoke and said in a deep voice, "I see... I understand. Thank you for your hard work, Minato."

"Bang!" The Hokage's office door was violently pushed open.

"Hiruzen!" There is only one person in the entire Hidden Konoha who can directly enter the Hokage's office and address the Hokage by his name.

"Danzo." As a leader of the new generation, Minato naturally knew the man before him who was deeply shrouded in darkness.

Danzo glanced at him without saying a word, then turned his gaze to the Third.

Setting down his pipe, the Third said calmly, "Danzo, what do you want? Just say it. There are no outsiders here."

Upon hearing this, Minato's expression turned serious, and he consciously stood aside to listen.

Danzo frowned slightly at the Third's action. Such a highly confidential conversation among the upper echelons of Konoha wasn't something just anyone could overhear. The Third's actions clearly indicated that he was grooming Minato as a future leader of Konoha. This wasn't good news for him, especially since Danzo had consistently recommended Orochimaru as the successor to the leadership.

However, Danzo didn't pay much attention to Minato, considering that although he was young and promising, he was still relatively inexperienced and far inferior to Orochimaru in both reputation and strength.

"I heard that an Explosion Corps and armored unit of Stone Ninja was killed after crossing the border."

"Yes, this happened at such a crucial time, and the Stone Ninja won't let it go easily."

"What are you talking about? The Stone Ninja invaded our territory without cause, which is clearly a military provocation against Konoha! They were outmatched and were killed by us, what else do they have to say?" Danzo retorted.

"No, I just feel something's off," the Third said, frowning. "This doesn't seem like Ōnoki's doing. I think there might be some misunderstanding."

"Hmph! Whether it's a misunderstanding or not, anyone who dares to enter our territory will be severely punished! We'll kill them all without exception!" Danzo, a hawk of Konoha, always advocated for military confrontation, and continued, "Besides, we've killed so many Stone Ninja with Kekkei Genkai this time, which is a great victory! Even if this leads to a war, we'll still have the upper hand."

Changing the subject, Danzo turned to Minato and said, "You single-handedly annihilated the Stone Ninja's armored forces. Minato, it seems you've completely mastered the Second Hokage's forbidden technique."

"This is also thanks to the Lord Third's guidance," Minato said modestly.

Speaking of his grand-disciple, the Third was extremely satisfied; this was a peerless genius no less than Orochimaru! Orochimaru, whom he had once cherished, had gradually been distanced from him due to political differences, and later Danzo even managed to win Orochimaru over. The Third then vigorously promoted Minato, Jiraiya's disciple. Although Jiraiya was nominally Minato's teacher, in reality, the Third taught him far more.

Minato could freely choose and learn any of the advanced forbidden techniques in the Scroll of Seals Konoha. The Third would personally guide him if he didn't understand them. It was precisely because of these resources that Minato, who came from a commoner background, was able to reach this level at such a young age. Of course, Minato's own genius also played a part in this.

Danzo also vaguely sensed the immense threat Minato's rise posed to their Root faction. The cunning Danzo even suspected that the Third intended to place Minato as the Fourth Hokage. However, Danzo still felt that Orochimaru, whom he held in his hands, had a better chance.

After all, the title of the Konoha Sannin was not earned for nothing. Hmph! The next Hokage position must fall into the hands of the Root faction! Danzo thought to himself firmly.

As if reading Danzo's mind, the Third's eyes flashed, and he said, "Alright, let's put the question of war or peace aside for now. If you have nothing else to say..."

"Of course!" Danzo shouted, deeply dissatisfied with the Third's policies. At this point, were they still considering war or peace? Shouldn't they have taken advantage of the Stone Ninja's losses to launch a preemptive attack on the Land of Earth? However, he also knew that the Third firmly held military and political power in Konoha, and no matter how anxious he was, it wouldn't matter if the latter disagreed. Thinking of this, Danzo had another matter on his mind.

"Hiruzen, are you aware that Shunto, a Shunren Genin Team 9, has awakened the Sharingan?"

"Oh? So you're not going to hide the child's information this time?" The Third looked at him with a meaningful gaze.

Danzo 'Danzo tone faltered, realizing that his attempt to conceal information about Shunren had been seen through. However, his expression quickly changed, and he said in a deep voice, "You know Hiruzen, everything I did was for Konoha! I thought that kid had some talent and could be recruited into Root, but I never expected him to awaken the Sharingan!"

"Shunren's father was an ordinary Konoha Ninja, and his mother was a descendant of the Uchiha clan. He already carries the bloodline of the Uchiha Clan, so what's so strange about him now that he has awakened the Uchiha Clan's Kekkei Genkai?" The Third revealed Shunren's detailed background, clearly having already investigated him beforehand.

Danzo was naturally aware of this information as well, and was slightly startled. He thought to himself that Hiruzen pretended not to care on the surface, but secretly he had investigated Shunren's background thoroughly. The Hokage lineage's intelligence database was no joke!

"So, what do you plan to do? Shunren is a pawn I set my sights on first..." Danzo stared intently at the Third, asserting his dominance over him.

The Third didn't shy away from the other man's aggressive gaze, simply looking at him calmly before saying, "Today, the head of the Uchiha Clan personally went to the hospital to see that child."

"What? Didn't we already join forces to block information about Shunren? How did the Uchiha people know?" Danzo shocked. Although they and the Hokage belonged to two factions within Konoha, they had an absolute consensus on excluding the Uchiha.

The Third narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "Don't underestimate the Uchiha Clan. As the most powerful clan in Konoha, how could they not have their own intelligence system?"

Konoha Hospital.

The Uchiha Clan crest, Gunbai, appeared before Shunren.