The reason Kyosuke had been able to defeat his opponent without a scratch was entirely due to his unexpectedly powerful Genjutsu.
After all, there really had been quite a gap between their basic physical abilities.
Moreover, Hyuga Tagawa's strength had been far greater than what the records described.
Having noticed this in time during their first exchange, Kyosuke had changed his tactics.
It had to be said that the combat experience he had gained in the Instance Dungeon had also been one of the key reasons for his victory.
Although it had seemed as if Kyosuke had been suppressing his opponent throughout the battle, after using the Mind Decapitation Technique, he had nearly exhausted his Chakra.
If his final blow had failed to finish the enemy, he would have been in danger today.
Fortunately, though the process had been somewhat tortuous, the result had been good.
As Kyosuke thought about it, his mind began to wander again. Only when footsteps sounded behind him did he refocus on the scene.
Kyosuke turned around and saw Orochimaru approaching with an inexplicable smile. Without hesitation, he bowed deeply and called out, "Teacher!"
Orochimaru's smile brightened slightly at that. After saying, "Come find me tomorrow," he turned and left.
A while later, just as Kyosuke was preparing to rejoin his clansmen, two more people suddenly came to find him.
They were Jiraiya, the "Mad Demon" and one of the Sannin, along with the future Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
"Lord Jiraiya, Jonin Minato." Kyosuke was not nearly as casual with the two of them as he had been with Orochimaru.
With Orochimaru's personality, he would not care about such formalities. As long as he considered someone valuable, he would not mind even if their behavior was somewhat unrestrained.
Conversely, if Kyosuke had been mediocre, then no matter how respectful he was, in Orochimaru's eyes, he would have been nothing more than a pawn to be discarded once used.
The two before him were different. Kyosuke had to handle them carefully.
To a certain extent, their impression of him would directly affect how the Hokage's faction viewed him.
If Kyosuke wanted to truly establish himself in Konoha, he had to build good relations with these two.
Hearing Kyosuke's greeting, Jiraiya burst into laughter and patted him on the shoulder. "You're Kyosuke, right? Interested in joining my tutelage instead? Let me tell you, Orochimaru might not actually know how to teach disciples."
As he spoke, he pulled over the wryly smiling Minato and pushed him in front of Kyosuke, then gave him a lecherous waggle of the eyebrows.
The meaning was obvious: Look, I taught Minato so well. Aren't you really going to consider it?
Just as Kyosuke was smiling helplessly, unsure how to respond, a small snake suddenly emerged from the ground.
Under the group's watchful eyes, the small snake slithered around in a small circle before suddenly lunging to bite Jiraiya.
"Wah! Don't come near me!" Jiraiya screamed as he ran off into the distance.
Kyosuke and Minato exchanged wry smiles at his antics.
The two chatted casually for a while, after which Minato took his leave.
Just as Kyosuke was about to leave as well, a group of masked ninjas blocked his path again.
"Come with us. Someone wishes to see you." The ninja radiated an indifferent aura as he issued the order to Kyosuke.
"May I ask who you are?" Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, Kyosuke stalled with words while secretly signaling to Fugaku, who was waiting in the distance.
From the manner in which these ninjas spoke and the distinctive aura they gave off, Kyosuke was certain they were not Anbu directly under the Hokage's command.
Since they were not Anbu directly under the Hokage but wore Anbu uniforms, their identities were obvious.
They were Root ninjas under Danzo's command.
As for why they wanted to take Kyosuke away, he could have figured out with his backside that it was certainly nothing good.
Fortunately, Fugaku and the others were still waiting for him, so he still had room to refuse. Otherwise...
Just as Kyosuke racked his brains for a way out, a third group arrived unexpectedly.
"Kyosuke Uchiha, Hokage Sama wishes to see you." Several Anbu ignored Root and Fugaku's group, walking up to Kyosuke and speaking blandly.
This time, Kyosuke had no way to refuse.
Under the helpless gazes of the Root members and Fugaku's worried expression, Kyosuke followed several Anbu to Konoha's most famous building, the Hokage Building.
"Knock, knock, knock." After three steady, forceful knocks, Kyosuke entered the Hokage's office.
Then he saw Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, wearing a cloak and still in the prime of his life.
"Oh, Kyosuke is here." The Third Hokage, who had been occupied with official duties, only raised his head from the mountain of documents after quite some time and gave Kyosuke a benevolent smile.
Though he had waited for a while, Kyosuke showed not the slightest impatience and did not interrupt the busy Third Hokage.
Only after hearing the Third Hokage speak did he bow slightly and say respectfully, "Kyosuke Uchiha greets Hokage Sama."
"What a polite child." The Third Hokage nodded inwardly, his smile becoming even more benevolent. "Come to think of it, you can call me Master now."
"Greetings, Master." Hearing that, Kyosuke immediately seized the opportunity and called out crisply.
"Haha, good, good." The Third Hokage's smile brightened further. Then, seemingly from nowhere, he pulled out a scroll and handed it to Kyosuke. "This is your Master's gift for our first meeting. Take it."
Kyosuke respectfully accepted it with both hands, then secretly glanced at it.
Earth Release: Earth Flow River. It was one of the Third Hokage's signature Ninjutsu, and it was even a B-Rank Ninjutsu Scroll.
"Thank you, Master." Having received such a benefit, Kyosuke's smile was far brighter than before.
After chatting for a while longer, the Third Hokage suddenly asked, "Child, can you tell me why you chose Orochimaru as your teacher?"
Here it comes. Kyosuke smiled inwardly, then gave the Third Hokage the explanation he had prepared long ago.
"I greatly admire Teacher Orochimaru's strength, as well as his outstanding battlefield command." Kyosuke spoke loudly, then an unavoidable trace of hesitation appeared on his face, as though he was considering whether certain things should be said.
The Third Hokage keenly noticed this. His smile grew even more benevolent as he spoke gently, "Is there another reason? Don't be afraid. No matter what you say, Master won't blame you."
After hearing this, Kyosuke seemed to gather his courage before saying, "Also... the people at home can't control Teacher. As long as I become Orochimaru's disciple, I won't have to stay cooped up at home every day."
Hearing this, the Third Hokage suddenly recalled how Kyosuke had gone out to patrol the streets. He nodded inwardly, then asked curiously, "Why don't you like staying at home?"
The "home" they referred to was naturally the Uchiha Clan.
Kyosuke hesitated for a moment before finally answering, "I really dislike the atmosphere at home. They talk all day about status, strength, and such. I hate all of that."
The Third Hokage's gaze flickered slightly at his words, then he asked with a smile, "Then what does little Kyosuke like?"
"Freedom, adventure... and the delicious food everyone gives me when I'm on patrol." Kyosuke answered without hesitation.
"Hahaha." The Third Hokage laughed heartily, then rose to his feet and looked down at Kyosuke, who only reached his waist. "Good child. What a good child."
Afterward, the Third Hokage took Kyosuke's hand and personally escorted him out of the Hokage Building.
Phew, I finally got through that. Kyosuke rubbed his cheeks, which had grown somewhat stiff from smiling, and sighed inwardly.
At the same time, he gave his performance just now a high score of ninety. He deducted the remaining ten only because he feared becoming too proud.
His conversation with the Third Hokage had clearly conveyed one attitude.
That was, he deeply disliked the current Uchiha Clan.
As long as he clearly let the Third Hokage "see" that, everything else was unimportant.
Even the later remarks about liking the villagers and such were nowhere near as important as that first point.
That was merely related to his personality. Orochimaru, Mizuki, and even some ninjas from great clans disliked dealing with villagers. It was a perfectly normal phenomenon.
But that did not affect their identity or stance as Konoha ninjas.
However, taken to its broader implications, the first issue was a matter of "choosing sides."
That was what mattered most.
Before you continue