Itachi Uchiha? (Please Read On)

"How was that a chance encounter? It was probably deliberate!"

Sitting at home, Hidezawa looked at the scroll in his hand. Recalling Naruto and Yugao's expressions, he could not help shaking his head and complaining.

Running into that old man tonight had been truly strange. He felt Naruto's appearance might have merely been an accident; the Third Hokage had come to deliver something.

He had simply happened to run into Naruto, then used him as an extra in his little performance for Naruto.

There was nothing wrong with that, and Hidezawa had no right to criticize it, but he still felt it was absurd.

"Well, an extra is an extra. As long as I got all the benefits I was supposed to get."

He glanced at the scroll in his hand, then at his current home, and ultimately nodded in satisfaction.

The Anbu was different from Root. Root had no such thing as employee benefits; food and lodging were all inside the Root Base.

Aside from needing to remain on standby during missions, Anbu members could leave whenever they were off duty. Of course, they could also choose to live there.

Hidezawa's place had effectively been assigned by the Anbu. In a sense, it counted as an employee benefit.

It was a little small, but it was still better than sleeping on the floor in the Root dormitories!

And the Anbu seemed to pay quite well. Yugao had not only treated them to dinner tonight, but had also bought Naruto a whole pile of things. If the benefits were poor, that would have really hurt her wallet.

"I should take a look at this Flying Thunder God Technique first."

With that thought, Hidezawa casually opened the scroll.

He knew that once this kind of scroll was opened, it would certainly have a time limit. Once that limit was reached, it would automatically self-destruct, so he had to make the most of his time.

Besides, he was exceptionally interested in the Flying Thunder God. In this world, spatial techniques were exceedingly rare!

In Hidezawa's memories, most spatial techniques belonged to the Otsutsuki.

On the human level, only Obito's eye had achieved true space traversal.

As for the rest, the Cloud Village's Heavenly Transfer Technique and the Summoning Technique could count, but neither was particularly useful in combat.

Only the Flying Thunder God Technique truly achieved the fusion of space and combat!

"So that's how the Flying Thunder God works."

An hour later, Hidezawa looked at the burning scroll in his hand and rubbed his chin as he pondered seriously.

Calling this technique complicated would not be entirely accurate. Its structure was not as complex as he had imagined.

But it was undeniably difficult. So many messy components had to be combined together, and then used proficiently—something no ordinary person could accomplish!

"First is physical fitness, second is Sealing Technique, and last is the Summoning Technique."

His physical fitness went without saying. Maintaining bodily balance after traversing space was an enormous challenge, and the intense dizziness was not something ordinary people could endure.

Next came Sealing Technique. The Flying Thunder God's Cursed Seal was essentially a variation of Sealing Technique.

With the most basic Flying Thunder God, the Cursed Seal could be inscribed on a kunai in advance. But advanced Flying Thunder God required laying down Cursed Seals at any time.

As for the Summoning Technique, it was one of the core components behind the Flying Thunder God's spatial traversal.

Beyond that came Chakra control, one's Chakra reserves, and so on. The difficulty was extremely high, but...

"Other than the Summoning Technique, I meet all the requirements!"

Hidezawa's eyes immediately lit up. He had outstanding physical fitness, excellent Chakra control, and ample Chakra reserves.

On top of that, to guard against Danzo, he had deliberately raised his Sealing Technique to LV5!

It could be said that this technique truly suited him. The Summoning Technique was troublesome, but...

New technique detected. Theory complete and sound.

Ability triggered: Shinobi World Professor. Activate?

"Bunch of useless trash! Train properly!"

Inside the Root Base, Danzo glared furiously at the Root shinobi, who were bitterly undergoing all kinds of training.

What had happened today had been far too stimulating for Danzo.

Not only had his Root been surrounded by the Anbu, but more importantly, someone he had carefully nurtured had been beaten into that state by Hidezawa.

Humiliation and frustration left him unable to sleep or eat, so rather than waiting until the next day, he had immediately and without hesitation cracked down hard on everyone in Root!

Only when he saw them training with meticulous seriousness did he feel slightly better. Then, he turned and walked into his office.

Seeing that his boss was in such a foul mood, Aburame Ryūma did not dare say a word. Still, he dutifully brought over the day's report.

"Lord Danzo, please review it."

"Mm."

Danzo casually accepted the scroll, but unlike usual, he did not immediately open it and read through it. Right now, he needed to consider other matters.

"Shihara Hidezawa."

Though there was no evidence, the commotion Hidezawa had caused on this mission was simply too great!

Furthermore, according to his own report, he had concealed the crucial details of his conversation with Ebizo.

But even just what was out in the open—his suppression of Sunagakure and his creation of a qualified ally for Konohagakure—was enough to warrant attention!

He was truly worried that his old friend might be trying to poach him. After all, Danzo stubbornly believed that what had happened today was also meant to set an example for Hidezawa.

Hiruzen Sarutobi: Kano is going with me, and even Danzo has to listen to me. So who should you listen to? That goes without saying, right?

"Damn it, why am I not the Hokage?"

At that thought, Danzo felt as though blood had rushed to his brain, but he gradually calmed down again.

Thinking about it now, he was even somewhat afraid.

Though he had always cursed his old friend for being indecisive, it now seemed that being a little indecisive was better!

Otherwise, today, the Anbu would not merely have surrounded Root.

"Ha..."

With a quiet sigh, Danzo considered how to retaliate without giving his old friend an excuse to cause him trouble.

If he could also make his old friend develop a distaste for Hidezawa and stop trying to poach him, that would be perfect!

Shaking his head helplessly, Danzo simply opened the scroll. He decided to numb himself with work.

After all, his work still allowed him to control the lives and deaths of most people.

"Hmm?"

But after opening the scroll, one piece of information made his brow twitch.

"Itachi Uchiha?"

As Konohagakure's largest anti-crazy-person base, Root had had this name on file for a long time.

What was more, Itachi Uchiha and Root had a modest grudge. To put it simply, an elite member of Root had been defeated by an eight-year-old Itachi Uchiha!

That was not merely slapping the face of the defeated Root shinobi—it was Uchiha giving Danzo himself a vicious slap across the face!

"This brat is taking part in the Chunin Exams?"

Danzo knew that his old friend thought quite highly of Itachi Uchiha.

After all, he had awakened the Sharingan at such a young age, and Danzo had even heard his old friend describe the boy as having "the mindset of a Hokage."

"And he has been close to Shisui Uchiha since childhood. Perhaps in the future..."

At that thought, Danzo's mood instantly worsened.

One Shisui Uchiha was troublesome enough. Could there be another one in the future?

"Wait. Though he is only ten, his strength will only grow stronger. But Hidezawa isn't weak either. If I let Hidezawa put him in his place..."

With that thought, a plan immediately began to take shape in Danzo's mind.

Likewise, in the dimensional space, masked Obito nodded as well.

He seemed to have a plan too.

A newbie is begging for readers to keep reading. Current read-through numbers determine everything for a book, and letting chapters pile up can easily kill it.

Thank you, everyone! Orz