A Grand Prelude

Naruto Uzumaki circulated it several more times and felt the surging vitality within his body eliminating all sorts of flaws that had arisen from poor development since childhood.

Especially the hidden injuries from food poisoning during infancy.

Naruto Uzumaki could not help clenching his fists. He now had even greater confidence in completely defeating Uchiha Sasuke.

Brimming with confidence, Naruto could not help asking, "Big Brother Shazo, when can I learn real ninjutsu?"

Shazo asked in return, "Second-years should start learning the Three Body Techniques, right?"

Naruto Uzumaki answered unhappily, "The Academy just taught us the Transformation Technique, but does that even count as ninjutsu?"

"Compared to the [Mind-Body Duality Technique] Big Brother Shazo taught me, the Transformation Technique isn't magical at all. I learned it in one go."

Shazo rubbed his head. "Naruto, don't underestimate the Three Body Techniques. Though they are merely the foundation of ninjutsu, even Jonin and the Hokage use them in battle."

"If you think they're too simple, then study the Three Body Techniques yourself and turn them into more powerful techniques with your own hands."

Especially the Transformation Technique. Naruto, I hope you can still develop the [Sexy Jutsu] and [Harem Jutsu].

Those were god-tier ninjutsu. Their achievements included Chunin Iruka, Special Jonin Ebisu, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, Jiraiya of the Konoha Sannin...

And the Rabbit Goddess, the Mother of the Six Paths, progenitor of chakra, ultimate big boss Kaguya Otsutsuki.

Naruto Uzumaki sensed Shazo's earnest expectations and his unwavering confidence in him.

Encouraged, Naruto's eyes sparkled as he answered loudly, "Yes, Big Brother Shazo! I'll work hard!"

The next day, before dawn.

Uchiha Izumi, fully armed, rushed into Shazo's bedroom and said, "Brother, I received an order from the clan head. I have to gather at the Uchiha compound immediately."

Shazo instantly woke up and asked, "No specific mission? Is there any time to prepare?"

Izumi shook her head. "They only ordered us to gather. There's no mission information, and the deadline is extremely strict."

Shazo let out a long breath and sighed. "It's finally about to erupt."

Izumi's face instantly drained of color as she murmured, "It's finally about to erupt."

"Fortunately, my father and mother have already been brought out. They won't be in danger."

Shazo got out of bed. Not caring that his upper body was still bare, he pulled the trembling Uchiha Izumi into his arms and gently comforted her. "Izumi, don't be afraid. Brother will come save you tonight."

"Trust me. As long as I'm here, no one can hurt you."

Uchiha Izumi gradually stopped trembling, then began trembling again. Blood rapidly rushed back into her pale cheeks. After softly murmuring "Mm," she lowered her head and left Shazo's bedroom.

Shazo was puzzled for about a second.

Then he reenacted his previous movement and lowered his head to recall where Izumi's head had been. He immediately understood.

Shazo smiled. "Little girl, you may be small, but you know quite a lot."

Uchiha Izumi leaped and ran rapidly across the rooftops. Her face was as red as a ripe tomato, and suspicious steam rose from her head.

As she ran, the girl muttered, "Stupid Brother, why did you suddenly grow so tall? You made me see something I shouldn't have."

"Ah! I'm going to get a stye."

"Hehe, I saw it. There was only one layer of cloth between us..."

"Oh, how embarrassing."

"How strange. Brother's seems much... bigger than what the older sisters said."

With a bang, the steam above Uchiha Izumi's head erupted into a mushroom cloud before quickly dispersing into the air.

The girl ran even faster, her murmurs faintly drifting through the air. "Ah, I forgot to touch it..."

The atmosphere in Konoha changed.

Not only the ninja, but even ordinary civilians sensed the unusually tense atmosphere.

Early in the morning, many civilians crowded in front of grain merchants' shops, while people passing through the streets carried large, bulging sacks.

By noon, the bustling crowds had suddenly vanished. The streets were as quiet as a ghost town, with only ninja coming and going.

At two in the afternoon, the Ninja Academy dismissed classes early.

Parents from ninja clans tacitly arrived at the Academy ahead of time to take their children home, while students from civilian families were organized and escorted home by Chunin-level teachers.

Only Uchiha Sasuke and Naruto Uzumaki remained at the Ninja Academy. Though neither had done anything wrong that day, they were punished with a large amount of homework, each watched over by a Chunin teacher as they worked.

At this point, there were still more than four hours until nightfall. Every shop in Konoha had already closed early, and the streets and alleys were completely deserted. Even ninja were nowhere to be seen.

Shazo could not help mocking, "That's it?"

"This is Shimura Danzō's level when it comes to plotting schemes?"

"Before they've even done anything, the Uchiha noticed a day in advance. Now the entire village knows."

"This is hilarious. The Third Hokage still had the nerve to claim he knew nothing? I'm afraid only children under ten in all of Konoha don't know something big is going to happen today."

"I originally thought that if the Uchiha clan massacre was prevented, the Konoha Ninja might not be disappointed in Hiruzen Sarutobi. It seems I worried too much."

"Konoha is the home of the Konoha Ninja. As Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi actually tacitly allowed Shimura Danzō to cause such a huge internal conflict. Is he going to let anyone live?"

"There doesn't need to be an Uchiha clan massacre. As long as enough people die, the Konoha Ninja will be completely disappointed and abandon Hiruzen Sarutobi."

"I figure Hiruzen Sarutobi might have survived until five years later only because Orochimaru's whereabouts were too secretive, making him hard for the Konoha Ninja to find."

"Mm, perhaps not. Maybe Orochimaru needed time to prepare the Impure World Reincarnation and put on a sufficiently respectable performance for his teacher."

Shazo had always believed Orochimaru's defection was merely an illusion. Aside from the Third Hokage and Jiraiya, no other Konoha Ninja considered him a rogue ninja.

From Shimura Danzō of Root to the various ninja clans large and small, they should all have maintained contact with Orochimaru.

Orochimaru's understanding of Konoha was far too detailed. That was highly abnormal.

The intelligence-lagged state of people like Jiraiya and Tsunade, who had left the village, was what was normal.

Moreover, after the Fourth Shinobi World War, Orochimaru had been able to calmly return to Konoha. That was a hundred times harder than leading a force into Konoha to attack it.

Just look at Nagato. When he wanted to enter Konoha, the commotion he caused was enormous—he even blew Konoha away.

Thinking of this, Shazo smiled meaningfully. "I wonder if playing the Uchiha Shisui card will make the Third Hokage leave the stage early?"

"Tch, that doesn't seem very likely."

Shazo went home.

He had already determined that neither Fugaku Uchiha nor Shimura Danzō would make their move before daybreak.

He should return home now, eat with Aunt Miko and Uncle Heishiro, set their minds at ease, and prepare for tonight's battle.

At the very least, he had to bring along the coffin in the basement containing Uchiha Shisui.