The Third Hokage Was Shocked! The Third Hokage Fell Silent!

Time passed, and before long, another month had gone by.

The Great Bridge in the Land of Waves was completed, and the mission was successfully finished. Team 7 set off on their journey back to Konoha.

Two days later.

They successfully returned to Konoha.

Feeling the familiar bustle, even the usually stoic Kakashi's expression softened a little.

Naruto was even more excited, full of energy as he looked around. Everything seemed familiar and nostalgic to him.

Yo let out a sigh of relief, too. Konoha really was the best—prosperous and lively.

It'd be even better if all those old schemers like Danzo were dead!

"All right, I'll submit the mission report to the Hokage!"

Kakashi clapped his hands. "You can all head home. Dismissed!"

"Yeah!"

Naruto was the first to cheer. "Yo, let's go get Ichiraku Ramen! I've been craving it for two whole months!"

Yo smiled and nodded. "After all that traveling, I'm definitely hungry!"

"Yeah!"

The Hokage Building.

The top-floor office.

Kakashi stood in front of the desk and finished reporting on the Land of Waves mission.

"Also, Hokage, regarding Uchiha Yao—during this mission, he demonstrated Wood Release!"

"..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused, looking at Kakashi in astonishment. "What did you say? Wood Release? Are you sure?"

"I'm absolutely certain!"

Kakashi nodded firmly.

"That's impossible!"

The Third Hokage refuted him almost instinctively. "Wood Release is a Kekkei Genkai unique to the First Hokage!"

"Uchiha Yao... an orphan from the Uchiha Clan. How could he possibly... possess the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai?"

Wood Release?

An Uchiha?

That was absurd!

He'd sooner believe Danzo had a secret crush on him, that Orochimaru had turned into a woman, or that he himself was about to die.

He'd never believe an Uchiha could wield Wood Release.

"Hokage, I'm certain!" Kakashi said gravely.

The Third Hokage fell silent.

He knew Kakashi. He wasn't one to make baseless claims. If he'd said it, then it had to be true!

But how was it possible?

It made no sense!

The Third Hokage's mind raced as he recalled everything he knew about Uchiha Yao, trying to find some basis for his mastery of Wood Release.

Had he been implanted with First Hokage Cells?

Was he one of Orochimaru's test subjects?

Did he have Senju Bloodline?

No matter how he looked at it, there was no theoretical basis.

"How did he explain it?" the Third Hokage asked in a low voice.

"He said..."

Kakashi reported it truthfully, though his tone carried a hint of bewilderment.

"He used the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique to develop and master it on his own during these two months in the Land of Waves!"

"Develop it on his own?" The wrinkles on the Third Hokage's face seemed to deepen.

If a descendant of the Senju Clan had suddenly awakened Wood Release, the Third Hokage could at least imagine it happening.

But someone from the Uchiha Clan...

"Has Uchiha Yao awakened his Sharingan?" The Third Hokage looked at Kakashi.

"We haven't seen any sign of that so far!"

Kakashi shook his head.

Hiruzen Sarutobi silently put his pipe back in his mouth, took a deep draw, and blew out a ring of smoke.

He was twelve and still hadn't awakened his Sharingan. By the looks of it, Yao's talent with the Sharingan really was only average.

After all,

Sasuke had awakened his at seven, and Itachi at eight.

It took the Third Hokage a good while to collect himself. Then he asked gravely, "Kakashi, what's your take on this?"

"Hokage, I know it sounds unbelievable, but..."

Kakashi paused to consider his words. "I think it's genuinely possible that Yao mastered Wood Release on his own!"

Kakashi brought up something else. "In the Land of Waves, I taught Chidori and Rasengan to Sasuke and Naruto."

The Third Hokage's eyelids lifted slightly. Both Chidori and Rasengan were A-rank Ninjutsu.

Kakashi was awfully casual as a teacher, handing them out just like that. Wasn't he worried something might go wrong with his students?

"Sasuke took fifteen days to gain a basic grasp of Chidori," Kakashi said. "Naruto learned Rasengan in two weeks."

The Third Hokage's fingers paused around his pipe. He looked surprised.

Two freshly graduated Genin had mastered A-rank Ninjutsu in such a short time?

Just how many monsters had Konoha's latest crop of kids produced?

"And... what about Yao?"

The Third Hokage's voice sounded a little hoarse.

Kakashi was silent for two seconds. His tone carried a hint of complexity.

"One day!"

"What?"

The Third Hokage thought he'd misheard.

"Hokage, Uchiha Yao needed only one day!"

Kakashi repeated himself, his voice full of resignation.

"After I explained the principles behind Rasengan and Chidori, he mastered both techniques in a single day!"

The Third Hokage fell silent all over again.

One day?

He mastered two A-rank Ninjutsu?

Was this kid a monster?

"Kakashi, are you sure you weren't under an Illusion Technique?"

The Third Hokage opened his mouth in disbelief.

"Hokage, I have a Sharingan! Three Tomoe!"

Kakashi replied.

The Sharingan, a Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha Clan, granted many abilities, including observation, copying, and hypnosis.

Its wielders had extraordinary insight. They could observe the flow of chakra and see through Illusion Techniques with ease.

Ordinary Illusion Techniques couldn't possibly fool Kakashi.

Only a more powerful Illusion Technique cast with a Mangekyō Sharingan might do the trick.

"Kakashi, after telling me all that, are you trying to say..."

The Third Hokage began slowly, "that this child has a talent for Ninjutsu beyond our understanding?"

"Yes, Hokage!"

Kakashi met the Third Hokage's gaze. "Uchiha Yao has the greatest talent for Ninjutsu I've ever seen!"

"Perhaps even the Second Hokage would fall short of him!"

"..."

The Third Hokage said nothing.

That was an enormous claim. For a moment, he didn't know how to respond.

His teacher, the Second Lord, was a legend who had developed countless Forbidden Jutsu and laid the foundations for Konoha in so many ways.

And Kakashi thought Yao might have even greater talent?

Was that possible?

"So..."

Kakashi pressed on, giving his assessment.

"Taking Yao's unbelievable talent for Ninjutsu into account, and looking back at his Wood Release... I believe..."

"He really might have researched and developed Wood Release on his own!"

"It sounds like something out of a fantasy, but when it comes to him, it's actually the most reasonable explanation."

"He's an Uchiha!"

The Third Hokage objected almost instinctively. "The Uchiha's chakra is strong in Yin Release and spiritual energy. The Sharingan is their natural path!"

"Wood Release is the ultimate expression of the Senju Clan's Yang Release and vitality. Those two powers have always been..."

"Hokage, Uchiha Yao isn't an ordinary Uchiha!"

Kakashi's tone was resolute. "At the very least, Yao isn't!"

"Hokage, do you know why Uchiha Yao can master Ninjutsu so quickly?"

"It's not just talent!"

"He also has an enormous chakra reserve, enough to maintain hundreds of Shadow Clones at once to train!"

"Even Naruto, despite being a Jinchuriki, has nowhere near that much chakra!"

"What?!"

The Third Hokage's pipe nearly slipped from his hand. "Hundreds of Shadow Clones? Kakashi, you're not joking?"

The number of Shadow Clones a shinobi could create at once was one of the clearest measures of their chakra reserves.

More than a hundred Shadow Clones was a sign of a Jinchuriki or a body on the level of the Senju.

Hundreds of Shadow Clones?

It was unheard of!

"I'm absolutely certain!"

Kakashi nodded emphatically. "I saw it with my own eyes!"

"That's how he magnified the efficiency of his training hundreds of times!"

"One day of training for someone else was like years of training for him. That's how he could master Chidori and Rasengan in a single day!"

The Third Hokage leaned back in his chair, slowly removed his Hokage hat, and pressed his fingers hard against his throbbing temples.

All the scattered clues had finally fallen into place.

Unbelievable talent for Ninjutsu.

Wood Release, apparently mastered on his own.

An unparalleled reserve of chakra.

Using the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique to train with extreme efficiency.

This was no longer something that could be summed up as "a talented Uchiha."

This was a monster that had broken through the limits of bloodlines, overturned everything people knew about training, and might even upset the balance of power...

"I understand!"

After a long silence, the Third Hokage spoke, his voice filled with deep concern. "Kakashi! Setting his talent and abilities aside..."

"What do you think of Uchiha Yao himself?"

"I mean his temperament and character. Do you think Uchiha Yao... might pose a threat to the village?"

The Third Hokage had no choice but to take a shinobi with such terrifying talent seriously—especially one from the Uchiha Clan!

If he turned out to be someone like Madara Uchiha, then the greater his talent, the greater the threat and damage he could cause Konoha!

"Hokage, honestly... I'm not sure!"

Kakashi chose his words carefully. "That boy is very clever!"

"He has insight and intelligence far beyond his years. His actions are logical, and his goals are very clear."

"He can easily see through my intentions and my plans."

Kakashi gave a bitter smile. "So I can't see what he's truly thinking. I can't figure out his deeper motives."

"So, as for whether he might threaten the village... I can't give you a definite answer."

The Third Hokage's heart sank.

He couldn't see through him... The Third Hokage was quite familiar with that kind of assessment.

Once, Orochimaru had given him the same feeling. Uchiha Itachi, too, had been inscrutable.

Yet in the end, both Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi had taken paths that broke his heart.

Was history about to repeat itself?

After a long pause, the Third Hokage made his decision. "Everything concerning Uchiha Yao is to be classified as top secret!"

"Don't reveal this to anyone—not for now—not even to you!"

"Especially not Danzo!"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

Kakashi answered solemnly.

"Kakashi, you'll continue to guide Team 7."

The Third Hokage said gravely, "Guide him as best you can. Observe him, and try to understand what he truly thinks and what he seeks!"

"Konoha needs powerful forces to weather the storms ahead!"

"But first, we must determine where that power will be directed, and who it will serve."

"I understand!"

Kakashi accepted the order with utmost seriousness.

"Go!"