Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu

"You caused the Daimyo's Mansion a great deal of trouble with this operation. His Lordship the Daimyo himself suffered endless humiliation, and Konoha Village must bear full responsibility for it!"

The Daimyo's Mansion officials had intended to say exactly that, but when they saw the ninja handling the negotiations before them, every prepared word vanished into thin air. Even the Daimyo himself wore a fearful expression.

Damn Hiruzen Sarutobi. He actually sent that man here...

The officials exchanged looks, all silently condemning Hiruzen Sarutobi in their hearts.

Sitting on Konoha's side were Danzo and his guard, Aburame Ryoma.

While Yamanaka Zen led people to investigate what had happened, the two of them had set out for the Daimyo's Mansion to report the matter to the Daimyo.

"This mission failed, and you of Konoha..." One official, prompted by the Daimyo's gaze, forced himself to speak after glancing at Danzo across from him, whose single eye was half-closed.

Danzo merely raised his head and glanced at him. That alone frightened the official so badly that he could barely get his words out.

Through the unceasing efforts of the First and Second Hokage, the cooperative system once dominated by the Daimyo's side had gradually shifted toward the ninja.

Especially after Hiruzen Sarutobi led Konoha to victory in the Second Shinobi World War, the Land of Fire had only one means left to control Konoha Village: economic pressure.

Thus, when facing the Daimyo's Mansion, the ninja had long since lost the deference they had shown during the Warring States period and had gradually grown more forceful.

Especially Danzo, the Hokage Assistant.

His words held no respect, and his attitude was abysmal. He had openly rebutted the Daimyo's proposals several times, making him the person the Daimyo least wanted to see.

"This incident is Konoha's internal affair. We will handle it internally." Danzo gave the speaking official a warning glance. Knowing the man was merely a mouthpiece, he looked directly at the Daimyo.

"Y-yes, is that so? Hahaha, indeed..." The Daimyo, nearly jolted out of his chair by Danzo's glance, opened his folding fan to block Danzo from view and let out a few awkward laughs.

"Since the Daimyo has no objections, this old man will take his leave." Danzo had resolved the matter with only a few words and had no desire to linger. Seeing that the officials could not say anything worthwhile, he could not be bothered to waste time with them and prepared to leave.

Hearing that Danzo was leaving, the Daimyo sighed in relief and hurriedly ordered his attendants to see him out.

Only after the doors slammed shut, completely cutting off Danzo from sight, did the officials present begin to voice their indignation.

"This incident has caused us such tremendous losses, yet Konoha treats it so lightly. What appalling disrespect!"

"I say Hiruzen Sarutobi is no longer fit to serve as Hokage. Your Lordship, should we remove him from his post?"

"That's right. We should send an official letter and sternly reprimand Hiruzen Sarutobi over this!"

Amid the noisy discussion, the Daimyo snapped his folding fan shut and nodded in agreement. "That's right. Hiruzen Sarutobi absolutely should be reprimanded. How dare he send that Danzo fellow here!"

Is that really the point?

Konoha, Danzo's home.

"Knock, knock, knock."

As the wooden front door was lightly knocked on, Kazashiro, hearing the sound, assumed Danzo had returned and hurried over to open it.

But when he opened the door, he saw a familiar face instead.

"Lord Third Hokage?"

Kazashiro was clearly stunned as he looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi before him, unable to understand why Hiruzen had come at this hour.

Could it be...

Danzo died?

No way. Wasn't that old bastard supposed to be pretty hard to kill in the original story? Could this be the legendary transmigrator effect?

Did some tiny butterfly wing I fluttered without realizing it directly get Danzo killed?

"Hehe, Kazashiro, are you home alone?" Unaware that the little fellow before him had already sentenced Danzo to death in his mind, Hiruzen smiled and patted his head before glancing inside.

"Uh, Sister Nonō is here too..." Kazashiro turned, about to introduce Yakushi Nonō to the Third Hokage, only to discover that the woman who had just been sitting on the sofa explaining Medical Ninjutsu to him had vanished without a trace.

Even the scroll containing the Medical Ninjutsu had disappeared.

"No, it's just me." Seeing that she did not wish to meet the Third Hokage, Kazashiro could only change his answer.

"Hehe, is that so? Then may I come in?" Hiruzen cast an imperceptible glance toward the roof. He had already noticed the Root ninja lying in ambush nearby, but rather than expose them, he simply asked Kazashiro.

"Of course, please come in." Kazashiro quickly stepped aside and invited his father's old friend into the house.

After entering, Hiruzen first examined the layout of the house. He found that its decor truly suited his old friend's personality: rigid and simple, with no decorations beyond the necessities of daily life.

Not even the calligraphy Hiruzen had given him had been hung up.

"Have you eaten dinner?" Seeing Kazashiro about to bring out tea to entertain him, Hiruzen quickly stopped him. He pulled him over to sit down and asked him instead.

"I have. What about you?" Kazashiro nodded honestly and answered truthfully.

"I have too. Actually, I came mainly to inform you that I sent your father on a classified mission. He probably won't be back for the next few days, so don't worry. If you need anything, you can come find me at the Hokage Building."

Hiruzen smiled as he studied Kazashiro before him, doing his best to convey his goodwill.

"Come to think of it, you've been in the village for a year now. As your elder, I still haven't given you any gift." Seeing that the Root ninja had taken good care of Kazashiro, Hiruzen was reassured. He reached into his robes and took out a scroll in front of him.

"Like Asuma, you passed the Ninja Academy examination. In the future, you will inherit your father's legacy and become a Konoha ninja, so this jutsu should be very helpful to you." Hiruzen spread the scroll open, a hint of pride appearing on his face.

"This is a jutsu I created based on my teacher, the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju's Shadow Clone Jutsu. It is called the 'Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu.'"

Now that's a jutsu I know.

Isn't this the super "powerful" jutsu you used from beginning to end?

In this new era where the First Hokage piloted a Gundam and the Second Hokage spammed Mutually Multiplying Exploding Tags, only you, old man, still stuck to traditional jutsu like this.

If you were in the era of my previous life, you'd at least earn the title of veteran artist.

Still, for someone like me without any noble bloodline, this jutsu really is a considerable help.

"Thank you very much, Lord Third Hokage. I will definitely study this jutsu properly." Kazashiro put on a sweet smile, picked up the scroll, and acted as though he could not bear to put it down.

He meant well, so I'll just put on an act and humor him.

Kazashiro smiled as he quietly complained to himself.