Sarutobi Toru, the Village's Treasure

"Such power... Is this what it feels like to be a genius?" Hiruko stretched out his hands and spoke intoxicatedly.

"No, this is just the illusion caused by your sudden increase in strength." As Sarutobi Toru tore electrodes, detectors, and similar devices off Hiruko, he poured cold water on him.

"Although your Chakra increased by 92% this time, far more than I expected, your physique is still too ordinary. Even Orochimaru, who has yet to use the Perfect Development Potion and possesses the least Chakra among the Sannin, has more than one and a half times your current Chakra."

Hiruko was not actually a dead last. Even in physical constitution, his weakest area, he was merely ordinary rather than talentless. Otherwise, he could not have become a Konoha Jōnin in the future.

Even so, the Chakra Hiruko had gained at most elevated him from ordinary to decent. He was still some distance away from outstanding.

After all, in the ninja world, the gap between people was greater than the gap between people and dogs. Even Orochimaru, who had the least Chakra among the Sannin, was three times stronger than Hiruko had been at the start. And that was when both sides were six years old. Once they became adults, the gap might widen to six or eight times.

With such a gap, even if Hiruko's talent was no worse than the Sannin's, he could never catch up to them—do not forget, with only one-sixth of their Chakra, he had four or five times less training time than they did!

No wonder Hiruko would eventually despair and believe that he could never catch up to the Sannin through normal methods.

But now that he had seen hope, Hiruko was still wildly excited. Even after Sarutobi Toru poured cold water on him, he continued grinning foolishly.

Just then, the laboratory door was pushed open. A young ninja with a cross-shaped scar on his chin and spiky hair entered, bringing along a seven- or eight-year-old child ninja with white hair.

"Teacher Danzo, you're here!" Sarutobi Toru greeted the young ninja with a smile. Hiruko, who had been excited just moments before, shrank back and did not dare speak.

Upon hearing Sarutobi Toru's voice, the cold-faced Danzo revealed a rare smile. His tone was especially gentle as well. "Toru, have you finished your experiment? I just received a mission. If you have not finished yet, you do not need to come."

That was right. Sarutobi Toru's team leader was none other than Konoha's Pot Kage, his uncle's best friend, Shimura Danzō!

This was easy enough to understand. Just as the exceptionally gifted Sannin had become students of the Third Hokage, Hiruko, whose talent was slightly inferior, and Sarutobi Toru, who could not enter the Hokage's team due to being from the same clan, naturally became targets for Konoha's second-in-command.

Speaking of which, Hiruko was rather lucky. It was precisely because he spent every day hanging around Sarutobi Toru that his talent was discovered, allowing him to become Danzo's student.

Many people said that Konoha's Hokage position was always passed down through masters and disciples. In truth, it should be said the other way around: only ninjas with the potential to become Hokage could enter the Hokage faction.

Sarutobi Toru had no objections to becoming a student of The Shadow of the Ninja World. After all, the current Danzo was not yet the scheming bastard he would become in the future. He was still a handsome young man. Having just failed in his bid for Hokage, Danzo was temporarily fairly well-behaved. Besides, Sarutobi Toru had a Hokage uncle, so he was not afraid of Danzo's little schemes.

Of course, Danzo was not polite to him because of his uncle. The main reason was his value.

Leaving aside the boost Burst Potion—Super Adrenaline's new name—gave to a ninja's strength, even the Virility Pill, an aphrodisiac, had already sold for over a thousand ryō in the Land of Fire, yet demand still exceeded supply.

What Sarutobi Hiruzen regretted most now was not taking Sarutobi Toru's words seriously. He had merely set up a small workshop to produce the Virility Pills, and now they were completely sold out.

According to the War Council's calculations, the future profits from the Virility Pill might account for half of Konoha's budget!

When Sarutobi Hiruzen assigned Sarutobi Toru to Danzo, he had stated directly that failure on missions was acceptable. But if Sarutobi Toru died, Danzo could forget about establishing Root!

Danzo's response had been equally firm: even if he died, Konoha's precious treasure would not!

The Danzo team's top priority now was Sarutobi Toru's safety. If it were up to Danzo, he would have assigned eight Anbu Jōnin bodyguards to Sarutobi Toru every day and never let him take a single step outside Konoha for the rest of his life.

But Sarutobi Hiruzen did not see it that way. He knew his nephew's talent well. Ten years from now, he would definitely be another Kage-level expert. He could not let his best friend ruin him.

That was why Danzo genuinely hoped Sarutobi Toru had not yet finished his experiment. That way, Konoha's treasure would remain safe.

"Oh, don't worry. The experiment is already finished. The Perfect Development Potion was a huge success. Hiruko just tested it, and his Chakra increased by nearly double." Sarutobi Toru spoke nonchalantly as he packed up the equipment.

"Is that so? It's already complete... What!" Danzo only realized halfway through his sentence what Sarutobi Toru had said, and he shouted with a face full of astonishment.

Sarutobi Toru handed Danzo a prescription and said cheerfully, "Teacher Danzo, this is the formula for the Perfect Development Potion. It works by stimulating the body's endocrine self-regulation mechanism... restructuring... blah blah... secondary growth... blah blah... hormones... to achieve perfect redevelopment."

Danzo and the white-haired child ninja stared blankly, as though they were listening to a heavenly scripture. Hiruko, who could understand a little, wore an expression of fervent worship. The way he looked at Sarutobi Toru made him seem like a cultist.

Feeling Hiruko's gaze, Sarutobi Toru muttered inwardly, Did I add too many emotion-affecting hormones? The extra ingredient I added was only supposed to make him trust me. How did it end up looking like brainwashing? Don't let it affect his intelligence!

"Is this true?!" Danzo fixed a terrifying gaze on... Hiruko. Hiruko shuddered and came to his senses. "It's true, Teacher Danzo! My Chakra increased by 92%, and my physical fitness and neural response both improved slightly!"

"I see. From now on, this potion is classified as Konoha's highest secret. Anyone who leaks information will be treated as a traitor to the village! I will report this to the Hokage immediately. You three, come with me!" Danzo took a deep breath and suppressed the shock in his heart.

"Uh, Teacher Danzo, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and I developed this potion together. And although Jiraiya does not know, I have been using him for experiments under the pretense of giving him supplements, so his Chakra has also increased by around 50%." Sarutobi Toru spread his hands helplessly.

"...Forget Jiraiya. We'll notify those two later. For now, head to the Hokage Building!"

Thus, the four of them immediately leaped onto the rooftops and hurried toward the Hokage Building.

As they traveled, Sarutobi Toru kept glancing at the white-haired ninja. This ninja, only one or two years older than him, had remained silent the entire time. He carried a short sword on his back, and Sarutobi Toru had already begun to vaguely guess his identity.