The Worried Old Dad

"Senior Yusuke turned him down," Shisui said.

The Third Hokage slowly rose from his chair and walked over to Shisui, who was kneeling on one knee. He sighed. "It seems that, although he's quite strong, he doesn't have what it takes to shoulder the burden of maintaining peace in the village."

Shisui hurriedly said, "Lord Third Hokage, I think Senior Yusuke just hasn't thought it through yet. If I just—"

The Third Hokage patted Shisui on the shoulder. "That won't be necessary. I have a new mission for you."

"Please, Lord Third Hokage," Shisui said.

"How strong do you think Uchiha Yusuke is? Do you think you could beat him?" the Third Hokage asked.

Shisui thought for a moment before answering, "Senior Yusuke is very strong. I can't speak to his other abilities, but judging by the speed of his Body Flicker Technique alone, he's almost as fast as I am."

After a pause, Shisui continued, "But I'm confident that I'm better than Senior Yusuke at using the Body Flicker Technique. Besides, I've already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. I don't think Senior Yusuke would be able to beat me."

Although Shisui Uchiha was kind and easygoing toward others, he was a true genius, and deep down, he was extremely proud.

The Third Hokage nodded in satisfaction. "Shisui, you truly are a dependable subordinate. Your new mission is to challenge Uchiha Yusuke and defeat him. You'll become the Uchiha Clan's greatest genius—no, its strongest fighter!"

"Lord Third Hokage, is that really a good idea?" Shisui asked hesitantly.

Shisui wasn't the type to pick fights, and he didn't care much for empty titles.

The Third Hokage sighed. "Actually, I'm not assigning you this mission so you can target Uchiha Yusuke. It's to establish your authority within the Uchiha Clan, so that you can become its spokesperson."

"Once you have enough influence within the Uchiha Clan, you'll be able to serve as a better bridge between the village and your clan. It's a win-win. Besides, I believe you're the only one who can shoulder this responsibility!"

At his words, Shisui raised his head slightly and met the Third Hokage's gaze, full of trust and expectation. His heart stirred. He felt that the village's peace and the Uchiha Clan's future both depended on him, and he loudly accepted the mission. "Understood! I'll carry out the mission you've given me to the letter!"

Seeing Shisui accept, the Third Hokage nodded with satisfaction. "Of course, you don't have to start right away. Take some time to prepare. I'll arrange for people to build up your reputation over the next little while. Once you defeat him, all the glory will be yours. Besides, the Fourth Hokage election is about to begin, and I don't want to cause any trouble at this point."

"Understood," Shisui replied.

"All right. If there's nothing else, you can go," the Third Hokage said.

"Yes." Shisui stood and prepared to leave. As he reached the door, he heard the Third Hokage's parting advice.

"You can stop by Danzo's place and see what advice he has. He should have a good idea of how strong Uchiha Yusuke is."

"You again! You disappeared for a while, and now you're back to bother Teacher Orochimaru!" Anko grumbled when she saw Yusuke.

"Is Lord Orochimaru not here?" Yusuke ignored Anko's temper and sensed the area, but couldn't detect Orochimaru's presence.

"Hmph. Teacher Orochimaru is busy running for Fourth Hokage. He doesn't have time for you." Anko folded her arms, then scowled. "Everyone's saying that the Yellow Flash is a shoo-in for Fourth Hokage. He's nowhere near as good as Teacher Orochimaru."

"Honestly, can't anyone see what a wonderful person Teacher Orochimaru is?"

Looking at Anko's puffed-up, angry face, Yusuke smiled and shook his head. "Since you're not so happy about Minato becoming Fourth Hokage, why don't you try naming one of his flaws in the next minute?"

Anko immediately racked her brain, but couldn't find a flaw in the Yellow Flash. In the end, she scratched her hair furiously. "Aaaah! Anyway, he's just not as good as Teacher Orochimaru!"

Yusuke found Anko's near-frantic reaction quite amusing.

"Yusuke, you seem to be in a good mood lately, chatting with Anko here." A chilling voice sounded. Orochimaru had returned to his hideout.

"Lord Orochimaru, you're joking. I only just got here. I saw Anko and started chatting with her," Yusuke replied.

Orochimaru opened the entrance to the hideout's secret chamber and led Yusuke inside, while Anko was told to stand guard outside.

Watching Yusuke follow Orochimaru into the secret chamber, Anko stuck out her tongue and made a fierce face.

Just then, Yusuke turned around with a faint smile. Anko's grimace froze awkwardly in place.

"It's rare for you to come here specifically to wait for me. You must have something important to discuss," Orochimaru said, fixing Yusuke with his serpentine gaze after the door to the secret chamber had closed.

"That's right. I have a few ideas about the Cursed Seal you're researching," Yusuke said slowly.

"Oh?" Orochimaru looked intrigued and gestured for Yusuke to continue.

"I want to use the Cursed Seal you developed as a foundation for a new type of seal. It needs to be able to contain a vast amount of Yin Release Chakra and let the host draw on it whenever they wish," Yusuke said.

Yusuke was feeling a little anxious. He had already found the key to awakening his Sharingan and increasing his Zanpakuto's power: Yin Release.

But if he wanted to get that key and put it to use as soon as possible, he needed Orochimaru's help. Orochimaru was an expert at developing forbidden techniques.

And the Fourth Hokage would soon take office. After Orochimaru lost the election, he would defect before long, leaving his life in Konoha behind and becoming a man of the world. It would be difficult to get his help with developing the Cursed Seal after that.

"Weren't you dismissive of Cursed Seal techniques before? What changed your mind?" Orochimaru gave a sinister chuckle.

"Your Heaven Curse Seal had too many flaws. And I could tell you were hiding something in it, Lord Orochimaru," Yusuke replied calmly.

The Heaven Curse Seal was the vessel Orochimaru used for his Living Corpse Reincarnation, and it contained a hidden safeguard of his own.

Besides, the original Heaven Curse Seal and Earth Curse Seal were developed from the Natural Energy Orochimaru extracted from Jugo. They were inferior versions of Sage Mode, and Yusuke hadn't been interested in them.

"As expected of you, Yusuke. You even noticed that. So why do you want to study a Cursed Seal that can store Yin Release Chakra?" Orochimaru asked.

"I've found a way to awaken my Sharingan. I need to store a large amount of Yin Release Chakra, then make a breakthrough all at once." Yusuke paused and looked Orochimaru in the eye, then dangled another tempting prospect before him. "And if this works, it'll allow the host to store a great deal of Yin Release Chakra in their body. That should indirectly strengthen their soul—or, to put it another way, their mental energy—and greatly increase their resistance to genjutsu."

The Living Corpse Reincarnation was a forbidden technique without equal, but it had one fatal weakness: each reincarnation greatly weakened the user's mental energy, which in turn severely reduced their resistance to genjutsu.

Orochimaru hadn't finished developing the Living Corpse Reincarnation yet, but he should have already discovered this serious flaw. Yusuke was sure that with this promise, Orochimaru wouldn't be able to refuse his proposal.

Orochimaru watched Yusuke with a probing gaze, wondering, Has he found out about the weakness in the Living Corpse Reincarnation I'm developing, or is this just a coincidence?

After a brief silence, Orochimaru said slowly, "I agree. But you'll have to spend more time at my laboratory for a while."

Yusuke nodded. "No problem. I want to finish developing this technique as soon as possible too. Starting tomorrow, I'll bring an assistant to help us."

"An assistant?" Orochimaru looked interested.

"Yes. His talent is sure to surprise you!"

After making arrangements with Orochimaru, Yusuke prepared to return to the clan and plan out Itachi and Izumi's training for the coming days. Kabuto would soon be joining him at Orochimaru's laboratory to help develop the Cursed Seal, so he wouldn't be training with Itachi and Izumi for the time being.

As he walked down the street, Yusuke was considering how to arrange things when he spotted someone among the passersby, wearing a shinobi vest and a blue headband.

Got it. I'll ask them for help! Yusuke's lips curled into a faint smile as he hurried toward his target.

Shiranui Genma had just finished drinking tea and chatting with a friend, and was strolling leisurely through Konoha. Suddenly, he felt a hand settle on his left shoulder.

"Genma, you look pretty free lately," Yusuke said with a smile.

Genma turned his head. It was Yusuke. "Hey, Yusuke. Fancy running into you while I'm out for a walk. Aren't you always busy training or developing new techniques?"

"Yeah, but I've taken on a few students, and I happen to have an important technique to develop. I don't have time to arrange their training, so I was hoping you could fill in for a while and teach them ninjutsu," Yusuke said with a smile.

Genma was only a Chunin for now, but he was very good at controlling Chakra and using ninjutsu.

In Sha no Sho, Genma had a ninjutsu score of 9, which showed just how capable he was in that area.

At Yusuke's words, Genma waved both hands repeatedly. "No, no, no. I don't have time for that. Give me a break."

Genma had no interest in teaching others. If he had the time, he'd much rather wander the streets.

Yusuke smiled as though it didn't bother him. "It's fine. If you don't want to, I won't force you."

"But today, Lord Orochimaru asked if I'd heard any of the recent rumors about him. I was wondering how to answer. I heard you and some people discussing Lord Orochimaru at the teahouse today, so now I can give him an answer."

Looking at Yusuke's smiling face, Genma felt that the cold glint hidden behind his narrowed eyes was chilling.

Genma gave a bitter smile. "Yusuke, we're old comrades. You don't have to do this, do you?"

Yusuke patted Genma on the shoulder with a smile. "Starting tomorrow at noon, Izumi and my student Uchiha Itachi will be waiting for you at the training ground at the southernmost end of the Uchiha Clan Compound. Don't be late. I'll have someone else teach them Taijutsu in the morning, so you can focus on their ninjutsu in the afternoon."

As Yusuke walked farther away, a bitter smile spread across Genma's face.

"Loose lips sink ships. Loose lips sink ships..."

With Genma taken care of, Yusuke continued on to the place where Guy usually trained. He had decided that Guy would teach Izumi and Itachi Taijutsu. He was sure that Guy, who was devoted to Taijutsu, wouldn't let him down.

"Ah, I never thought I'd become such a worried old dad!"

Thanks, as always, for all your support.

The author's going out to have some fun today, so I'll stay home tomorrow and add another update.

Also, about Orochimaru's character portrait—I really don't know why it still hasn't been approved. It's just a funny picture!!! Are the moderators Orochimaru fans or something?