Orochimaru's Ambush

After the match ended, Yusuke walked out of the Training Ground.

At this moment, Izumi and Kabuto were already waiting for him outside. Seeing Yusuke approach, Izumi happily jumped into his arms.

"Big brother, you were so cool! I just knew you would win!"

Holding the petite Izumi with his left arm and patting her head with his right hand, Yusuke smiled and said, "That goes without saying."

Izumi's dark, round eyes blinked as she acted spoiled, "Big brother, that sword technique of yours that made your blade catch fire was amazing. Could you teach it to Izumi too?"

"I'm afraid I can't help you there, little one. That is my own special ability, and others cannot use it. But don't worry, I will teach you other powerful ninjutsu in the future."

Hearing Yusuke's words, Izumi pouted slightly.

However, she quickly moved past the subject and asked Yusuke, "Then, is Shisui alright? He looked a bit miserable when he was carried out earlier. Even though he was acting strange and suddenly challenged you, I hope you didn't hurt him too badly?"

Itachi, standing to the side, also looked at Yusuke with a worried expression upon hearing this.

Patting Itachi on the shoulder, Yusuke said, "Don't worry, Shisui is fine. He will be back to normal after resting for a while."

Just as Yusuke was preparing to take the three children back to the Uchiha Clan compound, a hearty voice came from behind him.

"Yusuke, to celebrate you defeating such a strong opponent, let's all go grab some barbecue to celebrate!"

The group looked toward the source of the voice, and it was Guy, who had also just come out of the Training Ground. Accompanying him were Kakashi, Asuma, and others.

Looking at the expectant faces of Izumi and Kabuto, Yusuke accepted Guy's invitation, intending to take the three children out for a good meal.

"Teacher, I am very sorry, but I am a bit worried about Shisui's injuries and would like to go visit him," Itachi said with an apologetic look.

Yusuke nodded, signaling his understanding. However, Izumi, who was being held in his arms, looked a bit disappointed when she heard Itachi wasn't coming.

Inside the Hokage Office at the Hokage Office.

"Sarutobi, you saw the battle today. We must find a way to limit the power of the Uchiha Clan!" Danzo said gloomily.

At this moment, only the Third Hokage and Danzo were in the office. Even the Anbu who usually protected the Third Hokage in the shadows had been dismissed; it was clear that the two needed to discuss some highly confidential matters.

Hearing Danzo's words, the Third Hokage furrowed his brows tightly but did not respond, as if he were deep in thought.

Seeing that the Third Hokage remained silent, Danzo continued, "As for the strength of this Uchiha Yusuke, not to mention me, I'm afraid even you might not necessarily be able to defeat him."

"Furthermore, Uchiha Shisui's strength is not much inferior to his. If you lose control over Uchiha Shisui, the Uchiha Clan will have at least two experts comparable to you, the Hokage."

"Additionally, I believe that Uchiha Fugaku must be hiding something as well. The village may no longer have enough power to suppress the Uchiha Clan!"

Danzo continued to analyze the current situation for the Third Hokage, hoping that he would take a stance and begin dealing with the Uchiha Clan as soon as possible.

"Enough, let me think about it." The Third Hokage waved his hand, signaling for Danzo to say no more.

Danzo snorted coldly, clearly dissatisfied with the Third Hokage's indecisiveness.

"If things continue like this, you will regret it sooner or later." Danzo flicked his kimono sleeve sharply and left the Third Hokage's office directly.

Rubbing his temples, the Third Hokage felt a splitting headache.

"Uchiha Yusuke, how should I handle you?"

The plan to make Shisui the spokesperson for the Uchiha Clan had failed; instead, it had helped Yusuke significantly boost his prestige within the Uchiha Clan and even within the village.

What worried the Third Hokage most was that Yusuke's strength was something he couldn't fathom at all.

"Should I use Shisui's eyes to control him first?"

The Third Hokage thought about it, but ultimately abandoned the idea.

The ability of Shisui's eyes was too important, and the interval required to use them again was too long. Unless it was a last resort, the Third Hokage was not prepared to use the power of Shisui's eyes.

At this moment, in a barbecue restaurant in Konoha, Yusuke was with Izumi and Kabuto, enjoying a rare gathering with his fellow ninjas from the same generation.

At Guy's invitation, besides Yusuke, Kakashi, Shiranui Genma, Asuma, and Kurenai were also present.

They sat around the grill, each with a large glass of beverage in front of them—though it wasn't alcohol, just ordinary fruit juice.

Since everyone was still under the legal age to drink, the restaurant owner had firmly refused Asuma's request to buy alcohol.

Izumi and Kabuto were busy devouring their food, while Yusuke chatted casually with the other ninjas of his generation.

"Yusuke, how did you train that flame-based sword technique? It was truly incredible," Asuma asked with interest.

Hearing Asuma's question, everyone turned their eyes toward Yusuke. After all, the strength he displayed today was astonishing, and the most impressive part was that katana burning with raging flames.

"As a ninja, it's only reasonable to know a few sword techniques that involve fire, right?" Yusuke laughed.

Since it was his first time using the techniques of Ryujin Jakka and the results were outstanding, Yusuke was in a great mood and started making jokes that no one present could understand.

"I heard your clan leader's son, Uchiha Itachi, is also your student. Will you teach him this special skill of yours?" Genma asked.

Yusuke shook his head, "My sword technique cannot be taught to anyone; it's more of a unique talent of mine." After all, without Ryujin Jakka, those techniques could not be performed at all.

At this point, he glanced at Kakashi and said pointedly, "However, when it comes to sword techniques, the White Fang is second to none. I truly admire his skill with the blade."

At this time, Kakashi still carried the chakra short sword passed down by the White Fang on his back and had not completely abandoned the Hatake family's sword techniques.

But Yusuke knew that before long, Kakashi would focus on developing his Sharingan, transition into a ninjutsu-based ninja, and later become known as the 'Copy Ninja'. In Yusuke's view, however, this was a very wrong choice.

Kakashi didn't seem to care much on the surface about Yusuke's words, but deep down, he felt hesitant about his future path.

The group discussed ninjutsu for a while longer, and as it was getting late, they prepared to head home.

Guy was just about to suggest they split the bill when he suddenly noticed that Kakashi, who had been sitting there, had transformed into a mangy dog, while Yusuke, Izumi, and Kabuto had turned into one large teddy bear and two smaller ones.

Asuma and Kurenai had simply vanished like phantoms; it was clearly a Substitution Technique used to skip out on the bill.

With a blank expression, Guy poked Shiranui Genma, who was still sitting beside him, with his finger. Finding that the man was actually still there, he poked him a few more times in disbelief.

"Hey, hey, stop poking me. I'm the real deal. But you invited me to this meal, so don't think you're getting me to pay for you!"

"Then why didn't you just run away too? What are you still doing here?"

"I just wanted to see how you'd manage to pull money out of that skintight suit of yours since you aren't wearing a ninja vest!"

Guy: "..."

On the evening street, three figures—one large and two small—were strolling leisurely.

Yusuke held Izumi's left hand while Kabuto followed on his right, walking slowly toward the new residential area of the Uchiha Clan.

"Big brother, you already paid the bill, so why did you have to use the Substitution Technique to run away?" Izumi asked.

"It's nothing, I just thought it might be fun," Yusuke laughed.

Hearing this, the corner of Kabuto's mouth twitched slightly. He pushed up his glasses in silence, his thoughts unreadable.

The three chatted as they walked and soon arrived in front of their home. In the darkness, a small white snake was watching them intently.

Yusuke let Izumi and Kabuto go inside first and gently closed the door. He then turned around to look at the spot where the small white snake had been.

"Lord Orochimaru, please come out."

With a pop, the small white snake transformed into a puff of white smoke. A tall, thin figure slowly emerged from the mist; it was none other than Orochimaru.

"Yusuke-kun, this isn't the place to talk. Come with me."

Yusuke followed Orochimaru, and the two soon arrived at a secluded grove on the outskirts of the village.

Stopping in his tracks, Orochimaru turned to Yusuke and said, "Yusuke-kun, your performance in today's match really surprised me!"

"It was nothing. I believe that level of strength is hardly worth your notice, Lord Orochimaru," Yusuke said slowly.

"You are too modest. To be honest, I might not be your match right now."

Yusuke didn't take the bait, instead asking, "Lord Orochimaru, you didn't come to find me just to marvel at my strength, did you?"

Orochimaru looked into Yusuke's eyes and said slowly, "The Sharingan, what an enviable talent!"

"That child named Uchiha Shisui—just by relying on the Sharingan, he has reached a height that the vast majority of ninjas wouldn't dare to imagine in their entire lives!"

Although Orochimaru's tone remained casual, Yusuke could see a light of desire burning in his snake-like pupils.

Yusuke hadn't expected that his duel with Shisui would pique Orochimaru's interest in the Sharingan ahead of schedule.

If an ordinary person were to transplant a Sharingan, the cost might outweigh the benefits.

Take Kakashi, for example; the Sharingan is a massive burden for him. Unable to deactivate it, he remains in a constant state of chakra depletion.

He can only cover the Sharingan with a headband to reduce the fatigue and the burden on his chakra reserves to some extent.

However, Orochimaru, who possesses the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique, has no need to worry about such things. As long as he seizes the body of an Uchiha clansman, he would possess the bloodline of the Uchiha Clan and be able to control the Sharingan perfectly.

Knowing what was on Orochimaru's mind, Yusuke remained silent.

If Orochimaru were to make a move to seize the body of an Uchiha clansman, Yusuke, as a member of the Uchiha Clan, could not simply stand by and watch.

Their gazes met, and they immediately guessed what the other was thinking.

After a few seconds of silence, Orochimaru spoke first: "Yusuke-kun, although you didn't use it in today's match, you have actually already awakened the Sharingan, haven't you?"

Hearing Orochimaru's question, Yusuke felt a jolt of alarm. Just as he was about to deny it, a long sword suddenly shot out from Orochimaru's mouth, slashing toward Yusuke's chest.

The two were only inches apart, and Orochimaru's sudden attack—launched directly from his mouth—caught Yusuke off guard.

Yusuke retreated rapidly, simultaneously using the Body Flicker Technique to put some distance between them. Although he wasn't injured, his shirt had been slashed open across the chest.

"Lord Orochimaru, what is the meaning of this?"

Standard thanks to everyone for your support!! There are 34 days left until the author starts double-posting!

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