Tsunade Returns to the Village

Seeing that her first opponent was actually Itachi, Anko was extremely frustrated. Her expression instantly shifted from eager anticipation to utter despair.

She had originally wanted to put on a good showing in the third round, letting Yusuke see her impressive side, but now she had completely lost that chance.

Sure enough, not long after the two clashed, Anko was defeated by Itachi, leaving her, who had wanted to show off her skills, deeply disheartened. Itachi had even given Anko, as his senior, some face by dragging things out a bit; otherwise, the fight would have ended even faster.

Watching Anko leave the arena with her head hung low, Yusuke could only sigh inwardly at her terrible luck.

In this Chunin Exams, aside from Konoha, Yusuke hadn't noticed any particularly outstanding individuals. Though Itachi was young, his strength was already the highest among everyone there.

As for Itachi and Anko meeting in the first round, Yusuke didn't think there was any foul play. Sunagakure, one of the five great ninja villages, wouldn't stoop to such tactics in a Chunin Exams.

Moreover, the outcome of the Chunin Exams didn't solely determine whether a genin was fit to be promoted to chunin based on victory or defeat; it also considered their overall performance.

For example, Shikamaru from the original Konoha Chunin Exams, though he lost to Temari in battle, was the only one among the Konoha 12 to be promoted to chunin.

In the subsequent matches, several Konoha genin performed exceptionally well, with Itachi, who was only seven years old, becoming the center of everyone's attention throughout the entire exam.

Itachi's combat intelligence was extremely high; in fights, he could easily spot his opponent's weaknesses.

With his outstanding skills in ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu, he could deliver highly targeted and effective strikes against his opponents. Defeating them with minimal expenditure also greatly compensated for his lack of chakra reserves.

The Fourth Kazekage watched with a deep gaze as Itachi defeated his last opponent and claimed final victory. He unconsciously turned his head to look at the young Yusuke not far away, sighing inwardly.

"As expected of Konoha, truly brimming with talent. As one of the five great ninja villages, Sunagakure falls far short of Konoha."

Rasa's gaze was immediately detected by Yusuke's powerful mental energy. Yusuke turned his head and met Rasa's eyes. Out of politeness, they both nodded slightly to acknowledge each other.

However, Yusuke could see wariness and worry in Rasa's eyes, clearly shaken by the performance of Konoha's genin on the field.

"Perhaps it's time to make a decision!" Rasa thought of the One-Tail Jinchuriki plan proposed by Elder Chiyo.

In Chiyo's plan, the candidate for the One-Tail Jinchuriki was Rasa's son, who had just been born prematurely. Rasa had originally been unable to bring himself to make this decision, but Konoha's outstanding performance in this Chunin Exams gave him a strong sense of crisis.

Although the Land of Fire was an ally of the Land of Wind, in politics, there are no eternal friends, only eternal interests. When Sunagakure's power was no longer on par with Konoha's, the Land of Wind could only become a vassal of the Land of Fire.

In Rasa's view, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind was shortsighted, gradually cutting Sunagakure's funding—digging his own grave. If Rasa hadn't been able to use Magnet Release to gather gold sand and sell it to supplement the village's expenses, Sunagakure would have had to keep shrinking until it became a second-rate ninja village.

"Gaara, forgive me. This is the fate of a ninja!" Troubled by Sunagakure's internal and external problems, Rasa resolved at that moment to sacrifice his own son, Gaara, and execute the One-Tail Jinchuriki plan!

On the other side, Hayama was also amazed by Itachi's performance. He believed that with the talent Itachi had shown, he would soon become a ninja no less remarkable than Yusuke, and he was very envious that Yusuke had such a disciple.

After the Chunin Exams ended, Konoha's delegation didn't linger in Sunagakure. Yusuke and Hayama directly led the six genin back to Konoha, handing over a sealed letter containing Sunagakure's evaluations and promotion recommendations for the six Konoha genin to the Third Hokage.

Based on Sunagakure's promotion suggestions, the Third Hokage ultimately decided to promote all six genin to chunin.

Among the six genin, Anko, having had no chance to shine, didn't receive a high evaluation in Sunagakure's promotion recommendations.

However, based on the recommendations of their supervising jonin, Yusuke and Hayama, who believed that Anko's strength, endurance, and will to not burden her teammates during missions met the requirements for chunin, the Third Hokage also approved her promotion.

The six genin were overjoyed to learn they had all been promoted and agreed to celebrate together that evening. Participating together in the Sunagakure Chunin Exams had forged strong friendships among them. In particular, Anko and Kurama Naki became inseparable best friends.

Leaving the Hokage Office, Yusuke returned home and found that Izumi and Kabuto weren't there. From his mother, Uchiha Hazuki, he learned that the two were training at the practice ground.

Knowing that they hadn't slacked off on training during his absence, Yusuke felt very satisfied.

Arriving at the training ground reserved for himself and his disciples, Yusuke saw from a distance that Izumi and Kabuto were engaged in sparring practice.

Due to Izumi's intense training in Uchiha Style Kenjutsu, she now had the edge over Kabuto in taijutsu.

Kabuto, on the other hand, had an overwhelming advantage in ninjutsu, with an endless array of techniques that kept Izumi on the defensive. In the end, Kabuto prevailed, using an Earth Release technique to trap the exhausted Izumi.

"Not bad, it seems you haven't been slacking off." Yusuke walked over, freeing Izumi from Kabuto's Earth Release technique.

"Big brother!"

"Teacher!"

Izumi and Kabuto looked delighted to see Yusuke.

Yusuke took out the Kusanagi Sword 'Kikyo Senraku Sakura' from a Storage Scroll. The exquisite long blade immediately caught their attention, especially Izumi, who was now passionate about swordsmanship, showing a look of fascination.

Handing the long blade to Izumi, Yusuke smiled. "Izumi, this is a gift for you. I believe you won't let this sword down."

Izumi solemnly took the long blade and immediately examined it closely. This 'Kikyo Senraku Sakura' was specifically crafted for a female swordsman, and Izumi couldn't put it down.

Holding Kikyo Senraku Sakura, Izumi was both happy and moved. Though young, she could tell this sword was priceless and must have been carefully prepared for her by her brother.

In Yusuke's mind, he already had a plan for the futures of his three disciples.

In Yusuke's view, as long as Itachi grew steadily, he could become a Kage-level or even stronger ninja. Yusuke's expectations for him didn't stop there.

Kabuto was slightly inferior to Itachi in overall talent, but he was a ninja with the potential to learn Senjutsu!

During this trip to Sunagakure, Yusuke had obtained information about Ryūchi Cave from Orochimaru.

In the original story, Kabuto had successfully learned Ryūchi Cave's Senjutsu, which even Orochimaru hadn't mastered, and his application of Senjutsu was undoubtedly the best in the Naruto world.

In Yusuke's view, Kabuto with Senjutsu and Kabuto without it were two completely different concepts!

However, the waters of Ryūchi Cave were too deep, and learning Senjutsu carried significant risks. Yusuke would need to wait until he had the confidence to control those risks before executing this plan.

As for his sister and disciple, Izumi, her talent, though not as good as the other two, was still quite decent. She had shown considerable talent in swordsmanship, and combined with the Sharingan's powerful dynamic vision, she would surely become a top-tier swordsman in the ninja world.

When the time was right, Yusuke planned to apply Cursed Seals to all three disciples to compensate for some of their innate shortcomings. Of course, these shortcomings were only relative to the cheaters in the Naruto world.

For now, Yusuke had only developed the 'Yin-Yang Cursed Seal' capable of sealing Yin Release Chakra, and he was determined to develop the 'Reverse Yin-Yang Cursed Seal' in the future to seal Yang Release Chakra. He already had a few candidates in mind for the materials to form the 'Reverse Yin-Yang Cursed Seal'.

Itachi was proficient in genjutsu, so Yusuke planned to use the 'Yin-Yang Cursed Seal' on him, using Yin Release Chakra to strengthen his mental power. For Kabuto and Izumi, Yusuke planned to use the 'Reverse Yin-Yang Cursed Seal', using Yang Release Chakra to enhance their vitality.

"With the talent of these children, I believe it won't be long before they truly become my support!" Yusuke thought with anticipation.

Not long after the Sunagakure Chunin Exams ended, Tsunade, who had been traveling abroad, received news that the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, was gravely injured and unconscious, so she temporarily returned to the village.

Although Tsunade was willful by nature and always did as she pleased, she still cared deeply for Minato as a junior. Thus, even though she didn't want to return to the village, she came back to see if she could help Minato recover.

In the Konoha Hospital, inside Minato's room.

The Third Hokage, Tsunade, and Kakashi stood by Minato's hospital bed, discussing his condition.

"I didn't expect Minato's injuries to be this severe. If it were a normal person, they'd have died long ago," Tsunade said, her expression serious as she examined Minato's state.

"Then, is there a way to wake my teacher?" Kakashi asked urgently.

Tsunade nodded. "There is a way, but—"

She paused, shaking her head helplessly. "It's a long-term process. I don't know exactly how long it will take, and I can't stay in Konoha that long."

"Minato's physical injuries, though severe, have fully healed after this much rest."

"But because he originally suffered damage far beyond what a human body can endure, his spirit—or rather, his brain—has judged his body as dead, which is why he hasn't woken up."

"What needs to be done now is to use gentle medical chakra to stimulate Minato's brain over a long period, activating its activity so he can regain consciousness."

Hearing Tsunade's words, the Third Hokage and Kakashi both understood the implication.

Using medical chakra to stimulate the brain required extremely high chakra control from the medical ninja. Even a slight mistake could lead to severe consequences, so the only one capable of this treatment was Tsunade herself.

And clearly, Tsunade didn't want to stay in Konoha for long. Returning to check on Minato's injuries was already a big concession from her.

"Tsunade, both Minato and Konoha need someone like you..." the Third Hokage said, frowning as he tried to persuade her to stay. But before he could finish, Tsunade firmly refused.

"Sarutobi-sensei, I'm sorry, but I have no intention of staying in the village right now. Even if you forced me to stay, I wouldn't have the heart to perform this treatment for Minato day after day. If I made a mistake, it could cause irreversible harm to him," Tsunade said, waving her hand.

"Then, is there really no one else who could perform this treatment for my teacher?" Kakashi asked, unwilling to give up.

Tsunade thought for a moment and slowly replied, "Now that you mention it, it's not entirely impossible."

As always, thank you for your support!!

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