"That was the bond connecting Konoha and the Uchiha. If something happened to him, the favorable situation you worked so hard to conceal would all go up in smoke."
"If he were truly influenced by Setsuna Uchiha and completely turned against Konoha, the danger he posed would only surpass that of Setsuna Uchiha back then."
"And in this era, there was no longer a Second Hokage Tobirama Senju capable of suppressing Setsuna Uchiha."
"We had to win him over to our side."
The Third Hokage furrowed his brow. He picked up the pipe on his desk and took a puff, only slowly exhaling a cloud of smoke after a long while.
"We certainly couldn't allow this to continue unchecked. But from the perspective of a teacher, Setsuna Uchiha was indeed more suitable than you."
Jiraiya rubbed his hands together and asked tentatively,
"I think this is an opportunity to show our sincerity. Didn't the Scroll of Sealing record quite a few jutsu? I was thinking..."
"Don't even think about it!"
The Third Hokage shot Jiraiya an irritated look.
"The forbidden techniques recorded in the Scroll of Sealing either harmed the natural order too greatly or inflicted excessive damage upon their users."
"You don't want Shingen to end up becoming a menace, or to suffer lifelong injuries from practicing forbidden techniques and ruin his future, do you?!"
"Didn't Mount Myoboku have secret Senjutsu?!"
Jiraiya shook his head and sighed.
"I've only just begun to grasp Mount Myoboku's Senjutsu myself. Keeping Sage Mode active for too long is dangerous as well."
"It wasn't time to pass it on to Shingen yet."
"..."
As the two fell silent, the Hokage's office door was violently kicked open again.
The Third Hokage had already grown numb to it. Turning his head, he saw Orochimaru standing in the doorway, his foot not yet lowered.
Before either of the two inside could speak, Orochimaru beat them to it.
"A Hokage of Konoha and Jiraiya, one of the famed Sannin, gathered together yet unable to decide what ninjutsu to teach a disciple?!"
"How about letting me try?!"
"I'm somewhat interested in that kid!"
"I disagree!"
Jiraiya hurriedly cut him off.
Alarm bells rang wildly in his mind. He realized this was another rival trying to steal his student!
Damn it!
That kid used to be ignored by everyone, so how had he suddenly become such a hot commodity?
Setsuna Uchiha was one thing, but even Orochimaru, a guy who cared about nothing but research, had actually volunteered to guide Uchiha Shingen's training?!
"Well, it was only a joke. Don't be so tense."
Orochimaru smiled teasingly. Seeing that Jiraiya still looked guarded, he immediately stopped pressing the matter.
Aside from his research, Orochimaru was now also responsible for part of Konoha's diplomatic affairs.
He stepped forward and handed a document from his arms to the Third Hokage.
"Take a look. Kirigakure sent this document over, saying they wanted to resume the Joint Chunin Ninja Exams that had previously been suspended."
"The Joint Chunin Ninja Exams?"
The two present besides Orochimaru were both somewhat surprised.
Konoha had indeed maintained a similar tradition, inviting ninja villages from neighboring countries to hold Joint Chunin Ninja Exams.
The purpose was naturally to display national strength and intimidate the ambitions of neighboring nations.
However, participants in these Joint Chunin Ninja Exams were usually smaller countries near Konoha. Sunagakure attended occasionally, but not often.
This was Kirigakure's first time, unprecedentedly so.
Jiraiya stroked his chin, his expression grave.
"I'm afraid the Joint Chunin Ninja Exams are merely a pretext. Their real goal is to use this opportunity to test Konoha. Given the current situation, anyone could see that war was bound to break out sooner or later."
"It was hard to say Kirigakure didn't intend to use this chance to attack Konoha."
The Third Hokage puffed on his tobacco pipe. After pondering for a moment, he said,
"Put it aside for now."
"Let's see how Kirigakure reacts."
"If anything seems wrong, we'll prepare early."
Seeing that the matter had been settled, Orochimaru proactively returned to the previous topic.
"I meant it, Jiraiya. If you aren't confident you can teach that brat well, why not let me try?"
"The most talented monster the Uchiha had produced in decades, and one of the few Uchiha since Kagami Uchiha who was genuinely close to Konoha."
"I'm very curious."
"How did this kid truly view Konoha, and how did he view the Uchiha?"
Jiraiya curled his lip and replied irritably,
"Get lost."
"As a teacher, you're not as good as..."
The moment the words left his mouth, Jiraiya regretted them somewhat.
Orochimaru had once had a disciple.
Tsunade's younger brother, Nawaki, had once been Orochimaru's student.
Nawaki had died in the Second Shinobi World War, collapsing before Orochimaru and Tsunade.
He had watched his once most prized disciple slowly stop breathing, bit by bit. The feeling was no different from being cut alive.
It was also after that that Orochimaru paid less and less attention to those around him. His movements became increasingly mysterious, and even Jiraiya, his close friend, could no longer see through him.
"I'll be leaving."
Orochimaru's voice turned cold as he immediately turned and left.
Seeing that, Jiraiya opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end failed to get the words out.
Bang—!
The office door shut once more.
"What you said just now went a little too far."
Rare reproach colored the Third Hokage's tone. Seeing Jiraiya hang his head in silence, he continued,
"Orochimaru had suffered greatly these past few years too."
"I think that if Shingen-kun is willing, it wouldn't hurt to let Orochimaru try."
"With two people on our side, we'd be stronger than Setsuna Uchiha alone, wouldn't we?!"
Jiraiya fell silent for a moment, then nodded lightly.
"I'll find an opportunity to ask Shingen-kun about it later."
"Mm."
Time passed in a flash, and night gradually deepened.
Uchiha Shingen's three Shadow Clones finished their training and dispersed into puffs of white smoke.
All of their training experience returned to the original body. Even Uchiha Shingen, whose physique had improved somewhat during this period, nearly couldn't endure it.
He lay flat on the bed, gasping for breath.
Within just a few breaths, his sweat had soaked the bedsheets, and he no longer had the slightest strength left in his body.
"No."
"The burden from having three Shadow Clones train at once is too great. With my current physical condition, I can't withstand it yet."
Uchiha Shingen immediately summoned the Check-in Device panel.
[Uchiha Shingen] [Rank—Chunin] [Position—South District 4 Third Squad Captain of the Konoha Military Police Force] [Abilities: —Three-Tomoe Sharingan (Kekkei Genkai) Level 5 —Chakra Level 5 —Fire Release Mastery Level 3 (+) —Earth Release Mastery Level 2 (+) —Taijutsu Mastery Level 3 (+) —Genjutsu Mastery Level 3 (+) —Ninja Tool Mastery Level 2 (+)] [Ninjutsu: Hazy Moon Secret Sword, Sword Leap Flame, Shadow Clone, Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique, Mirror Heaven and Earth Change, Earth/Fire Release...] [Evaluation—A: A Jonin with comprehensive abilities and the advantage of a Kekkei Genkai, capable of leading a tactical squad on missions.] [Remaining Attribute Points—3]
Over half a month, Uchiha Shingen had accumulated another two attribute points, bringing his remaining points to three.
What surprised him even more was that his taijutsu could actually be upgraded again?!
Logically, three attribute points should not have been enough to raise Taijutsu Mastery to Level 3.
But after giving it some thought, Uchiha Shingen understood the reason.
Improving abilities did not rely solely on attribute points. They could also be improved through arduous training.
During this period, Uchiha Shingen's Taijutsu Mastery had already improved considerably on its own, so the number of attribute points needed had naturally decreased.
This discovery greatly surprised Uchiha Shingen.
After witnessing the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan on the night of the Clan Meeting, Uchiha Shingen had originally planned to save up attribute points and unlock the Mangekyō in one go.
But the Shadow Clone Technique made him postpone that plan.
After all, the stronger his body became, the more Shadow Clones he could sustain at once, and the faster he would improve!
Before you continue