Challenging the Third Hokage

Although Danzo and Orochimaru were in a partnership, it was more a matter of mutual exploitation.

Originally, Orochimaru controlled the drugs to suppress the rejection of Hashirama Cells, which gave him the upper hand in their collaborative relationship.

However, Danzo was clearly unwilling to be controlled by others; once his own subordinates developed a new anti-rejection drug, he intended to discard Orochimaru.

Consequently, clues regarding the human experiments Orochimaru was conducting appeared on the desk of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Looking at the intelligence in his hands, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt profound heartache.

Although the evidence was not yet entirely conclusive, based on his understanding of Orochimaru, he knew it was all true.

Nevertheless, the Third Hokage wanted to see it with his own eyes, so he led two Anbu to apprehend Orochimaru.

Because of the appearance of Uchiha Chen, Danzo had inadvertently accelerated his plans, leading to Orochimaru's premature defection; as a result, Orochimaru had no energy left to hunt for the brat who had escaped his Cursed Seal.

The oblivious Uchiha Chen was currently contemplating how to defeat the Third Hokage, as a conventional approach was clearly out of the question.

Yet, after considering several possible methods in succession, he rejected them all.

Although the system had not imposed a time limit this time, based on Chen's past experience, if a mission was not completed, there would be no follow-up tasks.

If he were just an ordinary member of Konoha, Chen wouldn't care; it wouldn't be impossible to become a powerhouse through his own talent.

But the problem was that he was Uchiha Chen; without overwhelming strength during the clan extermination event a few years later, let alone changing the fates of Itachi and Shisui, even surviving would be impossible.

Though he felt extremely annoyed, Chen understood that he had to rely on the system now.

"Hey, I didn't even give you a time limit, why are you in such a rush?

This system has shown mercy by not arranging a timed mission; shouldn't you be showing some gratitude?"

"Oh."

This was not the first time the system had tempted Chen to rest. Although he didn't know what the entity was planning, given its treacherous nature, if he followed its lead, he feared he would be swindled until not even his bones remained.

Therefore, Chen chose to ignore all of the system's temptations.

"Hey, you..."

"I'm preparing to complete the mission ahead of schedule."

Saying this, without waiting for the system to react, Chen packed the items he had prepared in advance and headed toward the Hokage Building.

Although it was daytime, Uchiha Chen deliberately chose to infiltrate.

Of course, this infiltration was detected by the Anbu near the Hokage Building from the very beginning, but they couldn't fathom what a brat was intending to do.

"Oh? Someone from the Uchiha clan?"

Hearing the report from the Anbu, the Third Hokage was also somewhat puzzled.

Orochimaru's defection had saddened him deeply; on one hand, it was because of the human experiments, and on the other, it was because a disciple he favored had reached such a point.

"Leave him be, let's see what he wants to do."

No sooner had the Third Hokage finished speaking than he sensed Uchiha Chen heading directly toward him.

Signaling the Anbu to stand down, the Third Hokage pretended to know nothing and continued reviewing the documents before him, while Uchiha Chen stood outside the door.

Reaching this point so smoothly, Chen understood that it was nine times out of ten because the Third Hokage wanted to see what he was up to.

And so...

"I challenge you, Lord Hokage."

He kicked open the door to the Hokage's office, holding a large number of shuriken in his hands, looking completely on high alert.

However, such an expression on the face of a four-year-old child made it impossible for anyone to take it seriously.

"Uchiha Chen, right? Why do you want to challenge me?"

Chen was not surprised that the Third Hokage knew who he was; after all, if a suspicious person infiltrated and they had no intelligence after such a long time, the Anbu might as well be fired.

"Because Lord Hokage is the strongest. If I beat Lord Hokage, I will be the strongest."

Uchiha Chen spoke with a deliberately childish tone, while the shuriken in his hands had already flown out.

Facing such a scene, the Third Hokage signaled the Anbu not to intervene while dodging with ease.

Although Uchiha Chen's mastery of shuriken was already quite proficient, such an attack clearly couldn't harm the Third Hokage.

Easily dodging Chen's attack, and before Chen could react, the Third Hokage grabbed him by the collar and dragged him away.

Feeling the sensation of flying, Chen was left speechless.

Is he going to throw me directly to Ibiki?

They said this old man was very friendly to children; that's a lie, isn't it?

Chen felt incredibly helpless; everything was going differently than he had planned.

"Sigh, you insisted on completing the mission at this time, so who can you blame for courting death?

And you say I swindle people? Clearly, you're the one who likes to court death."

"Get lost. If you hadn't issued the mission, would I have had to challenge the Third Hokage?"

Listening to the system's snide remarks, Uchiha Chen felt even more annoyed. What did it mean by "seeking death" on his own?

If it weren't for the system issuing various missions, he would have absolutely chosen to store up grain and delay his rise to power; how could he have possibly exposed his talent so directly?

Being valued by the Third Hokage was one thing, but if he were targeted by that Pot Kage Danzo, heaven only knew what would happen.

"Alright, this will do."

While Uchiha Chen was still feeling sullen, the Third Hokage had already stopped, and this place was certainly not a Konoha interrogation room.

The surroundings were very open, looking more like a training ground.

"This is where I practice. There is no one else here, so let me see your strength."

Because of Orochimaru's defection, the Third Hokage was feeling quite depressed, so he intended to use Uchiha Chen's appearance to relax a little.

"Fire Release, Great Fireball Technique!"

Hearing the Third Hokage's words, Uchiha Chen immediately unleashed his ninjutsu.

Since the Great Fireball Technique had already been exposed, there was no need to hide anything.

A massive fireball appeared, and the Third Hokage was quite surprised.

He had expected just a mischievous child, but he hadn't anticipated this situation.

"Water Release, Water Formation Wall!"

Although there was a momentary hesitation, the Third Hokage's hand-sealing speed was still too fast, and he blocked Uchiha Chen's attack with ease.

However, all of this was within expectations; Uchiha Chen did not hesitate at all before throwing a large number of shuriken.

"Hey, do you want me to help you? Shall I issue a mission to land a hundred consecutive hits with your shuriken? Your accuracy is probably on par with Jiraiya's 'throw all shuriken outward' technique."

"Get lost, don't distract me. Just make sure you don't withhold my rewards when I win against the Third Hokage."

Facing Uchiha Chen's attack, although the Third Hokage was surprised that someone of his age possessed such strength, he remained composed and at ease. However, he did not know that a "goodie" was waiting for him next.

Seeming to feel that his own strength alone was insufficient to injure the Third Hokage, Uchiha Chen directly formed hand seals.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

A shadow clone appeared, and the two Uchiha Chens attacked the Third Hokage simultaneously. It was at this moment that something the Third Hokage never expected suddenly appeared.