He's Dreaming!

A caravan slowly pulled out from the main gates of the Land of Fire capital.

The carriages trailed behind a vanguard of dozens of mounted warriors, all fully armored and armed to the teeth. Their eyes scanned the surroundings with sharp intensity, as if bracing for some unforeseen danger at any moment.

Ye Ning followed silently behind the carriage, speechless.

He had originally intended to wait for his cheapskate father to send word to the Third Hokage before heading to Konoha alone. Who would have guessed that his old man would have a sudden lapse in judgment and insist on traveling with him.

Traveling together was one thing, but he had to make a grand spectacle of it, dragging a full fifty samurai guards along for the ride.

And that was only after he had talked him down; otherwise, the numbers would have been even higher.

However...

The quality of these fifty samurai was truly hard to describe.

Forget about encountering ninjas; they would struggle to fulfill their duty as guards even against the samurai of the Land of Iron.

The esteemed Daimyo of the Land of Fire had such pathetic guards, yet he held the lifeblood of the ninja villages in his hands. Ye Ning didn't know whether to call this situation absurd or bizarre.

"My lord~ drink my wine too~"

"That's right~ you can't play favorites, my lord~"

"Drink up, drink all of it! Hahahaha, no need to rush..."

"..."

Hearing the chirping of birds and the soft laughter emanating from the carriage, Ye Ning couldn't help but twitch his lip.

This cheapskate father of his really knew how to enjoy himself at every waking moment...

It must be nice to be the Daimyo...

Ahem...

Realizing his thoughts were drifting, Ye Ning shook his head, forcing himself to stop imagining the debauchery inside the carriage, and began to think seriously.

He wasn't entirely sure what level his current strength actually reached.

Rumor had it that the former head monk of the Fire Temple was a man of no small reputation, and at the very least, he could fight him to a draw... that should put him at the level of a Jonin, right?

It should... right?

Ye Ning felt a bit hesitant.

If he judged by the standards for Jonin in the original story, was he currently at the level of a Special Jonin?

Although he had spent two and a half years learning every ninjutsu available within the Fire Temple, the number of techniques a small temple could master was limited. At the very least, his mastery of genjutsu was still zero.

Sigh... Hopefully, he could fill that gap once he reached Konoha.

Ye Ning stopped dwelling on these trivial matters and turned his thoughts to the chakra within his body.

His chakra affinities weren't bad: Fire, Wind, and Lightning. Compared to a genius like Kakashi who possessed all affinities, he was certainly lacking, but compared to the average ninja, he was doing quite well.

Furthermore, the chakra within him could be fused to create new Kekkei Genkai.

Yes, that was correct.

In his two and a half years at the Fire Temple, he had successfully combined his chakra to form new Kekkei Genkai.

It was all thanks to his golden finger.

His golden finger wasn't like the simple, crude cheats found in other transmigration novels; it was the ability to fuse chakra. To be precise, it allowed him to better integrate the chakra within his own body.

That was why he had been able to fuse different Kekkei Genkai in just two short years.

However, if he wanted to fuse the nature transformations of Fire, Lightning, and Wind to create a Kekkei Tōta that surpassed Kekkei Genkai—like Particle Style—he would need to make many more attempts.

"Sarutobi, you called us both here in such a hurry; is there something important?"

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu arrived at the Third Hokage's office one after the other, their expressions hurried.

Utatane Koharu looked particularly grave, a hint of panic in her voice as she asked:

"To summon us so urgently, could it be that war has broken out again?"

The Third Hokage shook his head in silence, taking a deep drag from his pipe and letting the wisps of white smoke rise as he said in a muffled voice:

"Let's wait for Danzo."

Ten minutes later, Danzo finally arrived at a leisurely pace.

At this moment, he had not yet been injured in the ninja wars; his body was intact, and naturally, he did not lean on the cane that would later become his constant companion, nor was his forehead wrapped in that thick white bandage. Yet, he still appeared incredibly dark and sinister.

"Sarutobi, why did you call us here?"

Seeing his old friend arrive, the Third Hokage finally set down his pipe and passed the letter in his hand to the three of them to read.

The content of the letter was not long, and the three of them finished it quickly. Danzo had the strongest reaction of them all:

"He wants to read the Scroll of Sealing? He's dreaming!"

Danzo's anger was undisguised, his face turning completely grim. He showed no mercy to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, "Just a commoner, yet he dares to make such an outrageous request, claiming it's to fulfill his son's wish. Hmph!"

Compared to Danzo's fury, Utatane Koharu was concerned with a different issue, "The Scroll of Sealing should be top secret within Konoha. How does the Daimyo know of it? Could it be that someone in the village..."

Before he could finish, the Third Hokage raised a hand and said, "The Daimyo and the Senju clan are related by marriage, after all; it is no surprise he knows of the existence of the Scroll of Sealing. We must now consider how to resolve this matter, which is why I have summoned you all to discuss it."

"Hiruzen, you aren't actually considering agreeing to this, are you?" Danzo wore an expression of utter disbelief.

If Ye Ning were here, he would likely sigh at how expressive Danzo's face was without the Sharingan transplant and the white bandages; unlike in the future, where he would only keep a straight face, revealing his emotions only in front of the Third.

"This is absolutely impossible! The Daimyo has no right to interfere in the affairs of Konoha! He has even less standing to demand to borrow the Scroll of Sealing!"

Faced with Danzo's dogmatism, the Third clearly had more to consider. "The Daimyo provided full support during the war that just ended. If not for his vast financial contributions, we could not have ended the conflict. A flat refusal would likely cause him to lose face."

"Hmph! Then in your opinion, are we to lend him the Scroll of Sealing? As for this 'Daimyo,' if you ask me..."

Before he could finish, the Third slammed his hand onto the table. "Enough, Danzo!"

If he didn't stop Danzo, heaven knows what kind of treasonous words this guy would spout next.

Although they were behind closed doors among their own, some things were better left unsaid.

Danzo's expression stiffened, the words catching in his throat. He didn't say anything more, merely crossing his arms and letting out a cold snort.

"If you ask me, since we cannot simply refuse and risk offending the Daimyo, yet we cannot truly lend out the Scroll of Sealing so casually..." Utatane Koharu pondered for a moment. "How about we reply to the Daimyo like this?"

"If the Daimyo's son truly possesses the talent to become a ninja, then the Scroll of Sealing may be lent to him. How does that sound?"

The Third and Mitokado Homura exchanged a glance and gave a subtle nod.

Even the previously furious Danzo sneered and nodded in agreement. "A commoner's son—what kind of talent for becoming a ninja could he possibly have?"