Do You Know the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu?

Hokage Building, top-floor office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood before the expansive floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the silhouette of Konoha.

The flames in the Uchiha clan district had already been extinguished by the Anbu, but everything that happened tonight still pained him immensely.

He could no longer tolerate Shimura Danzō acting recklessly.

Claiming it was for the sake of Konoha, but could one really slaughter their own people just for the sake of the village?

The office door remained tightly shut.

Itachi Uchiha knelt halfway before the desk and began his report.

"Only Sasuke remains of the Uchiha clan..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi turned around, looking at the young man who had shouldered everything for the village, and let out a deep sigh.

"I am sorry, Itachi. In the end, I could not find a way to resolve this peacefully."

He paused for a moment.

"I have one more question. What was that fluctuation that appeared in the Uchiha district?"

Itachi looked up, his red Three-Tomoe Sharingan appearing exceptionally dim under the gloomy light.

"I used Tsukuyomi on Sasuke."

"But in the final stage, in order to completely shatter his mental defenses, I forcibly overextended my ocular power, attempting to overlay a forbidden technique."

"I want him to hate me, so that he will strive to become stronger, and Konoha will become his support. He will not pose a threat to Konoha."

Hiruzen Sarutobi listened in silence.

The power of the Mangekyō Sharingan had always been a legend; Konoha did not possess full information regarding the Mangekyō.

"To go to such lengths just to protect him." Hiruzen shook his head.

"Lord Hokage, I have only one request."

Itachi stared directly at the highest authority in Konoha.

"If Shimura Danzō or anyone else dares to lay a hand on Sasuke, I will sell all of Konoha's classified intelligence to enemy nations. I guarantee I will do it."

Hiruzen Sarutobi closed his eyes, masking the complex emotions in his gaze.

"I understand. I swear in the name of the Hokage that the village will protect Sasuke's safety and will never allow anyone to interfere in his life."

Itachi stood up, transformed into a murder of crows, and vanished directly from the office.

Only a few minutes passed before the office door was pushed open.

Shimura Danzō walked in, half his face wrapped in bandages, his single eye fixed intently on Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"He left?" Danzō stepped forward, his voice cold and sinister.

"What exactly was that burst of energy in the Uchiha district earlier? There must be something wrong with that brat named Sasuke."

Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped his pipe heavily against the desktop.

"That was a chakra surge caused by Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan losing control."

Hiruzen stared at this old friend he had known for decades.

"This matter ends here. Sasuke is just an ordinary boy. From today on, without my permission, no one is to interfere with his life."

Danzō let out a cold snort.

"Hiruzen, you are always so weak. Leaving that brat alive will sooner or later become a disaster for Konoha. You will regret this."

Danzō turned around and walked out of the office, leaning on his cane.

He did not believe for a second the clumsy excuse about the Sharingan losing control.

That brat definitely harbored some unknown power capable of threatening Konoha, and he had to confirm it for himself.

Konoha Hospital, intensive care unit.

Sasuke lay on the white hospital bed. The scent of disinfectant permeated the entire room.

He opened his eyes, assessing the current state of this body.

The internal bleeding had been healed by the medical ninja's chakra, and the tearing of muscle fibers had been brought under control.

Footsteps echoed from outside the door.

An old man with his right eye and right arm wrapped in bandages walked in.

The moment Sasuke saw him, he mentally labeled the man as extremely dangerous.

This person gave off the exact same feeling as those disgusting higher-ups in the Jujutsu world.

Danzō walked to the bedside, his single eye scrutinizing the boy on the bed.

"My name is Shimura Danzō. I am the former leader of Root, the one who trains the Anbu for Konoha."

"With a pair of Sharingan that could awaken at any moment, you are in danger wherever you go."

Sasuke remained silent.

"You must have seen it, haven't you? The energy that erupted in the Uchiha compound that night?" Danzo began to probe.

"I don't know. It must have been Itachi."

"Not your own power?"

"If I truly possessed that kind of power," Sasuke looked at Danzo, "he would have been the one lying on the ground that night. And you wouldn't have the chance to stand here and interrogate me."

Danzo narrowed his eyes.

This brat's reaction was far too calm.

Facing such questioning, there was none of the panic expected of a normal child.

"Do you not wish to witness the revival of the Uchiha?" Danzo said slowly. "Do you not wish to see your family again and take revenge on that traitor?"

"I have no interest in revenge. Don't try to test me with that routine you use on brats," Sasuke interrupted.

A look of appreciation flickered in Danzo's eyes.

Interesting. I want to bring him into Root.

"You claim not to care about your fallen clansmen, but is that even possible?" Danzo changed his strategy, playing his trump card.

"The power of the ninja world is far more profound than you imagine. The Second Hokage once developed a forbidden jutsu called Impure World Reincarnation."

"Once you master this technique, you only need to provide a medium for the deceased to forcibly drag their soul back from the underworld into the present world." Danzo observed the boy's expression.

Upon hearing of resurrection, Sasuke's expression flickered for a brief moment.

Forcibly dragging the soul of the dead from another dimension back to the present.

Two names surfaced in his mind—Tsumiki Fushiguro, Satoru Gojo.

If Impure World Reincarnation could transcend the boundaries of life and death.

If he could combine the shadow medium of the Ten Shadows Technique with the space-time ninjutsu of this world.

Could he break through the barriers of dimensions and pull their souls into this world?

Sasuke lowered his gaze, masking the surging thoughts in his eyes.

Danzo noticed the brief change in the boy's breathing rhythm.

Heh, claiming not to care, yet he took the bait, didn't he?

As long as he kept the boy firmly under his control, whatever power he possessed would ultimately be the power of Konoha.

Once he revealed his true potential, he would have plenty of ways to seize that power for himself!

"As long as you are willing to work for me and join Root, one day, you will gain access to this power." Danzo watched the boy's bowed head, believing he had taken the bait.

The hospital room door was suddenly pushed open.

Hiruzen Sarutobi walked in quickly, his expression darkening the moment he saw Danzo standing by the bed.

"Danzo, what are you doing here?" Hiruzen's tone carried a clear warning.

Danzo let out a cold snort without answering; he merely glanced at Sasuke before turning toward the door.

"If that power truly exists, I will obtain it myself," Sasuke said suddenly, looking at Danzo's back. "I don't need to grovel before anyone."

Danzo did not refute him. As long as this seed was planted, this brat would eventually come to him on his own in pursuit of that forbidden jutsu!

He looked back once, then pushed the door open and left.

Hiruzen watched Danzo leave with a frown, then pulled up a chair and sat by the hospital bed.

He looked at Sasuke, who was covered in bandages, his eyes turning gentle and kind.

"Are you feeling better, Sasuke?" Hiruzen reached out, intending to pat the boy's shoulder, but his hand stopped in mid-air, eventually resting on the edge of the bed.

"Is what he said about Impure World Reincarnation true?" Sasuke turned his head, staring directly at the old man wearing the Hokage Cloak.

Hiruzen froze, and then fury surged within his chest.

That bastard Danzo, actually using such a forbidden jutsu to manipulate a child who had just experienced the tragedy of his clan's annihilation!

He suppressed his dissatisfaction with Danzo and looked back at Sasuke.

The boy's eyes were far too calm—calm enough to be heartbreaking.

This was not how a young boy should react.

This was all his own fault.

Hiruzen sighed inwardly.

The child had suffered too deep a trauma; to keep from collapsing, he could only wrap himself in this cold facade, forcing himself to face everything like an adult.

"Sasuke, you don't need to force yourself in front of me."

Hiruzen's voice was very soft. "If you want to cry, then cry. You are still just a child; you don't need to pretend to be an adult to endure all of this."

"I only want to know if that jutsu is real." Sasuke ignored Hiruzen's attempt at comfort; he only cared about the possibility of resurrecting Tsumiki Fushiguro.

Hiruzen looked at the boy's stubborn gaze, knowing that preaching now would be meaningless.

"It is true." Hiruzen nodded. "That is a forbidden technique left behind by the Second Hokage. But it is extremely dangerous and defies all reason."

Hiruzen looked at Sasuke and gave his promise: "When you grow up, when you become a truly excellent ninja, and when you earn my recognition... I will entrust it to you."

Sasuke looked into the old man's eyes. He saw sincerity and guilt, which was completely different from the pure exploitation he felt from Danzo.

So this is the Third Hokage...

Just as Satoru Gojo was held back by the higher-ups of the Jujutsu world, it seemed Konoha was not a place where the Hokage had the final say either.

"I will do it." Sasuke responded.

Hiruzen nodded in relief, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out.

"From today on, Konoha is your home. As long as you possess the Will of Fire, everyone in the village will protect you."

Hiruzen stood up. "I will send people to clean up the Uchiha compound. If you want to go home, you can return at any time."

"No need." Sasuke didn't want to go back; he had no fondness for a place that reminded him of the Zenin Maki family estate. "Please arrange a new residence for me instead."

"No matter what glory one has in life, it is meaningless after death."

Hiruzen was silent for a moment.

Indeed, the family compound was already a nightmare this child could not face.

"By the way, if there are any other assets or supplies, please help me liquidate them, Lord Hokage."

"If it is you, Lord Hokage, you wouldn't covet the money of a child like me, right?"

This was Sasuke's true goal; the so-called family heirlooms were of no importance to him.

If anything, his disgust for the clan was second only to his feelings toward Zenin Maki and Satoru Gojo.

It would be better to sell those family items for cash; money was far more important to him right now.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was taking a puff of his pipe and nearly choked when he heard this. "Cough, cough... you brat."

"Fine, I will arrange it."

Hiruzen pushed open the Space Gate and walked down the quiet corridor.

Since Sasuke was unwilling to return to the Uchiha compound, he would have to find a suitable place to settle him.

Hiruzen exhaled a ring of smoke, and another lonely figure appeared in his mind.

The single room next to Naruto was currently vacant; perhaps putting them together would be a good choice.