Punishment

Bang!

Twitch.

Bang!

Twitch.

Bang!

Twitch.

Inside the Hokage's office, the four giants of the Konoha leadership—Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, Root leader Danzo Shimura, and Hokage assistants Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado—sat gathered together, watching the slow-motion replay on the crystal ball.

In the footage, Uchiha Suifeng's speed was slowed down several times over, his movements equally sluggish. They watched him "walk" leisurely up to a Root ninja, deliver a fierce kick to the man's crotch, and send him flying. Then, he "walked" to another Root ninja, aimed for the groin again, and delivered another kick...

Every single strike made the three men in the room twitch. By the time Uchiha Suifeng had finished dealing with all the Root ninjas, the faces of the three men had turned deathly pale.

"His speed seems slower than last time!"

After a long silence, Homura Mitokado finally spoke up. "Danzo, aren't your subordinates' reactions a bit too slow?!"

"It's not that their reactions are slow; they were caught in a genjutsu—the Darkness Technique!" Danzo said gloomily.

The Genjutsu: Darkness Technique, which strips the opponent of their vision and traps them in total darkness, was a technique favored by the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama and recorded in the Scroll of Seals.

Precisely because it was a genjutsu acting only upon those specific Root ninjas, the image in the crystal ball remained completely unaffected.

"What? The Darkness Technique? Isn't that a forbidden technique from the Scroll of Seals? Hiruzen, you...!"

"Root ninjas interfered with the Chunin Exams and broke the rules. I couldn't leave it without an explanation, so I gave Uchiha Suifeng a chance to view the Scroll of Seals. I didn't expect him to choose this specific genjutsu!" Third Hokage sighed. "It looks like he's practicing how to coordinate the Darkness Technique with the Body Flicker Technique, which is why his speed was slower this time than before!"

"Hiruzen, you know full well that the Uchiha clan is harboring ulterior motives, yet you still let him see the Scroll of Seals. What exactly is your intention?!"

"What is my intention? What is your intention?!" Hiruzen Sarutobi roared at Danzo. "I told you not to interfere with the Chunin Exams, yet you did. I told you not to provoke Uchiha Suifeng, yet you did. I told you to keep a low profile, but what did you do? You had Root abduct Uchiha clansmen on the streets of Konoha and got caught red-handed! And now you're here asking me, Danzo, what my intention is?!"

"Everything I do is for the sake of Konoha!" Danzo slammed his cane hard against the floor.

"Fine, everything you do is for Konoha, right? Then go talk to the Uchiha yourself! Go explain it to those ninja clans! Tell them you had to abduct people on the street for the sake of Konoha, and tell them your subordinates are utterly useless for getting caught on the spot while doing it! Go on, go!"

"Hiruzen, this is no time for petty squabbles!"

"Who has the energy to squabble with you? I finally managed to resolve the issues with the Chunin Exams, and now you've left me with this mess! This is Konoha, and we are not in the Warring States period anymore. Danzo, can't you show some restraint?!"

"The threat of the Uchiha clan is too great. Once Uchiha Suifeng matures, he will likely become another Madara Uchiha. I have no choice but to take precautions early!"

"Take precautions early? You think capturing one Uchiha child is enough to keep Uchiha Suifeng in check?!"

"Although Obito Uchiha is young, he awakened his Sharingan with two-tomoe right away, which shows his aptitude is not poor; he simply lacks specialized training. If you hand him over to me, I will surely train him into the most outstanding tool in history. In the future, he will be a sharp blade to keep Uchiha Suifeng in check!"

"Setting that aside, Obito Uchiha is Uchiha Suifeng's friend. How do you plan to keep him in check?!"

"Hiruzen, you don't understand. They were friends before, but that might not be the case now. The girl named Rin has always been the object of Obito Uchiha's secret affection, but she is now close with Uchiha Suifeng. This is a huge blow to Obito Uchiha. You know as well as I do that the Uchiha clan's Sharingan is closely tied to their emotional fluctuations, and they are prone to extremes. So...!"

"Shut up!!"

At this point, it wasn't just Hiruzen Sarutobi; even Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado couldn't bear to listen anymore.

We are here discussing such serious issues, and you're feeding us some melodramatic love triangle? Even if your observations are true, so what? The three parties involved are only eight or nine years old! Eight or nine! Even if ninjas mature early, they can't possibly be that advanced. They're just children playing house, and you're acting on such a ridiculous reason? Danzo, have you lost your mind?

"This matter ends here. I will have you bring those subordinates of yours over. You will take Root to the front lines and be responsible for intelligence—specifically regarding Hanzo of the Land of Rain and the situation with Sunagakure. From now until the war ends, Root is forbidden from appearing in Konoha!"

"Hiruzen, you...!"

For Root to be forbidden from appearing in Konoha was undoubtedly a heavy blow to Danzo, as he still had many clandestine affairs to handle and many plans to execute within the village.

"What? Did you not hear me?!" The Third Hokage glared at Danzo, his voice cold. "Don't forget, I am the Hokage!"

"Hiruzen, you... fine. I will go to the front lines. But Hiruzen, don't say I didn't warn you. Uchiha Suifeng is a massive disaster. If you don't deal with him early, in the future you will...!"

"I will surely regret it!" Hiruzen Sarutobi coldly interrupted him. "Don't worry, by the time I regret it, you won't be the Hokage either."

Danzo flicked his sleeves and left once more.

"Hiruzen, wasn't that too harsh on Danzo?"

"Harsh? If I'm not harsh, he'll be running his office from inside my Hokage office!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a grim tone. "Koharu, Homura, you two go explain the punishment to the village clans. After all, the war has started, and we cannot afford to lose Root's intelligence capabilities. However, you can assure them that I will curtail Root's authority; from now on, such things will never happen again. As for the Uchiha side, I will go explain it myself!"

"That is the only way," the two nodded in agreement.

After they left, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally sat back in his chair, curling his body inward as he stared fixedly at the crystal ball on his desk. On the screen, the scene had shifted to the Uchiha clan's training ground, where Uchiha Suifeng was diligently practicing his hand seals. His speed was increasing, his hands nearly blurring into phantoms.

"Such a genius... why did he have to appear in the Uchiha clan?"

This was the greatest source of his helplessness. A genius like Uchiha Suifeng appearing in the Uchiha clan and slowly growing stronger—he didn't know if it would be a blessing or a curse for Konoha. He waved his hand gently, and the image in the crystal ball changed again. It was still the Uchiha clan's territory, but in another training ground, a boy one or two years younger than Uchiha Suifeng was also practicing hand seals. Judging by his speed, he was not much slower than Uchiha Suifeng.

"Shisui... can I trust you?!"