"Hiruzen, as for that Kazekage fellow, dead is dead. They were never very cooperative anyway."
"But... what's the deal with this Uchiha Yuzhen?! Could you explain in detail to me, Danzo, how he became Minato's student?!"
Shimura Danzo could hardly believe it. During the several months he had been out and about, leading Root,
causing trouble for the Four Great Ninja Villages and stirring up internal strife in Amegakure,
all these changes had taken place in Konoha!
Just look at him. He had barely returned to Konoha and sat down in Hiruzen's office,
when he heard all this!!
Namikaze Minato had rescued the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers and his son, and the Kazekage had died...
Uchiha Yuzhen had held off the renowned Sasori of the Red Sands.
There was nothing much to say about the rescue mission. It had been completed beautifully.
As for the Kazekage's death?
As a member of the Hawk Faction, he didn't think the Kazekage's death was anything to worry about.
But!!!
What was the deal with that Uchiha Yuzhen?!
He had become Minato's student,
joining the Hokage Lineage's master-disciple tradition.
And that Uchiha brat was incredibly strong, too!
Just look at what a heavyweight this Uchiha brat was!
A Three Tomoe Sharingan at twelve?
He'd only been learning Flying Thunder God for a short time, yet he'd already used it in a fight against Sasori of the Red Sands?
Wait, that wasn't the point!
The point was...
Why had he never heard of such a genius from the Uchiha before?!
At the thought, his expression changed dramatically.
He hurriedly continued:
"And why have I never heard of this kind of genius before?!"
"Could this fellow becoming Minato's student be some kind of trap set by the Uchiha?"
"Are they trying to use this to get their hands on the Hokage's seat?!!"
That had to be it!
It was the only way to explain how such a genius had appeared out of nowhere at a time like this,
as if he'd just popped out of a rock.
The Uchiha must have brought the brat out now because they'd seen him away from the village.
After all, throughout Konoha,
among all the ninja clans and all the Jonin,
who didn't know
that he was the one most opposed to the Uchiha?!
As long as he was around, they wouldn't dare pull these little tricks.
But while Shimura Danzo was still wildly speculating,
his Bond, Sarutobi Hiruzen, shook his head and laughed, dismissing Danzo's idea.
"You're overthinking it, Danzo. The Uchiha... don't have that kind of cunning."
"As for that boy, Yuzhen..." Sarutobi Hiruzen opened a drawer and took out a ninja file. "Read this file first."
Smack!
Shimura Danzo impatiently snatched the file from his hand.
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't take offense at the rude behavior.
To be honest, he was also shocked by what Danzo had just said!
He had watched this brat grow into what he was.
Just a few months ago, he'd still been a painfully inexperienced ninja.
Not long ago, Hiruzen had been astonished that he could quickly learn all kinds of ninjutsu, kill Biwa Juzo, and grow rapidly into a Three Tomoe Sharingan wielder as soon as he awakened his Sharingan.
He'd thought the boy might become like Uchiha Madara—
a prodigy who awakened his Sharingan late but immediately soared to greatness.
At the time, he'd figured that "immediately" would still mean years.
Who could have imagined that less than a month after killing Biwa Juzo,
Uchiha Yuzhen—
was already putting on a show of challenging a Kage Level opponent.
This boy...
was truly frightening!
Fortunately, he was one of Hiruzen's own disciples and their successors.
As for Shimura Danzo's rude behavior, Namikaze Minato felt a little displeased.
He and Elder Danzo had barely interacted at all.
They were strangers who had heard of each other and met, but never spoken.
Minato knew he disliked the Uchiha, but he hadn't expected him to dislike them this much.
His student, Uchiha Yuzhen... had indeed grown at a shocking rate.
His current strength was astonishing, too.
But was now really the time to discuss his student?
The Kazekage's death was what should be giving them a headache!
Wasn't that the more important matter of state?
Minato couldn't help but wonder if Elder Danzo's narrow-mindedness had gone too far.
Did he even have the Will of Fire in his heart?
At that moment,
Namikaze Minato felt a strong aversion to Elder Danzo.
Wanting to steer the conversation back on track,
he raised his eyes and looked at the Third Hokage.
"Lord Hokage, shouldn't we consider what the situation in the Ninja World will look like after the Kazekage's death?"
At that, Sarutobi Hiruzen slapped his forehead. Danzo had completely led his thoughts astray.
As Hokage, this was what mattered most right now!
"Exactly. This is what matters most at the moment!"
"Give me a moment. I'll have Koharu and Homura come over."
Leaving aside the Konoha High Command's discussion of how the Ninja World would change after the Kazekage's death,
by now, even ninja clans with only slightly well-connected sources had heard about Yuzhen, who had played a crucial role in the rescue mission.
Konoha.
At the Hyuga Clan's main residence,
"Is this intelligence reliable?" Hyuga Hiashi asked his younger brother, Hizashi Hyuga, with an incredulous expression.
He could hardly believe that Uchiha Yuzhen, who had already entered the Hokage Lineage,
could be this strong!
After all...
He'd already been quite unhappy when he heard that two members of the Uchiha had joined the Hokage faction.
Now someone was telling him
that this Uchiha boy who'd joined the Hokage faction was already a powerful figure in his own right.
Wasn't he exactly the kind of candidate who could compete for the Hokage's seat?
Give him twenty years to build up enough credentials,
and with his formidable strength,
the possibility of him becoming Hokage was certainly something Hiashi had to take seriously.
After becoming head of the Hyuga Clan, he'd noticed that the Senju had fallen silent.
The Uchiha, meanwhile, had begun to decline.
He'd been planning to compete with the Uchiha for the title of Konoha's strongest clan.
But that idea had barely crossed his mind
before Uchiha Yuzhen appeared?!
Hearing the shock and doubt in his older brother's voice,
Hizashi, who knew what was on his mind,
explained with a bitter smile:
"This came from a ninja on the rescue team who's on good terms with us."
"I see... Then the intelligence must be accurate." Hiashi furrowed his brows and let out a long sigh. "Sigh... With someone like him around, the Uchiha really are lucky."
He felt helpless as well.
It seemed he would have to put his secret plans to compete with the Uchiha for Konoha's number-one clan on hold for now.
Uchiha Yuzhen dragged his exhausted body home
and had a good night's sleep.
The next morning, full of energy,
he finished breakfast and opened the door to his house.
He planned to head to a quiet Training Ground
and take stock of
what he'd gained from this mission.
But before he'd even left the clan compound,
he noticed something that left him completely confused.
Whenever he ran into a patrol from the Military Police Force, they looked at him as if he were some rare animal.
After passing yet another
patrol that looked at him that way,
Yuzhen finally couldn't take it anymore and stopped them.
After politely greeting them,
he asked with a smile:
"Um... seniors, what's going on?"
"A lot of the clan members have been looking at me strangely today."
A brown-haired Uchiha youth from the patrol stepped forward.
He stared at Yuzhen with interest.
"You don't know?"
"What am I supposed to know?"
"Uchiha Yuzhen, you're famous!"
"Huh?!"
Before you continue