Hiruzen's Gratification

Konoha, inside the Hokage Building, in Sarutobi Hiruzen's office.

Bang—!

Shimura Danzō shoved the door open in a flurry of agitation.

The Anbu guarding the perimeter acted as if they hadn't seen a thing.

As those who frequently stood guard here, how could they not be aware of the relationship between Elder Danzō and the Hokage?

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked up with a calm expression upon hearing the commotion.

He knew that, barring any prior notification, the only person who would barge into his office like this was Danzō.

"Danzō? What could possibly have you so flustered?" When the anxious look on Danzō's face came into view, Sarutobi Hiruzen was immediately filled with doubt.

If there was anyone who understood Danzō, it was him.

Unless it was a matter of great urgency, Danzō would never wear such an expression in front of him.

Hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen's question, Danzō took a few performative, deep breaths.

"Hiruzen, I assume everyone is aware of the movements coming from Kirigakure."

At these words, Sarutobi Hiruzen grew even more puzzled: "We have already discussed this issue; what other concerns could you have?"

"The problem is massive, Hiruzen!" Danzō's face turned stern, his eyes locked intensely onto Hiruzen's gaze: "We lack commanders. We must have sufficient strength to guard the coastline against Kirigakure."

With that, Danzō took the map hanging on the wall and spread it out across Sarutobi Hiruzen's desk.

He pointed to the long, narrow coastline of the Land of Fire: "Because of the nature of the coastline... this force must be powerful while also possessing sufficient mobility."

"And what is your suggestion?" Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a splitting headache coming on.

Some time ago, Sunagakure had declared war.

Seeing this, Iwagakure had immediately deployed troops to the border, looking ready to strike at any moment.

For reasons unknown, Kirigakure was also acting as if they were looking to stir up trouble.

Excluding himself, the village only had three capable commanders left.

That's right—his own students.

Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade.

And therein lay the problem...

Because of her hemophobia, Tsunade could only command the medical corps from the rear.

Orochimaru needed to be sent to confront Sunagakure.

Jiraiya, needless to say, had to lead a contingent of troops to the border to guard against Iwagakure.

He truly did not know what to do regarding the Kirigakure front.

He had a contingency plan in mind.

If the war situation became dire, he intended to send the Uchiha clan to the battlefield.

As for the policy Tobirama had established and enforced for years—keeping the Uchiha confined to the Military Police Force—it would simply have to make way for the war.

"Deploy the Uchiha! They have been resting and sharpening their blades for so many years; it is time they played a role."

"Given the length of the coastline, that student of Minato's, Uchiha Yuzhen, possesses the Flying Thunder God; he must be sent there."

At this moment, Danzō revealed his true intentions.

He had thought it through on his way here: if he simply asked to send Uchiha Yuzhen to defend against Kirigakure, Hiruzen would almost certainly refuse.

So, he changed his approach: have the Uchiha participate as a whole.

By tagging the kid's unique abilities onto that, he could ensure his inclusion in the mission.

Hiruzen would have absolutely no grounds to object.

Furthermore, as the "second-in-command" of Konoha, he was well aware of the village's current predicament.

And since the Uchiha had been biding their time for so many years, it was time to wear them down a little.

Upon hearing Danzō's suggestion, a sense of relief washed over Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Danzō was truly worthy of being his closest "bond," the one who acted as the root in the darkness, supporting him from behind.

At that moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen made a decision.

He would never let Danzō down in the future; as long as he didn't commit any acts that were too far out of line, he would tolerate anything—even an assassination attempt, short of outright defecting from the village.

"Very well, let's arrange it just like that!"

In high spirits, Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed directly to Danzo's suggestion.

Uchiha Yuzhen had been living quite comfortably during this period.

The smooth sailing in his training and the visible growth in his strength made his mood incredibly wonderful.

On this day, he set off in a pleasant mood.

He headed toward the Training Ground where he had an appointment with Team Minato.

According to Namikaze Minato's plan, they were to train together for the time being.

Walking out of the clan grounds, he pondered his own shortcomings along the way.

Without a doubt, he was an Uchiha of the ninjutsu type, much like Sasuke.

Both of them relied on the Sharingan for Genjutsu, and their Taijutsu was just enough to get by.

However, possessing Affixes, he was unwilling to settle for that.

He wanted to develop all three aspects: Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu.

As for Ninjutsu, it was sufficient for the current stage.

Regarding Genjutsu and Taijutsu, he already had corresponding plans.

He wanted to improve his physique first.

Thus, the purple Affix he obtained from Might Guy, Steel Training, became particularly important.

After all, the effect of this Affix was simple and brutal.

The explanation was just one line—persistent training will improve one's constitution.

He was very much looking forward to this.

That was why he had custom-ordered weighted gear several days ago.

"Whew~ unexpectedly strenuous." Yuzhen sprinted all the way, sighing with emotion as he neared the Training Ground: "Well... Rock Lee only carried five hundred pounds after years of training; it's normal that I'm finding it difficult starting directly with one thousand pounds."

He hadn't used any chakra during his entire sprint.

He relied entirely on the strength of his physical body.

Moreover, his situation was different from Rock Lee's.

His chakra reserves were massive.

The vastness of his chakra meant that his constitution would absolutely not be weak.

On the contrary, it was in the stronger tier.

Precisely because of this, he had dared to challenge a one-thousand-pound weight right from the start.

Stepping into the Training Ground, Uchiha Yuzhen cut off his train of thought.

He greeted the two people who came into view: "Sorry... Kakashi, Rin, I seem to be a little late?"

"It's fine, Kakashi and I are already used to you Uchihas being late," Kakashi said with a deadpan expression, staring at Yuzhen lifelessly.

Rin Nohara smiled comfortingly: "Don't say that, Kakashi. Yuzhen-kun arrived on time; the only one who loves to be late is Obito."

Coincidentally, just as they spoke of him, he arrived.

No sooner had Rin mentioned Obito than he came rushing over, wearing his goggles and looking flustered.

"Ha~ ha~ ha~ ha~!" Uchiha Obito braced his hands on his knees, taking several deep breaths.

Once his breathing steadied, he looked up and apologized to the three of them: "Sorry, I helped an old lady get home, so I was delayed a bit."

Hearing this, the three of them couldn't really say anything.

If anyone else said this, it might be an excuse.

But when Obito said it, it meant he had truly done it.

Next, as teammates, they didn't bother with pleasantries.

They started their training immediately.

Not long after they began, Kakashi stopped.

He walked up to Yuzhen, who seemed to be doing warm-up exercises, and asked in a low voice: "Are you wearing weights?"

"Whew~ That's right, I'm wearing weights, preparing to strengthen my Taijutsu abilities." Uchiha Yuzhen exhaled softly, responding to Kakashi's confusion.

"Weight-bearing taijutsu training, huh..." Kakashi advised Yuzhen, "You shouldn't just go about wearing weights haphazardly. For that, I suggest you go ask Guy."

Yuzhen nodded to signal his understanding of Kakashi's counsel.

After all, Kakashi was unaware of his unique circumstances.

Possessing Affixes, he had discovered a special trait while performing his taijutsu training.

The so-called "consistent training will improve your physique" effect of the Affix was actually instantaneous; he gained something from even a single second of exercise!

Just in this short time, he could already sense that he was beginning to adapt slightly to the thousand-jin weight.

At the very least, it wasn't as strenuous as it had been when he first put it on this morning.

However, Kakashi's advice also gave him an idea.

Since his Affix ability was so heaven-defying, shouldn't he learn some professional knowledge about the body to maximize his gains?

A thought instantly surfaced in Yuzhen's mind.