At noon the next day, in the deepest office of Root's stronghold.
Shimura Danzō worked through the documents piled on his desk, his single eye filled with its usual gloom and calculation. He wasn't surprised that the attempt to "invite" Uchiha Ling over the previous night had yielded nothing, but it only strengthened his belief that the boy was hiding a major secret. He was about to issue orders to begin monitoring Ling by more covert means.
Then, as his gaze swept over one corner of the desk, he froze as if struck by a paralysis technique.
There, lying quietly, was a scroll that certainly hadn't been there that morning. It looked ordinary, with no markings from Root or the Anbu.
A chill shot up Danzō's spine to the crown of his head! Someone had apparently infiltrated his heavily guarded Root office and left this behind without him noticing at all!
He shot to his feet, a sharp, uncertain killing intent flaring in his single eye as powerful chakra flooded the room. "Someone come!"
Several Root shinobi appeared in the office at once and dropped to one knee.
"Who came in here this morning?!" Danzō's voice was cold and piercing.
"No one entered your office this morning, Lord Danzō!" the Root shinobi in charge replied without hesitation, his tone unwavering. Security here was at the highest level; even a fly entering would be recorded.
Danzō's pupil contracted sharply. He slowly sat down and dismissed his subordinates. Once again, he was alone in the office, the silence terrifying.
He reached out and opened the scroll, with a caution he didn't even realize he felt.
As he read its contents, Danzō's breath caught, and his face turned ashen!
It wasn't an offensive technique, but a brief report on his secret experiments transplanting First Hokage Cells! The crucial data and specific subject numbers had been cleverly blacked out, but the symptoms of several failed cases and the dates of the experiments matched his secret records down to the last detail!
This was one of his most closely guarded and unpublishable secrets!
Beneath the report, a line of small, clear characters read:
[Overstepping your bounds will bring unbearable consequences. Keep your gaze beneath the sun.]
"Bang!"
Danzō slammed his fist into the solid wooden desk, leaving a fist-shaped dent. His chest heaved, and his single eye was filled with shock, fury, and a hint of wariness he couldn't quite describe.
Who was it?! Someone behind Uchiha Ling? Or some force lurking deeper than any he'd ever detected?
What did it mean that they had obtained this classified intelligence and delivered the scroll to him without a trace? It meant they had the ability to infiltrate the very heart of Root! It meant that, in their eyes, even the information inside Danzō's own organization might not be secret!
The warning was precise, ruthless, and struck right at his weak point!
If he kept using heavy-handed, overstepping methods to investigate Uchiha Ling, the next thing to appear on his desk might not be redacted records, but complete evidence delivered directly to the Third Hokage—or even to the Daimyo Palace!
"Unbearable consequences." Danzō turned the words over in his mind, the light in his single eye flickering uncertainly. For the first time, he found himself in a bind, reluctant to risk harming a child even as he tried to deal with him.
After a long while, he drew a deep breath, forcing down the anger and killing intent in his chest. Then, he spoke in a low voice to the empty shadows:
"Cancel the special surveillance order on Uchiha Ling, but keep the routine surveillance in place. Any investigative operation is to be suspended completely. Without my direct orders, no further action is to be taken against him."
A barely audible "Yes" came from the shadows.
Danzō leaned back in his chair and closed his single eye. He knew he wouldn't be able to deal with the inscrutable Uchiha Ling for a while. But that didn't mean it was over; it only meant he would have to wait patiently for a better opportunity. He wouldn't forget this.
In the small courtyard in Konoha.
Ling went about his daily routine of "being watched" as if nothing had happened. He keenly sensed that most of the faint, chilling gazes characteristic of Root had quietly disappeared within a day, leaving only the routine surveillance by the Anbu directly under the Third Hokage.
"The warning worked," Ling told the system inwardly. As expected, Danzō was a shrewd man who knew how to weigh the costs and benefits. When his own core interests were directly threatened, he had chosen to back down—for now.
But this was only a temporary measure. Ling knew all too well that his struggle with Danzō and the Konoha High Command was far from over. He needed to grow stronger faster and root out the forces targeting him and "Dawn Wind" if he hoped to withstand the storm to come.
He devoted even more time to training. His fusion rate with Nine-Tails Chakra steadily rose to 5%, and the benefits of his Sage Body became increasingly apparent. His chakra reserves and recovery speed were far beyond those of his peers. He even began trying to incorporate changes in wind-nature chakra into his use of Flying Thunder God, pursuing even greater speed.
At the same time, he traveled frequently between Konoha and Tanzaku Town using Flying Thunder God, checking on how the surviving Uchiha were adapting and guiding Kimimaro, Haku, and Zabuza in their training.
The atmosphere in the Tanzaku Town residence was still heavy, but no longer lifeless. Under Izumi's guidance, the survivors began learning new skills and trying to adjust to life in Tanzaku Town. Haku got along well with the children, and sometimes used Ice Release to make little ice cubes to cool them down, drawing peals of laughter. Zabuza handled the outer perimeter and dealings with the black market, gathering intelligence and resources. His fearsome appearance turned out to be the perfect disguise.
Everything seemed to be moving in a better direction.
Several weeks later, one afternoon, Ling was in the courtyard trying to use wind-nature chakra to speed up his kunai throws when Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi came to visit in person again.
"Ling," the Third Hokage said, looking more relaxed than before. He watched the kunai in Ling's hand whistle through the air and gave an approving nod. "It seems you haven't been slacking."
"Grandpa Hokage." Ling put away the kunai and greeted him respectfully.
"I came to tell you something." The Third Hokage took a puff from his pipe and spoke slowly. "Considering your and Naruto's unusual circumstances, along with the abilities you've shown, the village leadership discussed it and decided to make an exception and let you begin studying at the Ninja Academy early."
The Ninja Academy?
Ling paused. This was an unexpected development. According to the original timeline, it would be several years before Naruto's class enrolled.
"Of course, you won't be an ordinary student," the Third Hokage added. "You'll be admitted as a special-case student, focusing mainly on theory, history, and the basics of Taijutsu and ninjutsu. The purpose is to help you better understand the village and the responsibilities of a shinobi. At the same time, this is also a form of protection."
Ling immediately understood the Third Hokage's intentions. It was partly to train and observe him, but also to bring him formally into Konoha's system and keep him in the open. This was both a sign of recognition and a gentler form of control. Perhaps it was also meant to ease tensions with Danzō.
Ling had no objection to the arrangement. The Ninja Academy could offer him a systematic education, a relatively stable environment, and a chance to meet key figures of the future. For example, Uchiha Sasuke, who had just lost everything and was about to be consumed by hatred.
"Thank you, Grandpa Hokage. I'll do my best." Ling nodded.
The Third Hokage smiled with satisfaction, played with Naruto, who was babbling at the time, and then left.
Watching the Third Hokage's departing figure, Ling's gaze turned distant.
The Ninja Academy might not be a cage. It might be a new stage—a stage where he could build his shadowy forces more effectively, all beneath the sun.
The roots of "Dawn Wind" would take root in Konoha's soil along with him.
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