Join Root, Young Man!

"What a remarkable young hero! No question about it! When I was Liuxia's age, I was overjoyed just to manage a few ninjutsu techniques, yet Liuxia developed an A-rank, hand-seal-free ninjutsu all on his own. No question about it! Simply incredible!" Mitokado Homura stroked his beard, his face full of admiration and praise. His weathered eyes fixed on Liuxia, as though he were seeing his younger self.

At that moment, Utatane Koharu picked up where Mitokado Homura left off. "And if this Rasengan can incorporate the properties of chakra nature transformation, its power will surely reach a level that leaves people dumbfounded—a truly astonishing level!" Her voice brimmed with anticipation and excitement, as though she could already see the possibilities this ninjutsu held for the future.

But just as the room was filled with warm, harmonious cheer, Danzo suddenly broke the silence. "Liuxia, would you be willing to join my Root?" His deep, forceful voice echoed through the room, making everyone turn to look.

In an instant, the atmosphere grew tense. Root was a mysterious and powerful organization in Konoha, and its existence had always been controversial.

The Third Hokage, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura certainly didn't want Danzo's influence to grow any further. It would upset the balance of power between them. And Liuxia's identity was sensitive, too; they couldn't bring it up lightly. After all, Mito Uzumaki was still alive! How could she possibly agree to her grandson joining an organization like Root? Did Danzo have no common sense at all? Anyone who joined would have the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal placed on them, leaving their life in his hands!

"Bang!"

Danzo's words made Tsunade so furious that she laughed in disbelief. She swung her fist and slammed it into the table beside her. The sturdy wooden table instantly shattered into pieces, showing just how furious she was.

How dare he say something like that right in front of her? He wanted to recruit her little brother into Root, that shady organization of rats that lurked in the dark! It was the greatest insult and provocation he could have offered her.

But just then, Liuxia hurried to step in and calm Tsunade down. "Tsunade, don't be angry. It's all right." He knew this wasn't the time to get into a direct confrontation. He had to stay calm and keep his composure.

Then Liuxia turned to Danzo and said evenly, "Uncle Shimura, thank you for thinking so highly of me and inviting me to join. I'm truly grateful that you value me, but to be honest, I really don't think I'm suited to an organization like Root."

After being directly rejected, Shimura Danzo's expression darkened. He tightened his grip on his cane, while the Third Hokage, seated at the head of the room, quietly took a puff from his pipe, seemingly quite pleased with Liuxia's refusal.

"Danzo, I already have plans for Liuxia."

Shimura Danzo glared gloomily at his old friend, who sat in the Hokage's seat puffing away on his pipe. He silently fumed. That bastard Hiruzen Sarutobi was restricting his authority again! He was afraid Danzo would become Hokage and take his position! Looks like you're getting old, Hiruzen!

Watching Shimura Danzo's corpse-like face, Utatane Koharu guessed what he was thinking and advised him, "Danzo, since Hiruzen already has plans, you, as the Hokage's advisor, don't need to interfere."

The other half of the pair of professional yes-men chimed in without missing a beat. "It's all for the sake of helping the village develop!" Hearing that, Shimura Danzo gave a cold sneer, though he kept it off his face.

Then the Third Hokage spoke again. "Danzo, if you have any other objections, you can raise them and we can discuss them together. After all, we're all working for the good of the village." Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone was calm, but the authority in his voice was impossible to ignore.

Faced with Tsunade's challenge and the three Sarutobi clansmen who had already reached an agreement, Shimura Danzo knew he no longer had any chance of forcing Liuxia into his organization. He sighed inwardly, a trace of unwillingness flashing in his eyes, but in the end, he chose to give up. Still, he left them with his customary threat. "Hmph! Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"

"That's enough, Danzo! I'm the Hokage!" The Third Hokage played along, delivering the final word. Then his stern expression suddenly softened, and he turned to Liuxia, who had been watching the whole thing unfold.

"Liuxia, would you be willing to give the Rasengan to the village? Don't worry. If you agree, the village definitely won't treat you unfairly!"

Hearing the Third Hokage's words, Liuxia didn't answer right away. Instead, he fell into thought.

"Old man, we can talk about that later! Let Liuxia think it over first! Just tell us what else you wanted to say. Grandma's waiting for us at home so we can all have dinner together, so get on with it!" Tsunade was already in a foul mood, and Danzo's provocation had only made it worse. Her tone was now dripping with hostility, like a volcano on the verge of erupting. If she hadn't been wary of the esteemed Third Hokage sitting before her, she would have already taught Shimura Danzo, who was always stirring up trouble, a lesson.

Faced with Tsunade's challenge, the Third Hokage didn't get angry. Instead, he smiled warmly. "Haha, that's fine. There's no rush. The village will be patient and welcoming toward every Konoha Ninja who possesses the Will of Fire! But the second thing I wanted to discuss is that I hope you'll apply for early graduation!"

"Huh?!!!" *2

Talk about perfect timing! Liuxia had just been thinking about applying for early graduation and trying to figure out how to convince Tsunade, and now the Third Hokage was asking him to graduate early!

Tsunade was completely exasperated. It was bad enough that Liuxia wanted to graduate early. She couldn't talk him out of it, and had been planning to go home and enlist Grandma Mito's help in persuading him to wait at least another year. But now the Third Hokage wanted Liuxia to graduate early, too. There was no way she could stop the brat now!

"Can I ask why, Uncle Hiruzen?"

Early graduation did fit what Liuxia had in mind, but the Third Hokage had brought it up out of the blue, so there had to be a reason. Maybe it was a trap! After all, these old men were full of schemes. He had to be careful or they'd take advantage of him!

"The request for you to graduate early is also based on what's best for the village! And it's all because of an unexpected turn of events! It's not just you; we're also considering asking Uchiha Yan, Nawaki, Hyuga Suzuran, and the others in the village to graduate early! The main reason is..."