Chapter 25

A Root Organization subordinate muttered with a worried face.

Discuss it?!

That old bastard Hiruzen Sarutobi's head was full of sweet dreams about bringing the Uchiha under his control. You think he'd listen to even half a word from me?

A pack of fools!

Just because some brat spouted that Will of **, he believed it like gospel!

How did someone like him ever sit in the Hokage's seat?!

Danzo had a bellyful of fire pent up inside him.

According to his original calculations, this was not the time to be crouching here, thinking about one thing after another.

He should have been lying on Orochimaru's science-modification table long ago.

The Uchiha Clan, and that old bastard Hiruzen Sarutobi...

Both sides were like two thorns, stabbed deep into Danzo's heart.

--

Danzo had actually guessed right.

At that moment, after Hiruzen Sarutobi finished reading the report the Anbu had handed in today, the wrinkles on his face nearly smiled into a flower.

Together with the recent changes in the Uchiha Clan, it made Hiruzen Sarutobi feel even more that he had made the right move.

Those people in the Police Force no longer strutted around like before, with their eyes on top of their heads.

When they went on missions, they had also begun to care about whether ordinary people lived or died, and they were much more polite when speaking to other ninja.

With the results laid out right in front of him, how could Hiruzen Sarutobi possibly listen to Danzo's nonsense about the Uchiha rebelling sooner or later?

Withdraw some of the surveillance on the Uchiha.

If, over this next year, they truly became guardians of the Will of Fire...

Then the structure inside the village should be shifted as well.

Hiruzen Sarutobi flipped through the report in his hands, sighing inwardly.

Things had gone so smoothly recently that even he felt it was a little unreal.

The biggest problem, the Uchiha Clan, was now beginning to turn around on its own.

And their obedience to the village [Hiruzen Sarutobi] had also reached a new height he had never seen before.

Of course, among all these satisfying matters, there was still one thing that made Hiruzen Sarutobi uncomfortable.

That was that old bastard Danzo Shimura.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk, his face so dark it looked like water might drip from it.

That man was dead set on tearing the entire Uchiha out by the roots. If this group's combat strength really could not be kept and used, then fine, destroying them would be one thing. But now the situation had changed several times over, and that old bastard Danzo was still clinging to it!

This made Hiruzen Sarutobi unconsciously start digging up old accounts.

Back then, after the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, sacrificed himself, whether it was the meeting on the daimyo's side or the high-level meetings inside the village, Danzo had been jumping up and down from beginning to end. That ** had kept shouting that he wanted to be Hokage, and had twisted every method he could to belittle Hiruzen, pinning all the rotten accounts—the Nine-Tails going berserk, the Fourth dying in battle—onto Hiruzen's own head.

If Hiruzen's foundation had not been stable enough at the time, and the major clans had not still been willing to stand on his side, he probably would have been blasted ** right then. In the worst-case outcome, he might even have vanished completely from Konoha.

Over the years, although Hiruzen Sarutobi had continued using Danzo and had turned a blind eye, tacitly allowing Root to do many things that crossed the line, the string in his heart that guarded against Danzo Shimura had never once loosened. "Kakashi."

Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly called out. "Hm?"

Kakashi froze for a moment, his eyes full of confusion.

Usually, Hiruzen Sarutobi called him by his code name. Why had he suddenly called him by name today?

"You need to get used to this form of address."

"You won't remain in the Anbu for too long."

"Before long, both you and Tenzo will have to leave the Anbu and take over other positions."

"Now, I have a special mission to give you."

After Hiruzen Sarutobi finished explaining, Kakashi turned and left the Hokage's office.

Back at his residence, Kakashi took off the mask on his face.

Staring at the unfamiliar face in the mirror, his expression was terribly blank. "I'm still protecting what I want to protect."

"Obito, Rin..."

Kakashi fell completely silent.

The words Hiruzen Sarutobi had said today kept churning over and over in his mind. Some things had only been his own blind guesses before, but now that he had heard them from the Hokage's own mouth, even though he had long been mentally prepared, his chest still heated up uncontrollably.

Soon. It should be soon.

When the time came, he would no longer have to act under the identity of an Anbu. Instead, he could walk out openly and honorably, using the name Kakashi Hatake...

In the Uchiha Clan Compound, inside Sasuke's room. "Naruto, tomorrow's assessment may run into trouble."

"Remember, the moment you encounter danger, immediately put distance between us. Got it?"

Sasuke spoke bluntly. "Mm!"

"If you tell me to run, I'll turn and bolt right away!"

Naruto nodded hard, his face serious. "Uh..."

Several black lines appeared on Sasuke's forehead.

What was with the way this guy talked? Was he cut from the same cloth as that ** under the old heavenly master?

"I mean, it's not like you don't know. There's no way I'd leave you behind and run."

"So you definitely have something else to say, right?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head and grinned foolishly. "Mm."

"Tomorrow, once we're outside the village, even though the team-leading teachers will be watching, the number of students will be what it is."

"You remember, right? Orochimaru, that S-rank rogue ninja from Konoha, targeted me before."

"With that guy's temperament, there's no way he'll let this chance pass."

"On top of that, Root has always disliked the Uchiha. Most likely, they'll take the opportunity to make a move too."

As Sasuke spoke, his head hurt more and more.

No matter how he looked at this situation, it was nine deaths and one life!

The Uchiha belonged to Konoha's Police Force. Normally, without missions, they basically could not leave the village. Once he went out, he would completely lose the Uchiha's protection.

Orochimaru, Danzo, Mizuki... [This one was just incidental.]

Trying to survive under these people's hands was practically more hellish than hell mode!

On the system panel, the red prompt for the emergency mission kept flashing, making his heart tighten. This matter was probably not that simple. "I actually thought of a way that can let you, Sasuke, get away safely."

Naruto suddenly spoke. "Hm?!"

Sasuke turned his head and looked at him with some surprise. Was this chosen child planning to reveal how extraordinary he was already?

"If you're willing to do this, then you can..."

Naruto lowered his voice and quietly told him his idea.

At first, Sasuke thought he was spouting nonsense.

But immediately afterward, a cold electronic synthetic voice rang out in his mind.

[Ding, congratulations, host. You have successfully completed the mission related to Root's threat.]

[Reward obtained: constitution +10, foundation talent +10, chakra refining speed +50%, one mysterious treasure chest.]

Sasuke glanced at the system prompt, then felt the surge of power welling up inside his body, and believed it completely—Naruto, this kid, was absolutely some child of destiny. An ordinary person really could not come up with this idea.

Moreover, he could also use this matter to make a move...

"Thanks, Naruto!"

"Next month's ramen is all on me!"

"But for this trial, I need to make some moves. You'll have to cooperate with me."

"And also..."

Sasuke told Naruto his own plan as well. This matter was not only for himself, but also for the foolish kid in front of him. "No problem! Whatever you tell ** to do, I'll do it!"

Naruto nodded hard, his face serious.

To be honest, this kind of unreserved trust made Sasuke feel quite at ease. Especially because Naruto was the kind of one-track-minded person who would never go back on something he had agreed to...

"Tonight, we keep refining chakra. Whoever can't take the hunger first loses."

After Sasuke finished speaking, he sat down directly, closed his eyes, and began refining. "You're cheating! You started first!"

When Naruto saw that, he hurriedly sat down too and likewise began refining.

The old Naruto had not figured out what chakra actually was until he was in his teens, and had even kept pronouncing it wrong as "chak-ton." But ever since he had begun refining together with Sasuke, the bit of talent in his body had slowly started to show itself...

More than an hour later, Sasuke opened his eyes.

It was not that he had finished refining his chakra. He had been forced awake by the chakra leaking out of Naruto's body. "Good grief. Is this the kind of commotion a five-year-old kid can make while refining chakra?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto, whose whole body was emitting chakra, and his mouth would not close. This scene was way too ridiculous.

He also noticed something else—the reason he had been shaken out of his refining state was that mixed into Naruto's chakra was quite a lot of the Nine-Tails' power.

So this was a child of destiny?

Just refining chakra could draw the Nine-Tails' chakra out of the seal. "Huff... rrr..."

Suddenly, a strange sound drilled into Sasuke's mind. "Hm?!"

"Nine-Tails?"

Sasuke stared at Naruto's stomach, his face filled with shock.

Logically speaking, at this point in time, Naruto's seal had not had any problems at all. How could the Nine-Tails' consciousness run outside?!

But that voice soon disappeared.

Sasuke did not keep thinking about it. "System, bring up the panel."

The effect of that wild chakra on Naruto was too great. He had no way to keep refining.

Uchiha Sasuke called up his own attribute panel, and a line of words immediately popped up on the screen.

[Panel: Damn author, you finally remembered me? Try delaying the update again next time!]

Host: Uchiha Sasuke

Talent: 60 (ordinary person 10)

Chakra: 1.1 Kakashi

Ninjutsu: Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique, Fire Release: Little Fire Snake Technique, Lightning Release: Little White Worm, Lightning Run, Lightning Release...

Taijutsu: Uchiha taijutsu beginner, Konoha taijutsu beginner

Genjutsu: Dream-Soul Valley, Thorny Forest, Chaos Impact, Hundred-Turn Spirit Art

Items: surprise gift pack ×1, Layered Cloud Iron 100 kg

Kekkei Genkai: Sharingan (Three Tomoe), Lightning God Mode

Ability: Super Chakra Refining Technique (speed +300%)

Mission: resolve the Root Organization assassination...

Overall evaluation: special jonin

Sasuke swept a glance over it. It was about the same as he had estimated.

His chakra amount had reached 1.1 Kakashi, temporarily enough to use.

The things this Divine Talent System gave were all piled onto talent.

As for specific fighting moves, it had not rewarded him with a single one.

His gaze fell on the "surprise gift pack."

After the last mission ended, he had never had time to open it. "System, open the surprise gift pack."

[Ding—congratulations, host. Surprise gift pack opened.]

[Obtained Teigu: Susanoo]

As soon as the prompt fell, Sasuke sprang straight up from his chair.

Staring at that line of words on the panel, he could not suppress his breathing.

[Teigu: Susanoo]

Right ** on the panel, a magatama lay quietly there.

A humanoid Teigu, that thing from Akame ga Kill!, whose expressive power was absurdly explosive.

Most importantly—this guy could cook.

Everyone knew Sasuke had a big appetite.

For a foodie to have a top-tier chef by his side was perfectly reasonable. No one would think too much of it.

He let out a long breath and stretched out his hand. "Teigu!"

With a soft shout, the magatama dropped straight out of the panel and into his palm.

At the same time, Susanoo's information also popped up.

[Teigu: Speed of Lightning: Susanoo]

[Guardian-type humanoid Teigu]

[Ability: all-purpose daily housework, top-tier culinary skill, mastery of 1000+ kinds of cuisine]

[Combat ability: powerful taijutsu, possesses learning ability. After absorbing the wielder's life force, can activate awakened techniques—Ame-no-Murakumo Sword, Yata Mirror, Yasakani no Magatama]

[Prompt: after system modification, chakra can be consumed to raise combat strength, with no upper limit]

After Sasuke finished reading, the corners of his mouth could not be held down.

This was the Teigu he wanted.

One-Cut Killer: Murasame, Demon Manifestation: Demon's Extract—how could those purely combat-oriented things compare to this?

Susanoo came with ** consciousness, so he did not have to manually control it at all. "Manifest, Susanoo!"

Holding the magatama, he directly sliced it across his palm.

Blood and chakra were absorbed into the magatama at the same time.

In the next second—a terrifying energy fluctuation that made one's scalp go numb exploded outward.

Even Naruto's body trembled slightly.

Sasuke knew that it was not Naruto's consciousness trembling.

It was Nine-Tails.

Even that ferocious beast was afraid before Susanoo's oppressive might.

As the light faded, a tall man with refined features appeared before him.

He knelt on one knee. "Greetings, my master."

"From this day on, Susanoo will become your strongest shield."