Interviewed by Hiruzen Sarutobi, an Unexpected Windfall

Inside the Hokage's office, Uchiha Feng stood not far from the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. He watched the exhausted man handle official duties, while he himself remained neither sad nor happy, his expression calm.

"Uchiha Feng, do you have anything to say for injuring seventeen ordinary villagers and five genin, and for causing the Club Enforcement incident, which left nearly a thousand people in the village injured?"

After working for a while, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally had a moment to rest. He looked at Feng before him and sternly questioned him.

While handling official duties, he had also observed Feng several times. There was not the slightest trace of respect for him, the Hokage, in Feng's eyes.

Furthermore, from what he had learned before, Feng had repeatedly voiced his dissatisfaction with him, the Third Hokage, and Konoha's other three elders on the streets.

It was certain that Feng was an out-and-out member of the Hawk Faction within the Uchiha Clan. Naturally, Hiruzen Sarutobi would not show a pleasant face to such a person.

"Nothing much to say. It was only beating up a few people for Konoha's stability. What's the big deal?"

Faced with Hiruzen Sarutobi's questioning, Feng answered calmly—and in a very Uchiha manner.

"The disturbance caused by you left nearly a thousand people injured, yet you still think it is nothing. Those injured people are all Konoha villagers.

"As a Konoha ninja, where is your Will of Fire? Where is your spirit of protecting Konoha?" Hiruzen Sarutobi shouted angrily.

"They are Konoha villagers, that's true, but they are also criminals. We beat up a group of criminals to maintain Konoha's peace, yet the responsibility and infamy are all borne by the Uchiha Clan.

"How is that not the Will of Fire? If silently bearing infamy and carrying on for the sake of protecting Konoha is not the Will of Fire, then please tell me, Lord Hokage, what is the Will of Fire?"

Although Feng had not been particularly eloquent in his previous life, he had often argued with people online. After being steeped in all sorts of nonsense, there was no way a native like Hiruzen Sarutobi could outtalk him.

"Hmph! Not everyone who was beaten was a criminal. Many were victims, and there were even innocent passersby.

"They were injured because of this. Is this how you protect Konoha? How you protect Konoha's villagers?!" Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice rose involuntarily.

"They are Konoha villagers. They were merely accidentally injured for Konoha's stability. No one died, yet they nitpick over it, without even the Will of Fire to sacrifice for Konoha.

"If they do not even possess the Will of Fire to sacrifice for Konoha, then what is wrong with beating them up?"

Feng continued to sophistically argue, filling his words with the Will of Fire. He knew Hiruzen Sarutobi would target the Uchiha Clan, but he did not believe the man would dare deny the Will of Fire.

"What do you mean, no one died? What do you mean, accidentally injured? As a Konoha ninja, attacking innocent villagers is simply wrong.

"And the Will of Fire means that one must possess the will to protect the village and make personal sacrifices. It does not mean making others sacrifice themselves to protect the village." Hiruzen Sarutobi's face had already darkened.

He was extremely dissatisfied with Feng's sophistry and his twisted use of the Will of Fire.

"Personal sacrifice? Heh heh, the Nine...

"Uh, yes, yes, yes. You're the Hokage, so everything you say is right. I was wrong. I'll go apologize to the villagers."

Feng habitually opened his mouth, intending to continue arguing, especially about Nine-Tails Night. The Fourth Hokage of the new generation had died, and most of the casualties had been ordinary villagers, while Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage from the old era, had survived just fine. Not a single person in Root had been injured either.

If he said all that aloud, it would be enough to tear Hiruzen Sarutobi apart with words.

But then he remembered that he planned to flee Konoha in half a month. If he kept exchanging barbs with Hiruzen Sarutobi now, regardless of the outcome, he would end up on the man's radar.

That would greatly increase the difficulty of escaping Konoha.

So Feng immediately changed his tune and backed down, only hoping that after today, Hiruzen Sarutobi would not assign Anbu to watch him.

"Hm? From your tone, it is obvious that you are not truly remorseful.

"But you can take the initiative to admit your mistake and are willing to apologize to the villagers. That is good. It proves you can still be saved.

"Sigh... I can see that you strongly disagree with what I said about the Will of Fire.

"Perhaps this is related to your never having attended the Ninja Academy. Take this latest revised edition of Will of Fire, which is required reading at the academy, back and study it carefully. In one month, I will test your understanding of it.

"Alright, take the book and leave."

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not understand why Feng had suddenly softened, but since the other party had already admitted his mistake, continuing to press him would not fit Hiruzen Sarutobi's approachable image.

So he changed his attitude as well. He no longer spoke in a questioning tone, instead addressing Feng as though instructing a junior.

Feng was also briefly stunned by Hiruzen Sarutobi's change.

It was not the change in Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone that stunned him, but the action of handing over the book.

Wasn't this the opportunity he had always wanted to make contact with him?

After blanking out for a moment, Feng joyfully raised both hands and took the Will of Fire from Hiruzen Sarutobi, tucking it under his arm.

Then, with an excited heart and trembling hands, he tightly clasped the other man's hands with both of his and shouted happily, "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

But what he was thinking was: The Copy Cards have appeared. One in each hand—copy the Dead Demon Consuming Seal for me. Uh...

What should the other card copy? Five Releases: Great Combo Technique? Summoning Enma? Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique? Hiruzen Sarutobi only seems to have a few decent techniques, but none of them are what I want.

Wait, there is one technique I can try. If he has it, I'll strike it rich. If not, I can copy Five Releases: Great Combo Technique first.

Anyway, after a Copy Card copies a ninjutsu, as long as I don't consume and use it, I can erase its contents whenever I want and copy something else.

Seeing Feng tightly grip his hand with a sincere smile while lost in thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and hurriedly pulled his hand free.

He did not know or understand what was going on with Feng, but his years of experience and a strong person's instincts told him that letting Feng hold his hand like that felt very wrong.

Feng was not dissatisfied with this, because by the time Hiruzen Sarutobi pulled away, he had already copied the ninjutsu he wanted.

Looking at the two cards visible only to himself, one had copied the Dead Demon Consuming Seal as a backup technique for desperate situations. The other was a ninjutsu he had copied in a sudden flash of inspiration: Reanimation Jutsu: Hiruzen Sarutobi Version.

With the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, Feng now had a ninety percent chance of escaping Konoha.

As for why he had suddenly thought of this technique, it was because in the anime, Hiruzen Sarutobi had recognized it the moment Orochimaru used the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu.

Moreover, as Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi could freely browse the Book of Seals. He had to be familiar with this technique.

Then there was Hiruzen Sarutobi himself. He was attached to power and cowardly. Even at his peak, his Kage Level strength had not been particularly outstanding. He was weaker than the Tsuchikage and Raikage, slightly stronger than the Kazekage, and roughly on the same level as the Mizukage.

And in Konoha at present, there were only two Kage Level fighters: Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō.

Putting all this together, to keep the village from being endangered, Hiruzen Sarutobi, now old and weakening, would definitely seek a way to strengthen either himself or the village.

But his talent was what it was. Even at his peak, he had only been that strong. Now that he was old, it was even more impossible for him to make a breakthrough through conventional means.

That left only the forbidden techniques in the Book of Seals.

Feng did not know which forbidden technique Hiruzen Sarutobi would choose, but he had taken a gamble. Losing would cost him nothing, while winning would make him rich in one stroke.

And now, he had clearly won the gamble.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had learned the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu and even modified it to some extent. This technique was also well suited to the current Konoha, whose lack of powerful fighters left it unable to deter the other ninja villages. The Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu perfectly compensated for those weaknesses.