Sarutobi Hiruzen's Decision

In peaceful times, time passed quickly. Konoha remained a picture of peace, and aside from seeing a few outsiders while buying groceries, Uchiha Shunichi could hardly sense anything unusual.

No, there were still abnormalities. There were far more visitors in Konoha, including quite a few nobles from the Land of Fire.

The main matches of the Chūnin Exams seemed to be a rather famous event, and Sarutobi Hiruzen apparently wanted to use this opportunity to expand Konoha's influence.

"Uchiha Shunichi, the Hokage has a mission for you." Just as Uchiha Shunichi thought he would remain at home until the official matches began, an Anbu appeared before him and spoke.

"Mm, what mission?" Uchiha Shunichi did not find it strange.

In fact, at a time like this, Sarutobi Hiruzen would not give up any force under his command. Even Root had been sent out to maintain order in the village.

After all, Root's masks were not much different from those of the Anbu. Aside from their more extreme methods, they were basically another Anbu.

As for Shimura Danzō... sometimes, his opinion was not important.

"This is the mission list. There are no teammates for this mission. Assess the situation and act at your own discretion. If you encounter special circumstances, you may act immediately!" The Anbu handed over the mission list, then used the Body Flicker to leave at once, looking extremely busy.

Uchiha Shunichi opened the mission order with a puzzled expression. There was only one assignment written on it: monitor the Sand Shinobi!

The mission made Uchiha Shunichi frown slightly. Generally speaking, ninja missions came with teammates, except for a very small number of ninja.

And Uchiha Shunichi was certain that he had not reached that level yet.

"Was it because I had made too many moves recently?" Uchiha Shunichi muttered as he tucked the mission order into his clothes.

Though the mission had some suspicious points, Uchiha Shunichi had no intention of giving it up. As long as no one tore through that thin layer of pretense first, Uchiha Shunichi was still a ninja of Konoha.

Perfect. He could use this mission, which covered a broad area, to investigate Danzo's whereabouts.

Although he had already found Danzo's residence, Uchiha Shunichi had no desire to make a move in a place like that.

After returning to his room and packing his ninja tools, Uchiha Shunichi immediately set off. Though this was a solo mission, he still needed to relieve someone.

That was right, he was taking over Gekko Hayate's assignment. There were still more than twenty days left. Ninja were human, after all, and they needed rest.

"Mountain!"

"Flowing Fire!"

After exchanging the passcodes, Uchiha Shunichi appeared beside Gekko Hayate.

"I really didn't expect you to be the one taking over for me. Be more careful at night. These Sand Shinobi are especially active after dark." Gekko Hayate looked at Uchiha Shunichi and offered a kind reminder.

"Mm, I know." Uchiha Shunichi wanted to say something, but in the end, he merely nodded.

Gekko Hayate had died at night in his memories. Since he had taken over this dangerous mission, there was nothing Uchiha Shunichi could do if Hayate could not complete his daytime duties.

Clearly, Gekko Hayate had no idea that Uchiha Shunichi was worried about his safety. On the contrary, he was somewhat concerned over whether this teammate of his could complete the mission.

After all, no matter how talented he was, he had only graduated from the Ninja Academy not long ago!

Thus, after leaving his post, Gekko Hayate went directly to find Sarutobi Hiruzen.

At this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen was discussing something with Danzo. When there came a knock on the door, both men fell silent at the same time.

"Come in!" Sarutobi Hiruzen steadied his emotions before calling toward the door.

"Lord Hokage, isn't it too rash to have a child who just graduated from the Ninja Academy take over my mission?" The moment Gekko Hayate saw Sarutobi Hiruzen, he voiced his thoughts.

"Hayate, Konoha is short-handed right now, so I need every ninja to put their proper abilities to use."

"Besides, I believe you should already be well aware of that child's strength. I believe in him." Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke earnestly.

At those words, Gekko Hayate was immediately left speechless.

"You came at the right time. I was just about to ask whether the Sand Shinobi have made any suspicious moves recently." Sarutobi Hiruzen changed the subject, clearly unwilling to continue discussing Uchiha Shunichi.

Uchiha Shunichi's assessment of the Hyuga clan not long ago had given Sarutobi Hiruzen a terrible headache. He had only just managed to placate the Hyuga clan, so naturally, he did not want any further complications.

As for assigning Uchiha Shunichi a mission...

He truly trusted Uchiha Shunichi's strength. After all, Sarutobi Hiruzen had watched Uchiha Shunichi train most of the time over the past years.

After Gekko Hayate reported the progress of his mission, he left. Once he was gone, Shimura Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen resumed their discussion about Uchiha Shunichi.

"Hiruzen, that child is too dangerous." Shimura Danzō was the first to state his view.

"I know. But only two members of the Uchiha Clan remain, and that child's Mangekyō Sharingan is highly unusual. It cannot be transplanted. You have tried it yourself." Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone was somewhat gloomy.

"Hand him over to Root. I am confident I can control him!" Shimura Danzō promised Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Upon hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at Shimura Danzō for a long time. In the end, he shook his head and said, "That child will not adapt to it. If we are too forceful, it will have the opposite effect."

"Do you remember what he said to Neji Hyuga? I suspect that if he were in Neji Hyuga's position, he really would gouge out his own eyes."

Shimura Danzō grew somewhat impatient when he heard Sarutobi Hiruzen refuse. But he had no way to explain how he intended to control Uchiha Shunichi.

After all, Sarutobi Hiruzen did not know about Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan, and Danzo could not let him find out.

"That child is dangerous. You know the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan as well. I do not want him to become the next Madara, and he is already showing some signs of it."

"Once his strength reaches its peak, even we will have no way to control him."

Shimura Danzō tried to persuade him once more.

This time, Sarutobi Hiruzen considered it for much longer. He seemed somewhat tempted, yet he also feared something.

In the end, Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head and said, "No. The chances of that child losing control are too great. I cannot harm fellow villagers over something that has not happened yet."

"Danzo, remember this! What happened to the Uchiha Clan can only happen once. It must never happen again!"