Graduating early did not necessarily mean heading onto the battlefield.
Hideki understood that, at this stage of the war, Konoha had not yet been driven to the brink.
Even in the middle and later stages, when Obito entered the battlefield and was set up by Madara Uchiha, Konoha had basically never sent kids their age to war.
No matter how one put it, the core of the Shinobi World War lay in the distribution of benefits. It was nowhere near the point where Konoha's survival was at stake.
The fact that the four great ninja villages had split up to attack rather than forming the Allied Shinobi Forces to assault Konoha was the best proof of that.
Everyone coveted Konoha and wanted to bite off a piece of it, yet none of them dared truly push the foremost ninja village into a corner.
So, in Hideki's view—
At this stage, graduating from the Ninja Academy as soon as possible, getting a ninja forehead protector, and becoming a shinobi was an extremely worthwhile choice.
Times of war often offered training and growth that he could never obtain by staying in Konoha.
If the old man was still willing to teach him, that was one thing, but he was still far from mastering chakra nature transformation. It was not something he could rush.
Besides, even if the old man were willing to teach him, there was only so much he could teach... Hideki did want the old man's Earth Release, and he wanted the Senju Clan's enormous chakra reserves, but he could not exactly drain the old man's blood, could he?
Of course, there was one more important point.
Hideki felt that his Hydrogen Release had reached the stage where it needed to be tested in real combat...
Nuking the Shinobi World could not be done by shutting himself away.
The caliber of truth needed to be tested through practice!
And so, the three-man class-skipping squad officially began their plan to "save the Ninja White Fang."
The plan consisted of skipping class and training, but unlike before, each of them prepared a clone for skipping class. Even Obito was no exception.
And they were no longer using the basic Clone Technique Hideki had used before, but the more solid Shadow Clone.
To ensure nothing went wrong with this miraculous technique, Hideki had even specifically run some tests.
Using over half his chakra, it could last an entire day. Even if it got lightly jostled around or took a not-too-heavy punch, it would not immediately disperse.
But Hideki discovered that he was the only one among the three for whom this worked.
Kakashi had to divide all his chakra into the Shadow Clone for it to last a day and achieve the same effect as Hideki.
As for Obito... no matter how hard he forced it, his Shadow Clone could only last half a day, and it was extremely fragile. It was not quite the sort to shatter at a touch, but he still had to be careful.
Obito's starting point really was the lowest.
Still, this left Hideki somewhat puzzled. He did not know whether he simply had too much chakra, or whether the Shadow Clone had become stronger through the old man's training.
So Hideki simply took responsibility for Obito's afternoon Shadow Clone as well, and only then did the three begin their special training.
No longer sparring, but shuriken throwing, ninjutsu practice, and... synchronizing their Hydrogen Release!
Hideki's idea was this.
He and Kakashi would respectively use Water Release: Water Chain Bullet and Lightning Release: Lightning Explosion at the same time. Once Kakashi struck his ninjutsu, Hideki would still retain control over it.
It would still retain the Water Chain Bullet's firing capability.
Obito would then use Great Fire Dragon to target the enemy, multiplying the power of Hydrogen Release several times over.
Great Fire Dragon ranked among the more notable Fire Release techniques not because of its power, but because of its potential for development.
A skilled user could spew several fire dragons at once, but Obito clearly could not do that. His chakra was limited, so he could only focus on controlling the fire dragon's direction of travel.
According to Hideki's idea, this move could be called Great Fire Dragon: Hydrogen Release Cannon. Once they successfully synchronized it, the combined chakra of the three of them would produce an unexpected chemical reaction.
Days passed, and the three trained like mad, as though each of them were holding back a breath.
Kakashi turned his worries into motivation. Hideki also wanted to become stronger as soon as possible. Obito followed behind the two of them, seemingly without any clear goal, but he simply did not want Kakashi to get ahead of him.
Then, on the fourth day of their training, explosive news suddenly spread through Konoha.
White Fang had returned.
In the corridor of Konoha Hospital.
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi and Root leader Shimura Danzō walked swiftly. The nurses and shinobi before them showed the utmost respect, then silently stepped aside to clear the way.
The accompanying head nurse, Nonō, quickly reported the situation. "Six knife wounds. His lower leg was injured by an Explosive Tag, but none of them are fatal. Due to excessive chakra consumption and severe physical exhaustion, Lord White Fang is unconscious. He has already passed the critical stage."
At last, Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived outside the ward, and Nonō pushed open the door for him.
What met their eyes was a sturdy but unconscious man. He wore a hospital gown, though layers of bandages could still be vaguely seen all over his body.
That specially made chakra short sword was still clutched tightly in the unconscious man's hand, though it too had been wrapped in bandages.
"Lord White Fang's willpower is astonishing. We tried everything, but we could not get him to let go. Even using techniques to stimulate his nerves did not work. It truly is... unbelievable."
Nonō sighed.
"Because he is White Fang," Hiruzen Sarutobi murmured, then sighed. In a complicated tone, he added, "Konoha's White Fang."
"It is a pity that this sharp blade still failed to cut down Kannabi Bridge."
Shimura Danzō spoke coldly from the side.
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, while Head Nurse Nonō lowered her head.
"Now is not the time to talk about this, Danzō." Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Shimura Danzō a cold look and shook his head.
Shimura Danzō immediately narrowed his eyes. The two appeared to be at odds, but perhaps only they themselves knew what truly lay behind their relationship.
After confirming that White Fang's life was no longer in danger, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō visited the other wounded patients at Konoha Hospital.
Only after a full two hours did they return to the Hokage Building.
Upon entering the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately dismissed all his subordinates. The Hokage of light and darkness sat across a broad desk from each other, their gazes meeting.
"Have you found out the truth, Danzō?"
"The facts are right there, Sarutobi... Perhaps you can wait until White Fang wakes up. That depends on you."
With those few simple words, the air instantly fell silent.
Hiruzen Sarutobi smoked restlessly, and from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a report on the desk.
It came from the Ninja Academy. Rather than one report, it would be more accurate to call it three.
Three children had applied for early graduation at the same time. One of them was White Fang's son.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression gradually grew complicated.
After a long while, he finally sighed.
"Do as you said... Try not to hurt the children."
"You are too naive, Sarutobi. Even if I..." Shimura Danzō sneered and was about to argue further, but then he saw Hiruzen Sarutobi's ice-cold eyes!
At that moment, even Shimura Danzō, the Hokage of darkness, was shaken to the core and could not continue for a moment.
He gave a cold snort.
"Fine."
Before you continue