Monkey, Don't Go Too Far

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at the few beard hairs that had been yanked from his hand.

Then he looked at the old companion standing before him, his face full of agitation.

His expression gradually turned disdainful.

"Do you think that's possible? Huh?" Hiruzen Sarutobi pointed at the crystal ball. "I've already picked the Jonin instructor, and now you're telling me this?"

Speaking of the Jonin instructor, Hiruzen Sarutobi had to appreciate his own foresight.

Judging from the power of that jutsu alone, if they had sent a Chunin instead, he probably would have been finished...

"So what!?" Shimura Danzō shouted. "You saw their tactics too—disguises, deception, cunning... They're clearly natural spies! Natural Root material!"

Shimura Danzō was somewhat excited, as though he had discovered some priceless treasure.

Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately frowned. He remembered the last time Danzo had been this excited was when he heard that the Third Kazekage had vanished without cause.

"Is that really necessary?" Displeased, Hiruzen Sarutobi blew his beard and glared. "How old are they? At most, they're a little mischievous. How does that make them deceptive and cunning? That's called excellence!"

Weren't they excellent, after all!

Hiruzen Sarutobi considered tactics secondary. From the perspective of a Professor of Ninjutsu, what he valued most was the combined jutsu the three children had used at the end.

He did not know its exact power, but judging by the images transmitted through the crystal ball, it certainly would not be weak.

How old were the three of them?

How refined could their chakra control be? How pure could their chakra be? Even combined, how much chakra could they possibly have?

Most importantly, it was not a Kekkei Genkai. Minato had said so at the time, and Hiruzen had even been disappointed for a moment.

The conclusion was this: the three children's combined jutsu had a low threshold and tremendous power. If it could be popularized among Konoha's ninja, Konoha's combat strength would surely rise to another level!

Those would all be achievements under his administration!

"Sarutobi, you..."

Shimura Danzō froze at those words.

From that tone and that attitude, it seemed today's matter would not be settled so easily.

But Shimura Danzō's dictionary had never contained the word surrender. He was even prepared to compete for the position of Hokage. His single eye turned cold, and his presence gradually rose.

"After the First Shinobi World War, you succeeded as Hokage, and I established Root. At first, there were only seventeen people."

"Before the Second Shinobi World War, Root had already grown to over five hundred members, and the talent it supplied to ANBU was close to two thousand. Yet after the Second Shinobi World War, Root had fewer than two hundred people left."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression changed. Was he taking the tragic route? That doesn't sound like your style, Danzo!

"They had no names, no surnames. Even after death, they could not have gravestones—only code names..." Shimura Danzō continued. "Now, I have fewer than ten Jonin under my command!"

The more Shimura Danzō spoke, the colder his voice became, and the higher his presence climbed.

"Sarutobi... I am not asking for much. I don't want your funding or your authority. I only want a few brats, and I'll train them myself. You won't even agree to that!?"

Shimura Danzō slammed the table. "Do you truly intend to tear down the bridge after crossing the river and abolish the Root I built with my own hands!?"

"Ah..." The scene Hiruzen Sarutobi had imagined did not happen. Instead, he was startled.

It seemed Danzo truly thought highly of those three little fellows.

"Who isn't short on people after the Second Shinobi World War..." Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his temples and casually deflected Danzo's offensive.

Still, since his old companion had pulled out his ultimate move, he had to show some consideration.

"How about this... Giving all three to you is obviously impossible. Pick one... Don't get any ideas about White Fang's son. You know I can't agree to that."

Hiruzen Sarutobi tossed him a sweetener while also warning Danzo over the matter of White Fang.

But Danzo may have misunderstood, thinking Hiruzen was urging him to speed things up. He snorted coldly. "Then I want two. No fewer."

"One, or there's nothing to discuss... And you cannot force the children. I will be present throughout the recruitment process."

"Monkey, don't go too far!" Shimura Danzō glared furiously with his one eye!

"I am the Third Hokage! This is an order!" Hiruzen Sarutobi refused to yield.

"You...!" Shimura Danzō trembled with rage, but Hiruzen Sarutobi remained unmoved, puffing intermittently on his pipe and holding him firmly in check.

"Humph!"

In the end, Hideki and the other two passed the examination and received their forehead protectors.

But they would have to wait two more days to collect their ninja registration and ninja certificates from the Hokage Building.

"Look, Hideki! Do you think I should wear it on my forehead or around my neck? It's so hard to choose. This forehead protector is so cool... What should I do!"

Obito was already beside himself with excitement. So what if he had ranked last in the class? He was still one of the first to graduate!

From now on, he was a real ninja, one step closer to becoming Hokage.

Most importantly, he would soon be able to take missions and earn rewards. He was about to achieve ramen freedom!

"Um... I have something to do, so I'll be going. See you." Kakashi did not linger. After offering an apologetic farewell, he vanished in the blink of an eye.

Hideki raised an eyebrow at that. Hopefully, Kakashi graduating early would help White Fang come to terms with things.

"Congratulations, children." At that moment, Minato walked over and smiled at the two who had already put on their forehead protectors.

"Hehe..." Obito scratched his head and grinned foolishly.

Hideki, meanwhile, noticed that although many people had gradually left the spectator stands, quite a few were now coming this way.

He had never met any of them, but he could still identify them from their builds and appearances.

For example, the Ino–Shika–Cho trio were easy to recognize from their hairstyles and physiques.

There was also a pair of twins in wooden sandals, stiff in manner and stern in expression. They did not look very old, yet somehow gave off the feeling of being seventy or eighty.

They had to be the Hyuga brothers.

Besides them, there was a married couple. The woman was heavily pregnant, while the husband wore the emblem of the Konoha Police Force on his arm.

"Obito, your clan head is here." Hideki recognized Fugaku and Itachi at a glance and hurriedly reminded Obito.

The words clan head seemed to possess some magic. Obito, who had just been wildly excited, immediately became much more restrained.

Watching this, Hideki sighed inwardly... Obito really didn't resemble an Uchiha clansman at all.

None of the Uchiha clan's aloofness or arrogance could be seen in Obito.

In fact, Obito himself was somewhat afraid of Uchiha clansmen, just like Konoha's other villagers...

But perhaps that was precisely why Madara had set his sights on Obito?

At that thought, the corners of Hideki's mouth curled upward unconsciously.

Kakashi had graduated far earlier than in the original story, and Obito had benefited as well.

The combined technique, Hydrogen Release, was clearly quite effective. After they spent some time coordinating and he continued developing it, their future would be limitless.

Once the three of them stepped onto the battlefield, it would be difficult for Madara to remotely orchestrate another massacre...

Hideki smiled faintly.

It seemed the identities of prey and hunter were about to reverse, didn't they?