An Eagle Yearning to Fly

Neji gave it some thought and felt that Sasuke made a lot of sense.

He was just worried about Root. In the manga, Danzo was greedy and obsessed with control. If he discovered those strange tricks Sasuke used, it would probably cause another round of trouble.

In short, it was all Danzo's fault!

After resting for a while, Neji and Sasuke launched into another heated duel.

Thick Decaying Mist gathered in Sasuke's hand. "Here I come, Neji!"

The veins around Neji's eyes immediately bulged, and his originally pale gray pupils turned pitch-black. Clearly, his Byakugan had undergone a strange mutation under the erosion of demonic power. The moment Sasuke was stared at, he became negative and despondent. His will to fight rapidly drained away, and he even wanted to lie down and wait for death.

Fortunately, this was not Sasuke's first time facing the bizarre power of such twisted emotions. The mist quickly formed a blockade, cutting off Neji's line of sight.

Without realizing it, both of them had grown accustomed to prioritizing demonic power. Chakra had gradually become supplementary, and they had both been deeply influenced by demons. They had broken away from the ninja style of combat, preferring to crush their opponents with absolute superiority.

In the original plot, Sasuke loved using his own weaknesses to challenge other people's strengths—competing with Itachi in genjutsu, with the Fourth Raikage in taijutsu, and with Hokage in chakra. He might as well have written "asking for a beating" across his face. But he had already corrected that habit. He did not want to become a fair-weather Sasuke either.

Waves of air currents swept through the training ground. After a short while, the dust settled again, revealing two panting boys lying on the ground.

"Neji, you really showed no mercy just now!"

"Nonsense. Your attacks were far more ruthless than mine!"

"Don't push yourself too hard. If I'm not mistaken, your hand has already started rotting."

"Sasuke, can your emotions still hold up...?"

The two went back and forth. For a moment, they seemed like nothing more than elementary school students bickering after class. No one knew why they were arguing, but it was interesting anyway.

"Sasuke, have you noticed? The sky has been gray lately."

"Yeah. It's been a long time since we saw blue skies and white clouds."

Sasuke casually agreed. Ever since the Night of the Massacre, the world had been bleak to him, just like the dust-covered sky.

Using the Telescope Technique, Hiruzen Sarutobi witnessed what had happened at the training ground and seemed somewhat surprised. He had always believed Sasuke Uchiha's talent was mediocre and that he could not awaken the Sharingan. He had not expected him to be so outstanding.

Sasuke and Neji's strength had already far surpassed that of ordinary Genin.

At that thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi began to worry. If students from the Ninja Academy displayed such strength, he would surely be overjoyed. They would be Konoha's hope for the future.

But Sasuke and Neji... because of various historical issues, they might not wholeheartedly stand with the village.

There was also the mist-releasing Water Release Sasuke had used. That should have been the Hidden Mist Technique, right?

Most Uchiha excelled at Lightning Release and Fire Release. He had never seen an Uchiha use Water Release, much less Water Release that was Kirigakure's signature ninjutsu!

After dinner, Sasuke quietly read at home. Although the books were boring and not nearly as interesting as listening to Black Shadow tell stories, they were better than nothing. At least they were preferable to idling around and letting his imagination run wild.

Then, he suddenly heard a knock at the door. An unfamiliar voice came from outside. "Is Sasuke Uchiha here?"

Sasuke adjusted his expression slightly and calmly opened the door. An ANBU wearing a mask stood outside. "The Third Hokage summons you. Please proceed to the Hokage's Office immediately."

Sasuke nodded to show that he understood. On the way, he lowered his head and considered the Third Hokage's intentions. Had he been exposed?

Inside the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat with a pipe in his mouth, puffing out clouds of smoke.

Knock, knock, knock~

"Come in. Ah, little Sasuke is here."

"Greetings, Lord Hokage." Sasuke respectfully greeted him. "May I ask why Lord Hokage has summoned me?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi first expressed some kind and caring concern for Sasuke, then got straight to the point. "Little Sasuke, I have a question. May I ask you?"

The Hokage had personally asked him. Could Sasuke refuse?

"Please speak, Lord Hokage."

"Sasuke, did you and Neji have a conflict? I heard that the two of you fought at the training ground all day."

"Neji is my good friend. We were merely sparring with each other."

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled. "That's good, but you still need to know your limits. You're young, and excessive training may have the opposite effect."

"Thank you for your concern, Lord Hokage."

"..."

Although Sasuke's attitude was respectful, Hiruzen Sarutobi somehow felt ignored. Yet he could not find anything wrong with it.

"Ahem. Sasuke, I heard from people passing by the training ground that you used a Water Release today which seemed to be the Hidden Mist Technique. Where did you learn it?"

"My father taught me when he was still alive."

"..." Hiruzen Sarutobi froze. That answer truly could not be verified!

The atmosphere became awkward. Hiruzen Sarutobi tested him with a few more questions, then, seeing nothing unusual about Sasuke, allowed him to leave.

Sasuke remained calm all the way home. Only after returning and finding no one around did a fierce expression appear on his face. It was not because Hiruzen Sarutobi had learned about the Decaying Mist. That matter would be exposed sooner or later anyway, and he had already prepared for it.

He had merely suddenly recalled some scenes from the manga that made him uncomfortable—

[Konoha Crush Plan. In the Forest of Death, Hokage summoned a gigantic toad to confront One-Tail Shukaku. Sasuke's face was full of shock and confusion. Why had Hokage become so strong?]

[At the inn, Itachi defeated Sasuke in one move and grabbed him by the throat. "How can you be this weak? It seems your hatred isn't deep enough!"

Kakashi, who also possessed the Sharingan, was defeated just as easily. Sasuke could not even pass out. He could only relive that cruel night over and over within the Tsukuyomi illusion.]

[On the rooftop of Konoha Hospital, Sasuke and Hokage fought. Sasuke's face was filled with loss and unwillingness. Kakashi rebuked Sasuke: "I didn't teach you Chidori so you could use it against your comrades. Why are you being so childish? Did you lose that so-called sense of superiority?"]

[The Sound Four came looking for Sasuke. Even with the Heaven's Cursed Seal, Sasuke still could not defeat these cannon fodder under Orochimaru.]

The Uchiha clan had been passed down for a thousand years and had never lacked high-level ninjutsu. The Sharingan possessed an almost cheat-like ability to copy techniques. That was why Kakashi was known as the Copy Ninja.

Yet from the destruction of his clan until he participated in the Chunin Ninja Exams, [Sasuke] only knew the Great Fireball Technique, shuriken throwing, and related ninjutsu. Later, Kakashi had to teach him Chidori just so he could barely keep up appearances.

By comparison, the dead-last Hokage received all kinds of resources after graduation, and [Sasuke]'s years of hard work could not compare at all.

Hokage learned the Rasengan and gained the strength to confront One-Tail Shukaku head-on. The manga arranged for [Sasuke] to envy Hokage, but when Sasuke recalled those scenes now, he only felt chills rising from his bones. No wonder [Sasuke] had said, "The village is nothing but shackles."

Jiraiya could take Hokage as his disciple and bring him away from Konoha to focus on training for three full years. What could [Sasuke] gain by staying in Konoha?

Countless low-level missions, most of which barely left the village, would consume huge amounts of his time and energy; there might be harassment from Shimura Danzō; he lacked a suitable teacher's guidance...

Without comparison, there was no harm. [Sasuke] did not know Hokage's true identity. He only saw a mere dead-last rapidly grow under the guidance of a famous teacher. Faced with the olive branch Orochimaru extended to him, did he have any reason to refuse?

Although Orochimaru's motives were impure, he would indeed guide Sasuke with care. At the very least, no one would interrogate him simply because he had learned one unfamiliar technique.