Significant Progress

In the three months before graduation, Uchiha Yi made great strides. He had not only incorporated Monstrous Strength into his fighting style but also gained some valuable rewards through the Battle Space.

He defeated the young Minato and gained Minato Namikaze's Space Talent.

He defeated Rock Lee from the Chunin Ninja Exams and gained his combat experience, significantly sharpening Yi's own skills. Unfortunately, he did not get the Eight Gates.

He defeated Izumo Kamizuki the Gatekeeper. It was a hard-fought battle: Kotetsu was, after all, an accomplished Chunin who would later become a Special Jōnin. Yi had to work for the victory, and the Swordsmanship he gained was better than nothing.

He defeated Tenten from the Fourth Shinobi World War and gained her ninja-tool throwing skills. They were not much use to Yi, though. When it came to throwing Kunai, who could beat an Uchiha?

He defeated Tiger, an Anbu Ninja, and gained his concealment skills.

He defeated Yurika and gained her ability to decipher codes.

He defeated Uzumaki Fusō and gained her Uzumaki Clan physique, improving his own constitution even further.

He defeated the young Uchiha Fugaku and gained the Eye Power of his Two-Tomoe Sharingan. With that boost and Yi's increasingly robust physique, his Sharingan advanced straight to Three-Tomoe.

By the time he graduated from the Ninja Academy, Yi was already stronger than most Chunin. Once he had completed enough missions, he could even attempt the Special Jōnin assessment.

For now, though, Yi had no intention of revealing his full strength. Being as strong as a Chunin at six years old was astonishing enough.

If he showed the strength of a Special Jōnin, it would cause an uproar. Should the other villages learn of it, Yi would likely end up on their kill lists.

At Tsunade's request, the applications for Uchiha Yi, Uchiha Mikoto, and Nawaki to graduate early were submitted to the Hokage Office together.

"Well? Teacher Sarutobi, hurry up and put our teams together.

Orochimaru and I still have to take them out afterward." Tsunade sprawled on the office sofa and urged Hiruzen Sarutobi on.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took two deep pulls from his pipe before replying helplessly, "I can approve all three early-graduation applications. I also have no objection to Kushina Uzumaki leaving the Ninja Academy for you to train.

But there's a problem with Hyuga Hiashi."

"What? They refused?" Tsunade frowned, displeasure flashing across her face.

She was an Elite Jōnin of Konoha, the First's granddaughter, and a true princess of the Land of Fire.

What, did the Hyuga Main Family think they were above me?

"The international situation is chaotic. Everyone can see war might break out at any moment. Hyuga Hiashi is the heir to the Hyuga Clan, so they don't intend to let him go out on missions.

But to make amends, they're willing to send a girl from the Hyuga Main Family to join your team, and have Hizashi Hyuga join Orochimaru's team." Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed.

He had wanted Tsunade to take the future Hyuga Clan Leader as her student. It would help keep the Hyuga Clan stable and make future discussions easier.

Unfortunately, they would not let Hyuga Hiashi take on missions. Still, offering a Main Family girl and Hizashi Hyuga showed considerable sincerity.

"Does the Hyuga Main Family have anyone the right age?" Tsunade's expression softened a little.

Every place in the Hyuga Main Family was spoken for, and its numbers were extremely limited. Even Hizashi Hyuga had been relegated to the Branch Family.

She had not expected them to have another Main Family child of a suitable age.

"Here's her file." Hiruzen Sarutobi handed Tsunade a dossier. "Her family has trained her privately, so she's never attended the Ninja Academy. Her talent is quite good, so there's no need to worry.

They wouldn't try to fob you off with a child who lacked talent.

And from what I've seen, Hizashi Hyuga may even be a little more gifted than Hyuga Hiashi. It's a shame he ended up in the Branch Family."

Hiruzen was not the only one who had noticed. Danzo had too. He had even considered using it to drive a wedge between Hizashi and Hiashi, and stir up conflict between the Branch Family and the Main Family.

At first glance, the plan seemed feasible. They were not asking for much—only that the Main Family lose its control over the Branch Family and no longer be able to punish its members at will. For the Branch Family, that would certainly be a good thing.

Unfortunately, it was all but impossible for the Hyuga Branch Family to oppose the Main Family.

Unless the Main Family made a mistake, there was little they could do about the Hyuga Clan.

"Hyuga Rinka, eight years old. Excellent Chakra control, and she's already mastered the Gentle Fist's Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms. She really is a promising talent. She might even be able to learn some Medical Ninjutsu from me." Tsunade sounded thoughtful.

"I think she might suit you too. Perhaps they also believe your team will be safer," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a sigh. Many people thought of Tsunade as a medical Ninja and forgot how terrifying she was in a fight.

Of course, staying close to Tsunade really was relatively safe.

"How is that Ninjutsu you're developing coming along?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked.

"It still needs a few improvements. I'll have it finished in six months at most!" Tsunade said confidently. "When I do, I'll change the future of medical Ninja."

Hiruzen Sarutobi opened his mouth. He wanted to say that Tsunade was exceptional, not a typical medical Ninja, and not every medical Ninja could do what she did. But seeing his student so enthusiastic, he could not bring himself to say it.

"All right. I'll give you another six months. Konoha is doing its best to avoid war, but the other countries are growing restless. Even the Land of Rain is frantically stockpiling war supplies. According to Danzo's intelligence, Hanzō wants to make the Land of Rain the sixth great nation. War could break out at any moment, and we don't have much time left." Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke earnestly to Tsunade. "If you need help with anything, let me know."

"I know." Tsunade seemed to remember something. "Oh, you still have Second Grandfather's sword, don't you?

We didn't take it with his other belongings back then."

"You mean the Thunder God Sword?" Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned curious. He had not expected Tsunade to bring it up. "You want to give the Thunder God Sword to Uchiha Yi?"