The Sane Uchiha

Even setting aside the Flying Thunder God Technique, Uchiha Yi's overall strength had been growing at a visible pace. At his age, his body was still developing rapidly, and that alone would have made him stronger. Besides, he had been training hard all this time.

Even if he had trained in nothing but Sealing Jutsu and the Flying Thunder God Technique, the gains would have been enormous. And those were hardly the only things he had practiced.

Over those six months, Uchiha Yi had also gained a great deal from the Battle Space.

He had defeated Uchiha Itachi as a Chunin and gained Itachi's combat wisdom.

He had defeated Uchiha Izumi from the night of the clan massacre and gained her Eye Power.

He had defeated Queen Sara and gained control of the Dragon Vein.

He had defeated Sasuke Uchiha from his first battle at the Valley of the End and gained Sasuke's talent for Lightning Release.

He had defeated the young Yahiko and gained Water Release Chakra.

He had defeated Senju Kawarama and gained Kawarama's physique.

He had defeated Ebisu and gained his foundational knowledge of ninjutsu.

Between his own hard work and the victories he had racked up in the Battle Space, Uchiha Yi's strength had quietly reached Jonin level, perhaps even Elite Jōnin level. If word got out, countless people would lose their minds.

After all, Uchiha Yi was only seven. A seven-year-old Jonin was almost impossible to believe. Even Madara Uchiha would probably have dismissed the news as a lie. At that age, neither he nor Hashirama Senju had been anywhere near Uchiha Yi's level.

Mito Uzumaki had worried about Uchiha Yi before. When she saw that his Sharingan had somehow reached the Three-Tomoe stage without anyone noticing, she was stunned.

Uchiha Yi was no ordinary Uchiha. What kind of Uchiha evolved his eyes just like that?

At times, Mito Uzumaki could not help wondering whether Tobirama Senju had been wrong about the Sharingan. But his conclusions rested on a vast amount of data. Even Madara Uchiha had followed the same pattern, yet Uchiha Yi's Sharingan had evolved seemingly at will.

A shock had triggered his Sharingan's initial awakening. But when it advanced from one Tomoe to two, then to three, Uchiha Yi had experienced no such shock. His eyes had simply evolved.

His mental state was perfectly normal, too. In the end, they could only conclude that Uchiha Yi was an unusual Uchiha who could not be judged by ordinary standards.

That day, after finishing their weeding assignment, Kushina Uzumaki glared at Tsunade in frustration. "Big Sister Tsunade, when can we take on a different kind of mission? I've had enough of these.

"Every day it's cleaning, finding people, catching dogs and cats, or helping pick fruit. When will it end? We came here to gain experience!"

Kushina Uzumaki's complaint drew glances from Uchiha Yi and Hyuga Rinka. They had long since grown tired of those missions too.

Tsunade and Mito Uzumaki had given them plenty of guidance, and their strength had grown quickly. But they had not joined the team to do manual labor!

Tsunade folded her arms and looked at Uchiha Yi. "What? Do you feel the same way? What kind of missions do you want, then?

"This squad has an orphan of the Uzumaki Clan, a young lady of the Hyuga Main Family, and an Uchiha prodigy. The moment you leave the village, other villages and bounty hunters will come after you."

"Wouldn't that be even better?" Kushina Uzumaki waved a fist eagerly. "We're not weak."

A gleam appeared in Hyuga Rinka's eyes as well. She desperately wanted to fight strong opponents. Sparring with Uchiha Yi gave her little sense of accomplishment when he was still so far ahead of her.

She was already no weaker than a Chunin.

He was just too much of a monster.

"We could try taking a mission," Uchiha Yi said after a moment's thought. "We can't hide in the village forever."

"Hmph." Tsunade glanced at the others. Seeing that Kushina Uzumaki and Hyuga Rinka agreed, a smile tugged at her lips. "Fine. Go home and get ready. Tomorrow, we're leaving the village on a mission."

"Really?" Kushina Uzumaki asked, her face full of hope.

"I hadn't planned to take you out on a mission this soon, but since you're all asking for it, I'll let you see some blood." Tsunade gave the three of them an ominous look.

"Yes!" Kushina Uzumaki burst into celebration. It had been six months. Only she knew what those six months had been like.

Nearly every day had brought another exhausting chore. If it was not tiring, it was filthy. Some jobs were both.

And after going home each day, she still had to study Sealing Jutsu with Grandma Mito. Kushina Uzumaki could not take it anymore.

At least those miserable days were finally coming to an end.

Watching Kushina Uzumaki celebrate, Tsunade's eyes glinted with amusement. Things had been unsettled both inside and outside the village lately. This was a good chance to lure a few enemies out.

There was one thing Tsunade had not told them: she was an even more attractive target on the Black Market than Kushina Uzumaki and the others.

Sending their squad out on a mission was practically the same as naming the team "Come Hunt Us Down."

"Monkey, are you really going to let the Tsunade Squad leave the village on a mission?" Shimura Danzō demanded, glaring at Hiruzen Sarutobi as he smoked his pipe.

The Wood Release experiments had been failing one after another, leaving Shimura Danzō uncertain. His attention had returned to Kushina Uzumaki. She was their fallback. How could they let her leave Konoha?

"There have been too many rats in the village lately. I need you to handle something," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, fixing Shimura Danzō with a steady gaze. "I trust you'll keep them safe. Won't you, Danzo?"

"You want me to protect them?" Danzo frowned. "I'm busy. My people are gathering intelligence in other countries, especially the Land of Rain. Hanzō could declare war on us at any moment. Where am I supposed to find the time?"