After the Third Hokage finished speaking, he waved his hand and left directly. The plan had been disrupted because of Hikaru, and now the Third Hokage needed to devise new training plans for Hikaru, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru—especially Hikaru!!
The Third Hokage believed that, with proper training, Hikaru would become one of Konoha's pillars within a few years. He believed Hikaru could do it.
However, some of the plans he had previously made needed to be revised or discarded.
"Follow Uchiha Hikaru. Do not let anyone disturb him, not even members of the Uchiha Clan."
"Yes, Hokage Lord."
The Third Hokage left, but the Anbu remained behind. From this day onward, Hikaru was essentially one of their key subjects of observation, with even greater attention paid to him than to others.
Hikaru had awakened the Sharingan before even reaching the age of six. The Third Hokage had no choice but to take this seriously. If news got out, it would certainly cause an uproar—the Uchiha Clan had produced a monster.
At six years old, even Madara Uchiha, the Uchiha Clan's famed Slaughtering Asura, had failed to awaken the Sharingan. Yet Hikaru had done it.
"Uchiha Hikaru!!!"
As soon as the Third Hokage left, Tsunade's arm gradually began to recover. She puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction, glared at Hikaru, and shouted, "I thought you were my friend, but you hid so much from us!!!"
"Exactly!! You even had us watch you train. Were you trying to secretly widen the gap between our strength and yours?!!!"
Jiraiya, his face flushed red and covered in injuries, also started shouting.
Among the three of them, Jiraiya had suffered the worst injuries. His face was covered in tiny cuts. They were not serious, but even the slightest movement made him grimace in pain. There was no way he would recover in just a few days.
Orochimaru frowned as he stared intently at Hikaru, unable to believe that Hikaru had already awakened the Sharingan!!!
Moreover, Hikaru's combat instincts, taijutsu, and flexible use of ninjutsu had all exceeded Orochimaru's expectations. As someone who had always been called a genius, Orochimaru found that a little hard to accept.
"Cough, cough!!"
Hikaru really wanted to raise a hand and poke Tsunade's bun-like cheek, but he held himself back. After coughing, he said helplessly, "A long time ago, I asked whether you wanted to train together. Every time, you shook your heads and refused. You can't blame me for that."
Hikaru shrugged and spread his hands helplessly.
"..."
"..."
Tsunade and Jiraiya immediately had nothing to say. Hikaru was right. Before every training session, he had specifically asked them, but neither Tsunade nor Jiraiya had ever cared. It was indeed unreasonable for them to jump up and accuse Hikaru now.
They could not blame someone else for quietly improving his strength when they themselves had refused to train!!!
"I never expected you to hide yourself so deeply. But this is only the beginning, Captain."
This was only the second time Orochimaru had taken the initiative to speak to Hikaru. The first had been when Hikaru deliberately redirected the trouble toward Jiraiya.
"Captain..."
Tsunade and Jiraiya exchanged a look, finally realizing the issue.
Other squads only had three people. They had four!!
And the Third Hokage's actions were effectively choosing one of them to serve as captain, someone who would normally lead the squad in action. As the Third Hokage, he could not possibly take the squad everywhere himself at all times.
"Hmph!!! That Third Elder is really unfair. He must have known Hikaru's secret but refused to tell us!!"
"It hurts like hell!!"
Tsunade immediately became unhappy. Rubbing her arm, she asked, "Hikaru, how did you come up with that? I've never seen any taijutsu counterattack that way at a time like that."
While defending, he had not forgotten to give her a vicious blow. It hurt Tsunade terribly. Just now, she had thought her arm was crippled.
Hikaru smiled slightly and explained, "During taijutsu training and combat, there are many things that are easily overlooked. I merely took a few steps in that direction. The elbows, head, and knees are all among the hardest parts of the human body. Since knees can deliver powerful attacks, why can't the head and elbows?"
"When your fist attacked me, it either had to stop or strike my elbow. That gave me enough time to counterattack calmly, as long as I was faster than you."
This method was a little underhanded, but it was effective. Just look at Tsunade. After taking that hit to her arm muscle, it felt as though her arm was about to become useless, and all sensation had vanished.
"It feels like cheating... No!! You have to compensate me!!! I'm eating grilled meat today!!!"
Tsunade propped her chin on her small hand and thought for a moment. Then she suddenly shouted, demanding compensation with the clear attitude that she would make him regret it if he refused.
"Right!! Grilled meat!!!"
"Mm."
Jiraiya naturally agreed immediately. What left Hikaru dumbfounded was that even Orochimaru nodded and gave an approving hum in agreement with Tsunade.
What the hell is wrong with this world...
Before you continue