Murder and Arson

Create a massive Ice Dragon from ice-natured chakra. It would charge forward unstoppably, cause a huge explosion upon hitting its target, and freeze all enemies within range at temperatures close to absolute zero.

There was also an annotation beneath this Ninjutsu. It had been created by the founder of the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, but before it could be fully developed, its creator had unfortunately passed away.

Seeing this Ninjutsu, a rare hint of satisfaction appeared on Uchiha Madara's usually stern face. "Finally, a Ninjutsu that's somewhat worthwhile..."

Uchiha Madara tucked the S-rank Ninjutsu scroll into his clothes. If he only took one Ninjutsu scroll, he could still carry it away.

After looting every valuable Ninjutsu here, Uchiha Madara carefully surveyed the surroundings one last time. Once he confirmed that nothing had been missed, he muttered, "Then next..."

The pause did not last long before a sly smile surfaced on Uchiha Madara's face.

He ordered the old man to return with him to the original room. On the way, he deliberately took a C-rank Ninjutsu scroll, closed the hidden door, used the Transformation Jutsu to become a mysterious masked man, then released his control over the old man and erased several crucial memories of himself.

Before the old man woke up, Uchiha Madara had plenty of time to leave.

He did not leave immediately. Instead, he concealed his presence behind the door for a moment, calculated the timing, then charged inside.

When the old man saw the masked man again, his face filled with shock. He angrily demanded, "Who are you? How dare you..."

Uchiha Madara did not waste words with him. He drew a Shuriken and closed in, moving faster than a bolt of lightning.

The old man's expression changed drastically, his face turning pale. Before he could even finish speaking, the sharp Shuriken pierced straight through his throat. Blood spurted everywhere. His eyes bulged to their limits in terror, and within a single breath, all signs of life left him.

Uchiha Madara did not know this old man, but judging by his ability to enter and leave this place, as well as his fairly decent skills, he was probably an important figure.

Uchiha Madara gave the old man a light push. With the agony of death still frozen on his face, the old man fell backward, the back of his head striking the ground as murky crimson fluid streamed out and stained the floor red.

After handling everything, Uchiha Madara did not stop. Repeating the same process, he entered the hidden chamber, looked at the vast collection of scrolls treasured by the Yuki Clan, and revealed a dark smile. With a single blaze, he reduced all the precious collections left behind by their predecessors to ashes.

Inside this sealed chamber, there was more than enough time to burn everything. By the time the ninjas outside reacted, the fire would already have spread beyond the room, while everything inside had long since become ash.

To investigate the matter, those people would certainly examine the old man's corpse for memories. They would see a masked man killing him and burning every Ninjutsu inside the hidden chamber.

At that point, Uchiha Madara would deliberately leave the overlooked C-rank scroll in the open. Once the Yuki Clan received the news, they would be led to conclude that their important Ninjutsu had not been burned, but taken away to be sold. They would surely spare no effort in searching for it.

Then, Uchiha Madara would have a perfectly legitimate reason to give all the Ice Release Ninjutsu he had obtained to Aokiji.

The Uchiha Clan had spent a huge sum buying all these Ice Release Ninjutsu from a mysterious person, specifically to provide Aokiji with material for his training.

Once Aokiji learned of this and received these benefits, he would surely be deeply moved and remember this kindness. He would develop an even stronger emotional bond with the Uchiha Clan, allowing Uchiha Madara, who controlled Elder Itachi, to exert even more influence over Aokiji.

During this process, Aokiji would gain benefits while the Yuki Clan suffered enormous losses. Once they learned that every Ninjutsu in their clan had been learned by an outsider, they would surely spare no effort to kill Aokiji.

These Kekkei Genkai ninja who possessed the same Ice Release as Aokiji were undoubtedly the best testing stones for determining whether his Ice Release training had succeeded.

And Uchiha Madara believed that time would arrive soon enough.

Tobirama had already gone to negotiate with the Second Raikage. With his methods, Uchiha Madara believed there was a high chance the negotiations would succeed, and the world would welcome peace.

But that peace would be short-lived. New battles would soon follow.

During this period, Uchiha Madara would train Aokiji properly. Aokiji was now ten years old. In four or five years, even without using the Sharingan's abilities, reaching Jonin-level strength should not be a problem.

But such strength would certainly not be safe enough in the dangerous wars all around them. During that process, Aokiji would inevitably reveal his Sharingan abilities to the world, and then, with his formidable strength, he would surely become a target of suspicion, alienation, wariness, and suppression from the higher-ups led by Tobirama.

In that process, Aokiji would begin to empathize with those clansmen who had likewise been alienated. Living in such an environment for a long time, his heart would gradually be corrupted and become fragile.

And that would give Uchiha Madara the perfect opening. With only a little guidance, he could plant a seed of darkness in Aokiji's broken, vulnerable heart. Once planted, that seed would take root and sprout, before finally being completely detonated by Uchiha Madara. By then, Aokiji would fall completely into darkness and become Uchiha Madara's perfect tool person.

"Ahh~~ I'm so sleepy."

After forcibly changing his schedule and training desperately that morning, Aokiji yawned as he headed toward the hospital.

It was not because he was sick or anything. He was going to study Medical Ninjutsu with the Medical Ninja. The clan had already spoken to the department head here, so he only needed to go directly.

Medical Ninja shared an office building with ordinary doctors. It was not that Medical Ninja were poorly regarded and too miserable to have their own building, but because if anything unexpected happened, the Medical Ninja could serve as the final safeguard.

For example, for a patient barely clinging to life, one Mystical Palm Technique would definitely work better than an IV drip.

It was said that the Mystical Palm Technique also had the effect of a sleeping drug and could put someone straight to sleep. In many cases, critically injured patients were sent to the hospital at death's door, only to wake up and discover that they had recovered. It was practically a miracle.

And sometimes, Medical Ninja even filled in as ordinary doctors.

Medical Ninja were not popular among ninjas, but in the eyes of ordinary people, they were practically gods. Whenever a Medical Ninja appeared for consultations, patients would immediately swarm them.

Aokiji pushed open the hospital doors. The place was packed with people. Some sat on public benches waiting to be called, some paid at the billing windows, and others hurried between departments. Almost no one was idle.

No matter where it was, hospitals always seemed to be the busiest places. Aokiji sighed, feeling that working here in the future would be quite exhausting. He could not slack off anymore.

He had verbally told Tsunade and the others that he only intended to get a superficial grasp of it, but he still had to study seriously. Otherwise, if he failed to save someone and healed them to death instead, he would feel terribly guilty.

Aokiji had been exceptionally healthy since childhood and had never been sick. This was his first time here, so he was unfamiliar with the place and did not even know how to reach the medical department. But that was fine. There should be a receptionist in the main lobby to guide people who were unfamiliar with the hospital.

Aokiji looked around and quickly spotted a beautiful young woman who stood out like a crane among chickens in the bustling crowd.

Her smile was warm. Although he knew it was a professional smile, he had to admit that it was remarkably infectious. Paired with her snowy-white nurse uniform, it complemented her perfectly. Seeing that smile made it feel as though one's whole being had been cleansed.

Aokiji clicked his tongue in admiration. Nurse uniforms truly were one of the greatest inventions in human history. He really did not understand why Jiraiya was interested in those gaudy types like bunny girls and leopard print. Wasn't innocence far better?

Aokiji shook his head. Sure enough, human joys and sorrows were never shared.

When the receptionist saw a little boy walking toward her, she smiled. "Little friend, what can I help you with?"

"Um, excuse me, beautiful miss, could you tell me how to get to the Medical Ninja department?"

The receptionist was briefly puzzled. "What are you going to the Medical Ninja for?"

Aokiji did not hide anything and explained his purpose. In a sense, this receptionist was also going to be his "colleague."

The moment she heard that Aokiji wanted to become a Medical Ninja, the receptionist's expression changed. "You look very young."

Aokiji was very young. After her initial surprise, she quickly calmed down. After all, there were even examples outside of six-year-old children following adults into battle.

"Mm, I'm about ten years old. My name is Aokiji."

"Ten years old... Only a ten-year difference. That's not too much."

The receptionist muttered to herself.

Aokiji froze. A ten-year difference? "It's nothing..."

The receptionist blinked her bright eyes.

Medical Ninja earned very high salaries, and their lives were protected too. It was practically the perfect golden son-in-law profession. More importantly, she had a thing for young boys.

For a moment, she became incomparably enthusiastic toward Aokiji, warmly welcoming him. "Aokiji, are you free this Sunday?"

"???"

"You've just arrived at the hospital, so you surely don't know many of your colleagues yet, right? I'll hold a welcome party for you, and everyone can get to know each other better through work."

Aokiji repeatedly said, "Oh, oh," and understood.

The receptionist really was warm-hearted.

Aokiji suddenly felt that becoming a Medical Ninja had been an incredibly wise choice.

After bidding farewell to the warm and hospitable receptionist, Aokiji arrived at the office where the Medical Ninja worked. He politely knocked twice on the door. Before long, a mature female voice from inside told him to enter.

Aokiji entered the room and saw a young woman with chestnut hair tied into a high ponytail.

Aokiji recognized her. After recalling her name, he said, "Jonin Biwako?"