My whole life has been like walking on thin ice

"Do you have a death wish?"

The Root ninja could not understand what Yecheng was relying on to dare speak that way to someone as strong as him.

"We're very close to the Hokage Building. Are you sure you want to fight here?"

Yecheng chuckled.

"..."

The Root operative fell silent.

The orders he had received did not, in fact, include instructions to seize Yecheng outright.

With his message delivered, he lingered no longer and left with the Body Flicker Technique.

Yecheng's thoughts raced. From this Root ninja's appearance, he had already pieced together most of what had happened in the Hokage Office last night.

It was nothing more than some "I Shadow You Regret Bang" incident, after which Danzo had discovered that legitimate channels would not work and could only resort to threats and intimidation to force him into submission.

In other words, the Third Hokage was still on his side for now.

That meant that within Konoha, even Danzo could not resort to violence.

This put him somewhat at ease.

But the Root operative's appearance had still put considerable pressure on him.

"Looks like I'll have to speed up my plans."

Yecheng's original plan had been to build good relationships with Konoha's young talents first and slowly build up his strength.

After graduating, he would follow the original plot, befriend the two powerhouses Jiraiya and Tsunade, and strive to become their disciple.

But plans could not keep up with change. Danzo already had his sights on him, so he could no longer take things slowly. Who knew what other insane things Danzo might do?

After all, in the original story, even the Uchiha Clan, the foremost clan in the Shinobi World, had been wiped out by his schemes. He had not even balked at severely weakening Konoha Shinobi Village's fighting strength. It was sheer madness.

"That's how the Shinobi World is. Naruto started living alone at three with no one to look after him, Sasuke lost his entire family at eight, and during the Shinobi World War a few years ago, even children under ten all had to go to the battlefield."

With that self-mocking remark, Yecheng composed himself and headed toward school.

This was only his second day at the Ninja Academy. He could not skip class.

Even if he had just faced an enormous crisis.

That was how the Shinobi World worked.

Hokage Office.

"Reporting."

"Lord Jiraiya wrote back to say he has found traces of Orochimaru and is pursuing him. He cannot return."

Hearing the Anbu's report, Hiruzen Sarutobi remained expressionless. Only his expression dimmed slightly, and his aged eyes seemed to grow even cloudier.

Although this reply had been within his expectations, actually facing it still hurt.

"What about Tsunade?"

"Lady Princess Tsunade is currently in Tanzaku Town, but..."

"Speak."

"The Anbu ninja we sent was sent flying the moment he approached her. By the time he regained consciousness, Lady Princess Tsunade had already left."

Out of duty, the Anbu ninja still reported the entire incident.

The Anbu were a force directly subordinate to the Hokage, specializing in important and classified missions. When carrying out orders outside the village, they could practically be regarded as the Hokage himself.

For Tsunade to treat an Anbu sent by the Third Hokage this way, taken seriously, was practically rebellion!

But considering her special status-the Third Hokage's personal disciple, the First Hokage's granddaughter, a princess of the Land of Fire, the most renowned medical ninja in the Shinobi World...

Best not to dwell on it!

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff on his pipe and said, "As for Tsunade, have Kakashi make a trip to Tanzaku Town.

"As for Jiraiya, write back and tell him to continue tracking... never mind. I'll write both letters myself."

With Konoha beset by turmoil, facing troubles within and threats without, how he wished his personal disciples could return and help ease his burdens.

Unfortunately, one had already defected;

one had his head full of prophecy and was roaming the Shinobi World in search of the Child of Prophecy and his fellow disciple who had defected;

and one had developed severe hemophobia from the trauma of war, left, become addicted to gambling, and never returned.

My whole life has truly been like walking on thin ice. Teacher, can I make it to the other shore?

Ninja Academy.

The morning lessons covered academic subjects, which actually included plenty of mathematics and physics. Of course, the greatest emphasis was still on the will of fire.

Where Konoha dances, fire also burns unceasingly. The firelight will continue to illuminate the village and let new leaves sprout.

It counted as a Konoha specialty, a part of the experience that transmigrators had no choice but to sample.

"What does this even mean? Yecheng, I don't get it. I really don't get it!"

Beside him, Naruto scratched his head in frustration.

Yecheng smiled. "It means that generations of ninja devote their lives to the struggle to keep children safe, so those who come after them can live more peacefully without being affected by war anymore."

It had to be said that, after the thousand years of warfare during the Warring States Period, Hiruzen Sarutobi had grasped the First Hokage's original intentions quite well, distilling them into something as incisive as the "will of fire."

The problem was that too many of those who came later exploited the will of fire after rising to power, while refusing to abide by it themselves and pursuing only their own selfish desires. That was what made it seem like a joke.

The most typical example was undoubtedly Danzo.

His crimes were too numerous to record. The methods he had used on Yecheng were merely part of his daily routine.

Naruto nodded with only a vague understanding. Remembering how the villagers treated him, he felt somewhat confused.

But he soon put it out of his mind.

That was how optimists were.

The afternoon brought ninjutsu and taijutsu lessons.

Today's ninjutsu lesson began focused training, teaching the Transformation Technique, one of the Three Basic Techniques.

Yecheng pretended to practice, but in reality, he used his Six Eyes to train his Yang Release chakra nature transformation, strengthening his physique and chakra control.

The ninjutsu lesson offered little of note.

The main reason was that most ninja who came to teach at the Ninja Academy were Chunin who had already reached the end of their path as ninja and had come for a secure job.

Their salaries were more than enough to support themselves, with some left over, but were nowhere near enough if they wanted to improve their strength on wages alone.

Thus, most who came here to teach were just coasting through life, a bunch without a shred of a teacher's spirit.

After briefly explaining the key points, they left the students to practice on their own.

After all, talented students could learn it themselves, while those without talent would be cannon fodder even if they mastered it and became ninja.

The village leadership knew this perfectly well, which was why the Four-Man Squad System paired veterans with newcomers after graduation from the Ninja Academy, ensuring the new ninja received further education.

Truly talented ninja therefore chose to graduate early, like Kakashi and Itachi. After all, there was little they could learn at the Ninja Academy.

But Yecheng would not do that.

Even though he had already fully mastered the Three Basic Techniques and possessed both Yang Release and Yin Release chakra nature transformations, he would not choose to graduate early.

As long as he remained a Ninja Academy student, he still had an excuse to put Danzo off and could continue living under Hiruzen Sarutobi's protection while building his strength.

Still, when the time was right, he would make his mark.

He was only lying low now because he did not yet have anyone reliable to lean on.

If he could become Jiraiya's disciple like Naruto in the original story, or have Tsunade to rely on, why would he need to be so cautious?

He would not flinch even from confronting Danzo head-on!