Kotoamatsukami? Danzo's Plot / I'm the Man Who Will Become the Fifth Hokage
It was just right for helping Ino better master the Yamanaka Clan's Secret Techniques.
And the gift for Tenten
was something he had carefully designed over the past few days:
a flying puppet made from the leftover materials.
Also, inside the storage scroll that held the flying puppet was an ordinary scroll.
It recorded some insights into the Puppet Technique.
He had specifically consulted Tsunade, who had fought the experienced and powerful puppet masters of Sunagakure many times and knew all about them, then combined her advice with his own understanding to put it together.
He had also mapped out a path for her future development.
He believed that as long as Tenten diligently followed the training plan he had devised,
she might one day become a truly outstanding puppet master.
"Are you leaving, Brother Rikuto...?"
"Are you going so soon?"
Hearing Rikuto say he was leaving,
the two girls were not very surprised.
He had mentioned it to them long ago, so they were both prepared.
Even so, they could not help gazing at Rikuto, reluctant to see him go.
"Don't worry. It's not like I won't be back."
He placed a hand on each of their heads.
Gently ruffling their hair, Rikuto smiled and reassured them, "Train hard. When I come back, I'll be checking on your progress!"
Chapter 40: Kotoamatsukami? Danzo's Plot
"Still no answers?"
Konoha.
The Shimura Clan.
In a dim room,
Shimura Danzō, who had been placed under house arrest, looked grimly down at the Root member kneeling before him.
The Third Hokage had stripped him of his position as Hokage's aide
and even made him hand Root over to the Anbu.
But most of Root's members
were fanatically loyal followers he had brainwashed and trained.
What was more, each of them bore a Cursed Seal he had personally placed on them.
Even if they nominally belonged to the Anbu, he still kept them firmly under his control in private, and they obeyed his orders.
The Uchiha Clan had been wiped out.
Yet Danzo had been in a foul mood these past few days.
It was not just because the Third Hokage was suppressing him, but also because someone had dared snatch food from the tiger's jaws.
They had seized the opportunity to take a large number of Sharingan.
Of the entire Uchiha Clan, fewer than five pairs of Three-Tomoe Sharingan had fallen into his hands.
The rest were all Futatsudomoe and Single Tomoe, which were not worth much.
How could he not be furious?
To use a Forbidden Technique like Izanagi,
he needed Sharingan with at least three tomoe.
That meant he had
only a handful of spare eyes.
"I'm terribly sorry, Lord Danzo..."
Cold sweat streamed down the Root Jonin's face as he carefully reported, "So far, we haven't found a single trace of the person behind it!"
"You're all a bunch of worthless fools!"
The low table before him shattered into pieces, and Danzo flew into a rage.
"However, based on our repeated examinations of the Uchiha Clan's bodies, we believe at least two people acted that night, gouging out those Sharingan!"
The Root Jonin did not dare raise his head.
Without stopping to wipe away his cold sweat, he said, head bowed, "But our people had already sealed off the Uchiha Clan beforehand. We have no idea how they managed to get in!"
"Also, besides Uchiha Itachi, there should have been another person who helped him deal with the Uchiha in the police force!"
After examining the bodies,
they had found signs of two different methods on the corpses whose Sharingan had been taken.
But they could not determine whether the work had been done by two separate parties.
"So, Lord Danzo, I believe we cannot rule out the Third Hokage or the other two elders as suspects!"
In Konoha,
there were certainly not many people capable of doing such a thing without Root noticing.
An outsider could not have slipped past Konoha's barrier and infiltrated the village unnoticed, unless they were a spy who had already been hiding in Konoha for years.
Yet Root had detected nothing unusual at all that night.
"Could it be... that Shisui's eye really fell into Hiruzen's hands?"
He gently touched his bandaged right eye.
Thinking of Shisui Uchiha's missing left eye,
Danzo became uncertain and began to suspect the Third Hokage.
His gaze turned sinister and wary. "If that's true, you've hidden yourself well, Hiruzen!"
"Oh, right, Lord Danzo..."
The Root Jonin remembered something and reported, "Tsunade, one of the Sannin, seems to be leaving Konoha!"
"Tsunade?"
Danzo paid it no mind and snorted. "Hmph, she's just an indecisive woman who'll never amount to anything!"
"However, that Chiya Rikuto does have quite astonishing talent..."
He paused.
His voice full of disbelief, the Root Jonin said gravely, "According to our investigation, he mastered an A-rank Medical Ninjutsu like the Mystical Palm Technique at just eight years old, and he can even perform One-Handed Hand Seals. His performance at Konoha Hospital these past few days has been astonishing. He's known as the 'Little Medical Sage,' and there's no limit to what he might achieve!"
"Also, we discovered that his Chakra reserves are astounding. Even when he repeatedly uses advanced Medical Ninjutsu to treat people at Konoha Hospital, no one has ever seen him run short of Chakra!"
"Has that brat really inherited the Senju bloodline perfectly?"
Danzo gently touched his right eye.
His gaze flickered as he hesitated over whether to make a move against Chiya Rikuto.
The terrifying talent Rikuto had displayed almost reminded him of his own teacher, Second Hokage Tobirama Senju!
If he could recruit such a genius,
then once Rikuto truly came into his own, he would surely become his right-hand man.
With the Hashirama Cells, he could use the ocular power of Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan to subtly influence and interfere with another person's will for a short time, and the power would recover before long.
But if he tried to use the true Kotoamatsukami to permanently and completely rewrite a person's will,
it would consume rather too much ocular power.
After all, the Wood Release power in his right arm could not compare to the First Hokage's, and he was not an Uchiha himself.
After using the permanent version of Kotoamatsukami once, it would take at least several years to recover fully.
Moreover, considering that Shisui's other eye was very likely in the Third Hokage's hands,
he could not help hesitating.
"Keep Chiya Rikuto under secret surveillance. Be sure not to alert him!"
Danzo decided to wait a little longer
and take another look at Chiya Rikuto's talent to see whether he was truly worth wasting the precious Kotoamatsukami on.
With the Third Hokage watching, he could not lay hands on the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki anytime soon anyway.
If he could secretly acquire a genius like this, that would be a good choice too.
Especially if Chiya Rikuto could truly inherit all of Tsunade's teachings—he would be even more valuable!
"Yes!"
Chapter 41: I'm the Man Who Will Become the Fifth Hokage
"Rikuto, hurry up!"
At the Konoha Gate,
Shizune held Tonton
and waved to Rikuto as he approached, carrying a backpack and dressed in casual clothes.
Beside him
were Kurenai Yuhi, Tenten, and Ino.
"We're finally leaving. The air outside really is fresher!" Tsunade stretched, fully displaying her lovely figure.
A pleased expression showed on her beautiful face.
If she had not wanted Rikuto to leave the village with her without any worries, she would never have stayed in Konoha this long.
The Uchiha Clan affair in particular had made her even more disgusted and disappointed with the Third Hokage and the other leaders.
"This kid's quite popular with the girls!" Glancing at Tenten and Ino, whose eyes were brimming with tears as they reluctantly saw Rikuto off, Tsunade could not help chuckling.
Still, if she had met someone
as handsome and strong as Rikuto when she was at the Ninja Academy, she might have fallen for him too.
Let alone those little girls.
"Well then, I'm off!"
Rikuto comforted the two girls and said with a smile, "Remember to train hard. I'll be checking when I get back!"
With that, he looked at Kurenai Yuhi, who had come to see him off.
He stepped forward and hugged her.
Tilting up his handsome little face,
he looked past the mountains with their astonishing curves and up at Kurenai Yuhi's delicate face. "Sister Kurenai, I'll leave the house to you!"
"Mm, don't worry!" Feeling Rikuto's attachment to her, Kurenai Yuhi was both happy and reluctant to see him go. She patted her little brother's head and smiled. "While you're away, remember not to throw tantrums, and listen to Lady Tsunade!"
Rikuto smiled and nodded. "I will!"
"Brother Rikuto, have a safe trip!"
"Goodbye, Rikuto! We'll be waiting for you to come back!"
"Goodbye!!"
Rikuto had his backpack on.