"Yu, Shisui."
"Both of you, come to my office tomorrow."
Finally retracting his gaze filled with astonishment and complexity, the Third Hokage issued a stern command before vanishing from the spot.
After all, it was a critical time during the Shinobi World War, and his office was filled with reports and documents waiting for him to handle.
"Did you hear that?"
"The Hokage is summoning them individually!"
"Yakushi Yu and Uchiha Shisui... It looks like Leaf Village is about to produce two remarkable figures again!"
Upon hearing the words left behind by the Third Hokage, those present became even more certain of Yu and Shisui's limitless potential. They had received a personal summons from the Third Hokage himself.
"Thank you, Yu."
At this moment, Shisui's wounds were finally completely healed thanks to Yu's medical ninjutsu.
"Impressive medical ninjutsu. I have to admit, I'm in awe of your abilities after today's battle."
"However, don't get too confident. I'll catch up to you soon!"
Seeing Yu's exceptional medical ninjutsu, Shisui couldn't help but show a hint of admiration.
"Is that so? Well, we'll see when you catch up!"
Facing Shisui, who acknowledged his skills but refused to admit defeat, Yu shrugged indifferently.
Awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan as "Shisui of the body flicker", he was undoubtedly powerful, but Yu wouldn't remain stagnant either. Besides, he had other trump cards in reserve. If he managed to obtain the Puppeteer Jutsu and augment it with the Devil Laws, Shisui would never be able to catch up to his rate of powering up.
With that, Yu turned his head and saw Urushi, Mai, and the other orphans from the Leaf Orphanage excitedly rushing towards him.
And Nono, standing not too far away, watched him with gentle yet complex eyes.
...
Once Yu and the others had left, the crowd of onlookers gradually dispersed. However, from that day forward, apart from Uchiha Shisui, the Leaf Village's Number One Prodigy, the title of "Yakushi Yu," had spread like wildfire throughout the village, almost like a plague.
His dazzling Chidori, the vanishing ninjutsu, and the mysterious Bloodline Limit, Thread release, all contributed to Yu becoming the center of attention and discussion among the people.
Even in these turbulent times of war, Yu's reputation as a prodigy began to spread beyond the borders of the Hidden Leaf Village.
The next day.
Everyone in the Leaf Village was discussing the unprecedented graduation test from yesterday.
At this moment, a fierce debate was unfolding in the Hokage's office.
"I suggest you give up on this idea, Danzo!"
The Third Hokage removed his Hokage hat and slammed it onto the table, his tone leaving no room for negotiation. "I will not hand over both of them to you!"
"Hiruzen, Yu and Shisui..."
"These two are the most promising prodigies of their generation."
Shimura Danzo, who stood before the Third Hokage, stared back unwaveringly, his voice deep. "With the strength of 'Root,' I can undoubtedly develop them into exceptional shinobi."
After witnessing the unprecedented talent and abilities of Yu and Shisui in the Hokage's office yesterday, Danzo couldn't contain himself any longer. He had come to the office early in the morning to request the two prodigious youths.
"I'm sorry..."
"I believe that 'Root' excels at cultivating tools rather than shinobi."
In the face of Danzo's persuasion, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, remained calm. "I have faith in your abilities, but I also believe that if they were to grow in the Anbu Black Ops, they would be no less skilled."
"Hiruzen!"
Seeing the Third Hokage's resolute refusal, Danzo clenched the cane in his hand, his eyes growing colder.
Ignoring the Third Hokage's continued words, Danzo walked towards the door, leaning on his cane.
Yes, he was the Hokage, the highest authority in the Leaf Village so he had the final say on the matter... With that in mind, Danzo's grip on his cane tightened.
'Remember that you forced me into this, Hiruzen...'
'Only in my hands can the true value of the Leaf Village be realized...'
"Danzo..."
Watching Danzo leave, the Third Hokage sighed deeply.
They had once been disciples under the Second Hokage, and now they had embarked on completely different paths..
…
Leaf Village, bustling streets.
Yu walked amidst the bustling crowd.
Now, after the unprecedented graduation test yesterday, Yu, who had been bestowed the title of "Leaf Village's Number One Prodigy," attracted attention wherever he went.
His exceptionally handsome appearance occasionally caused quite a commotion, making Yu feel even more out of place.
"Oh my..."
"I didn't expect you to be quite popular with the girls!"
Just as Yu was about to quicken his pace to escape the gaze of the crowd, a familiar voice suddenly sounded. Two graceful figures appeared in front of him.
"Anko?!"
"Yugao?!"
Hearing the slightly teasing tone, Yu looked up and saw none other than Mitarashi Anko and Uzuki Yugao.
"Um..."
"Yu-kun, I haven't congratulated you on officially becoming a shinobi."
With a shy smile, Yugao handed a packet of three-colored dango to Yu.
"These dango took me a while to get. Consider it a gift to celebrate your graduation!"
Dango?
Accepting the dango that Uzuki Yugao handed over, Yu was momentarily surprised and took it from her.
These dango were from the most famous dango shop in the Leaf Village, the same shop where, Mitarashi Anko, loved to go in the original story. Although Yu wasn't particularly fond of sweets, he was curious about trying this renowned delicacy.
"Well, thank you, Sister Yugao."
After taking the gift from Uzuki Yugao, Yu looked at the beautiful girl who had dressed up carefully today and his eyes brightened. "I can't finish all of these by myself, so how about we share?"
"You're not too bad, after all!"
Before Uzuki Yugao could respond, Mitarashi Anko, who was straightforward, had already taken a string of dango from Yu's hand and started eating. She also cast a somewhat mischievous and suggestive glance at Yu and Yugao.
"I mean... Are you two on a date?"
----
Support me on patreon for More advanced chapters up to 50 so far patreon.com/DemonWriter