The upper echelons of Konoha who were familiar with Danzo's temperament couldn't help but think to themselves: Here he goes again...
Seeing something good and wanting to grab it all for himself, he's just like a reincarnated squirrel.
When Kushina heard that Danzo wanted Natsuhiko to leave the school, she felt a wave of anxiety. She was about to speak, but Mito covered her mouth, signalling her to watch quietly.
At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face also darkened.
After all, he had just rewarded Natsuhiko with the privilege of choosing any jutsu from the Book of Seals, and here Danzo was, tempting Natsuhiko with a bunch of books and forbidden techniques...
Didn't this make him look stingy?
It's known that forbidden techniques are called such because they either endanger the user's life or violate ethical norms—they're not to be taken lightly.
Moreover, a ninja's energy is limited; proficiently mastering just a few A-rank or B-rank techniques is already quite an achievement.
So, offering so many forbidden techniques to Natsuhiko without restriction would harm him rather than help him.
However, Hiruzen also understood how attractive such conditions were to a research-oriented ninja like Natsuhiko.
Even his disciple, Orochimaru, couldn't resist such temptation and had been getting closer to Danzo lately, let alone young Natsuhiko.
At this moment, Natsuhiko's expression was peculiar.
Had he triggered the classic "Danzo recruiting" plot?
And this plot was unfolding right in front of him—it was genuinely thrilling!
According to the script, it was now the Third Hokage's turn to speak.
Right, Lord Hokage, it's your cue.
Sure enough, in the next moment, Natsuhiko heard a stern rebuke echoing in the office:
"Danzo, remember your place. I am the—Head of the Research Department!"
"?"
Natsuhiko nearly twisted his back in surprise, turning to see that the speaker was none other than the usually unnoticeable Mitokado Homura!
This guy was also the head of the Research Department and a Hokage advisor.
The Third Hokage, who was about to speak, was left bewildered, feeling as though his lines had been stolen.
Homura continued assertively, "Developing this communication bracelet clearly falls under our Research Department's purview, and Natsuhiko-kun should naturally join us!"
It seemed Homura also saw the potential of this communication bracelet and was willing to risk breaking with his old comrade to claim it.
Then, he smiled kindly at Natsuhiko and said, "As for books and jutsu, the Research Department isn't lacking either. We can even supply materials for developing ninja tools without limit. It's definitely the best place for you, Natsuhiko."
To Homura's invitation, Natsuhiko could only respond internally: Speaking of which, does Konoha even have a Research Department?
If so, why have ninja tools yet not seen any improvements in decades?
It must be a department that does nothing but laze around—it actually sounds quite appealing.
Having had his lines stolen, Hiruzen Sarutobi, seeing that his opponent also wanted Natsuhiko, felt as if the script was back on track.
So, he cleared his throat and began to speak, "You..."
"While discussing my subordinate's future, didn't you think of asking my opinion?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi had barely uttered a word when he was interrupted by a woman's voice from outside.
His face darkened, wondering why everyone was stealing his lines today.
Just as he was about to scold the intruder, he realised that the one entering was his wife, Biwako Sarutobi.
"Biwako? Why are you here so late?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked in surprise.
"If I hadn't come, you would have taken away the sealing jutsu teacher I painstakingly found," Biwako Sarutobi said irritably.
She then nodded slightly to greet the others, giving Natsuhiko a significant look.
Fortunately, Natsuhiko had his shadow clone call her for help; otherwise, he really might have been taken away.
Biwako felt relieved yet slightly alarmed.
Did Natsuhiko anticipate this situation in advance?
Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi silently complained, remembering how Biwako had been worried about not finding anyone willing to teach sealing jutsu. So, she immediately accepted Natsuhiko's application.
It didn't seem difficult at all!
However, Hiruzen only dared to think this to himself. Outwardly, he awkwardly said,
"Biwako is exaggerating. Everyone just admires Natsuhiko and is discussing how to maximise his potential."
To be honest, Hiruzen was somewhat tempted by Homura's proposal.
After all, Natsuhiko was so adept at inventing various rune ninja tools; having him spend time teaching seemed wasteful.
Maybe placing him in the Research Department was the right way to utilise Natsuhiko's talents.
However, Biwako, brought in by Natsuhiko as reinforcement, was well-prepared.
"If you really want to maximise Natsuhiko's potential, you should ensure he stays at the ninja school."
She said while distributing some papers to everyone.
Everyone looked down to see they were ninja school report cards from a month ago, comparing midterm results with last year's final grades.
Biwako explained, "These are the students' grades before and after Natsuhiko started teaching the sealing jutsu course. You'll notice a significant improvement—and this is even with him making the exams more challenging."
"Moreover, thanks to Natsuhiko's use of the Geki Nin Card to engage students in drawing runes, their chakra control has also improved."
"This is reflected in the noticeable improvement in the ninjutsu grades of students who took the sealing jutsu course."
"And this is only after half a semester."
When the grades from the two periods were compared, the upper echelons saw that Biwako's words were indeed valid, and they were slightly surprised.
Besides being a great inventor, Natsuhiko was also quite skilled in teaching!
But this alone wasn't enough to satisfy them.
Danzo, somewhat disdainfully, remarked, "Even so, it's not enough…"
"I haven't finished!"
Biwako interrupted directly, "Besides his main job, Natsuhiko is also involved in school reforms."
"Pay attention to the grades of Sarutobi Asuma, Kurenai Yuhi, Obito Uchiha, Rin Nohara, and Ebisu. You'll see their taijutsu rankings have also improved significantly."
"Obito, who used to be average, even recently defeated Hyuga Hiyashi(previously Souken), a genius of the same grade."
"This is because they are members of the research group Natsuhiko established, and they used the training equipment he developed to improve their taijutsu skills."
"This training equipment will be officially introduced at the ninja school next semester."
Besides sealing jutsu and ninjutsu, taijutsu was also mentioned.
The upper echelons were speechless; Natsuhiko was handling quite a lot.
Konoha was getting its money's worth from his employment.
Gradually, everyone understood Biwako's point…
Biwako summarised:
"Yes, having Natsuhiko focus solely on research and development might yield quick results."
"But keeping him at the ninja school not only significantly improves the average student level but also continuously produces talented individuals who inherit Natsuhiko's knowledge."
"You must choose whether to squeeze out Natsuhiko's inspiration now or to create countless 'Natsuhikos'.
"Ultimately, it's up to you, Hiruzen, to decide."
"After all, you are the principal of the ninja school."
…
There was no need to say more.
Biwako had implied that taking Natsuhiko out of the school would be short-sighted and make them eternal sinners in Konoha. What more could Konoha's top four say?
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff from his pipe, pondered for a moment, and said,
"Indeed, during this time of peace, placing Natsuhiko in the ninja school to reform and improve the overall strength of students and produce more sealing jutsu experts seems the best choice."
Homura and Koharu also agreed.
Only Danzo, dissatisfied, grumbled, "You'll regret this!"
Then he strode out of the Hokage's office.
On his way out, he made sure to slam the door.
But a while later, he sheepishly returned.
He almost forgot the meeting wasn't over yet…
Finally, Natsuhiko and Kushina were allowed to go home.
Before leaving, Mito invited Natsuhiko to visit her home during the winter break.
Natsuhiko then escorted Kushina to Mito's house and returned to his own.
He collapsed on his bed, and within three seconds, his system alarm went off.
Because it was already morning…
It was only then that Natsuhiko realised he had forgotten to ask Biwako for leave…
She was caught in the act.
(The End of the Chapter)