"Danzo, you've been going too far lately."
Hiruzen looked grimly at Danzo in front of him.
"Hiruzen, you should know that kid is a genius but also a lunatic. Let him join Root! Root is where he belongs!"
"That's impossible!"
Hiruzen's expression turned extremely ugly.
"Do you want to burden that child with the darkness of Konoha at such a young age?"
"It's precisely because he's a genius that Root is the most suitable place for him."
"Hiruzen, you already had Minato. Do you want this boy too..."
Danzo didn't continue, but the implication was clear.
Hiruzen fell into silence without giving an answer for a moment. Then, after a while, he spoke up, "I won't let that child join Root. You'd better give up on that idea."
"Hmph!"
Danzo snorted coldly and left the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen returned to his seat, rubbing his forehead. Another genius like Minato. He couldn't let someone like that fall into Danzo's hands.
He was getting old, and he wouldn't sit in the position of Hokage for much longer.
Moreover, Hiruzen had a bad feeling, as if there was a hidden hand manipulating and influencing the shinobi world.
Looking at the documents on his desk, a hint of coldness appeared in Hiruzen's eyes, which had seen many vicissitudes.
The Uchiha clan had been getting increasingly restless lately.
---
Since Ryujiro enrolled, Sasuke, who used to shine as the pride of the Uchiha clan, had dimmed considerably in comparison to Ryujiro's radiance.
By now, Ryujiro had truly become the undisputed top student, a prominent figure within the academy.
However, Ryujiro no longer attended ninja classes. Those at the ninja academy were merely clones of Ryujiro.
He had no interest in such a curriculum.
And over the past six months...
Ryujiro's swordsmanship had improved significantly, but although his progress was steady, he still hadn't reached the level of a true swordsman.
It seemed Ryujiro was stuck into a strange cycle of bottlenecks.
[Character Template: Dracule Mihawk]
[Character Unlock Progress: 18.5%]
Though Ryujiro was no longer tormented by the hawk-eyed figure in his mental space, he still was no match for him.
Suddenly, at this moment, Ryujiro's eyes changed, his whole body tensing up. He looked alertly at a certain spot.
The next moment!
As Ryujiro drew his sword, an attack shot out and struck a tree trunk, leaving a mark.
This wasn't a Flying Slash attack. A true swordsman could easily cleave a tree with that technique.
"Who's there!"
"Hehe, interesting little guy. Even an average Jonin might not be able to detect me."
"Your power just now didn't seem like chakra."
A man with a pale face, black long hair, and an aura of coldness and malice emerged. His eyes were like those of a venomous snake.
Ryujiro's eyes couldn't help but contract, an unprecedented sense of danger enveloping him.
Orochimaru!
How could he appear in Konoha at this time!
The presence of Root ninjas had disappeared...
It seemed Orochimaru had dealt with them already.
And currently, Ryujiro is still no match for Orochimaru!
"Orochimaru."
Ryujiro watched Orochimaru warily, murmuring softly.
A hint of curiosity flashed in Orochimaru's eyes as he looked at Ryujiro.
"It seems you know me."
"You're one of the Legendary Sannin, a renowned rogue ninja in the village. How could I not know you."
Ryujiro kept his hand on his sword. Orochimaru was a twisted scientist; he didn't want to fall into Orochimaru's hands.
Orochimaru's expression changed, and the next moment, his figure disappeared, appearing in front of Ryujiro. He reached out to grab Ryujiro, but found himself grasping at thin air.
Orochimaru once again looked towards Ryujiro.
"Amazing reaction speed."
Orochimaru stretched out his long tongue and licked the blood from his arm.
The curious look in his eyes became more intense.
He thought, 'Not only did this boy got aware of my movements, but he also had time to do damage to me while avoiding me.
This kid!
Marvelous!
Orochimaru looked even more excited, looking at Ryujiro as if he wanted to swallow him completely.
Because of this Ryujiro felt unprecedented pressure coming from Orochimaru, cold sweat broke out from his forehead.
Damn it!
The fight actually turns on this guy!
But the next second, Orochimaru's expression changed again, he squinted at another spot in the forest, sensing someone approaching rapidly, and their strength seemed extraordinary.
"It seems today's encounter ends here."
"Kid, I'll come find you another day."
With those words, Orochimaru's figure also disappeared.
After Itachi arrived, he glanced around.
"Is he gone?"
Ryujiro was also surprised by Itachi's arrival, understanding now why Orochimaru had left.
Why did Itachi come here?
Ryujiro didn't think it was the Third Hokage who sent Itachi to protect him.
Although he had outstanding achievements in the ninja academy, Itachi wasn't someone the Third Hokage would casually deploy to fight someone like Orochimaru.
"Who did you just see?"
Itachi spoke coldly.
"Orochimaru."
Itachi's expression changed slightly. No wonder he had sensed a chilling presence; it indeed matched Orochimaru.
He knew this was matter beyond his authority, so he had to inform Third Hokage about it, but before that Itachi wanted to talk about something else with Ryujiro.
Then, Itachi carefully scrutinized Ryujiro.
"I heard my brother has been losing to you."
"Yeah."
Ryujiro coughed twice.
But at this moment, Itachi had already taken out the shuriken.
Damn!
'Is this the cold Itachi I know? Is he really here to fight me because of Sasuke?'
"Don't misunderstand. Sasuke asked me to test your strength. He wants to know the gap between himself and you."
Itachi said indifferently.
Ryujiro's face darkened as he cursed inwardly.
'That bastard Sasuke was clearly setting me up. Even if I'm strong, I'm still just a punching bag in front of Itachi, who had already unlocked the Mangekyou Sharingan and had become a true Kage-level powerhouse...'
But Ryujiro didn't feel even the slightest fear. Instead, he felt excited.
Being able to spar with Itachi would help him understand his own strength better.
----------
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