Back at the village gate, the Uchiha clan who had been keeping watch bowed respectfully to Sarutobi and Orochimaru.
"Sarutobi-sama!"
"Lord Orochimaru!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and smiled. "Good work."
Then he looked at Orochimaru and asked, "How's your abdomen?"
Orochimaru smiled back. "It's fine, Sensei, as long as you don't mention what happened earlier."
"Hmph. Do you still understand the seriousness of the situation?"
Orochimaru shook his head. "Sensei, he seems to have Hashirama cell—…"
Hiruzen glared at Orochimaru coldly. "Don't speak nonsense. If that were the case, the Uzumaki clan wouldn't have allowed him to live here for so long."
"But now, Mito-sama treats him like her own. Tomorrow, he'll move back to her side, and there's not much I can do."
"I see. It's fine, Sensei. I intentionally held back earlier. I didn't hurt him at all."
Hiruzen glanced at Orochimaru, unconvinced.
Orochimaru was still lost in thought about his recent battle with Yoruichi. Even though he hadn't used his full strength, he had a feeling Yoruichi was holding back as well. What else did he have up his sleeve? It would be interesting to find out.
Sarutobi suddenly asked, "Who told you that?"
"When I rescued Minato Namikaze, he mentioned it."
Sarutobi looked at Orochimaru's bleeding abdomen and said, "Even so, you shouldn't have been so reckless. The experiment with the First Hokage's cells was long ago halted."
Orochimaru smiled. "Sensei, I think there's still a chance for it…"
"No," Sarutobi interrupted. "Don't talk about the First Hokage's cells. Do you really want to experiment with the only remaining bloodline of the Senju clan? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
Orochimaru quickly added, "Sensei, I only need a little blood. It's nothing compared to what the Senju clan could give."
Sarutobi shook his head. "No means no."
Orochimaru sighed. "Okay, I understand, Sensei. I was just curious. I didn't have any other intentions. If you'll excuse me, I'll take my leave."
"Wait, rest for two days and then continue monitoring the movements of the Hidden Cloud Village."
"Sensei, I've been seriously injured. I need at least half a year to recover."
Sarutobi looked at him skeptically. "That injury isn't that bad. A month of rest will be fine."
Orochimaru sighed, "I'll go to the Hidden Cloud Village and rest there. It's safer."
Sarutobi took a deep breath. "Stop with the excuses. If you go to the Hidden Cloud Village, it won't be difficult for you to recover."
"Don't interfere with Yoruichi. Not only am I watching him, but so are others."
"If you cause trouble, I can't protect you."
Orochimaru smiled. "Don't worry, Sensei. I won't do anything foolish. Please send someone else to monitor the Hidden Cloud Village."
"Wait, I didn't agree yet. Come back!"
Orochimaru chuckled. "Sensei, I suggest Yoruichi. He's capable of protecting himself. No one knows his full capabilities, whether it's in the village or in other ninja villages."
With that, Orochimaru left without another word.
Sarutobi sighed. "Let him rest. He's been working hard…"
He couldn't help but think about Orochimaru's last words.
"Yoruichi going to the Hidden Cloud Village? Orochimaru has a point. Yoruichi is highly capable, but now the last of the Senju clan's inheritance is in his hands. If something happens to him, I won't be able to protect him…"
---
The next morning, the sun rose, and Yoruichi yawned.
"Why are you here so early?"
He rubbed his eyes and the door opened. A root ninja tied by a tree root entered.
The ninja stared at Yoruichi, shocked. He had checked the information before coming. How could a low-ranking ninja tie up a middle-ranking one?
And his chakra… it was being drained.
"What's going on?"
The ninja quickly spoke. "Yoruichi, Lord Danzo wants you to come to his house!"
[Given the current situation, the host has three options!]
[Option 1: Go to Lord Danzo's house and become part of the Konoha Anbu! Reward: B-rank Wind Release – Vacuum Wave.]
[Option 2: Go to the Hokage's office, meet Sarutobi, and become a rising star of Konoha! Reward: C-rank Ninjutsu – Telescope Technique.]
[Option 3: Stay home, be lazy, and automatically upgrade! Reward: 10x fusion speed for Senju Hashirama's character cards, 10x experience points for all ninjutsu (excluding character cards).]
Does this really need to be a choice?
Option 3, of course!
Yoruichi immediately tossed the Root ninja out of the door and lay back down.
"Seeking death!"
The Root ninja fumed but controlled himself. He immediately ran back to report.
Yoruichi checked the fusion degree of the Senju Hashirama character card. After sleeping, it had increased from 5% to 5.1%.
After another hour of sleep, the fusion level went up to 5.2%.
"Damn, one hour, one night!"
"It's true. Being lazy has its perks."
"It's just so boring here…"
Yoruichi thought for a moment, grabbed a kunai, and used the Flying Thunder God Technique. In a split second, he appeared at the kunai's location.
"Seems pretty quick to train with this."
Yoruichi then practiced the Flying Thunder God technique, and his experience points shot up.
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office, Sarutobi was frustrated.
It was 10 AM, and Yoruichi still hadn't arrived.
Uzumaki Mito, Kushina Uzumaki, and Orochimaru were also in the office.
Yoruichi had left them hanging.
...
Orochimaru, with a sly grin, apologized to Sarutobi for his reckless behavior the day before. However, Yoruichi didn't show up.
"This brat's interesting," Orochimaru muttered, his golden eyes gleaming with intrigue. He felt an overwhelming urge to capture Yoruichi and conduct his experiments.
Lady Mito Uzumaki frowned, her sharp gaze piercing Orochimaru. "Sarutobi, I know you've been attempting to revive the Wood Release with village-wide efforts. But it was a mistake and is now forbidden. Don't let this happen again."
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, nodded earnestly. "Yes, Lady Mito, I've already warned Orochimaru. He's promised not to repeat his actions."
Orochimaru chuckled, bowing slightly. "Of course, Lady Mito. It won't happen again." Yet, in his mind, he plotted. Next time, I won't give him a chance to resist.
Hiruzen sighed. "We need to send Yoruichi away from Konoha for now. A mission in Kumogakure might be the best option."
"I'll fetch him myself," Orochimaru suggested with a grin.
Lady Mito huffed. "No need. Kushina and I will handle this!"
---
Yoruichi sat on his bed, lost in thought. He had been imagining various ninjutsu combinations to pass the time. Surprisingly, lying in bed and visualizing the techniques seemed to improve his mastery.
"Hmm?" He glanced outside. Approaching his house were Lady Mito, Kushina Uzumaki, Hiruzen, and Orochimaru.
What do they want now? Yoruichi sighed.
By the time they arrived, he had lazily jumped out of bed.
The Third Hokage immediately scolded him. "Yoruichi, instead of training, you're sleeping?! Such talent wasted!"
Mito interjected, "He must've been too tired last night. Don't be so harsh, Sarutobi."
Kushina waved at Yoruichi excitedly. "Come on down, lazybones!"
Yawning, Yoruichi leapt out the window to greet them. "Morning, Lady Mito, Kushina, Lord Third, and Orochimaru. What's up?"
He stretched, glancing briefly at his internal system notification. The fusion rate for the First Hokage's skills had reached 5.3%.
His grasp of the Flying Thunder God Technique and the Reanimation Jutsu was already unparalleled. I'm probably the best at these now. Not bad.
Orochimaru broke the silence with a venomous smirk. "Yoruichi, you were supposed to report to the Hokage's office this morning. It's almost noon!"
Lady Mito's tone softened. "Are you feeling unwell, Yoruichi?"
Yoruichi shrugged. "I'm fine. I just lose track of time when lying down." He glanced at Hiruzen. "So, what's the matter? If there's nothing important, I'll head back to sleep."
Hiruzen's eyebrow twitched. This kid... so talented, yet so lazy. Such disrespect!
Clearing his throat, Hiruzen said, "Orochimaru, apologize to Yoruichi first."
Orochimaru stepped forward and bowed slightly. "Yoruichi, my apologies for troubling you last night."
"It's fine," Yoruichi replied casually.
Hiruzen continued, "You performed remarkably in the rescue operation. After much deliberation, we've decided to promote you to Chunin rank!"
Everyone expected Yoruichi to be overjoyed, but instead, he shook his head. "I refuse. I'm fine as a Genin. I'll never become a Chunin."
They were stunned.
---
Inside Yoruichi's mind, his system displayed three options:
1. Accept the promotion to Chunin. Reward: C-Rank Jutsu – Windmill Blade Manipulation.
2. Refuse and insist on taking the Chunin Exam. Reward: B-Rank Taijutsu – Meat Tank Technique.
3. Reject the promotion outright. Reward: 10x Fusion Speed for the First Hokage's abilities and A-Rank Jutsu – Lightning Release: Chidori.
Without hesitation, Yoruichi selected the third option without even a hint of hesitation. That's an easy choice.
###
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