On the fourth day of cultivating with Uchiha Shisui, just after the afternoon training ended, Uchiha Yoru faintly heard cheers.
His senses were extremely sharp now. Before Shisui heard anything, he had already distinguished the name being repeatedly shouted in the cheers—Orochimaru.
Yoru understood.
Orochimaru had finally completed the handover at the front line and returned to Konoha.
But Orochimaru's reputation seemed a little too high. It had probably exceeded the Third Hokage's expectations, and perhaps even exceeded the range the Third Hokage could tolerate.
The corner of Yoru's mouth curved slightly.
Through their interactions, he had discovered that Orochimaru was very different from the one in his memories.
Orochimaru valued the Hokage position greatly and had done a great deal of serious work for it.
The various exchanges of interest and the rebellious alliance he had formed with Yoru were merely a small part of his behind-the-scenes efforts.
From Elder Ryūnosuke, Yoru knew that over the past half year, Orochimaru had frequently contacted Konoha's ninja clans and outstanding ninja.
Even the Uchiha clan had received his envoys.
Unfortunately, because of his indecisiveness, Uchiha Fugaku had responded with neither refusal nor agreement, simply dragging the matter out.
A disaster-level response.
So when Orochimaru did not want to give up the power of the Uchiha clan, forming an alliance with Yoru became the natural choice.
But the fact that he personally came instead of sending a trusted subordinate also proved that he valued Yoru differently.
Since Orochimaru had done so much work, it meant he would never give up easily.
Yoru smiled because he could already foresee that in the coming days, Konoha would definitely become very interesting.
For example, a master-disciple struggle.
For example, a personnel war.
Uchiha Shisui could not hear the distant cheers, but he saw his teacher's smile and asked curiously, "Brother Yoru, what are you smiling about?"
Yoru replied, "I heard cheers. They're welcoming Orochimaru-sama back to the village. He was my old superior, so I'm happy."
Shisui curiously cupped his hands beside his ears, closed his eyes, and listened carefully for a while. Then he shook his head. "I can't hear it."
Yoru placed his right index finger on Shisui's yūchin point and carefully sent in a wisp of wind-spirit natural energy, gently surrounding the area near his ears.
Uchiha Shisui was instantly shocked. He cried out in surprise, "Wow, I heard it!"
"It's so clear. So magical. I feel like I can even tell how far away they are. Is this the world Brother Yoru hears?"
Yoru chuckled. "What do you think?"
Shisui stuck out his tongue and made a face. He had already understood that the world he heard was still far inferior to Yoru's perception.
With such exaggerated senses, no wonder Uchiha Yoru was so powerful.
A fire burned deep in Shisui's heart. He made up his mind to train harder. He wanted such sharp perception too.
Suddenly, Yoru withdrew his finger and the natural energy, then said to Shisui, "Time's up. If you keep listening, you'll feel uncomfortable."
"Uncomfortable?"
The question had just left his mouth when Uchiha Shisui felt dizzy. His vision darkened, and it took him quite a while to recover.
Still shaken, he asked, "Brother Yoru, what happened to me?"
Yoru tapped his forehead and answered, "After your hearing suddenly increased, you heard an enormous number of sounds. The reason you didn't feel it was messy was because your subconscious filtered out the sounds you didn't need or didn't consider important."
"For the brain, that work consumes a huge amount of energy. Especially for you right now, the burden is extremely heavy. Once the consumption becomes too great, dizziness is only natural."
Uchiha Shisui breathed heavily for a while before finally calming down. As he wiped the cold sweat from his face, he asked, "So that's how it is. Is the brain's consumption really that terrifying?"
"In just a few minutes, it felt like I had run for an hour with weights."
Yoru rubbed his head and smiled. "The brain's consumption is indeed large, but it's not as exaggerated as you said."
"Your feeling was terrible only because the instant consumption was too great. Once your body reacts and energy replenishment catches up, you'll recover within a few minutes."
Uchiha Shisui agreed. "Brother Yoru is right. I feel much better now."
Yoru pointed at Shisui and said, "This state is also an opportunity. While the feeling of fatigue is still present, run the Cyclic Refinement Method."
"Yes!"
Uchiha Shisui was very obedient. Without hesitation, he lowered into a horse stance, slightly closed his eyes, and began cultivating.
Seeing that he had entered the state, Yoru carefully checked Shisui's body. Soon, he discovered the changes Shisui had made to his own method.
After verifying them with his own body, he found that one of them should be an error caused by habit, three were clear optimizations, two were better solutions when one's mental state was poor, and several others could not be judged in a short time.
Not a small harvest.
Yoru satisfiedly recorded all of them on a scroll. Once Shisui finished cultivating, he pointed them out one by one and explained in detail why some were wrong and why others were correct.
Since the second lesson a few days ago, Yoru had told Shisui about optimizing the methods and praised him as a true genius, making Shisui beam with joy. This could be considered bringing the matter into the open.
After that, when Yoru taught Shisui, he carefully explained every adjustment and seriously discussed Shisui's feelings with him, obtaining precious first-hand information. The efficiency of adjusting the methods immediately increased.
In just a few days, Uchiha Shisui benefited greatly.
He absorbed Yoru's knowledge like a sponge and began actively thinking about cultivation problems, participating enthusiastically in optimization and adjustment.
Shisui's progress was so obvious that by now, Yoru not only actively asked for his opinion, but also treated every word he said with caution, no longer viewing him as an ignorant child.
Yoru's respectful attitude was unprecedented. Even Uchiha Shinyin had never treated him this way. The servants at home respected Shisui's background, not Shisui himself.
From Yoru, Uchiha Shisui felt pride. This greatly increased his confidence. Fortunately, his personality was humble, so he did not become arrogant. Instead, he respected Yoru even more.
Moreover, over these few days, Yoru frequently used natural energy to conduct precise checks on Shisui, unknowingly revealing part of his foundation.
Uchiha Shisui keenly sensed Yoru's abyss-like energy. Beneath seemingly ordinary chakra, there was terrifying natural energy hidden like a volcano.
Because of this, he vaguely felt Yoru's strength. Although limited by his current knowledge, Shisui could not accurately judge just how strong Yoru truly was, but it did not stop him from feeling admiration.
Because when Shisui compared his chakra to Yoru's chakra, a feeling of worship toward something enormous naturally arose.
Yoru did not participate in the excitement of Orochimaru's return. He only heard from old Shinyin that the scene had been extremely exaggerated.
Not only had clan heads like Hyūga Hiashi and Nara Shikamine, who were in the village, all arrived, but every jōnin in the village had also appeared. It was almost like a jōnin meeting.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had brought his old classmates, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, several hundred meters out of the Hokage Building to welcome Orochimaru, who was surrounded like the moon among stars.
Under the eyes of a sea of onlookers, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru performed a perfect reunion. Their deep master-disciple bond was so moving that countless people were brought to tears.
The cheers of the crowd shook the sky. Half of Konoha heard the commotion. After repeatedly hesitating, Uchiha Fugaku finally brought his trusted clansmen over.
Unfortunately, by the time Fugaku arrived, Orochimaru and the Third Hokage had long since entered the Hokage Building. He stood amid the dispersing crowd, secretly regretting and blaming himself.
When Uchiha Shinyin spoke up to this point, he could not help shaking his head repeatedly and said helplessly, "When he ordered you to become the head of the study group, I thought Fugaku might not be that foolish."
"But after today, he is still that 'Indecisive Fugaku.' That order appointing you was probably just an accidental moment of extraordinary performance."
Uchiha Yūichirō also sighed, but then he braced himself and said, "Yoru, according to your plan, I successfully persuaded Elder Yūya. We have finally opened a path among the dove faction."
"When will you meet Elder Yūya?"
Yoru calculated the time and said, "Four days from now is June 25th, the day of the Police Force's monthly summary meeting. Let's meet three nights from now."
"The clan head and the hawk faction elders all work in the Police Force. Their preparations will be very busy, so the possibility of my meeting with Elder Yūya being disturbed will be the lowest."
Yoru smiled and said, "Elder Yūya and I have too many topics to discuss deeply. We will definitely need a lot of time."
Uchiha Yūichirō immediately agreed. "No problem. I'll notify him when I return."
Uchiha Ryūnosuke asked curiously, "Yūya actually listened so obediently? Yūichirō, what reason did you use to persuade him?"
Yūichirō looked at Yoru and only spoke after receiving permission. "According to Yoru's suggestion, I offered Yūya one condition."
"After Uchiha Yoru becomes clan head, he will fully support Shisui in becoming the Fourth Hokage's disciple and promises to hand the clan head position to Shisui at an appropriate time."
"After Yūya confirmed it, he agreed to join us."
"What?"
Uchiha Shinyin and Uchiha Ryūnosuke were both shocked, especially old Shinyin.
Uchiha Shinyin had protected Shisui for more than three years. Last year, when his body was failing, he had searched hard within the clan for someone who could replace him as guardian. He had no idea Uchiha Yūya valued Shisui so much.
The old man jumped up angrily and said, "How is that possible? I asked him face-to-face last year, and he refused without hesitation. Why did he suddenly make such a complete reversal today?"
"Is this old man's face that worthless?"
Shinyin was so angry his beard bristled and his eyes widened, making Yoru and the two elders burst into laughter. That only made him even angrier.
Worried the old man might anger himself sick, Yoru quickly comforted him. "It's not that your face is worthless. It's that circumstances are stronger than people. Elder Yūya had no choice."
"Last year, your body was on the verge of collapse, and Shisui was not even four years old, yet his talent had already fully shown itself."
"Uchiha Shisui was like a shining piece of gold. He needed powerful protection, but your sudden decline made it possible that Shisui would become unprotected."
Uchiha Shinyin said angrily, "I know that. That's exactly why I worked hard to find a new protector. Why didn't that brat Yūya agree?"
Yoru replied, "Old Shinyin, you underestimated your own prestige. Although you don't have a proper faction in the clan, your prestige alone was enough to protect Shisui."
"But if you passed away, Elder Yūya's own strength would not be enough to protect Shisui. If he forced himself to step forward, he would drag Shisui into the whirlpool of factional struggle."
"Because if Shisui accepted Elder Yūya's protection, it would mean he belonged to Elder Yūya's faction, and some ruthless elders might inevitably attack him."
"And if something really happened to Shisui, the first person responsible would be Elder Yūya, while the true culprit could easily hide themselves."
"So last year, Elder Yūya's protection would have been very dangerous. It was better for Uchiha Shisui to have no guardian and become a clan treasure that belonged to no faction."
"As long as everyone had a chance to obtain Shisui, no one would attack him, buying him time to grow."
Uchiha Shinyin's mood calmed down. By now, he had completely understood and sighed. "So I really misunderstood Yūya. With Shisui's talent, just a few years are enough for him to grow."
"Yoru, when you meet Yūya, I'll go with you. I'll apologize to him. I've scolded him plenty over the past year."
As he spoke, Uchiha Shinyin himself felt embarrassed. He clicked his tongue and said, "Last time I beat them, I hit Yūya the hardest. I really wronged that brat."
Uchiha Yūichirō rolled his eyes and snorted. "Hehe, Uncle, the way you say that makes it sound like you hit me lightly last time."
Uchiha Ryūnosuke smiled and said, "Aiya, Uncle, you hit me pretty hard too."
"Get lost, get lost!"
Uchiha Shinyin jumped up, waving them away as he scolded, "Keep talking, and I'll beat you two again. Don't you know you should respect the elderly?"
Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Yoru watched the three old men mess around and laughed heartily. Cheerful laughter rang through the courtyard.
…
At the same time laughter filled Shisui's courtyard, under the same starlight, the Third Hokage personally escorted Orochimaru out of the Hokage Building.
Ever since Orochimaru had returned with the newly formed Snake Unit, the Third Hokage and Orochimaru had been meeting in the Hokage's office until now.
The master and disciple talked about everything.
From Danzō's death to Root's authority.
From the front-line layout to the village's research work.
From the Ninja Academy's education to the formation of new-style ninja units.
From the balance of ninja clan power to conflicts of authority between various departments.
They talked about almost everything, except the inheritance of the Fourth Hokage position, and they did not talk about their master-disciple bond either.
The Third Hokage and Orochimaru fully exchanged opinions, divided the boundaries of their respective authority, and even fought over every personnel arrangement.
But they did not mention Jiraiya or Tsunade.
Orochimaru left with a smile on his face, but he was deeply disappointed.
After sending Orochimaru away, the Third Hokage's expression darkened. He sighed again and again.
Both of them had hoped the other would be unable to resist bringing up feelings, yet both endured.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had hoped Orochimaru would soften first and cede more power to him, preferably handing over the Snake Unit's command authority and personnel authority.
Orochimaru had hoped the Third Hokage would soften and express concern and affection for him, preferably clearly confirming his right to inherit the Fourth Hokage position.
Both of them were extremely disappointed.
"It seems Orochimaru no longer wants to obey you, his teacher."
Homura Mitokado's tone was filled with disappointment and reluctance.
He and Koharu Utatane silently appeared behind Hiruzen Sarutobi, accompanying the Third Hokage as they watched Orochimaru's back gradually disappear at the end of Konoha's street.
Orochimaru was unwilling to obey Hiruzen Sarutobi, and with the popularity he had displayed that afternoon, it meant he was determined to become the Fourth Hokage.
Then he would absolutely not take over Shimura Danzō's dirty work, nor would he attack Konoha's internal enemies, such as the Uchiha clan, without scruples for the sake of the Third Hokage's interests.
Because doing so would rapidly damage Orochimaru's reputation. Very soon, it would ruin him completely, turning him into the Third Hokage's most useful political weapon while forever cutting him off from the Hokage seat.
No one would accept a Hokage who had once hidden in darkness and was covered in infamy.
Do not mention that so-called half-Fifth Hokage from history. Shimura Danzō was not truly Hokage. He had merely exploited a loophole in the system to act as Hokage's proxy.
If Danzō had not died on the road back to the village, after he returned to Konoha, he would have learned what a one-hundred-percent no-confidence vote meant.
The Third Hokage slowly turned around. His eyes were filled with cold ruthlessness as he said icily, "I never thought I would teach such a rebellious disciple. What a failure."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Homura Mitokado and said calmly, "Homura, I'll leave Root's affairs to you."
Homura Mitokado lowered his head and said respectfully, "Hokage-sama, leave it to me."
Homura Mitokado did not want to become a second Danzō, but he had no choice.
He did not have Orochimaru's reputation or strength, nor did he have the confidence to oppose the Third Hokage.
Shimura Danzō was dead. The Third Hokage's faction needed someone to walk in darkness.
Orochimaru was unwilling to stain himself, so it could only be Homura Mitokado.
Homura Mitokado was deeply saddened.
Originally, he had been standing comfortably on dry shore, doing nothing, never making mistakes.
As long as the Third Hokage did not completely lose his reputation, he could continue living comfortably.
But now, he was being forced to plunge headfirst into the mud and flail around. The anger in his heart was almost tangible.
Because this kind of work was dirty and exhausting, and it was destined to have no good ending.
The Third Hokage would die eventually.
The Fourth Hokage would eventually rise.
At that time, Homura Mitokado could only step down.
A man of darkness without the protection of power could only end in death.
Read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon -> [email protected]/SorenSwiftTL (replace @ with a)