In the Hokage's office—
Bang!
Tsunade shoved the door open and looked impatiently at the Third Hokage, who was sitting there smoking. Catching the smell of tobacco, she waved a hand in front of her nose in disgust and asked loudly:
"Old man! What did you call me here for?"
The Third Hokage saw the look of disdain in Tsunade's eyes, and the corner of his own eye twitched slightly.
He couldn't help thinking that he must have committed some sin in a past life to have ended up with disciples like these.
Tsunade was one thing, Jiraiya was another—none of them gave him any peace of mind.
Even Orochimaru, once his prized student, had been drifting further and further away from him in recent years, becoming obsessed with experiments, losing more and more of his moral bottom line, and drawing closer and closer to Danzo.
It gave him no end of headaches.
He immediately extinguished his pipe, exhaled a puff of smoke, got up, and opened the window to let the smoke disperse.
Only then did he sit back down and look at Tsunade as he asked:
"I heard you recently accepted the Uchiha clan's genius, Uchiha Sora, as your disciple?"
"Tch!"
At that, Tsunade looked at the Third Hokage with open disdain.
"It's already been half a month. You obviously knew long ago. Why are you even asking me now?"
Third Hokage: "..."
Couldn't she speak properly for once?
Was it that he, as her teacher, could no longer lift the blade—or had Tsunade simply grown too bold?
But when he thought of Nawaki and the others, a trace of guilt flashed through his eyes, and his tone involuntarily softened. He sighed helplessly and continued:
"I did know, but I still wanted to ask you directly, and also understand more about this Uchiha Sora."
"To be honest, I was quite surprised that you would accept an Uchiha as your disciple."
After all, the Senju and the Uchiha had never gotten along.
They had been mortal enemies in the past.
The two clans had fought each other for a thousand years.
Of course, that was not what he was truly concerned about.
What really occupied his mind was the Uchiha issue.
"That child is a true monster."
Tsunade folded her arms and said bluntly:
"His talent in medical ninjutsu and medicine is unprecedented. He's far superior to me in that regard."
"Don't be fooled by the fact that he's only three years old. Through self-study alone, he's already mastered medical theory at a level no lower than a Medical Corps jōnin."
"Though, of course, that's only theory."
"At the same time, his learning ability and comprehension are terrifying. He learns everything absurdly fast."
"At present, he has already mastered almost all of my medical ninjutsu."
At this point, Tsunade fixed the Third Hokage with a serious stare.
"So, old man, let me make this clear—I recognize that boy as my disciple."
"I don't care what thoughts or dirty intentions you people have toward the Uchiha clan. As long as I'm around, I absolutely will not allow anyone to target him or harm him."
"Otherwise, don't blame me for turning hostile and showing no mercy."
With that, Tsunade ignored the dark look on the Third Hokage's face, glanced toward the wooden wall to the right, then looked at him with cold fury in her eyes and added:
"Pass a warning to that old bastard Danzo for me. If he dares to reach for Sora, I'll chop his hand off."
"Don't think I don't know anything about what happened with Nawaki and Dan."
"If it weren't for Konoha being the life's work of my grandfather and granduncle, if it weren't for the sake of the village, I would've already turned the whole place upside down and left long ago. Hmph!"
After saying that, Tsunade turned and walked out with a cold face.
The Third Hokage was left sitting there with a livid expression.
"...Sigh."
After a long while, he let out a heavy sigh, picked up his pipe again, lit it, and took several puffs.
Then he called toward the hidden door on his left:
"Alright, come out now. Why are you still hiding? Tsunade has already gone far enough."
Creak—
The hidden door opened, and Danzo stepped out from behind it, his face dark as he seized the initiative:
"Hiruzen, just look at the fine disciple you raised. She dares to directly threaten you—and me. If this keeps up, won't she end up completely out of control?"
The Third Hokage shot Danzo a sidelong glance and snapped back in irritation:
"How I raise my disciples is none of your business."
"And do you really not understand why she's become like this?"
"Do you think what you did was so well hidden? Couldn't you hear from her tone that she's already uncovered something?"
"And why did you target Nawaki back then?"
"And why did you send that Katō Dan to deliberately get close to Tsunade? What exactly were you trying to do, Danzo?"
Just bringing this up made the Third Hokage furious.
Why had his relationship with Tsunade and the others grown so strained?
Wasn't it all because of Danzo's meddling?
His old friend had truly become more and more shameless with every passing year.
Consumed by lust for power, constantly coveting the Hokage's seat—did Danzo think he didn't know?
But Danzo never stopped to ask himself: with his character, was he fit to be Hokage?
Could he truly be a good Hokage?
"Hiruzen, you're actually blaming me?"
Danzo stared at the Third Hokage in disbelief, outraged.
"Who do you think I did all of that for? Wasn't it all for your sake?"
"If I hadn't secretly established Root all these years and handled so many things that couldn't be brought into the open, would you have been able to sit securely in the Hokage's seat? Would you have your current status?"
The expression on Danzo's face made him look exactly like a deeply wronged wife who had been stabbed in the back.
"And how many times do I have to say it? Nawaki's death had nothing to do with me. Katō Dan's matter had nothing to do with me either. That was all the result of his own independent decisions. Don't pin it on me."
Just mentioning Katō Dan filled him with pent-up fury.
That traitor.
He had told him to get close to Tsunade and help bring her under his control, but instead the fool had chosen a woman over him and betrayed him.
Then he had no one to blame but himself for being eliminated.
No one is allowed to betray me!
Danzo roared inwardly.
Watching Danzo shamelessly throw blame around and deceive even himself, the Third Hokage felt even more stifled.
The evidence had practically been slapped right in his face, and yet Danzo still dared to lie through his teeth and refuse to admit anything.
It was utterly shameless.
And yet, the Third Hokage still needed Danzo.
He could not truly afford to tear things apart with him.
The frustration of it all was suffocating.
"Enough, enough. Let's drop this matter."
The Third Hokage waved his hand impatiently, then continued:
"You heard what Tsunade said just now. She clearly values this disciple of hers greatly. Stop setting your sights on Uchiha Sora."
"Rein in your methods. If you provoke Tsunade and suffer for it, don't say I didn't warn you."
In the Third Hokage's eyes, Tsunade taking Uchiha Sora as a disciple was actually a good thing.
Ever since Kagami's death, the Uchiha had increasingly drifted to the outskirts of the village, outwardly part of Konoha but inwardly estranged, and their relationship with the village had only grown worse.
That was not what the Third Hokage wanted to see.
He admitted that he did indeed want to suppress the Uchiha clan's arrogance and pride.
But at the same time, he also wanted to bring the Uchiha fully under his control—wanted them to submit completely to him and serve him.
After all, Uchiha ninja were undeniably powerful, and geniuses emerged from their ranks one after another.
They truly were an excellent blade.
And for Konoha to stand firm in the ninja world, it could not do without the Uchiha at present.
Now things were different.
Uchiha Sora had become Tsunade's disciple, which made him the Third Hokage's grand-disciple in turn.
And Uchiha Sora was also the son of Uchiha Masayuki—
One of the most influential rising figures in the Uchiha clan, as well as the vice-captain of the Konoha Police Force.
The Third Hokage intended to use Uchiha Sora as a bridge.
On one hand, to ease the relationship between the Uchiha and the village.
On the other hand, to give himself an opportunity to gradually bring the Uchiha under his control.
Looks like I'll have to find a chance to meet this Uchiha Sora.
Once I confirm he's suitable, I can focus on winning him over, cultivating him, and shaping his thinking.
If the opportunity arises in the future, I can even support him in rising within the Uchiha clan and use him to help me control the entire Uchiha.
The Third Hokage pondered this silently in his heart.