"Hiruzen, you're confused!"
Danzo struck the floor with his cane, looking like he was furious over wasted potential, and snapped:
"It is precisely because Uchiha Sora is so extraordinarily talented that Tsunade should never be the one teaching him."
"You saw her attitude just now. She has long been dissatisfied with both you and me. Who knows what kind of ideas and beliefs she'll instill into Uchiha Sora?"
"And besides, she has no way of controlling an Uchiha."
"The only proper solution is to hand him over to me. Let him join Root, let me discipline him and brainwash him. I swear, I will turn him into an absolutely loyal fanatic—loyal to Konoha, loyal to us."
"Hiruzen, this time, you must listen to me!"
The more extraordinary Uchiha Sora's talent was, the less Danzo wanted to let go of this opportunity.
Perhaps this Uchiha Sora has the chance to awaken the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan. And when that time comes… hehe. Won't those eyes become mine?
Danzo thought coldly to himself.
He desired the power of the Uchiha more than anything.
Give him a pair of Mangekyo Sharingan, and he was convinced he would be no worse than Madara Uchiha.
What a pity the Wood Release experiments have never succeeded. Otherwise, with Wood Release in one hand and the Mangekyo Sharingan in the other, I would surpass both Madara Uchiha and the First Hokage. The ninja world of the future would inevitably crawl at my feet.
Danzo lamented inwardly.
However, the moment the Third Hokage heard Danzo's words, his face turned cold, and he fixed Danzo with a sharp stare.
"Danzo, have I been giving you too much face?"
His voice had already become icy.
"So my orders mean nothing now, is that it?"
"How much more clearly do I need to say it?"
"Uchiha Sora is my grand-disciple. I order you not to lay a hand on him. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless. Hmph!"
The Third Hokage knew Danzo's thinking all too well.
If Uchiha Sora were really handed over to Danzo, then sooner or later he would probably be used against him.
Danzo had never once hidden his ambition.
And more importantly, as he had already thought before, Uchiha Sora was crucial to his plan to gain control over the Uchiha clan. There was absolutely no room for compromise.
In his eyes, Danzo's obsession with destroying the Uchiha clan was far too extreme, far too crude.
Wouldn't it be better to bring them under his control and use them?
Neither of these two old men had ever once considered Uchiha Sora's own opinion.
At the same time, both carried themselves as though victory were already assured, as if Uchiha Sora were already theirs to take.
They had not considered Tsunade's stance, nor the Uchiha clan's stance.
As expected of old partners in crime.
Their shameless faces were almost identical.
"You—"
Hearing the Third Hokage question him so openly, Danzo's expression turned ashen. A flash of cold light passed through his eyes, and he slammed his cane heavily against the floor again as he snarled:
"Hiruzen, you will regret this!"
With that, he stormed out again, slamming the door behind him.
On the way out, he could not help revealing a mocking, cold smile.
Hiruzen, do you really think that just because you forbid me from acting, I truly won't act?
Impossible.
The more you oppose this, the more determined I am to get Uchiha Sora.
Don't worry. I'll definitely brainwash him into becoming a fine tool, a fine weapon. And when that time comes, I'll make sure he's the first one to turn his blade on you. Heh heh.
Back in the Hokage's office—
This Danzo is getting more and more outrageous. It looks like I need to find a way to restrict his authority and curb the expansion of Root.
The Third Hokage thought darkly.
…
In the blink of an eye, three months passed.
During this time, the Third Hokage deliberately came to see Sora several times.
Every visit, he would talk with Sora for hours, trying to instill the so-called Will of Fire into him.
Naturally, Sora listened with an eager, admiring expression, acting as though he worshiped the Third Hokage.
He made the old man extremely happy.
As for what he truly thought in his heart, only he himself knew.
All of this naturally fell into Tsunade's eyes as well, but she said nothing.
After all, the Third Hokage was still her teacher.
Besides, she knew perfectly well just how smart this little rascal Sora was.
Her teacher actually wanted to brainwash him? To fool him?
That was like casting seductive glances at a blind man—a complete fantasy.
This little demon saw things from a higher perspective than anyone in Konoha.
His worldview and thoughts had long since matured beyond belief. How could the Third Hokage's few hollow words possibly shake him?
If anything, he might end up being the one who got fooled by Sora instead.
And if that happened…
Heh.
At that point, Tsunade felt she would probably do nothing but laugh gleefully at her teacher's misfortune.
Truly, a loving teacher and a filial disciple.
That day, in Tsunade's office—
"You don't need to keep coming to the hospital so often anymore. Go cultivate on your own."
"You still haven't really trained much in combat ninjutsu, have you?"
"Here… take this. It contains the training method for my signature taijutsu-ninjutsu, the Super Strength Technique. Take it and learn it yourself. If there's anything you don't understand, come ask me."
"Now hurry up and get out."
Tsunade waved him away impatiently.
The truth was, Sora had already drained her nearly dry.
She had personally witnessed how, in the span of just three months, he had gradually surpassed her in medicine—truly outshining the master.
She used to think of herself as a genius.
But standing in front of Sora, she felt stupid as a pig.
She simply could not keep teaching this disciple anymore.
He was too devastating to one's mentality, too crushing to one's confidence.
"Teacher, are you abandoning me?"
Sora looked at Tsunade pitifully.
"Ugh… disgusting. Do you have any idea how creepy that sounds? I've got goosebumps."
Tsunade's hair stood on end instantly, and she quickly rubbed her arms.
Then, with a snort, she reached out and grabbed both of Sora's cheeks, tugging them back and forth while glaring at him.
"Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're cute. Do you think your teacher doesn't know how mature your mind really is?"
This little brat could not be treated like a normal child his age.
"I'm innocent, Teacher!"
Sora immediately raised his hands in surrender.
Then he looked at Tsunade with a resentful expression.
What kind of bad habit was this? Why did she always love pinching his face? Did he not have any dignity?
"Heh."
Tsunade sneered, suddenly pulled Sora into her arms, and ruthlessly kneaded him a few times, leaving his hair in complete disarray.
Then, without hesitation, she shoved him away and waved her hand grandly.
"Scram."
"Heartless woman!"
Sora threw that line behind him and fled at top speed.
The sight made Tsunade laugh.
"This little brat."
What nonsense was this, heartless woman?
She was his teacher, alright?
The way he said it made it sound like she had somehow wronged him.
…
As Sora walked from the ninja hospital back toward the Uchiha clan compound, he thought to himself:
I've already learned all the medical ninjutsu and can use them proficiently. From here on, I only need to spend time polishing them all to perfection.
For now, I no longer need to come to the hospital so often. Any books I haven't finished can be borrowed and read slowly at home.
Also, deeper ninjutsu training and development, along with advanced taijutsu development, should finally be put on the agenda.
Recently, he had been completely immersed in learning medical ninjutsu, medical theory, and surgical practice.
It had been exhausting, but he had indeed learned a vast amount.
At last, he had completed the framework of the ninja world's medical system in his mind.
All that remained was to supplement it with more texts and information on medicinal herbs.
Once that was done, then when he researched bloodline limits, ninjutsu, taijutsu, and so on in the future, there would no longer be any major gaps on the medical side.
Even conducting experiments would become far easier.
At the same time, his control over chakra had undergone a qualitative leap.
I didn't expect Teacher to hand me the Super Strength Technique so directly. This is definitely something worth researching and expanding upon.
I should be able to build a far more complete combat system around it. When the time comes, it'll probably give Teacher a huge surprise.
Sora thought cheerfully.
Before he knew it, he had reached a more remote stretch of road.
Suddenly, he casually glanced toward the woods on both sides ahead.
Whoosh!
In the next moment, four ninja leaped out from the woods on either side, surrounding Sora in the center and cutting off all four directions of escape.
The man in the lead stared at Sora with cold eyes and an emotionless voice, then spoke in a commanding tone:
"Uchiha Sora. Come with us. Lord Danzo wishes to see you."