Yūgao Uzuki stood there hesitating, letting out an awkward, drawn-out, “Uh…” For a while, she could not find the words.
Yujiro looked at her slightly trembling shoulders and understood at once.
This girl probably came here wanting to challenge him.
But after seeing his strength, she realized she had no chance.
Now she was stuck, unable to back down.
“I… I came to tell you that Kurenai-nee called you home for dinner…” Yūgao finally forced out an excuse.
“My lunch was already prepared this morning,” Yujiro replied seriously.
“…” Yūgao’s face turned red.
She stood there stiffly, unable to say a word.
“Fine, Yūgao.” Yujiro’s voice came from a short distance away.
“Come practice swordsmanship with me.” When Yūgao looked up, Yujiro had already reached the open ground nearby.
“Haa…” Yūgao let out a quiet breath of relief.
Then she leapt forward and landed in front of him.
“Ah… Yujiro-san is bullying people again,” Itachi muttered from under a large tree in the distance.
Beside him, Kakashi gave a silent nod of agreement.
At that moment, Yujiro suddenly tilted his head and smiled.
It was only a casual smile.
But for some reason, both Kakashi and Itachi felt a chill run down their backs.
It was over.
He definitely heard that.
“You two.” Yujiro’s voice drifted over calmly.
“Hurry up and recover your chakra.” “There’ll be rotation sparring later.
No one gets to leave.” Itachi: “…” Kakashi: “…” After that, Yujiro practiced with Yūgao for a while.
He did not draw his blade.
There was no need.
Ten minutes later, Yūgao lost.
She stood there panting, staring at Yujiro with wide eyes.
Her dark pupils were full of disbelief.
How could he be this strong?
“Next.” Yujiro looked toward Kakashi and Itachi in the distance and spoke calmly.
By the end of the day, Yujiro had broken through his limit twice, but after that, he could no longer push past it.
First, he was already approaching the critical point of the second stage of the Limiter.
Second, Yujiro himself was simply too strong.
Besides, this was only ordinary sparring.
He could not actually go all out against them.
“Yujiro-san really is strong,” Itachi said quietly.
Kakashi, Itachi, and Yūgao stood together in the distance, watching Yujiro train alone on the surface of the water.
“Does he train like this every day?” Yūgao asked.
Small ripples reflected in her eyes.
This kind of training was far too intense.
They had already spent the entire day fighting him, yet he still had the energy to continue.
“Yeah,” Kakashi said.
“Yujiro has trained like this since he was three.” Then, after a short pause, he added, “He said he trains this hard so he can protect the people around him.” “Protect the people around him…” Yūgao repeated those words softly.
Her gaze toward the figure training on the water slowly softened.
Without her realizing it, that image had already left a faint mark in her heart.
In the shinobi world, children matured early.
Feelings sometimes took root far sooner than anyone expected.
Naruto had left a deep impression on Hinata when they were still very young.
So Yūgao feeling something stir in her heart was not strange.
It was only a small bud now.
But when it bloomed one day, it would surely be beautiful.
Morning.
Noon.
Evening.
Night.
Except for meals, Yujiro seemed to train without rest.
The black training clothes on his body had been soaked through with sweat countless times.
By now, Yūgao admired Yujiro from the bottom of her heart.
No wonder she could not defeat him.
He was truly a training maniac.
After practice ended, Yujiro walked toward the three of them with his black blade resting on his shoulder.
“I’ve decided!” Yūgao suddenly stepped in front of him.
“From now on, I’ll train with you too!” Yujiro clicked his tongue softly and looked at Yūgao, who was standing so close.
Then he raised his right hand and lightly tapped her forehead.
“Fine.” Yujiro agreed.
Beside them, Itachi’s expression stiffened slightly.
That gesture… Wasn’t that supposed to be something only between him and Yujiro?
Yūgao touched her forehead and muttered, “Why did you flick me…?” “Because it looked fun,” Yujiro said casually.
“Let’s go to my place.
Kurenai-nee said this morning that dinner tonight would be pretty good.” Everyone’s eyes lit up.
Then they followed Yujiro and left.
… Night fell.
Deep beneath Konoha.
Inside the darkness of Root.
Shimura Danzō held a file in one hand and slowly walked into one of Orochimaru’s research bases.
From time to time, hoarse screams echoed from deeper inside.
Orochimaru’s human experiments had already begun.
When Danzō arrived before a sealed laboratory, his brow tightened.
He raised his hand and knocked heavily on the door.
Ten minutes later, Orochimaru slowly opened it.
There was still a trace of blood on his face.
“This is the information on that brat.” Danzō handed the file to him.
“I never thought one of the legendary Sannin would take interest in an ordinary child from Konoha.” Clearly, Danzō had not found anything special about Yujiro.
“I’m only a little curious.” Orochimaru opened the file.
His eyes slowly scanned the information inside.
Yujiro.
Male.
Five years old.
His parents died on the battlefield during the early stages of the Third Shinobi World War.
After that, he was taken in by Shinku Yūhi and now lives in the Yūhi household with Kurenai Yūhi.
Civilian background.
No special traits.
No outstanding talent recorded.
When Orochimaru saw the final evaluation, he could not help but let out a low laugh.
Civilian background?
No special traits?
No outstanding talent?
It seemed Yujiro had hidden himself quite well.
Even Root had not noticed anything.
But thinking about it carefully, that was not strange.
He had no kekkei genkai.
At most, he trained harder than ordinary people.
People like that were not exactly everywhere in Konoha, but they were not rare either.
“How is the research on Hashirama’s cells progressing?” Danzō suddenly asked.
Orochimaru closed the file and said calmly, “Still ongoing.” “Orochimaru.” Danzō’s voice lowered.
“I did not provide you with shelter so you could indulge yourself in pointless experiments.” He narrowed his eye.
“If I report this to Hiruzen, you will no longer have a place in Konoha.” Orochimaru smiled faintly.
“Will you really tell Sensei?” That single sentence left Danzō silent.
Would he tell Sarutobi Hiruzen?
The answer was obvious.
No.
Because he still needed Orochimaru’s power.
He needed it to expand Root.
And Danzō’s ambition had never been small.
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