Hirofumi Ito said nothing more.
He simply repeated to the class what he had just told the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, word for word.
Nobody in the classroom had any interest in lessons after that.
They had just witnessed something far too entertaining.
Meanwhile, inside the Hokage Residence.
In the Hokage’s office, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat with a pipe clenched between teeth, puffing out cloud after cloud of smoke.
The haze was thick enough to obscure the expression on that face entirely.
Danzo Shimura was seated directly across from Hiruzen at that very moment.
“Hiruzen, what do you make of today’s events?”
“What do I make of them? I looked at them with my eyes, of course.”
Danzo narrowed both eyes slightly.
“Hiruzen. You know perfectly well what I mean.”
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow.
“No. I don’t know what you mean.”
Danzo’s grip tightened on the cane before speaking.
“Hiruzen… hand Hirofumi Ito over to me. I will train him into an outstanding ninja. I will make him the great root of the Leaf.”
“Danzo, aren’t you reaching a bit too far? Your Foundation doesn’t exactly seem short on ninja — a large number of excellent ninja join every single year. It’s not like you’re missing just one Hirofumi Ito, is it?”
“Hiruzen! Everything I do is for the Leaf!”
Hiruzen took another long, slow draw from the pipe.
Everything done for the Leaf, is it?
Heh.
“Hiruzen! Why aren’t you saying anything?!”
“Danzo, there is no need to bring this up again. Hirofumi Ito will not be handed over to you. I have already contacted Jiraiya and instructed Jiraiya to return to the village and take Hirofumi Ito under guidance.”
Danzo’s brow furrowed deeply at that.
Hiruzen had made up his mind to fight for the boy.
“Hiruzen! Don’t you think you’re being too greedy?! First Sasuke Uchiha, then the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki — and now there’s Hirofumi Ito on top of all that. Same story every single time!”
Danzo narrowed that single eye, staring across at Hiruzen Sarutobi sitting there beneath the Hokage’s hat.
“Danzo! Watch your words! What do you mean, too greedy?! I am the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village! Everything I do is for the Leaf!”
Danzo was momentarily at a loss.
What the hell, that’s basically my line?!
“Hiruzen!”
“Danzo. There is nothing more to discuss. Hirofumi Ito will not be joining Root, so I advise you to put those thoughts to rest.”
“Hiruzen! You will regret this!”
“Danzo! I am the Hokage!”
“You!” Danzo Shimura was speechless.
Sure.
You’re impressive.
Sure.
You’re above it all.
Sure.
You’re the Hokage, high and mighty, perched above everyone else.
Sure.
You’re the great tree with its flourishing branches and leaves.
And what about me…
I am nothing but a root, buried in the darkness below.
“Danzo, is there anything else? If not, I need to get back to work.”
“Hmph! I understand!”
BANG!
Danzo Shimura rose from the seat and slammed the door on the way out.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at the desk, turning over what Hirofumi Ito had said earlier.
The Three Great Sage Regions, even personally, that wasn’t something Hiruzen knew all that well.
If anything, all three students understood the Three Great Sage Regions far better than Hiruzen did.
But Orochimaru had defected.
Tsunade had grown disheartened and left the Hidden Leaf Village.
And Jiraiya wandered outside all day like a rogue with no fixed abode.
Alas…
Hiruzen let out a long sigh, then picked up some documents and began to read.
As for Hirofumi Ito, Hiruzen wasn’t worried, and had no doubt that what the boy said was true.
The Ito Clan were staunch Hokage loyalists through and through.
As the years passed, Taiga Ito had settled down at home and lived out retirement in peace.
And the current clan head, Aoyama Ito, was likewise a staunch Hokage loyalist.
So no matter how you looked at it, Hirofumi Ito was a good kid with a clean and upright background.
On the other side of the village, at the Ninja Academy.
After school let out, Hirofumi Ito walked home alone, turning over everything that had happened as he went.
Unexpected.
Today’s events had not only stirred up the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, they had pulled in Danzo Shimura as well.
The Third Hokage was one thing.
In the original story, Hiruzen was a figure of mixed reputation, called a ninja hero in youth.
But in old age…
alas.
Endlessly weak toward outsiders, yet endlessly scheming toward those within.
Turning a blind eye while close friend Danzo ran amok inside the Hidden Leaf Village.
Sakumo Hatake’s suicide.
Diplomatic weakness leading to the death of Hizashi Hyuga.
Three students: one drifting away, one fleeing outright, one wandering off into the distance.
And then there was the way Hiruzen had manipulated Naruto Uzumaki, letting Naruto’s identity as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki become common knowledge, causing countless people to despise him, and then turning around to personally earn Naruto’s goodwill.
Claiming that not publicly disclosing Naruto’s identity was meant to protect him…
Give me a break.
Naruto’s identity as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was something ordinary villagers already knew.
What difference did it make whether it was officially disclosed or not?!
Still.
Even so.
The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi would absolutely never move against him personally.
The only move Hiruzen would make was to pull him in close.
Just like what happened at the Ninja Academy today, everything Hiruzen said pointed between the lines toward wanting Jiraiya to take him as a student.
So there was no need to lose sleep over whether that old man would resort to underhanded methods.
The real problem was that conniving old schemer Danzo.
That one would genuinely stop at nothing to get what was wanted.
Based on everything that had happened today, there was a very real possibility Danzo had already set sights on him.
And it was right at that moment that Hirofumi Ito felt a stir coming from within his Summoning Space.
“Kid!”
Madara Uchiha’s expression was extremely dark.
Hirofumi kept walking toward the clan grounds, but within the Summoning Space inside his own body, he gathered a mass of Chakra and came face to face with Madara Uchiha waiting there.
After acquiring Indra’s Chakra, Hirofumi hadn’t noticed any dramatic surge in raw strength, but his command over Chakra felt far more natural.
Effortless, even.
The speed at which he could draw Chakra from within his body was simply incomparable to before.
And his body itself seemed to be undergoing changes that were difficult to explain.
But that was a good thing.
His body was continuously growing stronger.
That much Hirofumi Ito could sense with complete clarity.
➤ Next: An Arm Full of Sharingan
Chapter 12 – An Arm Full of Sharingan
Inside the Summoning Space, Hirofumi Ito’s chakra clone found himself face to face with Madara Uchiha.
“What’s wrong, Madara?!”
“Hmph. You really don’t stand on ceremony when you address this old man, do you, brat. As expected — this is the real you, isn’t it? The one that comes out in front of me. I have to say, your acting before was truly terrible. Especially in front of that Hiruzen Sarutobi, putting on that saintly, innocent routine. This old man felt sick just watching it.”
Hirofumi looked at Madara Uchiha with a touch of exasperation.
This guy didn’t drag him all the way here just to tear into him, did he?!
“Then what should I call you? How about ‘the man who would be Hashirama Senju’s equal’?! My strength right now isn’t anything to brag about, if I don’t play well-behaved, what happens the day someone decides to wipe me out?! If you were actually willing to follow my commands like a summoned beast, I’d kick Hiruzen Sarutobi in the backside right now and make myself Hokage!”
“Damn it! You little brat! Stop spouting nonsense! This old man called you here for serious business!”
Madara Uchiha was getting a little scared of Hirofumi Ito.
Every other word out of this kid’s mouth was some variation on Hashirama Senju’s equal, as if Madara and Hashirama actually had some ambiguous, indecent relationship going on.
“What business?”
It was only then that Hirofumi noticed it, Madara Uchiha’s expression looked terrible.
“Who exactly is that Danzo Shimura?!”
Hirofumi raised an eyebrow.
He hadn’t expected Madara to ask about Danzo Shimura of all people.
Could it be that Madara had sensed the Sharingan’s chakra fluctuations coming off Danzo?!
“That guy? He’s a member of the Hidden Leaf Village’s Elder Council, and the leader of Root. A total scheming rat!”
Madara didn’t know exactly what “scheming rat” meant, but could tell it wasn’t a compliment.
“Shimura, is it… but why does his body carry the chakra fluctuations of the Uchiha Clan’s Sharingan? And even…” This chapter is updated first at g.com.
Madara’s brow furrowed tighter.
Because what had been sensed on Danzo Shimura just now wasn’t only the Sharingan’s fluctuations.
There was also something else, a faint sensation far more intimately familiar, because Madara carried it himself.
That was Hashirama Senju’s Chakra!
“Isn’t it completely normal for that scheming rat to carry Sharingan fluctuations? After all, he’s got a whole arm full of Sharingan eyes.”
That single sentence left Madara Uchiha completely dumbstruck.
Inside Hirofumi Ito’s Summoning Space, Madara could sense everything happening in the outside world.
As long as Hirofumi didn’t seal his Sealing Space off from the outside, Madara could watch events unfold out there with perfect clarity.
Just now, the Sharingan’s chakra fluctuations had indeed been sensed.
At the time, it had also been noticed that one of Danzo Shimura’s eyes was sealed away.
But this brat was saying a whole arm full of Sharingan!
Since when had the Uchiha Clan’s Sharingan become so worthless?!
And then there was that bandage-wrapped arm, an arm that unmistakably carried the aura of Hashirama Senju.
“Brat. What exactly is going on here? What do you know?!”
“Plenty. What do you want to hear?”
“What did you just mean — a whole arm full of Sharingan?!”
“Well… I do know. But why should I tell you?!”
“You! You little brat! Don’t push it!”
Madara was starting to lose his temper.
This infuriating little brat knew full well that Madara couldn’t lay a hand on him, and was growing more and more brazen because of it.
Since the Warring States Era, no one had ever dared speak this way.
Except for that blockhead Hashirama Senju.
Anyone else who had dared, was already dead.
“How about this, Madara. I’ll tell you everything about this from start to finish. In return, you teach me. How does that sound?!”
In truth, Hirofumi understood clearly that getting Madara Uchiha to obey his commands was simply impossible.
After all, this guy’s pride was immense.
Trading a piece of information for Madara’s obedience was completely unrealistic.
So he might as well flip the idea around.
Have Madara Uchiha teach him instead.
Madara’s strength was beyond question, whether in combat experience or in the use of ninjutsu.
And most importantly, Hirofumi now possessed Indra’s Chakra.
Having Madara Uchiha, the reincarnation of Indra, teach him directly meant his rate of growth would be absolutely explosive.
On top of that, carrying Indra’s Chakra made him effectively the origin of the Uchiha Clan bloodline itself.
Which meant awakening the Sharingan was absolutely within reach.
“You want this old man to teach you too?! Brat, you have quite the appetite. This old man has never taken on a single disciple in his life.”
“Are you teaching me or not? If not, I’m leaving. As for the truth, you can just keep guessing…”
“Damn it! Did this old man say he wasn’t teaching?! It’s merely a matter of guiding one little brat, this old man agrees! Now hurry up and tell this old man everything about that Danzo Shimura!”
Hearing that, the corner of Hirofumi Ito’s mouth curled into that slight, crooked smirk again…
“You insufferable brat! That nauseating expression is back!”
“What do you know. This is called the Dragon King’s Smirk.”
“Dragon King’s Smirk? This old man sees no Dragon King. This old man only sees the smirk. And right now, this old man very much wants to slap you across the face.”
“Do you still want to know the truth or not?”
“Damn it! Yes!”
Madara ground his teeth in fury.
“The truth is actually quite simple. The Uchiha Clan was wiped out. Every last eye was gouged from the bodies. That Danzo you saw today, the sealed eye is a Mangekyō Sharingan, and on that arm there’s a whole arm full of Sharingan eyes.”
Hirofumi delivered the news of the Uchiha Clan’s massacre in a completely flat, offhand tone.
Madara Uchiha simply could not believe what was being said.
“What did you say?! You’re saying the Uchiha Clan was wiped out?! Impossible. Absolutely impossible! How could the Uchiha Clan possibly be wiped out?! Brat! This old man is warning you — do not talk nonsense here!”
Hirofumi looked over with a helpless sigh.
“Look, you told me to say it, I said it, and now that I’ve said it you don’t believe me. Do you want me to take you to the Uchiha Clan’s district right now? It’s nothing but a ghost village.”
“Impossible! You are definitely lying to me! Didn’t you just say the Uchiha Clan was wiped out?! But today this old man clearly saw that there is still an Uchiha Clan member right there in your class!”
“You mean Sasuke Uchiha? He’s the only Uchiha left inside the Hidden Leaf Village. As for outside the village, there’s still one more. His older brother. Name’s Itachi Uchiha.”
➤ Next: Hehehehehehe
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