The moment Uchiha Yu finished speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi had not even opened his mouth yet before Utatane Koharu coldly interrupted from the side.
“Are all Uchiha children this rude and ill-mannered nowadays?”
Yu did not even bother looking at her.
In his opinion, this old woman was probably entering menopause already.
She looked like the type who would suddenly explode in anger at the slightest provocation.
The best way to deal with people like that was to stay as far away as possible, otherwise they might suddenly bite someone out of nowhere.
Hiruzen naturally noticed Yu’s indifference, but he chose to ignore the small conflict entirely.
After putting down the mission scroll, he calmly picked up another stack of documents from the side.
“Uchiha Yu.
Ten years old.
During your time at the Academy, your attitude toward studying appeared lazy and careless, yet your grades consistently ranked among the best in your class.”
Yu remained silent.
After all, none of his information could truly be hidden from Konoha’s upper leadership.
The ANBU investigated people so thoroughly that their noses were practically sharper than actual hunting dogs.
Hiruzen slowly continued reading from the report.
“After graduation, you joined Orochimaru’s squad.
On the journey toward the front lines, you encountered an ambush by enemy shinobi.
You were the first person to detect the enemy’s presence and swiftly resolved the situation.
Later, you even forced Nawaki and Uchiha Mikoto to personally kill enemy shinobi.”
The moment those words were spoken, Utatane Koharu once again could not resist speaking.
“So cruel at such a young age.
Aren’t you worried about causing psychological trauma to your companions?”
This time, Yu no longer chose to remain silent.
Instead, he finally looked directly at her as though staring at an idiot.
“And you call yourself one of Konoha’s high-ranking elders?
Don’t tell me you genuinely cannot understand why I forced them to do it.”
“You!”
Koharu’s old face instantly darkened in anger.
Who was she?
An elder of Konoha.
And who was this brat?
A mere ten-year-old Genin.
Yet he actually dared speak to her in such a tone.
At that moment, Yu’s crimson Sharingan suddenly appeared within his eyes.
Three black tomoe slowly rotated while a faint smile formed on his lips.
“The report should already mention this.
My Genjutsu is very effective.
Even Jonin can easily fall into it.
Furthermore, the Uchiha Clan possesses strong emotional fluctuations by nature.
If I lose control accidentally…”
“Uchiha brat!”
Koharu abruptly stood up in fury.
“I am one of the village elders!
Are you trying to openly disrespect your superiors?
This is practically a provocation against the Hokage’s authority!”
“Enough.”
Hiruzen finally spoke calmly at that moment.
His aged gaze remained fixed upon Yu’s Sharingan.
Within his eyes existed both admiration and deep caution.
“Three Tomoe Sharingan at such a young age…
very good.
Konoha will likely gain another powerful shinobi in the future.”
Danzo remained silent throughout the exchange, but beneath his calm exterior, greed flashed within his single exposed eye.
His mind was already rapidly calculating something.
Meanwhile, Yu simply smiled modestly.
“Hokage-sama, if there is nothing else, may I leave now?
I have not returned home for almost two months already, and I miss it somewhat.”
Hiruzen lightly waved his hand.
“No need to rush.
There are still matters I wish to discuss with you.”
After pausing briefly, Hiruzen slowly continued.
“Because of the current war situation, Konoha is severely lacking manpower.
Therefore, I intend to make an exception and allow you to participate in the Chunin Exams early.
With your current strength, becoming a Chunin should not be difficult.
At that point, you will be able to contribute even more to the village.”
Yu immediately understood inwardly.
Just as expected.
Orochimaru had guessed correctly.
This old fox truly intended to send a ten-year-old child like him to the Chunin Exams during wartime.
How shameless.
Hiruzen calmly looked toward him.
“Uchiha Yu, what is your opinion on this matter?”
Yu nodded obediently.
“I will follow Hokage-sama’s arrangements.”
Although he spoke respectfully on the surface, inwardly he felt somewhat amused.
Everything had already been decided beforehand, so why even bother pretending to ask for his opinion?
At this moment, Yu once again deeply realized how insufficient his current strength still was.
If he already possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan or even the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, his attitude right now would naturally not remain this restrained.
“Very good.”
Hiruzen appeared quite satisfied with Yu’s response.
Afterward, he immediately began another long speech regarding Konoha’s philosophy.
The general meaning could be summarized very simply.
As a shinobi of Konoha, one must prioritize the village above all else.
One must dedicate oneself completely for the village.
One must inherit the Will of Fire.
And so on.
Finally, Hiruzen took out a red book before handing it directly to Yu.
“This contains Konoha’s core philosophy.
Read it carefully when you have time.”
Yu accepted the book casually, but the moment he saw the title written across the cover, his expression instantly darkened.
The Will of Fire.
Wasn’t this thing basically just propaganda used to fool children?
After Yu left the office, Utatane Koharu immediately became dissatisfied again.
“Hiruzen, that brat treated me with such disrespect, yet you still wasted so much time talking to him?”
Hiruzen calmly puffed on his pipe before indifferently asking, “How exactly did he disrespect you?”
“He…”
Koharu instinctively wanted to continue complaining, but Homura Mitokado suddenly tugged at her sleeve while repeatedly signaling with his eyes.
Hiruzen coldly snorted.
“How many times have I already told you?
The Uchiha are also shinobi of Konoha.
Stop looking at them with unnecessary prejudice.
They are likewise contributing to the village.”
Koharu stared at him in disbelief.
The shamelessness of this man had truly reached another level.
Clearly, Hiruzen himself had always secretly suppressed the Uchiha while also tacitly allowing their little schemes against the clan to continue.
Yet now, with just a few words, he completely pushed all responsibility onto them while pretending to remain innocent.
“Enough.
Stop talking.”
Homura hurriedly interrupted while pulling Koharu back.
“Hiruzen naturally has his own plans.”
At that moment, Danzo, who had remained silent the entire time, slowly stood up.
“There are matters requiring my attention at Root.”
Without waiting for Hiruzen’s approval, he directly turned and walked out of the office.
Hiruzen silently watched Danzo’s departing back before turning his gaze toward Homura and Koharu.
“Just because I do not openly mention certain things does not mean I am unaware of them.
Do not forget your identities.
I am still the Hokage of this village.”
The two elders immediately lowered their heads.
Internally, they were already cursing Danzo repeatedly.
Clearly, Hiruzen had long since noticed many of their little schemes.
They had already warned Danzo several times recently that the atmosphere within Konoha was becoming sensitive and that he should restrain himself for a while.
Unfortunately, Danzo simply refused to listen.
Now even they had been warned directly by Hiruzen because of him.
After thinking briefly, Hiruzen suddenly spoke again.
“Go inform Fugaku.
The war situation in the Land of Rain has intensified.
Tell him to prepare another batch of Uchiha clan members to head to the front lines as reinforcements.”
The moment she heard this order, Koharu immediately relaxed inwardly.
Yes.
This was the Hiruzen she was familiar with.
No matter what he said publicly, he never truly stopped suppressing the Uchiha Clan.
The Land of Rain experienced constant rainfall almost every single day, while the majority of Uchiha specialized in Fire Release techniques.
Sending them there was clearly intended to weaken their combat effectiveness.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the village, Danzo had already returned to Root headquarters.
He calmly picked up Yu’s file and carefully read through it once more.
After finishing, a cold smile slowly appeared on his face.
“A very scheming little brat.
Even Hiruzen was deceived by you.”
Soon afterward, deep disdain appeared within Danzo’s eye.
“Hmph.
Hiruzen is still the same useless fool as always.
If Sensei had not personally chosen him back then, the position of Hokage should have belonged to me.”
Danzo suddenly spoke coldly.
“Someone.”
The instant his voice sounded, two masked Root shinobi appeared kneeling before him.
“Lord Danzo.”
Danzo nodded slightly.
“Go contact Uchiha Yu and ask whether he has any interest in joining Root.
Tell him that I admire talented young shinobi like him very much.”
“Understood.”
After the two Root shinobi disappeared, Danzo slowly took out a small glass container hidden nearby.
Inside the green liquid floated a crimson eye.
A Mangekyo Sharingan.
Danzo quietly stared at the eye inside the container while greed and cruelty gradually surfaced within his gaze.
“Three Tomoe already at such a young age…
eventually, he will also reach this stage.”
“The Sharingan truly is an enviable power.”
A cold sneer slowly formed on Danzo’s face.
“Just wait and see, Hiruzen.
One day I will personally prove that I am the true inheritor of Sensei’s will.”
“As for you…”
“You’re nothing more than a joke.”