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Under the night sky, the Grand Elder carried Yuto on his back along a small road inside the Uchiha compound, slowly walking toward Yuto’s house.
Yuto’s unconscious figure looked especially thin beneath the moonlight.
Tsukimi followed close behind, cheeks puffed out, silently complaining about her grandfather over and over.
She stared at her grandfather’s back, feeling indignant.
Grandpa was such a stubborn old man.
Yuto had clearly passed out from exhaustion, yet Grandpa was still saying things like Warring States-era shinobi could go three days without sleep.
This training was basically abuse.
While Tsukimi complained inwardly, the Grand Elder’s heart was not calm either.
His fingertips unconsciously rubbed the scorch mark on his sleeve.
This was the first time in decades that he had been hit by a genin.
The moonlight stretched his shadow long, as if it overlapped with the figures of the geniuses from the Warring States Period in his memories.
But no one had ever been like Yuto, seeing through the weakness in a lifelong battle habit in a single day.
He truly was a genius.
The Grand Elder now felt somewhat fortunate.
Good thing he had taken Yuto as his disciple early.
Otherwise, the boy definitely would have been buried.
When the three of them returned to Yuto’s small yard, they discovered someone was already waiting there.
It was Fugaku Uchiha.
He stood with his arms crossed, his eyes slightly narrowed.
It seemed he had been waiting for a long time.
Only when he heard footsteps did he open his eyes as if startled awake.
When he looked at the people who had arrived, Fugaku was clearly surprised.
How had Yuto gotten mixed up with the Grand Elder?
And why was the Grand Elder treating Yuto with such familiarity, even carrying him on his back?
“Fugaku, what are you doing here?”
The Grand Elder had never had a kind expression for Fugaku.
In his eyes, these doves were future traitors to the Uchiha.
When they acted, their first priority was never the Uchiha clan.
“Grand Elder…”
No matter what, the Grand Elder was Fugaku’s senior, so Fugaku was still fairly respectful toward him.
Fugaku’s gaze drifted toward Yuto on the Grand Elder’s back.
He was very curious, but he could not quite ask.
Sensing Fugaku’s gaze, the Grand Elder snorted coldly.
“Yuto is my disciple now.
Do you have an objection?”
Fugaku froze at those words, then revealed a regretful expression.
He had come to Yuto’s house today to find a suitable teacher for him.
He had not expected the Grand Elder to beat him to it.
But why would Yuto agree to become the Grand Elder’s disciple?
Could it be…
Fugaku understood.
Yuto was truly too clever.
By becoming the Grand Elder’s disciple, Yuto’s status among the hawks would naturally become higher than most.
When the time came, changing the hawks’ way of thinking would naturally be much easier than before.
As expected of you, Yuto.
You actually thought of such a good idea.
Fugaku suppressed the joy in his heart and nodded with a normal expression.
“Since Yuto has already accepted you as his teacher, I will not disturb you further.”
He bowed slightly.
As he turned to leave, the corners of his mouth could not help rising.
That boy had not disappointed him after all.
The Grand Elder gently placed Yuto on the tatami.
When he turned back and saw Tsukimi tiptoeing into the house, he immediately grabbed the back of her collar.
“Stop.
What does a young lady think she is doing staying overnight in a man’s house?”
Tsukimi’s ears turned bright red, and she clutched the corner of her clothes as she muttered quietly,
“I-I just wanted to take care of Yuto…”
Without allowing any argument, the Grand Elder dragged her outside.
“Even during the Warring States Period, I never saw a girl as bold as you.”
Tsukimi struggled, but in the end, the Grand Elder directly pulled her away.
The Hokage’s office.
Even though it was already deep into the night, the office was still brightly lit.
Anbu constantly entered and exited, delivering report after report to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
He took a deep pull from his pipe and exhaled a large cloud of smoke, his brows tightly furrowed.
Judging from these reports, war…
Was about to begin.
Kumogakure had already gathered a large number of troops and stationed them at the border of the Land of Rice Fields.
Within a few days, they might march south and invade the Land of Fire.
On the other side, the borders of the Land of Rain and Land of Grass were also restless.
Although Hanzo did not seem to have any intention of attacking Konoha right now, Iwagakure seemed unable to suppress its desire to advance.
That old man Onoki really was warlike.
He was clearly already fighting Sunagakure, yet he still coveted Konoha’s land.
Hiruzen stared at the strategic map on his desk and gave a low order to the Anbu beside him.
“Send word immediately.
Have Minato Namikaze lead an elite team to the Land of Rice Fields border and establish a defensive line.”
Then he pointed toward the Land of Rain.
“Deploy Orochimaru’s forces to the border with the Land of Grass.
Guard strictly against a surprise attack from Iwagakure.”
He paused, then added,
“Notify the heads of every ninja clan.
Within tomorrow, they are to recall all combat forces ranked chunin and above.”
Hiruzen rubbed his throbbing temples and was about to stand when he suddenly noticed the corner of an application sticking out from beneath a stack of documents.
He pulled it out and saw that it was Yuto Uchiha’s chunin promotion application.
Shisui’s signature was especially clear at the bottom.
“Yuto Uchiha…”
Hiruzen thought for a moment, then summoned an Anbu with a wave of his hand.
“What has this young Uchiha been doing recently?”
The Anbu knelt on one knee and reported in a low voice,
“According to our information, during the battle with Kumogakure spies, he saved a comrade at the cost of severe injuries and assisted Lord Minato in killing three enemy chunin.”
Hiruzen tapped his pipe lightly against the edge of the desk.
Amid the gray-white smoke, his gaze fell on the additional comment Shisui had written on the application.
Possesses a will to protect others beyond ordinary people.
Although Hiruzen did not understand Yuto, he understood Shisui.
In his impression, Shisui was a special Uchiha.
Like his grandfather Kagami, he looked beyond the clan and truly cared about the village.
For Shisui to give such high praise, this young man named Yuto Uchiha had to be a decent ninja as well.
“Approve the promotion.”
He stamped the application, then added,
“Assign him to Minato’s special operations team.
He is to depart for the Kumogakure front immediately.”
The next day, while Yuto was still sound asleep, someone suddenly knocked on his front door from outside.
He rubbed his eyes, wondering which clueless bastard had disturbed his sleep.
When he opened the door, he discovered it was Minato Namikaze.
Yuto looked up at the sky.
The sun was already overhead, so it was clearly noon.
He rubbed his still-aching arm and immediately revealed a grateful smile.
“Minato-senpai, thank you for saving us in the valley.”
Minato waved his hand gently.
“It was only natural.
Also, I came to inform you that Lord Hokage has approved your promotion to chunin and assigned you to my special operations team.
We are to leave for the Kumogakure front immediately.”
Hearing that, Yuto’s eyes lit up instantly, and the corner of his mouth rose beyond his control.
“Really?
That’s great!”
He could already see himself dying heroically and returning to his old world with a massive compensation payout.
Yuto’s reaction made Minato pause in confusion.
“You’re that happy about going to the battlefield?
Is it because…”
He suddenly thought of what had happened in the valley.
Yuto had been willing to give his life for his comrades, so he must also have a powerful desire to protect the village.
Admiration flashed in Minato’s eyes.
“You have a strong resolve to protect the village?”
Yuto quickly nodded.
“Yes, yes.
I just want to do my part for Konoha.”
Inside, he was overjoyed.
He could finally get himself killed openly and honorably.
This time, he had to charge straight toward the most dangerous place.
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