Chapter 351: Naruto and Sasuke

After reviewing the situation in Kirigakure, the Third Hokage's expression was grim.

The chaos in Kirigakure was beneficial, and the Fourth Mizukage losing his combat ability was also a positive outcome. This meant that for the next decade or so, Konoha would not have to worry about threats from across the sea. However, upon seeing that the one controlling the Fourth Mizukage was the masked man, the Third Hokage could no longer remain calm.

The masked man was the mastermind behind the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha. If not for that night, the Fourth Hokage and the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki would not have died, and the wars with Kumogakure and Iwagakure would not have broken out one after another.

Had none of this happened, Konoha would have already recovered its strength and be thriving with vitality. But reality had already played out differently, and the fallen shinobi could not be resurrected.

Before long, the Third Hokage took note of another key figure aside from the masked man, Hanzō's disciple, Byakuya, someone he had encountered once before.

The Third Hokage had witnessed Byakuya's strength. Unless something unexpected happened, Byakuya was bound to become a Kage-level shinobi in the future.

What truly shocked the Third Hokage was that, according to the intelligence report, Byakuya had consecutively defeated both the Fourth Mizukage and the masked man, all while using the First Hokage's Wood Release.

When he saw the mention of Wood Release, the Third Hokage even doubted his own eyes.

Byakuya was a shinobi of Amegakure. Even if he had Uzumaki blood in his veins, how could he possibly wield the First Hokage's Wood Release? That was a Bloodline Limit unique to the First Hokage himself, one that even Tsunade and Nawaki had not inherited.

The only Konoha shinobi who had learned Wood Release was Yamato, a rare survivor of the Wood Release experiments.

Could it be that Byakuya had undergone Wood Release experimentation and was an unknown survivor? However, given the timeline, even if Byakuya had been subjected to such experiments, the one conducting them would not have been Orochimaru. Moreover, according to the report, Byakuya wielded Wood Release with remarkable proficiency. Although he was not on par with the First Hokage, his skill was at least at a Kage-level standard.

The thought of an Amegakure shinobi making a name for himself in the shinobi world with Wood Release left the Third Hokage feeling as if he had swallowed a fly. It was absurd that something as iconic as Konoha's legacy would now be tied to Amegakure.

At that moment, a thought emerged in the Third Hokage's mind.

If he could recruit Byakuya into Konoha, leveraging his Uzumaki lineage and Wood Release Bloodline Limit, could he become a future pillar of Konoha and help the village overcome its current struggles?

But the Third Hokage quickly dismissed the idea.

If Byakuya had wanted to join Konoha, he would have done so long ago. If Konoha were to formally extend an invitation now, it would not only fail to recruit Byakuya but also offend Amegakure and Hanzō.

After more than a decade of strategic concealment and growth, Amegakure was no longer the weak village it once was.

Though limited by its small land and population, Amegakure had, through the shifting power balance, already reached the level of the Five Great Shinobi Villages in terms of strength. Moreover, Konoha's current relationship with Amegakure was still relatively amicable, and the Third Hokage had no desire to jeopardize that.

Pushing aside his wandering thoughts, the Third Hokage closed the intelligence scroll and gazed out the window, lost in contemplation.

Just then, Kakashi knocked on the office door.

Upon receiving permission, Kakashi entered the Hokage's office and reported to the Third Hokage, "Hokage-sama, Naruto has grown rapidly over the past few months. Not only has he learned many chakra control techniques, but he has also mastered Wind Release chakra transformation…"

"Rasengan?" The Third Hokage tapped his fingers on the desk, deep in thought.

Kakashi continued, "Naruto's chakra nature is Wind. Other than Rasengan, I don't know what other jutsu to teach him. But since he's still young, shouldn't he train more at the Academy before becoming a genin?"

The Third Hokage glanced at Kakashi, his expression amused.

He knew exactly what Kakashi was thinking. Kakashi did not want Naruto to graduate early because he wished to keep him away from war for as long as possible. But as the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, Naruto was destined to be sent to the battlefield when the time came.

With a calm tone, the Third Hokage replied, "I won't have Naruto graduate early. Let things progress naturally."

Kakashi looked surprised as he stared at the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage lit his pipe and took a deep puff before saying, "Our conflict with Iwagakure will soon come to an end. Since they haven't deployed their Jinchūriki, we also have no reason to use ours. And recently, a major event has occurred in Kirigakure."

The Fourth Mizukage being controlled, the Six-Tails' Jinchūriki being captured, Kakashi was utterly shocked by these revelations. He finally understood why the Third Hokage was in no rush for Naruto to graduate. Although Naruto had the strength of a chunin, he was nowhere near the level of Jinchūriki, who were generally Kage-level.

In Konoha, Naruto was protected by Kakashi and the Anbu, ensuring that the masked man could not easily attack him. But once he left Konoha, his safety would be in jeopardy.

At least now, they had confirmed the masked man's true motive for attacking Konoha in the past, it was for the Nine-Tails.

Apart from that, Byakuya's outstanding performance in Kirigakure caught Kakashi's attention as well. He still remembered that back in the day, he and Byakuya were evenly matched. Now, Byakuya was capable of repelling the masked man.

Sometimes, the gap between geniuses was even wider than that between humans and dogs.

At that moment, something occurred to Kakashi. Bracing himself, he said, "Hokage-sama, I have a request."

The Third Hokage looked at Kakashi and nodded. "What is it?"

Taking a deep breath, Kakashi said, "Since Naruto is now capable of protecting himself, shouldn't we tell him about his heritage?"

The Third Hokage's expression darkened. He exhaled a puff of smoke before saying, "Now is not the right time to reveal Naruto's lineage. The timing is not yet mature."

"Then may I ask, Hokage-sama, when will the right time be?"

The Third Hokage was silent for a few seconds before responding, "Once Naruto becomes a jonin. Besides, he is no longer being mistreated in the village. With his understanding of the Will of Fire, he has already earned the villagers' recognition."

He paused before continuing, "Whether or not his identity is revealed no longer matters."

Kakashi's gaze flickered with a barely noticeable complexity before he nodded.

"Since you have decided, Hokage-sama, I have nothing more to say. Please take care of yourself, I will take my leave."

With that, Kakashi exited the Hokage's office.

After Kakashi left, the Third Hokage took a deep drag of his pipe. With his experience, he could clearly see that Kakashi was expressing dissatisfaction with him. But what else could he do?

Naruto had already earned the village's recognition through his own efforts. If his lineage as Minato's son were revealed now, it wouldn't significantly change the villagers' attitudes toward him. But it would undeniably leave a stain on the Third Hokage's legacy.

The villagers and Minato's former subordinates would question his decisions, accusing him of keeping Naruto's identity a secret and allowing him to be unfairly treated.

Yet, if he continued delaying, the situation might only worsen… right?

Shoving these chaotic thoughts aside, the Third Hokage called out, "Anbu, bring me intelligence reports on all the major clans in the village."

The Anbu nodded and swiftly delivered the latest reports.

Among Konoha's prominent shinobi clans, the Anbu primarily monitored the Uchiha, Hyūga, and the Ino-Shika-Chō clans, families that possessed the potential to challenge the Hokage's authority.

The intelligence on the Ino-Shika-Chō remained unchanged.

Just like before, they continued to hold positions that, while not particularly high-ranking, were indispensable. They had never shown any ambition to overthrow the Hokage, yet they had never once lost in political struggles. They were always on the winning side.

The Hyūga Clan, however, harbored aspirations of producing a Hokage.

Especially after the Uchiha Clan's downfall, the Hyūga had inherited the title of Konoha's most powerful clan, making them the greatest political threat to the Hokage's position.

Unlike the extreme tendencies of the Uchiha, however, dealing with the Hyūga Clan was far simpler.

The Caged Bird Seal had divided the Hyūga into the Main House and the Branch House. Initially, the Main House and Branch House existed in a protector-and-protected relationship, but over time, a deep and intense conflict had developed between the two.

In theory, the Main House held absolute power over the Branch House, with the ability to kill any Branch member at will. The Branch House had no means of resisting. But the Caged Bird system could not override Konoha's laws. The Third Hokage only needed to periodically express support for the Branch House to ensure that the Hyūga Clan remained locked in endless internal strife.

Following Itachi Uchiha's massacre of his clan, only Sasuke remained in Konoha. This made surveillance easy, just two rotating Anbu operatives were sufficient. However, the Anbu had recently discovered that they were not the only ones monitoring Sasuke.

All evidence indicated that the other surveillance team consisted of shinobi from the now-dissolved Root organization. Faced with this situation, the Anbu dared not interfere and simply reported it to the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage merely glanced at the report and dismissed it, silently approving Danzo's actions.

As long as Sasuke remained in Konoha, the Third Hokage had no interest in meddling with this last Uchiha survivor. He neither cared to interfere with Sasuke's fate nor had any intention of taking action against him.

As for why Root operatives were still active despite the organization's official dissolution, the Third Hokage couldn't be bothered to dwell on it. Since Root no longer had any legitimate standing, he could suppress or absorb its remnants whenever necessary.

For now, Danzo funding and training his own group of Root shinobi wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Itachi Uchiha, however, was a different matter, one that irritated the Third Hokage.

Before leaving the village, Itachi had sworn that in exchange for allowing Sasuke to be protected, he would provide intelligence on the masked man.

Yet, after all this time, Itachi had not delivered a single piece of useful information.

The Third Hokage still had no concrete details on the masked man's abilities, motives, or the number of subordinates he commanded. Everything about him remained an enigma.

At times, the Third Hokage even suspected that Itachi had joined forces with the masked man. However, as long as Itachi did not display open hostility toward Konoha, the Hokage had no reason to sever their deal.

Having a Mangekyō Sharingan user still loyal to Konoha was already a rare and valuable asset.

After waving the Anbu away, the Third Hokage picked up Konoha's future strategic plan.

Many sections of the plan had already been crossed out, these were all decisions made in recent years that had contributed to Konoha's overall strength. Each one was at least as significant as an S-rank mission.

Among them were plans such as annexing the Land of Waves to secure overseas interests for Konoha and organizing a joint Chunin Exam to boost Konoha's influence.

The official purpose of the Joint Chunin Exams was to select new chunin. In reality, however, they were a military showcase between the shinobi villages.

The true goal of participating in the exams was not merely to become a chunin but to demonstrate military strength in front of the feudal lords of various nations, thereby securing more resources and higher-paying missions.

Years ago, Itachi Uchiha won first place in the Joint Chunin Exam, bringing great benefits to Konoha.

Currently, due to military conflicts, the exam has been delayed for several months. But once peace was restored, resuming the exam would be a priority.

Only by excelling in the Chunin Exams could Konoha's shinobi regain their confidence.

---

After leaving the Hokage's office, Kakashi arrived at the training ground.

Naruto and Sasuke had already been waiting for a long time. The moment they saw Kakashi, they immediately spoke up.

"Kakashi-sensei, you're finally here! You're late again!"

Kakashi glanced at Naruto before shifting his gaze to Sasuke.

Technically, he hadn't been assigned to train Sasuke. But after hearing that Naruto was receiving special training, Sasuke insisted on joining in as well.

At first, Kakashi wanted to refuse, claiming that only elite students were eligible for special training. However, Sasuke quickly learned tree climbing and water walking techniques, leaving Kakashi with no choice but to accept him as a temporary student.

After all, taking care of one kid was already a hassle, what difference did one more make?

As time passed, Kakashi noticed that Sasuke shared many similarities with himself, including his personality and chakra nature. Many of his jutsu were directly applicable to Sasuke's training.

As for whether the Third Hokage would object to him mentoring Sasuke, the Anbu watching from the shadows had made no move to stop him. That meant the Third Hokage was aware of his actions and had tacitly approved.

"Today's excuse for being late, what is it this time? Helping an old lady cross the street?"

Sasuke gave Kakashi a sideways glance and said, "All the old ladies in the village have already been helped by Naruto. I doubt there's anyone left who needs your assistance. Or… did you get lost on the road of life again?"

Kakashi silently cursed at how easily his excuses had been exposed. He decided to tell the truth instead.

"Naruto, you've always wanted to know about your origins, right? I just asked the Hokage about it, but he's still keeping it a secret. He says you're not strong enough yet…"

"Not strong enough?"

Hearing this, Sasuke's expression darkened as he turned to look at Naruto. Sasuke was well aware of Naruto's strength. Even though they had not yet graduated from the Academy, both of them were capable of defeating a chunin-level instructor. If even that wasn't enough to qualify for the truth, then what was?

Naruto, however, didn't seem particularly affected. He simply smiled and said, "The Hokage must have his reasons. There's no need for us to force the issue. One day, he'll tell me of his own accord."