107

"Heh, Hiruzen, how does it feel? Frustrated, aren't you?"

Danzo smirked as he approached Hiruzen Sarutobi, his voice laced with mockery.

"I warned you about this a long time ago. You completely misjudged Tsunade and Alex Washington!"

"Especially that brat, Alex!"

"Did you finally see just how much strength he's been hiding?"

"He's not as honest and simple as you thought—he's been playing you this whole time, making a fool out of you!"

Danzo chuckled darkly.

Hiruzen's face darkened.

"Hmph! I admit, I miscalculated this time."

"I'll deal with him later."

"He's grown too much—his name will spread across the entire world after this war. I can't touch him carelessly anymore."

"On the contrary… I'll have no choice but to reward and promote him for his achievements."

Hiruzen was seething inside.

He had spent his entire life outmaneuvering others, yet now he was the one outplayed.

He had underestimated Alex.

But that wouldn't happen again.

What made him even more furious was that his own Sarutobi clan had suffered devastating losses in this battle.

Hundreds of them were dead.

And after hearing the full details of what had happened, he couldn't even blame Alex or Tsunade.

Because, ironically, the outcome wasn't even their fault.

It was just bad luck that Sand Ninja hadn't followed the plan.

And the worst part?

He couldn't tell anyone that they had originally intended to sabotage Danzo's forces.

He had no choice but to swallow his anger and accept the bitter truth.

Danzo, of course, took great pleasure in Hiruzen's frustration.

"Isn't it perfect?" Danzo sneered. "Let him get promoted. The higher he rises, the greater the responsibilities he'll have to shoulder."

"And when it comes to dangerous missions… just send him out."

Danzo grinned.

He still wanted Alex dead, but at this point, directly attacking him was no longer an option.

If Alex had awakened the Sharingan, Danzo would have gone after his eyes immediately.

But strangely, despite his overwhelming strength, Alex never used the Sharingan.

In fact, as far as anyone knew, he had never even awakened it.

Yet he had somehow reached Kage-level strength without it.

How?

This wasn't how the Uchiha bloodline worked!

For every Uchiha, breaking through to the Kage level required Mangekyō Sharingan.

So how the hell did Alex do it without one?

Danzo couldn't figure it out.

And that frustrated him even more.

Meanwhile, as the formal handover of Shukaku was taking place, Chiyo frowned as she inspected the sealed beast and shot Alex a suspicious glare.

"Why does the Tailed Beast seem… weaker than before?"

The moment she spoke, everyone—Hiruzen, Danzo, Rasa, and the surrounding Konoha Shinobi—all turned to look at Alex.

Alex blinked.

"Oh, that?" he said casually.

He waved a hand dismissively.

"Maybe I hit it a bit too hard, and it went into autism."

"...What?" Chiyo's eye twitched.

"Or maybe," Alex continued with a straight face, "Shukaku got heat stroke from being out in the desert for too long."

"If you take it back, give it some water and shade, it should be fine."

Chiyo: "..."

Rasa: "..."

Hiruzen: "..."

Danzo: "..."

Heat stroke?

Was this brat seriously saying a Tailed Beast, born and raised in the desert, got heat stroke?

What kind of bullshit excuse was that?!

If Alex wasn't so terrifying, Chiyo would have slapped him on the spot.

But as much as she wanted to argue, she held her tongue.

Because, in the end, it didn't really matter.

At most, Alex had probably drained a significant portion of Shukaku's Chakra.

And frankly…

That might actually be a good thing.

If Shukaku had less Chakra, it would be easier to seal into a new Jinchūriki.

So instead of wasting energy arguing, Chiyo let it go.

What really mattered was the two billion ryo Sand Village now owed Konoha.

That was going to hurt.

Their finances were already stretched thin—this would cripple them.

But they had no choice.

If they refused to pay, Alex might personally visit Sand Village next.

And they definitely didn't want that.

Chiyo sighed.

"Looks like we'll have to beg the Daimyo for money," she muttered.

"Rasa should go. I'm not dealing with that arrogant bastard."

Rasa scowled but said nothing.

He knew she was right.

Back in Konoha

Once the formalities were done, Hiruzen turned to Alex.

"Alex, the situation here has been resolved. Let's head back to Konoha."

"All four of Konoha's senior leaders are currently here. We can't leave the village unattended for too long, or something might happen."

Alex shrugged.

"Sure."

Then he glanced at Tsunade.

"What about you, sensei?"

"Take me with you," Tsunade said immediately.

"I'm not waiting around for the follow-up troops."

"I've been stuck in this godforsaken battlefield for over a year, and I want out."

Alex smirked.

"Fair enough."

He placed his hands on their shoulders—

And disappeared.

A few teleportations later, they arrived in front of the Hokage's Office.

"Ahhh~ Konoha feels so much better," Tsunade sighed, stretching.

Then she waved at Hiruzen.

"Alright, old man. If there's nothing else, I'm going home."

"Wait!"

Hiruzen stopped her.

"I need to discuss something with both of you."

Tsunade and Alex exchanged glances.

They both sighed.

"Fine," Tsunade groaned. "Let's get this over with."

They followed Hiruzen into the Hokage's Office.

Once inside, Hiruzen sat down, his expression unreadable.

"Alex," he said.

"This time, you've achieved incredible merit for Konoha. Your victories against Sand Ninja, your capture of Shukaku, and your overall battlefield performance were nothing short of extraordinary."

"I've decided to officially promote you to Jonin."

Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Okay."

"In addition," Hiruzen continued, "as a reward, you may choose a ninjutsu from the Scroll of Seals."

"Do you have anything in mind?"

Alex thought for a moment.

Then, he smiled.

"I heard about a technique called the Spirit Transformation Technique," he said.

"I'll take that one."

Hiruzen's expression flickered.

He hadn't expected that choice.

"Spirit Transformation?" he repeated, narrowing his eyes. "Are you sure?"

Oh, I'm very sure, old man.

Alex smirked.

"Yep. I'm interested in the whole out-of-body soul projection thing."

Hiruzen studied him for a moment.

Then, reluctantly, he nodded.

"Very well. I'll prepare the Scroll of Seals."

Alex just smiled.

Step one of my plan… complete.

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