"Elder Sifang."
Fugaku walked up to the elder Sifang who was sitting leisurely sunbathing in the corridor and bowed slightly.
Then, he stared at the elders from all directions.
The other party's face is getting older, but his appetite for food has not decreased. He eats and drinks well. According to the maid, he occasionally exercises physical skills to stay healthy.
Itachi, who was following him, also bowed slightly to Elder Sifang, then raised his head and gave Elder Sifang a curious look.
"Fugaku, you're here, sit down wherever you want, you don't have to be restrained here."
The elders from Sifang asked Fugaku to sit down and discuss.
Fugaku did not sit down, his attitude was still as respectful as before.
"Elder Shifang, I hope you can train Itachi for a while. There is no one more suitable for this in Uchiha than you."
Fugaku requested.
"I no longer care about worldly affairs."
"I know that you were worried about Ruri leaving Konoha at the beginning, and now you have the idea of retiring. However, Itachi is different from Ruri. He is very important to the future Uchiha. His talent as a ninja must also be with Ruri. superior."
What Fugaku said made the elders from all directions surprised.
The same goes for Lihuo.
He knew about Ruri's talent. Twelve-year-old Ruri was already a jounin and could force him to go all out.
When leaving Konoha, it only took one look to make him fall deeply into the Sharingan genjutsu, unable to resist.
You know, like Ruri, he has the Three Magatama Sharingan, but the power of Ruri's Sharingan is obviously beyond the scope of ordinary Sharingan.
Compared with the Mangekyou Sharingan, the eye power is only inferior to the exclusive eye technique.
However, at this moment, Fugaku said that the child next to him was more talented than Ruri.
This made Li Huo have some doubts.
"Itachi."
Fugaku glanced at Itachi.
Itachi understood. Although he didn't think this old man with half a foot in the coffin could teach him anything, he couldn't disobey his father's will.
He formed a seal with his hands and opened his mouth.
"Art fire escape ho fireball!"
A fireball flew out of his mouth, startling Li Huo.
Uchiha Itachi, Fugaku's child, seems to be less than...five years old this year, right?
Li Huo took a breath of air.
Fugaku said that Itachi's ninja talent may exceed that of Ruri. He was not lying, but he was telling the truth.
"Itachi learned this ninjutsu after just one look without the Sharingan."
Fugaku said.
There was no trace of pride in his tone.
This is his Uchiha Fugaku's child.
At the same time, seeing the elders from all directions also looking surprised, I felt a sense of pleasure in getting through it.
He knew that among the Uchiha clan in the past, Liuli was the one whom the elders valued most.
The reason why he was able to become the clan leader was because Liuli defected to Konoha. If Liuli had not defected to Konoha at that time, he would most likely not be the leader of the Uchiha clan.
Because Liuli was stronger than him, tough-minded, and younger than him, many radical clan members identified Liuli as the next clan leader.
What now?
The Third Ninja War broke out, and the power of the Uchiha radicals was greatly weakened. Uchiha Ruri defected and became a homeless dog. He became the patriarch of the wealthy Uchiha family, with a high position of authority, and gradually controlled most of the Uchiha's voices.
His son Itachi's talent is even better than that of Uchiha Ruri, and he is the real winner.
Li Huo knew that Fugaku was a person. Although he was occasionally vain, he was definitely not someone who liked to talk big.
In other words, Itachi learned this move after watching Fugaku's Fire Release display without the Sharingan.
Li Huo couldn't find the right words to describe this kind of talent.
Seeing the silence of the Sifang elders, Fugaku knew that his goal had been achieved.
"Because Itachi still needs to learn other things, Elder Sifang is enough to train Itachi for an hour every day. It doesn't need to be long, just three months. It won't take you too long. I hope Itachi can train Itachi before entering the ninja school. Lay down the foundation.”
Li Huo felt that Fugaku's tone had changed from respectful to a disguised command, and he frowned.
Elder Sifang said: "Since you trust me so much, I agree."
Fugaku patted Itachi on the head: "Itachi, you have to study hard here with the elders from all directions. I will send someone to pick you up when the time comes."
"Yes, Father."
Itachi nodded obediently.
He didn't know why, but he always felt that the atmosphere between his father and this Sifang elder was strange.
But he couldn't tell what was strange.
After Fugaku left, the elders from Sifang took Itachi to the training ground, and Li Huo followed.
He was very curious about Itachi's talent. He wanted to see it with his own eyes if it was really as good as Ruri as Fugaku said.
When we arrived at the training ground, there were eight wooden targets scattered there. The targets are all about the size of a human head, each painted with a black dot.
Itachi stood in the middle of the field. Under the gazes of the elders from all directions and Li Huo, he showed no signs of cowardice. His expression was calm, as calm as a child should be.
Itachi stood there with a shuriken between each finger, eight in total.
He didn't make any unnecessary preludes and breathed out gently from his mouth.
While bending his knees, he then jumped up from the ground and began to rotate his body in the air.
Spread your arms to the sides with force on your chest.
Click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, these sounds rang from the ears before Itachi even landed.
All eight targets placed on the training ground were hit by shurikens with black spots in the center, without exception.
Wonderful! Even Li Huo, who was a jounin in terms of strength, couldn't help but praise him in his heart.
Fugaku didn't lie. This child named Itachi was a real genius.
At such a young age, he can master the art of fireball and shuriken. It's hard to imagine where his future achievements will be.
Elder Sifang looked calm and nodded approvingly.
In terms of ninja talent, it has indeed surpassed the original Liuli.
Because at that time, Ruri was still bullying Uchiha boys of the same age and playing ninja games.
At that time, Ruri was definitely much weaker than Itachi.
"Elder."
Itachi walked up to the elders from all directions.
"You can come here at this time every day from now on. But remember, you only have one hour."
Elder Sifang emphasized the word 'one hour' in an emphatic tone.
"yes."
Itachi had a look of hesitation on his face.
"Anything you want to ask?"
"Um, father doesn't like you, elder?"
The elder Sifang took a deep look at Itachi. In Itachi's eyes, there was no so-called innocence, only a look similar to paranoid thinking.
The elders from Sifang did not answer.
I just feel that Itachi is too mature and has a sharp mind.
An hour passed, and the elders from the four directions began to teach Itachi about shuriken throwing techniques and taijutsu.
Although it was only a short hour, Itachi benefited a lot.
At this moment, Itachi realized that the Uchiha elder with half a foot in the coffin was far above his father Fugaku.
◎
After that, Itachi would come to the Sifang Elders every day for training.
The first day was shuriken and taijutsu.
The next day was Kunai and Fire Release.
The third day was actual combat training, with Jonin Uchiha Rihuo as his training object.
Then an hour passed and it was time for Itachi to leave.
He could feel that his father was in awe of this old man called Elder Sifang and allowed him to come, possibly with the intention of warning and demonstrating.
That said, training is incidental.
And the Sifang elders also understand this.
Therefore, Itachi was very curious as to why the elders from Sifang, who understood this, agreed to teach him?
Itachi has been thinking about this problem for the past few days.
But in the end, it can only be concluded that agreeing to Fugaku's request was just an impromptu act by this Sifang elder and had no special meaning.
Itachi confirmed his guess.
Although he is still a child, he is not an ordinary child.
He has seen war and the reality of the world.
Itachi was about to leave when he heard the words of the elders from all directions:
"Starting tomorrow, you don't have to come."
"?"
This is only the third day.
According to the agreement, it should be three months.
Elder Sifang replied: "I have nothing left to teach you about the basics of ninja."
Li Huo on the side was slightly surprised, but didn't say anything.
He had witnessed Itachi's performance for the past three days with his own eyes.
This child was different from other children. He was so mature that even he, a Jonin, felt scared.
"I see."
In this case, there is really no need to stay here.
"Thank you for your teachings these days."
Itachi bowed respectfully, expressing his sincere gratitude.
In just three days, I have benefited a lot, which is enough for me to digest for a long time.
"Even without me, you can still dig on your own. I have no need to ask, Itachi, is there anything you want to do in the future?"
The elders from all directions stared closely at Itachi's face that was still childish but not childish at all.
Hearing the question from the elders of the four directions, Itachi said without any hesitation: "Become a better ninja than anyone else, and then use your own power to eliminate all disputes in the world."
This is an incredibly ambitious dream.
Li Huo was a little dumbfounded. Is this what a child would say?
If other children said this, it might just be a passing interest.
But Itachi said this very seriously.
He means it.
While others are still playing, he is already thinking about his future.
"Then what do you think makes a good ninja?"
Elder Sifang asked.
"Please ask the elders for advice."
"Look more at the people around you, from ordinary people to ninjas, and from civilians to nobles. Solving the world's disputes is not something that one person or one generation can do. That will shed more blood and transcend Any ninja war. Moreover, no matter how strong one person is, he cannot bear everything."
"I understand, Elder."
Itachi thought for a moment and thought that this sentence might be correct, but to verify the correctness of this sentence, he needed to test it himself.
After all, among the children of the same age, or those one or two years older, there has yet to be a strong person that he truly recognizes.
Those people could only play childish ninja games, and Itachi didn't think he could gain any important knowledge from there. He was just wasting his time.
Itachi simply left and probably wouldn't come back again.
"Elder Sifang, are you just giving up?"
Li Huo sighed.
In his opinion, this is obviously a good idea and should not be given up like this.
"You have to choose your own path, just like Liuli back then. Whether it's pain or laughter, I don't want to interfere too much. Besides, how long do you think I can really teach that child?"
Elder Sifang snorted coldly.
Li Huo was stunned, and then figured out the key.
Fugaku only gave Elder Shifang three months, one hour a day.
Fugaku didn't really want to let Elder Shifang teach. He just wanted Elder Shifang to teach Itachi the knowledge of ninja. As for the other aspects, once it was touched, Fugaku might take action.
He was afraid that the elder Sifang would take on other colors in Itachi and escape Fugaku's control as a father.
Itachi's talent is so outstanding.
He is so outstanding that Fugaku must control Itachi and never allow anyone to get involved.
"Is that so? It seems that he has truly mastered most of Uchiha's power. Even you don't take it seriously."
Li Huo's tone was sour.
After working for so many years, he is just an intelligence chief, while others are already powerful clan leaders.
I feel like he can no longer be the leader of Uchiha intelligence.
Everything about the elders from all directions may be blocked.
This guy Fugaku is so weird. Li Huo complained in his heart.
He knew that Fugaku was not targeting him, but that he was too afraid of the elders from all directions and was also worried about the backlash from the radicals.
"Not only that, there are ANBU lurking around the mansion."
"ah?"
Li Huo was stunned, ANBU?
"Li Huo, how long has it been since you fought? Your vigilance has become so weak."
"Sorry. Maybe it's because I had diarrhea this morning."
Li Huo scratched his head in embarrassment.
It is true that some of my skills have become rusty over the years. I didn't even go to the battlefield. I just ate in the clan and waited to die. When I had nothing to do, I went out for a walk and fished.
I feel like Elder Sifang, I have become an old man who does nothing all day long.
But what he didn't expect was that the elderly and frail Elder Sifang's body's nerve response had dropped to this point, but his Sharingan was still so sharp.
◎
Two days later, Kakashi returned to Konoha.
He was transported back by a team of ANBU. It is said that when Kakashi was found, he was already dying, lying in a forest covered with injuries, and was almost eaten by a passing wild beast.
Fortunately, the ANBU arrived in time, killed the beast, and asked the medical ninja accompanying the team to stabilize Kakashi's injury, and finally returned to Konoha Hospital safely for medical treatment.
This news made both the Third Hokage and the Fourth Hokage secretly relieved.
If Kakashi died for this, it would be an extremely huge loss for Konoha.
With Kakashi's talent, it was only a matter of time before he became the pillar of Konoha.
And he was able to step forward to protect his teammates in critical moments, and also saved Jiraiya, one of the three ninjas. The jounin who had been prejudiced against Kakashi in the past couldn't help but look at Kakashi with admiration.
Before entering Minato's class, Kakashi was a cold-blooded ninja who regarded his mission as the highest goal and could ignore the lives of his companions.
This also shows the fourth generation Hokage Namikaze Shuito's educational skills.
No matter what, Kakashi made great achievements this time.
Those Konoha ninjas who had followed Jiraiya on the battlefield expressed their sincere gratitude to Kakashi.
The third and fourth generations of Hokages also came together to express their condolences to Kakashi.
Everyone can predict that with the high recognition of the two Hokages, Kakashi will surely rise to great heights in Konoha in the future, with a smooth road without any obstacles at all.
This is the affirmation given to Kakashi by almost all high-level officials in Konoha.
After staying with Kakashi for two hours, Minato left.
He still needs a lot of work to deal with, but before leaving, he also asked the medical staff to take good care of Kakashi's body, so that Kakashi can rest in peace and recover, and there is no need to rush the Anbu's work.
Although Kakashi was not asked about the specific details of how he escaped from the apes, his miserable injuries, messy hair, and haggard body also made everyone understand that Kakashi must have been frightened during these days. Xuan Yuan spent his time in pursuit.
Returning to the office in the Hokage Building, someone came looking for me not long after I sat down.
Minato was slightly surprised when he saw the person coming.
"Tsunade-sama, why are you here? Is it because the research funds approved before are insufficient?"
Tsunade had been researching new drugs against the Xuan Yuanzhong explosive insects. Now that Tsunade came to find him, Minato thought that Tsunade's research funds were insufficient.
"No, the research on the drug is almost completed. It will be completed soon without me."
This seems to be a declaration before parting.
"Then you are..."
"I want to leave the village for a while."
Tsunade took a deep breath, determination on her face.
Minato looked at Tsunade seriously, and finally remembered something, without saying anything, he directly approved the task document and handed it to Tsunade.
"Thank you, Minato."
"It doesn't matter. Lady Tsunade must have her own reasons for doing this, and I am not in a position to interfere. But I hope Lady Tsunade can come back as soon as possible. Konoha cannot live without you."
"Don't worry, I just went out to relax and take care of some things. I will be back after the things are taken care of."
Seeing Tsunade's assurance, Minato was secretly relieved.
Since Tsunade promised to return to Konoha soon, there would be no problem.
"By the way, I have something to remind you."
Before Tsunade left, she stopped as if she remembered something.
"Please speak, Tsunade-sama."
"Be careful of Chiba Shiraishi."
When Minato heard the name, his body trembled subconsciously.
There was a dull pain in my heart.
The bad memory of death made him remember what happened that night unforgettable.
Tsunade knew that Minato had a great psychological shadow on Shiraishi. After all, even Minato would not be completely immune to death at the hands of the other party.
But she knew that if Minato was the child of prophecy, then Shiraishi, who also knew about the child of prophecy from the living snake, would probably take action against Minato again.
That's a dangerous ninja completely in the fog.
There are Sharingan and Byakugan beside him. Uchiha Ruri's strength is ignored for the time being, because that was a test five or six years ago, and now it has become untrustworthy.
But Hinata Ayane's strength is obvious to all.
A truly powerful ninja capable of riding a thousand horses, he can steadily suppress Kumogakure's Fourth Raikage in terms of close combat capabilities.
Moreover, with its Byakugan and full defense and attack capabilities, it can be said that it is very unfriendly to Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique.
Not to mention, there is the dangerous man at the end whose strength and abilities are a complete mystery.
"I will be careful, Tsunade-sama."
Minato nodded seriously.
He knew that Tsunade wasn't just telling the truth out of thin air, she must have learned something, so she reminded him like this.
Not only himself, but Kushina must also be protected, so that there can be no more accidents like last time.
◎
In the eyes of outsiders, Konoha may seem to have calmed down and begun to develop steadily.
But Shiraishi, who was far away in the Kingdom of Demons, knew that Namikaze Minato, the fourth Hokage of Konoha, was busy gathering power, while Sarutobi Hiruzen, the third Hokage, was busy wiping Danzo's butt everywhere.
He kept sending his cronies out to wipe out all traces of human trafficking in Danzo, and also assigned elite ninjas to guard Danzo and Orochimaru to prevent them from making any small moves again.
In a short period of time, Konoha would not have the spare power to find defecting ninjas.
However, this matter will pass sooner or later, so Shiraishi will not put his hope in this kind of thing. At most, he can only buy a few months.
We have to add some ingredients to Konoha. The first step is to apply pressure from within, and the second step is to apply pressure from the outside.
According to the intelligence, Kumogakure's recent actions have become restless again.
War may once again be on the verge of breaking out.
But in Shiraishi's view, these are not enough. Some more pressure needs to be added to make Konoha busy again, and Konoha cannot be given too much free time.
The ones chosen by Shiraishi are Taki no Kuni and Takigakure.
Even though it was a small village, it was definitely enough to make Konoha feel sick for a while.
Leave the matter to the people below, he only needs to wait for the news.
The relationship between Takigakure and Konoha is now tense, which can be described as bad. All it takes is a little provocation over the tailed beasts, and Takigakure can denounce Konoha in a righteous way.
Seeing this situation, the rest of the Ninja Village would not make it easy for Konoha even if they thought about it. A real fight with real swords and guns might not be possible, but as long as Konoha is tired and trivial, Shiraishi's goal will be achieved.
Now that the Kingdom of Ghosts is at a critical moment in its layout, there can be no surprises.
Let the eyes of the ninja world focus on Konoha, this is the best option.
The rest of the Ninja Village must also be very happy to pay attention to Konoha's every move.
Konoha, the strongest ninja in the ninja world, whatever happens at any time is enough to touch people's hearts.
Then he picked up a bill.
It was sent from the Ziyuan Flower Merchant Association.
In the borrower column, it says Chiyo from Sunagakure Village.
Recently, Sunagakure, who wanted to quickly restore the strength of the village, began to make a loan to the Aster Flower Merchant Guild in the Country of Demons for the second time since the war, and the amount was larger than the last time.
Regarding this, Shiraishi just hopes that Sunagakure Village can borrow as much as possible, preferably to the extent that it cannot be repaid.
While I was thinking this, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
Shiraishi put away the bill and put it in a drawer for storage.
Someone from outside came in with a letter.
"Shiraishi-sama, this is a letter sent from Konoha."
Shiraishi nodded, opened the envelope, took out the letter paper inside, read the contents on it, and frowned.
The thing mentioned above is very simple. Tsunade, one of the three ninjas of Konoha, is going to visit Maitreya, the miko of the Kingdom of Demons, and begs for accommodation.
