Chapter 55: The Plan Unfolds

Could it be that Elder Itachi already knows I possess the Sharingan?

Assuming he does know, when exactly did he figure it out?

Tōshirō began analyzing the timeline carefully, uncovering hidden clues.

He recalls that Elder Itachi initially opposed his learning of medical ninjutsu, but for some reason, he suddenly changed his mind.

At the time, Tōshirō thought that Itachi wanted to expose him to concepts of death and loss in the hospital to awaken the Sharingan.

In reality, Elder Itachi might have delved into his memories and anticipated his actions, casting a web of deception.

By combining Itachi's behavior, especially his desire to draw him closer to Tsunade, Tōshirō started to understand the situation.

At the time, Tōshirō didn't know that Tsunade had secretly enrolled in medical ninja training, but Itachi's intelligence network surely did.

Teaching him medical ninjutsu was merely a ruse; the real aim was to bring him closer to Tsunade, possibly even setting up a political marriage between clans.

"What a cunning plan. Uniting the Uchiha and Senju clans could make an Uchiha nomination for Hokage more plausible."

"No wonder this old man survived since the Samurai era with such schemes."

But wait, I'm no less clever than him.

Tōshirō always believed he was cautious enough, but now it seemed he had underestimated those around him.

If Elder Itachi had come to this analysis, surely the Third Hokage had thought about it too.

There's no need to guess what's on Tōshirō's mind—the Third Hokage might rely on Itachi's actions and his connection with Tsunade in learning medical jutsu to draw similar conclusions.

"There's a saying: 'Judge by actions, not intentions.' What if Sarutobi Hiruzen had come to this conclusion based on those actions?"

"It's best to be wary of this potential threat."

At this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen was at the peak of his power, not like in the future when he becomes more hesitant. No one knows what he might do now.

When Tōshirō realized this, he felt a deep sense of dread and wiped the cold sweat from his brow.

"I have to distance myself from the medical ninja training."

"I can be a medical ninja, but I can't continue in this field under Sarutobi Hiruzen's watchful eyes."

"I must leave before Sarutobi concludes that Elder Itachi is trying to draw me closer to Tsunade and takes action against me."

Tōshirō leaped out of bed, "What kind of rest am I even talking about?!"

He quickly got ready and headed for training, "I'm still too weak, and it's easy for people to manipulate me."

He went to his desk and picked up one of the scrolls Elder Itachi had given him, and began reading it. It didn't take long before he was surprised.

"Itachi can't use Ice Release, yet he can explain some points with great precision!"

"I've only recently become a ninja who uses Ice Release, and yet he managed to analyze it so deeply without being an Ice Release user! What a great feat! Is this the true meaning of unity with the way?"

"In any case, this is research in a different field, and it's clear that Elder Itachi has put in a lot of effort."

"The more Elder Itachi invests in my training, the more I'm convinced that he knows I possess two Kekkei Genkai, otherwise, things wouldn't make sense."

But Tōshirō didn't dare ask him, preferring to pretend that he knew nothing.

Once he understood this, it became clear why Elder Itachi wanted him to learn the Hidden Mist Technique. On the surface, it was a jutsu any ninja could use, but the truth was that Itachi was training him to fight without relying on the Sharingan.

As for Elder Itachi not revealing the Sharingan's truth, it seemed to be an attempt to hide this card from the higher-ups of Konoha.

Itachi knew they feared the Sharingan, so not talking about it meant keeping a trump card in secrecy.

Unless Tōshirō revealed it himself, Konoha's ninjas wouldn't know about the Sharingan and would assume he was just an Ice Release user.

Certainly, with Itachi's experience and knowledge of the Mangekyō Sharingan, it seemed he was guiding Tōshirō away from Sharingan training and instead focusing on developing Ice Release.

"What a cunning old man!"

Tōshirō sincerely appreciated that.

...

The best pain reliever is the passage of time.

After a while, Tsunade emerged from her grief and returned to her normal self.

This was a good thing, but there was something small that bothered Tōshirō.

When he saw the couple talking and laughing in front of him, Tōshirō felt a great deal of confusion.

"Has my place been taken?!"

"Where did this man come from?"

For his part, Jiraiya looked at the slightly older blonde man with a feeling of jealousy and envy, making snide comments, asking him to stay away from Tsunade.

In the end, Tsunade punched Jiraiya.

She grabbed him by the collar and lifted him like a small chicken, saying angrily, "Explain what you just said again!"

Jiraiya surrendered after the hit, bowing his head in acknowledgment of his mistake.

This wasn't the first time this had happened.

The blonde man smiled warmly, "That's Tsunade's teammate, seems like he has a sense of humor."

"Sorry if I embarrassed you."

The blonde man smiled and said, "Talk as much as you like, I have a mission to go on, so I'll leave you for now."

Tsunade waved goodbye.

The blonde man had taken only a few steps when he remembered something, turning back with a slight smile, "Oh, by the way, I have something to tell you when I return from the mission."

"What is it?"

"It's a secret. I'll tell you when I get back, and I'll bring you a gift too."

Tsunade showed signs of confusion on her face but thanked him in the end.

As she watched the blonde man leave, Tōshirō sarcastically thought, "Those optimistic statements usually mean he won't be coming back…"

Jiraiya added mockingly, "Ah… What's up with lines like 'I have something to tell you'? That's such an old, cliché move. Who does he think he is?"

Tsunade frowned and said, "Hey, watch your words. Not everyone is as corrupt as you."

Jiraiya, who was used to Tsunade calling him dirty, wasn't much affected: "True, I'm dirty, but at least I don't pretend to be clean like that guy. From the moment I saw him, I felt he wasn't a good person."

Jiraiya had no ill intentions, but he caught Tōshirō's attention: "Who is this person? It seems I haven't seen him before."

Tsunade sighed and replied: "You spend all your time sleeping. Who do you know other than us in the village? That's Sarutobi Makihiro, a relative of Master Sarutobi, a few years older than me. He used to take care of me, providing great support when my second grandfather passed away, and I was in a bad emotional state."

Those words triggered Tōshirō's caution, linking them to what the blonde man said about having something to tell her when he returns. He didn't believe it was just a coincidence.

Playfully and testing, Tōshirō said, "Well… if we assume that this guy is exactly what Jiraiya thinks, and if he confesses his feelings to you when he comes back, how would you react?"

Tsunade was shocked by the sudden question and stammered: "I… I don't know, don't ask me about that."

"So, you don't reject the idea?"

Before Tōshirō could reply, Jiraiya jumped in, "Tsunade, that's not fair! You're already with me, how can you leave me…"

But before he could finish, Jiraiya was sent flying after being punched hard by Tsunade.

Jiraiya groaned as he got up: "Tsunade, can't you be nice to me? You shouldn't always resort to violence, it's not good."

He got up quickly, as if nothing had happened, used to Tsunade's punches, as long as she wasn't serious.

Tsunade smirked sarcastically: "Sorry, I'm only nice to the ones I love, and clearly, you're not one of them."

For some reason, Tōshirō felt a twinge of jealousy, perhaps because he sensed someone else getting closer to Tsunade.

As Tōshirō walked away, Tsunade asked, "Where are you going?"

Tōshirō replied indifferently: "Nothing, I'm going to train."

"What?"

When they heard that, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya were shocked, their eyes wide open in surprise: "Did we hear right? Tōshirō decided to train on his own? Didn't he hate training?"

Tōshirō sighed: "People change… Besides, it's better to learn something that'll protect my life. In this troubled world, I might die for no reason."

Though his motivation was still driven by caution, Tsunade was pleased that Tōshirō was finally on the right path: "This is rare! If that's the case, I'll help you with your training."

Orochimaru raised his hand and said, "No need to bother yourself, Tsunade. I'll help Tōshirō with his training."

Jiraiya interrupted, saying, "Step aside, Tōshirō is my friend. I'll be the one to help him train."

Since their sensei became the Hokage, he had been extremely busy, leaving no time to train them or assign them missions. This caused them to spend a lot of time doing nothing. But now, after Tōshirō finally decided to train, they all showed interest.

The debate continued until they asked Tōshirō, "Who do you want to help you with your training?"

Tōshirō was surprised for a moment.

He hadn't expected everyone to be so eager to assist him. It seemed he was quite popular.

After thinking for a bit, Tōshirō decided to choose Jiraiya as his training partner.

Jiraiya raised his hands high and cheered in victory.

Orochimaru and Tsunade grumbled, "Why did you choose Jiraiya specifically?"

Jiraiya replied proudly, "Isn't it obvious? Tōshirō and I are close friends."

Jiraiya approached Tōshirō, placing his hand on his shoulder as if announcing his pride, but there was a subtle mischievous glint in his eyes that wasn't too obvious.

Besides his interest in Tōshirō, Jiraiya also wanted to show off his new abilities. He had always felt challenged by Tōshirō in the past.

Now that he had spent time training under Hiruzen, he was strong enough to become a Chūnin-ranked ninja.

He believed Tōshirō was still less skilled than him, perhaps not even reaching the rank of Genin yet, so he saw this as an opportunity to surpass him and demonstrate his prowess.

But Tōshirō brushed Jiraiya's hand off and coldly said, "There's no special reason for choosing you. I just picked you because you're weaker than the others."

Jiraiya's expression suddenly changed, his joy turning into anger, feeling insulted.

Orochimaru and Tsunade laughed, feeling relieved.

(End of Chapter)

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