Chapter 52: The Encounter

Soon, the Third Hokage's funeral took place as scheduled, and everyone in the village attended. The day started off with clear skies, but during the funeral, it suddenly began to rain, as if even the heavens were weeping.

Linton naturally attended the funeral too, though he wasn't exactly there to mourn. While participating, he was preoccupied with a difficult decision he needed to make.

The issue Linton was dealing with had nothing to do with Jiraiya. After some coaxing and trickery from Linton, Jiraiya was left confused. Linton had told him that the reason for his return was that he had discovered a connection between someone from the Akatsuki and a high-ranking official in the village. This excuse left Jiraiya unsure whether to believe him or not. Although Jiraiya didn't trust everything, he found one person suspicious... Danzō.

Jiraiya didn't voice his suspicion, mainly because he couldn't fully verify Linton's identity. After some thought, Jiraiya decided to take Naruto with him, as his injuries weren't severe, and it would be safer to keep an eye on him since the Akatsuki was definitely collecting tailed beasts. Regardless of what Linton planned, Jiraiya wanted to ensure Naruto wouldn't get into trouble.

As for what Linton said, Jiraiya figured he had to confirm it himself. If there was any truth to it, he couldn't dismiss it lightly. After all, some of the information Linton provided matched what Jiraiya had already uncovered, leaving him unsure whether to trust it.

Linton didn't stop Jiraiya. Fortunately, he had already accomplished his goal, so there was no need to worry about Naruto anymore. Now, all he had to do was wait for Itachi to arrive.

So, what was Linton choosing between now? It was a happy dilemma—deciding which skill to pick. After casually brushing against Naruto earlier, Linton realized he'd earned 600,000 points. That was 100,000 more than he got from Sasuke, and Linton had no idea how the system calculated these points. But it didn't matter; Jiraiya had checked Naruto afterward and found nothing wrong.

Not knowing how the system classified valuable items, Linton wasn't sure what Naruto had lost. Could it be the "main character aura"? Either way, it didn't concern Linton since he'd gained 600,000 points, a massive windfall.

With his total points now exceeding 1.16 million, Linton could nearly master the First Hokage's skills, including Sage Art and Wood Release techniques. Initially, he was gathering points to learn these, so there shouldn't be a dilemma. But he quickly realized he had another option... the Sharingan.

Previously, Linton had upgraded his Sharingan to the Eternal Mangekyō level, which was classified as B+ by the system. Now, with 1 million points, he could upgrade it to A-level, which he believed would unlock the Rinnegan.

Bloodline abilities were different from directly acquiring skills. Though he hadn't defeated anyone with Rinnegan-level powers, the system still allowed him to upgrade it, meaning he could gain some abilities early. So, the choice before him was between mastering Sage Art and Wood Release or upgrading to the Rinnegan.

After careful analysis, Linton concluded that the Sage Art and Wood Release combo was probably more powerful for now. Even if he upgraded to the Rinnegan, the additional abilities might not be included. He doubted he could use overpowered techniques like Madara's Limbo: Border Jail or Momoshiki's time-stopping ability right away. In comparison, the Sage Art and Wood Release were both versatile and powerful. If he had to rate them, the combo would score a 10, while the Rinnegan would score a 9.

However, when factoring in style points, the situation changed. The Rinnegan was famously known as the "eye of edginess." Anyone who obtained it inevitably developed a dramatic flair. Just look at Pain, who went from a regular guy to declaring himself a god. And Madara? He was already cool, but after gaining the Rinnegan, his edginess reached a whole new level.

More importantly, the Rinnegan's techniques had such cool names! Moves like Almighty Push and Universal Pull were especially thrilling to shout during battle. With that in mind, the Rinnegan earned 90 style points.

So, with a final score of 10 to 99, Linton was leaning heavily toward the Rinnegan. The only issue was that his original plan didn't involve learning it, so now he was just looking for an excuse to convince himself.

"This style is just too strong to resist," Linton muttered to himself.

"What are you talking about?" Kakashi approached as Linton was lost in thought. By now, the funeral had ended, most people had left, and only a few remained, including Linton.

"Nothing much. What's up?" Linton asked.

"Someone reported two strangers in the village. Jiraiya is busy with the elders, so he asked me to check it out," Kakashi said, not paying much attention to Linton's earlier mumblings.

"You want me to come with you?" Linton asked. Kakashi's job was to keep an eye on Linton, but the village was in chaos, and there weren't many people available. So, Kakashi suggested they check it out together.

"Sure," Linton agreed without hesitation. He already knew who the visitors were, but Kakashi didn't. With the Third Hokage's death and tensions between the Leaf and the Sand Village at a high point, other ninja villages had sent scouts to assess the situation. Kakashi hadn't expected the strangers to be such troublemakers.

The two quickly set off and followed the trail to a small tavern where the strangers were eating. Kakashi summoned his ninja dogs to track them, and soon they found the pair.

Instead of entering, Kakashi observed them from outside, his expression darkening as he recognized who they might be, despite their cloaks.

"Is it...?"

"Kakashi," a voice called out, and Kakashi turned to see Kurenai and Asuma approaching.

"On a date?" Kakashi teased, but gave them a knowing look.

Kurenai and Asuma understood and casually kept up their conversation. "No, I just asked him to help me buy some dango. What about you?"

"I'm waiting for Sasuke," Kakashi said. He had told Sasuke to meet him after the funeral, but mentioning it now was also a test to see how the strangers would react.

Unexpectedly, Sasuke appeared just then, greeting Kakashi as he approached.

As Sasuke arrived, the two strangers inside instantly vanished using a body flicker technique. Realizing something was wrong, Kakashi quickly signaled Asuma and Kurenai, and the two took off in pursuit.

"Hey, Sasuke, are you fully recovered?" Kakashi asked.

"No problem," Sasuke replied, unaware of what he had just missed, his mind focused only on getting stronger.

"Head to the training grounds. I'll be there soon with Linton to teach you some new techniques," Kakashi said.

"Okay," Sasuke agreed, leaving without suspicion.

After he was gone, Kakashi turned to Linton. "It's him, isn't it?"

"Yep. Why are you all so cautious? He's not that dangerous. Besides, he's my nephew," Linton said.

"He's here for Naruto. According to Jiraiya, he's joined that organization, so this isn't good," Kakashi said. "I'm worried about Asuma and Kurenai. I need to go."

"I'll come too," Linton offered. "He's my nephew, after all. It's good to say hello."

With Linton's help, it would be easier for Kakashi, whose primary task was to watch him anyway. They quickly tracked the group to a lake, where they found Kurenai and Asuma struggling. Kurenai was clearly under a genjutsu, while Asuma was injured.

"Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique!" Just as they arrived, Kisame unleashed a Water Release attack on the pair. Kakashi immediately activated his Sharingan and copied the technique, sending his own Water Shark Bullet to intercept and cancel out Kisame's, saving them.

"Kakashi, you're here," Asuma sighed with relief, but spoke with concern.

"Kakashi..." Itachi glanced at Kakashi, but his attention quickly shifted to Linton, who was wearing a Uchiha clan uniform. "Who are you?"

"Hello, nephew!" Linton greeted enthusiastically. "I'm Uchiha Linton, your uncle. Isn't this a touching reunion? Come here, let me hug you."

"Hahaha! Itachi, where did you find an uncle all of a sudden?" Kisame laughed at Linton's words.

"Lies…" Itachi's face remained emotionless as he denied Linton's claim. "You're not from the Uchiha clan."

"Really?" Linton smiled as he activated his Sharingan. "Look into these eyes and say that again."

(End of Chapter)