Chapter 215

Just as Onogi spent an entire quarter deciphering the contents of the stone tablet and began secretly investing massive amounts of manpower and funds into studying the Tiga stone statue and the Sparkling Mirror, spring arrived once again.

...

Konoha, Hokage Office.

Nonō quietly observed the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade-sama, who was frowning as she looked over the two ninja school application forms that had just been handed to her.

One application was for Chloe, and the other was for Kabuto. Nonō was not worried about Chloe, but rather Kabuto, whose true identity was unknown. Such individuals were generally not easily accepted as village ninjas.

At this moment, Nonō could only silently pray in her heart, hoping that Tsunade would approve.

"Yakushi Kabuto..."

Hearing Tsunade murmur this name, Nonō's heart sank with disappointment: So, Kabuto still isn't acceptable?

"Why didn't he apply last year? From his age, he should have already joined the ninja school last year, right?"

Upon hearing Tsunade's question, Nonō was momentarily stunned but quickly responded, "Kabuto had no intention of becoming a ninja before. It was only after Chloe arrived at the orphanage that he decided to become a ninja together with her."

"Bonds..." Tsunade mused with a nostalgic smile, then said, "Alright, I understand. There are three days until the start of school. You just need to take them to the school to report."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

Nonō sincerely thanked her and bowed deeply. This Hokage was truly different from the Third Hokage and Danzo.

"No need to thank me, I should be the one thanking you for nurturing such a talent for Konoha. Did you teach Kabuto his medical ninjutsu? For someone so young to master such complex medical techniques, he's a genius."

"No, not at all..."

Nonō was flustered, then heard Tsunade continue, "The village's finances have finally stabilized recently. I've informed the finance department to allocate a small, regular fund to the orphanage."

"I can't thank you enough, Hokage-sama."

Nonō was moved to tears. When the Third Hokage was in office, getting funding for the orphanage required rounds of negotiations, and they always received only a small amount.

In contrast, Tsunade, who had only been Hokage for a year, was straightforward and proactive in offering support. What a difference!

Nonō couldn't help but sigh inwardly, recalling the scene last month where she had witnessed a confrontation between Tsunade and Danzo.

At that time, Danzo had summoned Tsunade to a small grove for reasons unknown, and Nonō, who was foraging for wild vegetables nearby, happened to see them.

Fearing she'd be accused of eavesdropping, she kept her distance, but she still heard Danzo's furious shouts about the Uchiha and how Konoha would be ruined because of Tsunade.

In contrast, Tsunade silenced Danzo with just one sentence, a sentence that still resonated with Nonō as being full of authority.

"Am I the Hokage, or are you?"

The implication was clear: In Konoha, my word is law. Like it or not, deal with it.

From that moment, Tsunade became Nonō's idol and hero.

"Is there anything else?"

Seeing Nonō in a daze, Tsunade asked again.

"No, nothing more." Nonō smiled and waved her hand, her eyes softening as she lowered her gaze, speaking softly, "I was just reflecting on the changes in Konoha. If this were two years ago, Kabuto would never have been allowed to enter the ninja school..."

Understanding the underlying meaning, Tsunade smiled and said, "Konoha will continue to change for the better."

...

Hearing from Nonō that he could start ninja school with Chloe in three days, Kabuto couldn't contain his excitement.

Nearby, Itachi, already a familiar face at the orphanage, exchanged a knowing smile with Chloe, who had become a close friend over the past year.

"That's great, Kabuto. We can all go to ninja school together," Itachi sincerely congratulated him.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Kabuto, arms crossed and face turned away, retorted, "I'm not happy because I can go to school with you. It's just because..."

"Little Black, right?" Itachi continued with a smile, looking at Chloe, who now appeared more mature and smiled faintly, "I'm also happy because I can go to school with Little Black."

"Huh?"

Kabuto frowned. Over the past year, Itachi had become increasingly bold in his admiration for Little Black. He even brazenly said such things! Unbearable!

Kabuto silently prayed to be in a different class from Itachi, wishing to be in the same class as Little Black.

"Do you two want to train together?"

Chloe suggested with a smile. As a future ninja, she still felt her strength was lacking and wanted to train constantly to be more helpful to her mother, Kaguya.

If her human body didn't need rest and food, Chloe would train 24/7.

"We just trained all morning, didn't we?" Itachi smiled wryly. His friend was a training fanatic who often forgot to rest.

He had reminded Chloe countless times about the importance of rest, but it never seemed to sink in.

"Oh? Are you tired, Itachi? Then Little Black and I will go alone. Don't follow us."

"I'm not tired!"

"You're clearly reluctant..."

...

In the training ground behind the orphanage, Chloe rested her chin in her hand, deep in thought. Over the past year, she had been focusing on physical training and shuriken practice. Now, it was time to learn some ninjutsu.

For Chloe, with her millennia of experience, memorizing the hand signs for all the ninjutsu in this world wasn't something she had done thoroughly.

In the past, she couldn't learn ninjutsu and didn't bother memorizing them, even though she secretly observed when Indra invented the signs.

As a result, she hadn't retained a single ninjutsu.

"Books to read and time to spare"—that was Chloe's most direct feeling now, and she regretted not memorizing the ninjutsu she had seen before.

With no other choice, she assigned the task of collecting powerful ninjutsu to her shadowy clone and White Zetsu.

After relaying the task through her connection with her clone, Chloe started sifting through her memories of countless battles, hoping to recall a few techniques.

Got it!

Suddenly, Chloe remembered a simple ninjutsu she had seen on the battlefield that required just one hand sign.

Immediately, Chloe began to refine chakra within her small body.

Seeing Chloe, with her index and middle fingers together and hands crossed to form the "In" sign, Itachi was astonished!

Had Chloe, who had only been taught the Three Basic Techniques by Nonō, figured out the Shadow Clone Jutsu on her own?

Poof!

With a burst of white smoke, two identical Chloes appeared beside her. Kabuto was speechless, realizing his brother-like friend might be planning to divide himself between him and Itachi, one clone each.

"I see..."

Chloe nodded, feeling the chakra split into three parts. She quietly analyzed, "Chakra is evenly divided into three parts, so this can only be used for cover, diversion, or physical combat."

"Little Black, you're a genius," Itachi praised sincerely, feeling a pang of bitterness at being called a genius himself.

What is a genius? This is!

"A genius? This jutsu only requires one sign..."

"It's not about the number of signs. This is a B-rank jutsu, difficult due to chakra control. Without precise control, it's impossible to create..."

Itachi patiently explained but was interrupted by Kabuto's excited "Let me try!" and a poof.

Seeing Kabuto easily create two shadow clones, Itachi once again marveled at his extraordinary friends.

"It's really simple."

Seeing Kabuto's nonchalant expression, Itachi explained, "That's because your chakra control is excellent. Otherwise, it wouldn't be so effortless. You can already use the Chakra Scalpel, which even some medical ninjas can't master."

He then carefully explained the characteristics and nuances of the Shadow Clone Jutsu to them.

After listening, Kabuto had an idea, "In that case, can't we just send a shadow clone to school?"

Chloe eagerly nodded. Since she was on a mission to save her mother, she couldn't afford any slack!

Letting a shadow clone attend ninja school while her real self continued training seemed perfect—a win-win situation!

Watching his two friends plan to skip classes before school even started, Itachi couldn't help but smile wryly and sigh.

"I think, at least on the first day, you should go in person. It's only polite..."