Chapter 49

— Lei —

"...That's a lot." I frowned, Hiruzen and Jiraiya giving me nods while frowning. Danzo was alive; he had managed to escape, and worst of all, he still had Shisui's eye.

"Worse, ROOT has dispersed. We had shinobi monitoring their headquarters in case they tried to launch an attack on Konoha, but none of them came out. When our forces searched for the interior, they were gone." Jiraiya explained, and I paused.

"Secret exits?" I asked, stroking my chin in thought. I raised an eyebrow as Hiruzen shook his head.

"No, there were no such things. We had some Hyuga on site, and they didn't notice anything of the sort. One moment, there was a great deal of shinobi organized, and the next, they were gone."

I frowned; that should be impossible…unless! My eyes lit up in realization, and Hiruzen sighed tiredly.

"Yes, we believe Danzo may have figured out how to mass teleport his subordinates."

That made a great deal of sense, but it was also terrifying. The Flying Thunder God Technique was one invented by Tobirama Senju; it's unsurprising that Danzo would know it.

What is surprising, however, is that he, or someone in ROOT, had enough chakra to mass teleport the entirety of the ROOT forces.

The fact that Danzo knew how to teleport also left me with one more question.

"Why didn't he use the Flying Thunder God technique to teleport away from you both?" I asked, tilting my head in confusion. Realistically if he were getting cornered, why waste precious eyes when he could just leave?

"We pondered on the same thing," Hiruzen stood up from his seat and placed both hands on his desk. "We believe he was aiming to kill both Jiraiya and I, or at least myself, before leaving."

That…still didn't make much sense. Sure, risking his life to kill Hiruzen, I can understand-

…But losing sharingan eyes? That just seemed like a waste.

My eyes lit up in realization.

"It seems you came to the same conclusion that we did," Jiraya spoke up, crossing his arms. "If he was ready to waste sharingan eyes, it means he must have more than a few."

That was bad, very bad. Even if they were base three tomoe sharingan, such a thing was terrifying. From what they explained about the fight, I know I wouldn't stand a chance against Danzo as I am.

Hell, I don't think even Kakashi would have been much help against Danzo had he been there with Hiruzen and Jiraiya.

Danzo was a monster, and his possession of Shisui's right eye didn't make him any less of one.

"So what happens now?" I questioned, concerned about the safety of my home. "Danzo has hundreds of shinobi who are all with him while he plots; what do we do?"

Hiruzen gave a tired sigh. "We have plans set in case ROOT attacks; you need not worry yourself with that. For now, we will not allow any of our stronger jonin to leave the village and cripple our forces. It's a good thing that most of them are Jonin-sensei at this moment. As for you, Lei, we will begin your training tomorrow. Your potential is vast, and I would be a fool not to help you see it as soon as possible."

I gave a determined nod. Everything had gone to shit, and now Danzo was an even more thorn in our ass than before. He had a plan, and the execution went well; he wanted Hirzuen's life, and he took his arm. I needed to give him another reason to hesitate. I needed to be someone who could stand against both Hiruzen and Jiraiya and come out on top.

"With Danzo in possession of Shisui's eye as a looming threat, we need to take…precautions regarding you and other Konoha shinobi. We will be having private interviews of everyone above a certain level, explaining Kotoamatsukami and its memory rewriting effects, then placing a Seal upon them that will upload memory of that meeting when activated as a fail-safe."

"I'm ready."

— Next Day —

"So the report is true, kid, you really seduced Mei Teruimi, The Living Volcano, after breaking into her brother's office and stumbling upon two of the strongest people in Kiri?" Jiraiya asked, his face gleaming seriousness.

I didn't want to answer, nor did I want to talk at all. I would have been more motivated if not for the fact that my training weights had increased so much that I couldn't even walk without struggling.

"Y-Yes." I bit out through my exhaustion. I was doing pushups on the ground. Hiruzen had said that I had built up my ninjutsu, but my strength, taijutsu, and speed were sorely lacking, so I would need to catch up.

"Kid…" Jiraiya said, crouching down to my level. His serious face turned into one of pride and perverted lust. "You may just be my new favorite person! Do you know who I am?"

"Of c-course, you're Jiraiya…The Gallant, s-super awesome and t-talented writer of the Icha Icha s-series." I breathed out. I wish I had time to spend with him under better circumstances. Looking past all he did in OG Naruto, I was psyched to meet him after reading his stories and hearing of his war efforts.

The guy was the coolest shinobi to ever come out of Konoha without all the Uchiha edge and excluding Sakumo Hatake. Taking down armies with little help, giant frog summon that could take out entire villages if need be. Also, the sensei of the Fourth Hokage-

…There wasn't much else needed to be said about his greatness!

"Haha! Of course, you have; I have a feeling you're gonna go far, very far. Is what sensei tells me true? Do you have three other girlfriends waiting for you back home?" He asked with unconcealed anticipation.

Alright, now he was either fucking with me or just wanted to hear it from my mouth. I knew he had kept a slightly watchful eye on Naruko. It wasn't rare for me to be training in Senjutsu and catch a toad watching us train from further away just as it wasn't rare for me to catch a slug.

I don't even think they were trying to keep themselves hidden, as if they wanted to be found.

"It's true," I grunted out, falling to the ground after my completed seat.

"Whoa, feel proud, young man, you're living the dream life! Your life is like a talking, walking, kissing, harem story. I could get so much research done by watching you work!"

I gave the white-haired man an exhausted smile. Hearing that he could create another masterpiece based on my life;

It was a dream come true!

"On your feet, Lei!" My devil of a sensei ordered, and I stood up to see Hiruzen glaring at me like a Military trainer glaring at a fresh cadet. "I want you to run a lap around Konoha with your seals at that level. You're free to use body flicker as you please, go!"

"Wow, sensei, you're as brutal as you were when you trained us!" Jiraiya winced at the old man before turning to me and giving a wave. "Good luck, you'll need it to survive him, and when you get back, I look forward to learning about your…situation!"

I gave the sannin and wave in return, struggling for breath as I took off running. My first body flicker had me colliding face-first into the ground again, yet I got up. So did my second and my third, but come the first, I caught myself. Slow improvement was better than no improvement, and if I wanted to be a force that could protect everyone I cared about, first, I would need to be a force that could protect myself!

— Later —

I let out several pants of exhaustion as I lay on the cold dirt ground. It was night now, and after I finished the lap, Hiruzen ordered me to do nine more.

They call him the Professor for more than one reason; he really knows how to scare his students with a bullshit exam.

"You did good." Hiruzen complimented.

Of course, I finished each of the laps, and once I did, he ordered me to run one more. Something about a good shinobi should be prepared for anything, and a better shinobi should have planned for everything.

So here I was, down, exhausted, and wanting nothing more than to snuggle with my girls and never move again.

It is a good dream, but in this world, an impossible one.

I forced myself to my feet slowly, and all the while, Hiruzen watched on quietly. Jiraiya had gotten lost somewhere around my second lap, and I couldn't blame him. Running took all day with these weights.

"You did good, Lei. If we keep this pace, come the chunin exams, you may be one of the strongest shinobi in the village." Hiruzen stated, his face holding no real emotion. "Improvement is what I expect from you, however. Tomorrow, you'll repeat this training, but instead of eleven laps, you'll run fifteen."

I didn't even bat an eye at that, just nodding defeatedly. By fifteen, he most likely meant sixteen or seventeen.

Fuck it, I'm just gonna expect twenty and maybe be happily surprised.

"I have one last thing I want you to do tonight."

I audibly groaned but was ignored as Hiruzen pulled out a seal. A puff of smoke appeared, and held a scroll in his hands. He walked over to me and handed it over. I grabbed it with heavy hands and took a look inside.

I read the contents for a moment before pausing, my eyes shakily reading it.

"This is-"

"The Flying Thunder God Technique, yes." Hiruzen nodded. "You are one of Konoha's most important assets, and once the Chunin Exams conclude, it would be a waste not to have you and your team participate in missions. So I wish for you to have knowledge of how to use it. This seal is the perfect technique, the one Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, reworked. The number of people alive who have studied and learned from this rework can be counted on one hand. I expect you to keep the contents hidden."

"Yes, Gramps-" I earned a bonk on my head for that.

"It's Hiruzen-sensei, or Hokage-sensei. From now on, that's what I'll be to you until you take this hat from me." Hiruzen smiled for the first time today.

"Yes, Gramps-sensei." I saluted, earning a tired sigh from the old man. "I wanted to ask though…can I show Naruko, Hinata, and Satsuki? I'm sure they could all figure it out or at least come close, and I'm certain Naruko will get it down someday."

The old Hokage pondered on my words for a few moments before giving me a nod. "That should be fine; Satsuki is a target of Orochimaru, and learning this jutsu may save her life. As for Hinata, Hiashi would be more relaxed if his daughter and Heir had the Hiraishin."

"Thank you, Gramps-sensei." I bowed, and a tick mark formed on his forehead.

"Just go…"

I didn't need to be told twice! I dragged my feet away and towards my house.

Such a powerful technique…I knew I couldn't master it like Minato did, not yet, but I had Tobirama's blood in me, and if he could make such a technique and use it so well, then I could learn from his creation in time.

However, there was someone who I knew could learn from Minato's seal and figure it out.

I arrived outside my door and didn't even knock, just walking in with unhidden exhaustion.

"I'm home." The words barely left my lips; I wanted nothing more than a couch to lie on.

"Welcome home!" Naruko greeted me, rushing to the door and hugging me. My body nearly crumbled in her grasp, but I was thankful she realized that and let go of me. Her eyes scanned my body with concern. "Training with Gramps was that bad?"

"It was fine." I lied, but not really. I knew once the soreness went down, the amount of gains I made would be great, and with me doing this every day until Gramps told me to stop, I knew that I would be the strongest person at the Chunin Exams, bar none.

"Well, if it was fine, I hope you have enough energy to eat." Hinata walked around the corner and greeted me with a warm smile. "We made dinner."

"I helped!" Naruko's mood increased in a moment as she dragged me to the table. "Come taste it!"

Naruko forced me over to the table, and I took my seat, giving Satsuki a smile and a nod, and she returned both.

I looked upon the table, and my eyes sparkled while my mouth watered. This was heaven!

There was a bunch of rice, half of it covered with curry, with little chicken bites covered in teriyaki sauce and some roasted vegetables on the side. I knew that this had to be done by Hinata and Satsuki. No offense to Naruko, but cooking wasn't really her thing…

That opinion changed when my eyes drifted over to the bowl of ramen. It looked pristine, with golden noodles, pork cutlets, greens, and a soft-boiled egg. I looked over to Naruko; my opinion of her that I had cultivated through years of knowing her changed at that moment.

My blonde-haired girlfriend…was a ramen disciple, next in line to the ramen godhood.

"I love you all," I said with joyful tears streaming down my face. There was little more that I loved in this world than food! They happened to be above it!

Warm smiles carried their lips upwards as they began to dig in.

"I love you too, now try it!" Naruko squealed in excitement. I grabbed some noodles with my chopsticks, and upon tasting it, I entered heaven.

It wasn't that it was better than Ichiraku's, it was that it was damn close, and Naruko made it. That thought alone warmed my heart as I continued scarfing down the food, much to my ladies' pleasure.