Chapter 136
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The following day, Toshiro sat in his office, carefully examining a small bottle containing a light green liquid. This was one of his recent accomplishments: eye drops created using a liquid extracted from the White Zetsu tissue and combined with his clan's secret medicinal methods.
After much deliberation, Toshiro decided that directly transplanting white zetsu's cells into his body would be too risky. Instead, he opted to absorb some of White Zetsu's characteristics through his eyes, resulting in these eye drops. The benefits far exceeded his expectations.
Nearly a month later, his chakra had increased significantly, and his mastery of Yang Release had improved considerably. Most importantly, he felt that his eyes had greatly benefited. The barrier preventing his eyes from advancing seemed to be thinning, and he felt that with a bit more effort, he could break through it and reach a new level.
Just as Toshiro was contemplating his bright future, a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.
"Come in!"
"Warden-sama, this ANBU wants to see you," Hana Uchiha said, leading a masked ANBU into the office. Hana found it unusual; she had never seen an ANBU knock. Typically, they would appear suddenly, delivering the Hokage's orders while startling their target.
"Well, isn't this Kakashi?" Toshiro recognized the ninja with the iconic grey hair immediately. "I didn't expect you to come here to deliver news!"
"Sit down! Hana, make him a cup of tea!" Toshiro invited Kakashi to sit on the office sofa and asked his secretary to prepare tea.
"No. Uchiha Toshiro, Hokage-sama has summoned you," Kakashi replied coldly and then disappeared.
"He's really cold," Toshiro muttered, readying himself to leave Konoha Prison. "Hokage-sama must really want to meet me!"
As he stepped into the Hokage's office, he noticed the dense presence of ANBU and the unusually powerful chakra inside. Toshiro joked, "Hokage-sama, this security around you is impressive. I thought it was an ambush aimed at me!"
The Sandaime Hokage, hiding his eyes behind his bamboo hat, replied, "Toshiro, you misunderstand. These are trying times for Konoha, so the security of the Hokage Building has been tightened."
Toshiro smiled. "Good to know. I thought it was personal."
The Sandaime continued, "I've called you here to discuss an important matter. The Uchiha District has become crowded over the years. The village's leadership is planning to allocate a larger area for the Uchiha caln, which will also improve the daily lives of the residents."
After saying this, the Sandaime Hokage observed Toshiro closely, as if trying to gauge his reaction.
"Is that so?" Toshiro responded.
"Well, are the clans adjacent to ours going to move away too? That's not bad; it frees up space."
He had no intention of relocating. He wouldn't allow even one door or window to be moved.
"Well..."
The Sandaime was momentarily at a loss for words. He had offered Toshiro a new base for the Uchiha, so why did Toshiro seem to be targeting them instead?
"In any case, I won't agree to the shifting!" Toshiro declared firmly, cutting off the Sandaime before he could respond.
"So, what is your stance on Danzo?" the Sandaime asked, changing the subject.
"Danzo's intentions aren't bad. He's devoted to Konoha, but his methods are questionable," the Sandaime replied, trying to maintain his composure.
"Hokage-sama, you truly are broad-minded, maintaining a deep camaraderie with him. When an ANBU connected to Danzo tries to kill you and seriously injured you, you treat it as if nothing happened," Toshiro said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm different. I have no bond with Danzo, and I believe in an eye for an eye."
"If you can't give me a satisfactory explanation, I will take matters into my own hands..."
Focusing the narrative on Konoha while trying to sideline the matter of Danzo's methods? This old man really wants to be biased to the very end. But Toshiro is not Uchiha Fugaku. A few simple words and empty promises won't fool him.
"I'm not too unreasonable. If you are willing to pay a certain price, I can let this matter slide."
Seeing that the Sandaime Hokage was about to start a lengthy explanation, Toshiro made his demands clear.
"Flying Thunder God! I've always admired the Flying Thunder God jutsu developed by the Nidaime Hokage. If I have a chance to learn it, I can pretend none of this ever happened."
After making his request, Toshiro glanced at the photo of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, hanging in the office. Compared to the Flying Thunder God jutsu, someone like Danzo was insignificant.
The Sandaime Hokage's silence spoke volumes as he furrowed his brows. Toshiro was not surprised and continued, "I hope you won't take too long to think it over."
With that, Toshiro transformed into a puff of smoke and vanished from the office.
"A shadow clone," the Sandaime muttered, his emotions mixed. Toshiro had been cautious enough to visit the Hokage using a shadow clone.
"Jiraiya, did you find anything?" the Sandaime asked, addressing the shadow behind him.
Jiraiya's figure gradually emerged from the shadow. "No, he's very cautious. He's stayed mostly in prison or at home, both places heavily fortified with seal barriers. It's troublesome."
"The man's sensing ability is also remarkable. I suspect he knows he's being watched," Jiraiya continued. Despite his best efforts to confirm whether Toshiro had mastered sage mode, Toshiro had been extremely vigilant.
The Sandaime sighed, "Still no confirmation? This is troublesome..."
Even the Yondaime had sensed something but couldn't be sure that Toshiro had truly mastered Sage Mode. Despite multiple attempts by Jiraiya to infiltrate and observe, Toshiro's caution and the barriers around his home yielded no useful information.
"Are you considering handing over the Flying Thunder God jutsu to him? Or letting that old guy Danzo be killed?"
Jiraiya, seeing his sensei's troubled expression, couldn't help but gloat a little. It was rare to see the Sandaime in such a predicament.
"Jiraiya, how confident are you in a fight against him?" The Sandaime ignored his disciple's cheeky comments, focusing instead on the pressing issue of Toshiro.
"I've never fought him, so I'm not sure," Jiraiya admitted. Seeing his sensei's face grow more concerned, he added, "But if I summon the two Toad Sages to help me, I think I could handle him."
Despite not knowing the source of Toshiro's abilities, Jiraiya was confident he could defeat him in a three-on-one battle.
"However, I'm not confident in killing him," Jiraiya continued. "If he decides to run, I doubt I could catch him. Defeating and killing are two very different things."
"I see. Thank you, Jiraiya," the Sandaime said, feeling slightly more at ease. As long as Jiraiya was around, he felt better about dealing with that unpredictable Uchiha.
But before the Sandaime could relax completely, Jiraiya said nonchalantly, "Just so you know, I won't be staying long. I need to continue my journey to find the Child of Prophecy."
With the deaths of both Nagato and Minato, suggesting neither was the Child of Destiny, so his search had to continue.
"Jiraiya..."
"Well, I'm off. I've got more research to do," Jiraiya interrupted, jumping out of the window before the Sandaime could finish speaking, leaving the Hokage with an ugly expression.
**Three days later**
In a large training ground behind the Hokage Mountain of Konoha, two teams stood facing each other. On one side were the Sandaime Hokage and Jiraiya; on the other were Uchiha Toshiro and Fugaku.
"I didn't expect my first encounter with Jiraiya-senpai to unfold this way. It's really disappointing!" Toshiro mused, looking at Jiraiya, who stood beside the Sandaime Hokage.
After Toshiro proposed using the Flying Thunder God Jutsu in exchange for not pursuing Danzo's case, the Sandaime hadn't replied for several days. It wasn't until the previous night that Fugaku delivered a message, asking Toshiro to have a fair fight with Jiraiya. If he won, he would receive the Flying Thunder God Jutsu.
But Toshiro wasn't afraid. With his current strength, even when facing Jiraiya, as long as the latter didn't summon the two Toad Sages from Myoboku Mountain, he wouldn't back down.
He was aware that the Sandaime Hokage might know about his senjutsu. The last time he faced the Kyuubi, he had been touched on the shoulder by the Fourth Hokage, who seemed to notice something unusual.
But so what? As long as the Sandaime didn't dare to send a large-scale ninja force to encircle him, he had nothing to fear. Even if the situation turned unfavorable, he could always make a strategic retreat.
"I didn't expect anyone else in Konoha besides me to learn Sage Mode. By the way, where did you learn it? If my information is correct, you haven't signed a contract with the three holy places."
Not only Jiraiya, but also the Sandaime Hokage, looked at Toshiro, waiting for his answer. Since learning that Toshiro might have learned Sage Mode, the Sandaime had contacted Tsunade and Jiraiya, as well as Orochimaru in the village. Their answers were consistent: none of the Holy Summoning places had signed a contract with Toshiro, and his skills were unrelated to them.
This left the Sandaime Hokage puzzled.
"Jiraiya-senpai, is it really necessary to collect this kind of information?" Toshiro asked, somewhat speechless. Such secrets related to one's practice were usually kept to oneself.
Naturally, he wouldn't reveal how he acquired Sage Mode, as it would only arouse further suspicion.
"Of course, if Jiraiya-senpai were to hand over the Flying Thunder God Jutsu directly, I'd be more inclined to share," Toshiro added with a smirk.
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