Chapter 119: Konoha Higher-ups Move

(At Hokage's office)

Bear appeared in front of Hiruzen.

"Good morning, Lord Third," Bear said, bowing slightly.

"Oh! Good morning. Did something happen?" Hiruzen asked.

"Lord Third, I know you asked me to keep watching him, but it's becoming increasingly difficult. Kaida has been training with Shisui Uchiha for a month, and Shisui's sudden appearances have made it harder to stay hidden. A few times, I've slipped up, and Shisui spotted me. However, for some reason, he hasn't told Kaida about my presence.

Also, the boy hasn't shown any suspicious behavior in the entire month. I can't think of any reason to keep monitoring him. I apologize if I'm overstepping," Bear said, continuing to kneel.

"No, you're correct. The suspicion I had was cleared within the first week. I only asked you to keep watch as an extra precaution, but there's no need to take further risks. You don't have to follow him anymore. Anything else?" Hiruzen said.

"Yes, Lord Third. In my previous report, I mentioned that his future potential was nearing S-rank. I was wrong. After seeing his progress in just one month, I can confidently say he *will* reach S-rank in the future," Bear replied.

"What did you see this month that leads you to say this?" Hiruzen asked.

"He's already learned jonin-level genjutsu and mastered the Uchiha kenjutsu technique, enough to spar evenly with Shisui Uchiha. He also treated hundreds of patients and completed thousands of D-rank missions daily," Bear reported.

Hiruzen's eyebrows rose slightly. Impressive achievements for a nine-year-old, he thought.

'He's already at jonin level. Elite jonin might be a stretch, but he could probably take the chunin exams this year. However, with Iwagakure hosting this year, they might try something shady if they see such a talented individual. No matter. Konoha is not in desperate need of ninja like before. Kaida should be nurtured as a future pillar of the village.'

"That's excellent. You may go unless you have anything else to report," Hiruzen said.

With that, Bear disappeared from the office, leaving Hiruzen to consider the report.

...

(At Root headquarters)

"Sir, we've been spreading rumors about the Uchiha clan, but the impact has been minimal. We can't push further without raising suspicion among the Uchihas. Additionally, an Uchiha is treating patients freely at Konoha Hospital,

Improving their reputation among civilians. He also casually dismisses our rumors with logical counterarguments, like, 'If the Uchiha wanted to attack Konoha, why didn't they strike when they had the perfect opportunity?' Because of this, the rumors are slowly fading," the Root ninja reported.

"What's the likelihood that he's doing this intentionally?" Danzo asked in his heavy voice.

"Very low, sir. No other Uchiha seems to care about these rumors, as you predicted. He claims he's doing this because he's not yet certified," the ninja replied.

"Then why is he allowed to treat patients?" Danzo asked.

"Sir, he's Mitsuru Nara's disciple. He could easily get certified whenever he wants," the ninja responded.

"Is he worth it?" Danzo asked.

"Yes, sir. He already has jonin-level strength, and he's only nine years old," the ninja confirmed.

"Bring me his file," Danzo ordered. The ninja handed it over.

"Hmm, Kaida Uchiha... this name sounds familiar," Danzo said, trying to recall.

"Yes, sir. You attempted to recruit him when he was in the academy, but Lord Third rejected your proposal," the Root ninja reminded him.

"Wasn't he an orphan at that time?" Danzo asked rhetorically, though the ninja knew better than to respond. Danzo continued reading the file.

"I knew that was the perfect time to recruit him into Root. Now that he's back with the Uchiha clan, it'll be much harder. But with his potential, it's worth trying. If not, I'll have to eliminate him. I can't let him interfere with my plan to stabilize Konoha," Danzo muttered and left to meet Hiruzen.

...

(Hokage's office)

*Knock, knock.*

"What is it?" Hiruzen asked.

"Sir, Danzo-sama is requesting to meet you," the receptionist said.

"I've been expecting him. Let him in," Hiruzen replied.

Two minutes later, Danzo was seated in front of Hiruzen.

"Before you say anything, I'm not giving you Kaida," Hiruzen said firmly, cutting Danzo off before he could speak.

"Then I'll have to eliminate him. He's interfering with my plans to stabilize the village," Danzo said, his tone calm, as though he were discussing the weather instead of someone's life.

"If a nine-year-old boy can understand that the Uchiha had nothing to do with the Nine-Tails attack, why can't you?" Hiruzen said.

"You know as well as I do that the Nine-Tails was being controlled by an Uchiha," Danzo replied.

"Yes, *an* Uchiha. Not the entire clan. You can't accuse an entire clan based on suspicion. Stop spreading those rumors," Hiruzen said.

"You've become too soft, Hiruzen. We need to take action so future generations won't have to live in fear," Danzo countered.

"The Uchiha clan is one of Konoha's pillars. Eliminating them would cripple the village. Our future generations *would* live in fear if we destroy one of our own," Hiruzen said.

"Konoha won't be crippled as long as we have Root," Danzo snapped, anger briefly surfacing in his voice.

"I don't want to argue about this. You will not target the Uchiha clan again," Hiruzen said with finality.

Danzo stared at Hiruzen for several minutes before standing up to leave without another word.

"One last thing, Danzo. If anything happens to Kaida, you won't like the outcome," Hiruzen warned.

Danzo paused for a second but then continued walking. He had survived an assassination attempt on Hiruzen before; a simple warning wasn't going to deter his plans.