Chapter 137: Even a Dog Wouldn't Learn It
After every war, ordinary people's lives eventually returned to peace. But for those who had spent years carrying heavy responsibilities, that peaceful life could actually feel uncomfortable. They would inevitably start looking for something to keep themselves busy.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was one such person.
And just now, he had found a way to keep himself occupied.
Using a single will to observe two different perspectives at once, splitting his mental processing into two separate streams—this was quite a novel experience for Hiruzen.
He was already capable of multitasking. For example, he could draw a circle with his left hand while drawing a square with his right.
But watching a magazine with his left eye while observing the crystal ball with his right, then simultaneously imprinting and analyzing the information from both sources in his mind...
That was still a skill he was practicing.
"Phew!"
Hiruzen exhaled a plume of smoke toward the ceiling and muttered in his aged voice,
"Using Shadow Clones to observe things always makes this old man feel as though time itself has slowed down."
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Before he could finish speaking, someone knocked on the door.
Hiruzen raised his head.
"Come in."
Creak!
The person outside pushed the door open.
But the moment he tried to step inside, a thick cloud of smoke billowed out and forced him to retreat.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, smoking is harmful to your health. Quitting as soon as possible would be beneficial to you."
Hearing Danzō's deep voice from outside, Hiruzen clapped his hands.
A Shadow Clone instantly appeared beside him and opened the nearby window.
Bang!
The clone immediately dispersed into white smoke before using Wind Release to blow the smoke out through the window.
The haze gradually cleared, and visibility slowly returned to normal.
Danzō looked around the old, cramped room before walking inside and sitting down opposite Hiruzen.
The air carried a peculiar mixture of mildew and tobacco.
His gaze eventually landed on the magazine in the Third Hokage's hands.
Tsunade—I'm Here Too! A New Masterpiece, Bitch.
Rustle.
After a moment of silence, Danzō listened to Hiruzen casually turning the pages and tapped his cane against the floor.
"I'm still here."
The Third Hokage raised his eyelids slightly and looked at his old friend.
"I know."
Danzō glanced at the magazine twice and snorted.
"Be careful."
"Phew."
Hiruzen exhaled another mouthful of smoke and closed the magazine, turning his attention toward Danzō.
Before he could ask why the old man had come, Danzō spoke in a disappointed tone.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, we've known each other for fifty-seven years. I've assisted you for thirty-nine of them. Have you ever changed?"
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes.
Looks like today is going to be a big day.
Danzō stood up and reached for the magazine on the table, his speech becoming increasingly rapid.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, look at the protagonists in this book. Almost all of them are based on members of the Uchiha clan, and every single one is portrayed as a positive character. Not a single flaw is mentioned."
"Do you really think Jiraiya could write something like this?"
"Does he even have that kind of ability?"
"In my opinion, these—"
Danzō suddenly stopped.
He held the book in front of Hiruzen and waved it slightly.
"What do you think?"
Hiruzen stroked his chin, pretending he understood nothing.
"How about we read it together?"
???
Who wants to read this book with you?
Danzō stared at Hiruzen as though he were looking at a lecherous old man.
"I suspect the Uchiha clan—"
Danzō continued rambling about the Uchiha clan.
Meanwhile, Hiruzen picked up the magazine and carefully smoothed out a wrinkle on its cover.
Ten minutes later.
When Danzō finally finished speaking, Hiruzen immediately pulled out his pipe, took a puff, and asked,
"Anything else?"
Danzō's expression instantly became serious.
He pulled a list from his briefcase and placed it on the table.
"When a jinchūriki gives birth, the seal weakens. But we don't know by how much."
"To minimize the possibility of an incident, I intend to monitor several important members of the Uchiha clan during that period."
Hiruzen picked up the list and lowered his eyes.
First: Uchiha Fugaku.
Second: Uchiha Asuka.
Third: Uchiha Mado.
Fourth...
Meanwhile, in the Forest of Death.
One of the Hoshinin sat cross-legged in midair, her body drifting lightly in the breeze like a kite.
She looked down at the two people below and complained,
"Boring. Boring. Boring. This concubine is so bored!"
Another Hoshinin stuck out her tongue and licked the corner of her mouth.
After tasting the fresh chakra energy in the surrounding air, she spread her hands helplessly.
"There's nothing we can do. When adults play games with children, the novelty disappears pretty quickly."
"And then…"
The Hoshinin floating in the air spun like a windmill before drifting back toward her two companions.
Her expression was miserable.
"When can we go home?"
Smack!
The Hoshinin sitting on the ground pulled a magazine from her pocket and tossed it into the air.
"You can go home once the mission is complete."
Rustle, rustle.
She picked up the magazine her companion had tossed down, opened it, and casually flipped through several pages.
She commented on every single one.
"Human poses are so monotonous."
"This lacks imagination. It's obvious she's a woman transformed from an animal, yet she only has those few repetitive movements. What's the difference between her and a human?"
"Trash. Absolute trash."
Before she could finish speaking, the girl floating in the air suddenly turned toward the right.
Three figures had appeared on a tree trunk.
She tilted her head slightly.
"If this concubine remembers correctly, you three are Uchiha Asuka's students, right?"
"Hm?"
Yūgao Uzuki also noticed the three Hoshinin.
She tried to recall everything she knew about them before secretly shaking her head at Iruka and Hana.
Then she frowned at the strange Hoshinin floating in the air.
"Are you planning to ambush us?"
"Not really!"
The floating Hoshinin drifted around to stand directly in front of Yūgao.
She seemed completely unconcerned about being attacked.
"We were just bored, so we sat here doing nothing."
Iruka's eyes widened in surprise.
"Don't you intend to become Chūnin?"
"No, we don't!"
The next moment, she appeared beside Hana as though she had teleported.
She stuck out her tongue and licked Hana's ear.
A satisfied smile appeared on her face.
"A member of the Hyūga clan… How nostalgic."
Hana's body stiffened.
She immediately took a step backward, her expression becoming wary.
"Nostalgic for what?"
"Long ago, a member of the Hyūga clan fell in love with this concubine in order to escape execution."
"But this concubine ruthlessly rejected him."
"And then?"
"He died. His bones turned to dust."
The three young genin exchanged looks.
Dark lines appeared on their foreheads.
This person is terrible at conversation.
Hana thought for a moment, glanced at her two teammates, and said calmly,
"Our mission is complete. Good luck."
The three turned around and began walking away.
The floating little girl slowly followed behind them.
"Do you want great power?"
Iruka instinctively looked up.
"What kind of power?"
Bonk!
Hana clenched her right fist and lightly knocked Iruka on the head.
"No one wants the power of Hoshigakure. It has enormous side effects."
"Oh… I see."
Seeing the three of them staring at her warily, even assuming battle-ready stances, the little girl shrugged.
"It's true. Nobody wants the power of the Hoshinin."
She then floated in front of the three of them, a smug expression appearing on her face.
"But this concubine is talking about a different kind of power."
"A very powerful kind of power."
"A power capable of changing a fool's very nature."
"What kind of power?"
Iruka had fallen for it again.
Hana glared fiercely at him before speaking.
"Did you forget what Sensei told us? If you want great power in this world, you have to pay a price."
As she spoke, she cautiously looked at the little girl in the sky.
"You're not a Hoshinin. Who are you really?"
Hearing this, the little girl placed both hands on her hips, looked toward the sky, and struck an extremely awkward pose.
"This concubine was given the name Shikishima-hime by the Sage. I am the Sage's most trusted confidante."
"How about it? Do you want to obtain the Sage's power—the legendary Sage Chakra?"
Instantly—
The air froze.
The entire forest became silent, as though they had suddenly found themselves in a deserted wasteland.
???
A string of question marks appeared above Shikishima-hime's head.
She slowly returned to a normal posture and looked at the three children.
The shock, fear, greed, and desire she had expected to see were nowhere to be found.
Instead…
All three were looking at her as though she were an idiot.
Shikishima-hime stuck out her tongue toward the sky.
The smile on her face gradually stiffened.
"What kind of look is that?"
Hearing the coldness in her voice, Hana shook her head and sighed.
"If you persuade people to go to Hoshigakure to learn ninjutsu, you'll get struck by lightning."
"But if you persuade people to go to the Three Great Sage Regions to learn Sage power, you'll be cut into a thousand pieces."
At this moment, Yūgao casually pulled a scroll from her pocket and unfurled it in front of Shikishima-hime.
She bit her thumb and rapidly formed hand seals.
"I once thought I was the chosen one of my own destiny."
"But after listening to Sensei, I suddenly understood."
"A person isn't merely the chosen one of their own world."
"They can also be the chosen one of the entire shinobi world."
"The true Child of Destiny can even use Reverse Summoning to summon themselves directly to Mount Myōboku."
Iruka watched Shikishima-hime warily, his expression solemn.
"The Sage Arts of the Sacred Lands are reserved for the Children of Destiny."
"For ordinary people like us, the only purpose of learning Sage Arts is to turn into rocks for toads to sit on, provide snakes with mating grounds, or become scratching posts for slugs."
???
Shikishima-hime stared at the three unnaturally clear-headed children.
Before she could prepare her next move, white smoke suddenly erupted from the scroll in front of her.
Immediately afterward, the purple-haired girl cupped her hands around her mouth like a loudspeaker and shouted into the smoke—
"Sensei, I can't take this anymore!"