Hiruzen coughed, picked up his pipe, and set it back between his fingers. "I have never known you for jokes, Shisui. That caught me off guard." A faint chuckle escaped him. "Well done." He let the humor fade from his face and leaned back slightly. "Now tell me. How did he really defeat her?"
Shisui's brow furrowed. "Lord Hokage, that is exactly what happened. Aoya had nearly taken his mobility away and was seconds from ending the fight with her combination jutsu. That is when I saw it."
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed. "Saw what?"
Shisui drew a slow breath, his tone flattening into the clipped precision of an ANBU report. "His chakra surged without warning, filling his network so fast I could feel the pressure from where I stood. It drained his reserves at an alarming rate, then shifted almost instantly into pure lightning nature. Instead of releasing a jutsu outward, it stayed inside him. It flooded the main channels, then spilled into muscle, bone, and nerves."
Hiruzen's fingers stopped on the desk. "Inside the body?"
"Yes," Shisui said with a firm nod. "Not an external cloak, not an armor, but an internal state. At first I thought he might burn himself out. The volume of chakra he forced through should have left him unconscious, but instead it synchronized with his body."
Hiruzen's eyes glinted with sharp interest. "What was the result?"
"His speed rose to a level I have not seen from a genin," Shisui said. "His reflexes shortened to near-instant responses. His strikes carried more weight than his frame should allow. The most shocking result was that he used Lightning Release without forming a single hand seal."
Hiruzen slowly set the pipe down. "It did what?"
"I assure you, Lord Hokage," Shisui said, his voice calm but edged with respect, "I saw him use multiple Lightning Release techniques without any seals."
Hiruzen asked again, softer. "How?"
"From what I could see," Shisui replied, "he was using the lightning already running through his network to trigger the chakra points tied to those techniques, activating them directly and releasing them without forming seals. It looked deliberate, as if the state let him bypass the usual steps."
Hiruzen leaned back and touched his beard, silent for a long moment. "And he used this to win?"
Shisui nodded once, his voice carrying a trace of pride. "His speed let him slip past her wind arcs by the smallest of margins. He closed the distance again and again no matter how many times she forced him back. The state allowed him to ignore pain and push through muscle fatigue from repeated Body Flicker use. The lightning coursing through his network overrode the normal signals that would have slowed him down. His muscles kept firing at full strength despite the strain and even seemed to respond faster, letting him move as if he were fresh. He kept her under pressure with Lightning techniques that were faster and sharper than usual. When he finally broke through her rhythm, he closed in, struck with enough force to stun her, then used a prepared sealing tag to suppress her chakra before she could recover."
Hiruzen's foot tapped against the floor as he stared at the desk. He stayed silent long enough that Shisui spoke again.
"What reminded me of the Third Raikage's Lightning Chakra Mode," Shisui said quietly, "was the thin shell of electricity I saw clinging to him the entire time. It was not as strong or as visible as the Raikage's armor described in the reports, but arcs of electricity leapt from his skin. That technique seemed to sharpen both his defense and his attacks, and it was clearly a lightning-chakra-based state, very much like the Raikage's."
Hiruzen let out a low sound, half laugh and half sigh, and rubbed his tired eyes with one hand. "A protective shell. Seal-less Lightning Release. Speed beyond human reflexes." He lowered his hand and gave Shisui a long look. "Do you understand what this means?"
"I do, Lord Hokage," Shisui said, his tone grim. "That is why I ask that none of this be recorded in the mission report. If word spreads, Root will not simply observe him. They might try to take him by force, shape him into their weapon, or eliminate him if he refuses. The clans will notice too. Some will compete to draw him into their circles, others will see him as a threat to their influence and demand he be restrained. If this reaches beyond Konoha, every hidden village will know there is a boy here who can touch the same power that made the Third Raikage legendary. The Hidden Cloud would take it as a challenge to their pride and send their best to hunt him before he grows stronger. And the other villages would not be far behind. Someone this young with that much potential will be seen as a future disaster if war ever breaks out. They will see him as another Minato, someone who could destroy armies alone."
Hiruzen went quiet, reignited his pipe, then rose from his chair and walked to the wide window behind his desk. Outside, the morning sun lit the faces of the Hokage Monument in pale gold. He stood there for a long moment, the pipe smoke curling faintly as he thought.
"You are right. If the wrong people hear of this, it might tear the village apart while protecting him will be an impossible task."
He stayed at the window, his brow furrowing. The elders would have questions. Homura would argue for oversight and controls, Koharu would insist on containment measures, and Danzo would almost certainly push to move Noa into Root under the excuse of protecting Konoha's future. If he let them steer the discussion, Noa would end up either bound by restrictions or turned into a tool.
Hiruzen sighed. "If I promote him now, it will attract too much attention. The elders will demand a reason and grow suspicious. We will keep him on the genin track for now. He will learn to work in a team, build bonds, and gain experience as a shinobi. During that time, we will gradually raise his reputation."
He looked at Shisui. "That will also help with your goal."
Shisui's lips curved into a small, grateful smile. "Thank you, Lord Hokage."
Hiruzen nodded, then continued. "However, that team must take the next chunin exams. I cannot keep his true strength hidden for too long, or the reputation we are building for him will look suspicious. I will rely on you to push his teammates to reach that level as soon as possible. I am sorry to burden you with this."
Shisui shook his head. "It is the least I can do, Lord Hokage."
Hiruzen's tone turned firm, every word deliberate. "When the time comes, I will present his early promotion as proof of his exceptional talent. That will give me the justification I need to move him into ANBU, where he will serve directly under me. There, I can watch his growth carefully, guide him, and shape his potential within a controlled environment where no one else can misuse him."
He exhaled slowly and turned back toward Shisui, his decision clear. "Take him to the hospital under the pretense of a routine follow-up. Once we know the condition of his body and chakra network, we will use the village's resources to refine what he has created. We can strengthen his body to better withstand the strain, improve the efficiency of his chakra flow, and help him develop ways to sustain the state longer without risking collapse. What he has built is powerful but still raw. With the right guidance, we can turn it into something extraordinary."
Shisui bowed his head deeply. "Understood, Lord Hokage."
For a moment, Hiruzen's face softened. A flicker of something long absent crossed his features, pure optimism. After the heavy years of the Third War, the loss of Minato, and the growing tension with the Uchiha, it felt almost foreign to him. "It seems Konoha may yet have another prodigy in its future," he said quietly, his voice carrying a rare note of hope. "One I intend to make sure grows into a bright light for this village."