The Third Hokage exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, his resolve firm.
Regarding the Uchiha Clan, the Third Hokage did not harbor the same level of hostility as Danzo or Koharu Utatane, but to say he was friendly? That would be a stretch.
Back then, Fugaku Uchiha, the clan leader of the Uchiha Clan, had named his youngest son after the Third Hokage's father, Sarutobi Sasuke. This wasn't a declaration of "I'm naming my son Sasuke, so I'm claiming to be your father." It was a gesture of goodwill, hoping his son would grow up to be a powerful ninja like Sarutobi Sasuke.
The Third Hokage wasn't blind to the series of actions Fugaku had taken to restrain his clan, but on the eve of the clan's massacre, he still tacitly allowed it to happen.
He did hold some regard for Uchiha Sasuke, but the village was vast, and there were too many people. Sasuke, no matter how you looked at it, fell outside the scope of his "Sarutobi Tutoring." He wasn't one of his own, so certain methods could be employed.
"Alright, let's seal a portion of his Dojutsu."
Whether intentional or not, the four elders, each with their own motives, prepared to strike from four directions, aiming to cast the Sealing Technique onto Sasuke.
Combined, the four elders were nearly three hundred years old. Among them, the Third Hokage and Danzo were both masters of sealing techniques. Once their Sealing Technique was applied, Sasuke would undoubtedly be safe, and the rampaging Dojutsu would no longer cause any disturbances. However, it was likely that Sasuke would struggle to break the seal and awaken his Sharingan in this lifetime.
Inoichi and Hiashi Hyuga remained indifferent, standing still without moving a muscle.
Kakashi hesitated for a moment, but his bond with Uchiha Obito ultimately prevailed. He dashed forward, grabbed Sasuke's arm, and pulled the boy behind him, shielding him with his own body.
"Third Hokage, esteemed advisors, is such a powerful seal really necessary?"
Danzo shot him a sinister glance, as if to say, "Are you telling me how to do my job?"
Kakashi, usually laid-back, now had a determined look in his right eye.
He wouldn't fight the Hokage or the advisors over Sasuke, but as a Jonin of the village and a disciple of the Fourth Hokage, when he raised an objection, the village's higher-ups owed him an explanation.
Kakashi was undoubtedly a key figure in the "Sarutobi Tutoring" sequence. Seeing his strong opposition, the Third Hokage took the opportunity to shift the blame onto the other three.
"What are you all thinking? We're just sealing a portion of his Dojutsu. There's no need for so many people. Stay still, I'll handle it myself."
This time, Kakashi didn't intervene. The Third Hokage concentrated his Chakra into his fingers, sequentially adding the attributes of fire, wind, lightning, earth, and water to the Chakra on his fingers. Then, aiming at Sasuke's stomach, he applied the "Five Elements Seal" technique.
"Kakashi, take this child to the hospital for treatment. The village will cover the expenses. If possible, take some time in the coming days to guide him. See if he can bypass the seal and awaken his Sharingan."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Sakura, who was not yet Tsunade's disciple and merely an ordinary civilian, had neither the qualifications nor the courage to barge into the Hokage's office building.
She waited outside the building for a while and soon saw Iruka dragging Naruto out. A day later, news of the school heartthrob Sasuke's hospitalization spread among his many admirers and eventually throughout the entire school.
"What? Sasuke is hospitalized? He seemed perfectly fine yesterday!" Ino was slightly surprised when she got the news from Shikamaru.
Currently, Ino was working at her family's flower shop, Shikamaru had become a caretaker at his family's ranch, and Choji was making soldier pills by kneading hawthorn at his family's store. The three of them hadn't even graduated yet but had already started working to earn their living expenses. Between training, work, and school, they were constantly busy. Shikamaru had found an excuse to take a stroll and incidentally shared this news with Ino.
Inoichi thought this matter had nothing to do with his daughter; it was Sasuke's reckless training that had led to his current state.
He didn't tell Ino about the series of events that followed, so she was completely unaware that Sasuke's condition was directly related to her.
She sensed a business opportunity.
With her classmates being so enthusiastic and friendly, it wouldn't be too much to take advantage of the situation and make a little money, right? Thanks to the Yamanaka Clan's relentless promotion, it seemed like everything in Konoha required buying flowers.
Buy flowers for childbirth, buy flowers when children start school, buy flowers for teachers on holidays, buy flowers for graduation, buy flowers when visiting patients, and even buy flowers when someone dies!
The entire village had only one flower shop, and yet their family still managed to portray themselves as poor.
Ino didn't have time to attend to Shikamaru and Choji; she hastily changed the signboard in front of the shop.
The new signboard read: "Buy 99 carnations, get a lucky rabbit's foot, wishing the patient a speedy recovery, good luck, and a long, prosperous life!"
Surprisingly, after changing the signboard, the number of flower buyers immediately increased by 50%, with most of them being Sasuke's fangirls.
When encountering fangirls who were reluctant to spend money, Ino would subtly hint.
"Do you really love Sasuke? If you do, send him flowers! He's sick now, how pitiful! If you only talk about love but don't send flowers, that's just being a scoundrel!" With a barrage of flower meanings, she convinced them. Can't afford 999 flowers? How about 99? Or even 9! Buy 99 carnations, and she would throw in a lucky rabbit's foot. Some bought just the rabbit's foot, and she would sell it with 2 flowers. By the end of the day, she had earned quite a bit in commissions.
While selling flowers, Ino was also researching her Pot Points.
A bountiful harvest! The acquisition of Pot Points was directly related to the scale of the mischief and the people involved. If she could pin a big pot on the Sage of Six Paths, she estimated she could max out her attribute panel in no time. However, she didn't dare. The riddle incident only involved some Ninja Academy students, and the black pot had accumulated about half a Pot Point, which was normal. But what followed was not.
The energy in the black pot surged, and now it had accumulated two Pot Points. Ino was baffled.
She had to bear some responsibility for Sasuke's injury, but who was the rest of the blame pinned on? Some big shot? Was someone like Indra still alive? Did the world know about Indra's existence? Probably not. Unable to figure it out, she decided not to dwell on it. Since she had two Pot Points, she certainly couldn't waste them.
Ino's current attributes were: Ninjutsu 7, Taijutsu 3, Genjutsu 3, Intelligence 6, Strength 2, Speed 5, Stamina 6, and Hand Seals 5, totaling 37. Her skills included Yin Release Level 2, Water Release Level 1, B-rank Secret Technique Mind Disturbance Technique, C-rank Secret Technique Mind Body Switch Technique, C-rank Water Release: Water Prison Technique, C-rank Water Release: Water Disruption Wave, and D-rank Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique.
According to Ino's analysis, the three most important attributes are "Ninjutsu," "Chakra Control," and "Speed."
Among the Kage of each village, including the Three Legendary Sannin, Akatsuki, and Kakashi, except for Kisame who still diligently performed hand seals even during the later stages when overpowered abilities were rampant, everyone else had a "Ninjutsu" rating of 10. This is an essential attribute for any strong shinobi.
"Chakra Control" determines whether Chakra can be transformed into a massive amount of energy.
"Speed" represents the ability to flee quickly. For instance, if Pain just starts to rise, and you can dash out of the village in a flash, then you're good to go! All three attributes are crucial.