The Chūnin Exams were drawing near, and the death of the Third weighed heavily on Shiki's mind like a stone.
Actually, there were many ways to resolve this situation, one of which was particularly simple: he just needed to keep one member of the Gang of Four occupied, preventing them from forming the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier. That alone would be a success.
After all, this was within Konoha Village, where ninjas would continuously arrive to assist the Third. Orochimaru and the Gang of Four, on the other hand, wouldn't have so many people at their disposal, and his plan would ultimately fail.
Yet Shiki recalled something else that further irritated him.
It was largely thanks to Danzō that Orochimaru could attack Konoha and achieve such an easy victory.
Orochimaru's assault on Konoha was actually part of a coordinated plot with Danzō.
As for Root, after the Uchiha massacre, the Third had become increasingly aware of Root Division's darkness and forcibly ordered its disbandment.
But in reality, it still existed despite being officially gone.
Many former Root ANBU remained loyal to Danzō. Besides the Tongue Severance Cursed Seal, Danzō still controlled the now-disbanded Root members with numerous other cursed seals.
Even without cursed seals, those Root members raised by Danzō from childhood carried unimaginable loyalty toward him.
Furthermore, Root Division's headquarters itself hadn't moved either—it remained inside that peculiar building tightly sealed, not allowing even the slightest light to penetrate.
The organization remained known as Root Division in Shiki's mind.
Without Danzō's interference, how could the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier possibly hold back Konoha's ninjas?
Forget other ninjas—what about Danzō himself? Surely even one man could have broken through the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier.
If those Root ninjas bound by him had participated in this battle, the situation wouldn't have deteriorated to such an extent.
Moreover, the Third's personal ANBU didn't perform well during this crisis. Shiki had always believed the Third's ANBU should have been protecting him closely.
However, during that incident when Danzō tried to control him, Shiki suddenly realized something important.
In fact, the Third's personal ANBU took on many missions throughout the village, unlike Danzō's centralized authority where one order could mobilize countless agents.
Thus, during Orochimaru's invasion, very few ANBU were present around the Third to protect him.
Power always came with responsibility.
The Third was someone who gave his all whenever possible, which made him feel especially helpless in this situation.
Even during significant events like the Chūnin Exams, hardly any ANBU guarded him directly.
Shiki truly didn't want a man like this to die.
"Danzō, although you eventually sacrificed your life for Konoha, you never understood why Konoha is Konoha. Therefore, if I ever get the chance, please allow me to ask—die for me."
After his anger subsided, Shiki calmed down.
Thinking back on the current situation with the Gang of Four, he knew his abilities weren't enough to take on Orochimaru directly.
"If I must choose the weakest among the Gang of Four, it'd probably be Jirobo, that fat guy."
"And with no genjutsu abilities to speak of, if I had to choose an opponent, he'd be the best fit."
Shiki couldn't help but recall that dark-skinned fat guy. Truthfully, he had already long forgotten the fat guy's name originally.
After all, even in the original story, Shiki couldn't be expected to remember every insignificant background character.
But because of this matter, he had still gone out of his way to gather information about Otogakure. Knowing Jirobo's name wasn't particularly surprising.
Still,
Jirobo wouldn't be easy to take down—his Earth Release was just as deadly as ever.
If Shiki remained at his current level, he wouldn't even manage to entangle Jirobo.
He needed a method strong enough to force Jirobo into a defensive position.
Thinking thus, Shiki couldn't help directing his gaze toward Hayate Gekko.
Hayate was still casually reading his magazine, yet when Shiki's eyes shifted toward him, he turned his head as well. Across the entire training hall, the two seemed to share a prearranged gaze.
Chapter 106: Hidden Card (Halloween Special!)
"I knew your personality wouldn't settle for just learning basic [Sword Training]," Hayate Gekko stood before Shiki, holding a wooden sword too.
Truthfully, Shiki felt somewhat surprised—Hayate actually intended to pass on a powerful sword technique to him.
Originally, he had even prepared many arguments to persuade Hayate, only to encounter this unexpected situation.
Hayate hadn't hesitated one bit before agreeing immediately, which astonished Shiki greatly.
"But merely because I'm dissatisfied with ordinary [Sword Training], you're willing to teach me a stronger one? Isn't such a decision rather hasty?"
"What? You don't want to learn now?" Hayate grinned mischievously. He believed that even though Uzumaki Shiki usually acted wild, he wouldn't dare refuse to go along at a moment like this.
Helplessly, Shiki looked like a fox with its tail caught. Despite countless inner protests, he could only sigh, "Yes, teacher. I'll completely follow your arrangement."
"But looking so unwilling, aren't you still reluctant to learn?" Hayate pressed further, clearly enjoying this rare awkwardness from Shiki.
Although Shiki realized Hayate had seized his weakness, considering Hayate was his mentor and their time together would continue, he forced a grin while saying, "Of course not! It's naturally my honor as your student that you'd impart such powerful [Swordsmanship] to me. I was just curious—what reason prompted you into such a hasty agreement?"
At this moment, Yuuma and Seiji both turned to look at them at the same time. After all, Hayate hadn't taught them anything yet!
Teaching only Shiki seemed blatantly unfair?
Hayate nodded, seemingly very satisfied with Shiki's compliance. Then he explained, "Actually, I had initially planned to proceed step by step—once your [Sword Training] reached a certain level, I'd then impart deeper [Swordsmanship] techniques to you."
Shiki continued pressing, "Then why did you change your mind?"
"Because it's you."
Hayate Gekko's eyes revealed a hint of seriousness. "I've seen many prodigies before. They almost always learn everything much faster than ordinary people. But I've never seen anyone master the basic ninja techniques with such solid proficiency. Whether it comes to strength, speed, chakra control, or training exercises like Tree Climbing, Water Walking, [Mystical Palm Technique], [Shadow Clone], and so on—you're practically reaching the limits a Chunin can achieve."
Pausing here, Hayate swallowed hard before continuing, "Especially your chakra control—it's even slightly stronger than mine. I just can't figure out, Shiki Uzumaki, how much intense training you must have done back at the Ninja Academy to reach this level?"
Upon hearing these words, Seiji and Yuuma both looked at Shiki Uzumaki in astonishment. Although they had already known Shiki Uzumaki was strong, they hadn't expected that after Hayate's speech…
It was like they were seeing a completely different Shiki now.
Could Shiki Uzumaki really be this impressive?
They widened their eyes, attempting to find even a trace of arrogance typical of a genius or the perseverance of a hard-core trainee from his red-haired face—naturally radiating charm without seeming cold.
But they found nothing like that in Shiki—none of the expected traits.
To put it accurately, Shiki gave off more of a neighbor-boy vibe. He possessed a warm and calm kind of handsomeness—so natural that it gave off an illusion of ordinariness, making him seem unremarkable at first glance, yet unforgettable.
It's often people like him who leave eternal marks in your memory.
Maybe time will pass and everything will change—you might even forget just about everything else.
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