Inside the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage sat in his seat, awaiting Yugao's arrival.
Before long, Yugao walked in, her long hair still wet.
Seeing Uzuki Yugao in such a state, the Third Hokage naturally felt a bit puzzled.
"Why is your hair wet?"
Yugao replied, "This was for the sake of getting close to Uchiha Ryōsuke. I was training with him and just returned."
Hearing this, the Hokage felt a sense of satisfaction. Yugao had succeeded in approaching the target so quickly.
"Have you discovered any clues?"
His gaze held a hint of expectation.
Yugao spoke helplessly. "I trained with him for three days. During these three days, I followed him closely and observed him in detail, but I didn't find anything abnormal."
"If there is anything, it's just that his daily training is incredibly arduous."
"But that doesn't seem to be a valuable clue."
"Could it be that he simply doesn't have a secret to his strength?"
In her heart, she was inclined to believe this result. If that were the case, she wouldn't need to get close to him anymore.
That was simply too dangerous.
Upon hearing her words, the delight on the Third Hokage's face vanished, replaced by an expressionless look.
No secrets? How was that possible?
A fellow who wasn't even twenty years old yet was that strong.
It was simply impossible.
No one could believe it, unless the two parties weren't beings of the same level—unless the other party wasn't human.
But how could that be?
He was definitely human, so how could he be so strong at such a young age?
Even when Senju Hashirama was in his teens, he wasn't that strong, was he?
If Senju Hashirama was the pinnacle of Ninjutsu, then this person was the pinnacle of Taijutsu.
Even taking a step back, assuming the opponent had extraordinary talent, Senju Hashirama also had extraordinary talent.
But in his teens, Hashirama was definitely not that powerful; he only began to become a top-tier expert around the age of thirty.
Moreover, compared to Ninjutsu, Taijutsu required the accumulation of time even more.
He simply couldn't believe Uchiha Ryōsuke had no secret.
If there was no secret, how could he turn the tables?
He looked at Yugao. "That is impossible. He definitely has a secret."
"This is beyond doubt. He has achieved so much, yet he is only slightly older than you, Yugao. Can you believe it yourself?"
Yugao was left speechless. She also felt that the other party might truly have a secret.
Because she had absolutely no power to fight back against him. Yet, she herself was already considered a genius.
Even facing another genius, one shouldn't be completely helpless. Furthermore, this wasn't in an area requiring special innate gifts, but in Taijutsu—something where talent shouldn't be the sole deciding factor—yet she had lost to him completely.
Seeing Yugao like this, the Third Hokage spoke slowly.
"The situation is now extremely critical. The Uchiha Clan has actually roped the Hyūga family, the three Ino-Shika-Chō clans, and the Inuzuka family into the Military Police Force. The next step will likely be to move against me, perhaps even ruthlessly."
"My death is not what is fearful. But once the Uchiha Clan takes power, the village will fall into a dangerous situation."
"So, this old man is here to beg you to find out his secret as soon as possible. Only then do we have hope of turning things around."
This wasn't just for his own position, but also because the Second Hokage had once determined that the Uchiha Clan taking power would absolutely not be a good thing for the village.
He naturally believed in the Second Hokage's judgment.
Hearing this, Yugao's expression changed drastically, and she couldn't help but ask, "How is that possible? Haven't the three Ino-Shika-Chō clans always supported you, Lord Hokage? How could they suddenly defect to the Uchiha Clan's side?"
She truly couldn't believe it in her heart. If this were true, the power of the Uchiha Clan would be unprecedentedly strong. And originally, their own strength was already ridiculously high.
In this case, the Third Hokage was truly in great danger. The Third Hokage's speculation was likely correct.
The Uchiha Clan's next step really would be to move against the Third Hokage.
The Third Hokage sighed deeply and said, "There was no other way. The Uchiha Clan divided the village into three districts and gave these people the authority of the Military Police Force, so they joined in."
Yugao felt a bit of anger rising in her heart. These guys actually couldn't withstand such temptation and turned to support the Uchiha Clan. They were truly unreliable.
The Third Hokage looked at Yugao and said, "So, I want to ask you to find that secret as soon as possible."
Yugao's heart felt heavy.
"I understand."
For the Third Hokage who had promoted her, perhaps she should sacrifice something.
Given that guy's lust for her, perhaps only that method would work. Moreover, that method had a very high success rate.
She had read in books that if a woman whispered demands on a man's pillow, the man would agree to anything.
It was just that, in doing so, the price she had to pay was a bit high. But the books also said that kind of thing only hurt a little bit, and it wasn't that terrifying. Furthermore, it just meant being pressed down for half an hour.
It was only half an hour; perhaps she just needed to endure it.
The Third Hokage naturally understood that asking this of her required Yugao to make a great sacrifice.
But the original objective was to rely on Yugao's beauty to get close to the target and seize the opportunity to obtain the secret.
Yugao would have to pay the price. He had no other good solutions, so he could only compensate Yugao later.
The next day, Yugao arrived at the familiar small grove.
After waiting for a while, she finally saw that guy arrives.
There was surprise on his face, as well as that lust for her.
Yugao encouraged herself internally. She forced a smile onto her face. 'It's just being pressed by him for a bit; it will pass quickly.'
Ryōsuke hadn't expected Yugao to dare to come back. Yesterday, he had almost handled her right there on the spot.
If not for the feeling of being fellow villagers and the factor that she was being disappointed by the Third Hokage, he would have started forcefully long ago.
Now she actually dared to deliver herself to his door.
It was too much. Did she think he really wouldn't make a move?
He immediately walked toward Yugao.
What surprised him was that this time, she actually took the initiative to walk over. She even leaned her face in and kissed him directly.
Ryōsuke was completely bewildered. What was going on with her?
Wasn't he supposed to be the one attacking?
How did she end up delivering herself to him instead?
Well, if it's free, take it. Naturally, he responded.
At this moment, Yugao realized that this kind of thing didn't seem as uncomfortable as she thought. It actually felt quite nice.
His aura gave her a very comfortable feeling. She was astonished inwardly; why had she felt it was so unbearable before? She couldn't help but put more effort into it.