Danzo's defection indeed caused great inconvenience for the Third Hokage. Firstly, because Danzo's Root controlled most of the intelligence matters.
Most of the intelligence he had previously received about other Ninja Villages was provided by Danzo, and there were not many spies arranged in the Anbu who could obtain valuable information.
Now that Danzo had defected, he was like a blind man, completely unaware of the intelligence of the other major Ninja Villages, making him extremely uncomfortable for a time.
He even missed Danzo a little, mainly because Danzo's arrangement of spies was too impressive; he could obtain a lot of confidential intelligence.
Now, the Anbu seemed to only have functions like assassination and capture left. The Third Hokage didn't know how to carry out his work for a while.
"Hiruzen-sensei, I plan to report to the Anbu. When will you give me that S-rank Ninjutsu you promised me?"
Ling saw the Third Hokage's annoyance, so she even spoke softly, afraid that she would be casually dismissed by the Third.
"Is that Ling? What S-rank Ninjutsu do you want?"
The Third Hokage heard Ling's soft voice and also put away his annoyed expression, not wanting to scare his young disciple.
Losing Danzo and Root was only uncomfortable for a while, but regaining all the Anbu's authority was also a good thing for the Third Hokage; he was no longer controlled by Danzo.
"Um, can I have the Edo Tensei?"
Ling remembered promising Gennō to let him see his son again. Although this Ninjutsu was not the optimal choice, it could also explore the secrets of souls, Chakra, and the Pure Land.
The Third Hokage lit his pipe, took a deep puff, and slowly exhaled after inhaling, as if this could relieve some of his fatigue.
When he heard that Ling wanted Edo Tensei, he was instantly choked by the smoke, coughing several times before looking up at the small figure in front of him, who bore some resemblance to Orochimaru in the past. He thought of something bad and was afraid that his young disciple would also go astray.
Don't think he didn't know about Orochimaru and Danzo's affairs; it was just that Orochimaru handled things very well, so he didn't pursue it, nor did he want to.
After all, Konoha could not be further weakened. As long as Orochimaru wasn't too excessive, he didn't want to interfere, but that didn't mean he could tolerate his carefully cultivated young disciple turning bad.
"Why do you want this Ninjutsu?" The Third Hokage took another puff of smoke, staring at his young disciple with an unreadable expression. This inquiry was a test for Ling.
"Um, I just want to ask Shodai-sama how to fuse a Bloodline Limit. My Earth and Water Release nature transformations have already completed the initial stage."
Ling poked her index fingers together, seemingly feeling that her reason was a bit far-fetched, mainly because it was too early for Ling to talk about fusing Bloodline Limits.
In Konoha Village, besides the First Hokage who created a Bloodline Limit through elemental fusion, there was no one else. Even the exceptionally talented and naturally evil Senju Tobirama couldn't do it.
Compared to other Ninja Villages, Konoha was almost two generations behind in the research of fusing elements to create Bloodline Limits.
Especially Sunagakure and Iwagakure, they had already developed stable methods for Bloodline Limit fusion that could be passed down. Almost anyone who learned them could become a Kage-level Ninja by following the steps.
Looking at Konoha, besides relying on innate Bloodline Limits and Sage Mode inheritance, there were no stable means to reach Kage-level, which made it very easy for a talent gap to occur.
"No, the senior Hokage rests in the Pure Land and cannot be disturbed. This Jutsu is also too evil and inhumane, so choose another one."
The Third Hokage took a deep look at his disciple and sighed. He knew that Ling wanted Edo Tensei not to ask the First Hokage any questions.
Well, actually, the Third Hokage wronged Ling; she really did want to Edo Tensei the First Hokage and the Second Hokage to guide her in her training.
"Then the Flying Thunder God Technique it is, but I want the version that Minato-nii perfected." Ling wanted to study it; maybe she would suddenly learn it?
Her nerve reflexes could still grow through Heavenly Restriction, so she should be able to rival Minato once her physical fitness reached the Elite Jonin level.
As for Sealing Technique, she also had good talent. Besides the Five Elements Sealing and the Four Red Yang Formation which she hadn't learned, she had learned almost all the others.
No one would really think that the Fire Sealing Method, the Evil Sealing Method, and the Four Symbols Seal, which can seal Tailed Beasts, are simple, right?
Ling's current Sealing Technique mastery ranks among the top five in Konoha. Sealing Technique requires good math skills, and her math was not bad in her previous life. Now, with a good brain, her learning speed is naturally fast.
This might also be related to Curse Power enhancing her brain. Anyway, Ling feels that her brain is very sharp now; she can easily understand many problems and even extrapolate from them.
The Third Hokage sighed. He didn't think his disciple could learn the Flying Thunder God Technique. Not everyone has space-time talent.
However, he had already seen many confident people fail. They all had this idea after seeing Minato Namikaze succeed.
But in the end, reality defeated them. For over forty years in Konoha Village, only the Second Hokage and Minato Namikaze had this talent.
However, if Ling wanted to try, he didn't mind. He believed that Ling's journey had been too smooth, without encountering any setbacks. Hitting a wall with the Flying Thunder God Technique could be considered a good thing.
Otherwise, teaching such a genius disciple would give him no sense of accomplishment. He hadn't even exerted much effort, and Ling's strength had almost reached the forefront of Konoha Ninja.
It's hard to imagine how such a small person could make such rapid progress. Was it really promoted by the fusion of Uchiha and Senju bloodlines?
He had once discussed this issue with his three disciples. Except for the idiot Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru all agreed that it was the catalysis of two supreme bloodlines.
Ling could be said to be the only person with both Senju and Uchiha bloodlines, so they were not sure if this was an anomaly or a common phenomenon.
They couldn't just have a Senju and an Uchiha marry, right? Thinking about it, it's probably impossible. Having Ling, this one miracle, is already good enough.
Ling held the scroll of the Flying Thunder God Technique, extremely happy, completely oblivious to the Third Hokage's playful expression.
"Oh, thank you, sensei. I'm going to report to the Anbu for work now."
Ling put the Flying Thunder God Technique scroll into her Ninja tool pouch, patted it reassuringly, and then directly bid farewell to Hiruzen Sarutobi, happily running towards the Anbu base.
The Third Hokage looked at Ling's childlike appearance and smiled kindly. Ling had always given people a cold and mature impression.
This childlike appearance was quite rare, but this contrast would also make Ling even cuter.
As the Third thought, he remembered his young son Asuma, who started smoking and chasing girls at a young age. Although he had now become a Chunin, he still worried him.
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