Naruto: Uchiha Rejects Konoha

After Jiraiya and Naruto left, Sasuke stared in that direction for a long time, his expression turning a bit gloomy.

"Why the long face? It's not like you'll never see him again, right?"

Yagami knocked Sasuke on the head in exasperation. In the original story, Sasuke would even dream of defeating Naruto to gain strength. Why the sudden sadness now?

"Ouch, that hurts… Senior, is Jiraiya-sama really that strong?"

Sasuke clutched his head, wincing but still curious about Jiraiya's strength.

Sorry! Byakugan and Sharingan just got upgraded, so I'm not used to the increase—I might've been a bit heavy-handed.

Seeing Sasuke's grimace, Yagami apologized inwardly. His strength had improved significantly, and he hadn't yet adapted to it.

"Of course, he's strong. As one of Konoha's Sannin, Jiraiya is among the best in the village."

Jiraiya's strength was formidable. Even setting aside his regular abilities, once he activated Sage Mode, he was incredibly fierce.

"Oh! He's that powerful?"

Hearing this, Sasuke's expression grew more complicated. He was glad Naruto had found a strong teacher yet worried he might fall behind.

"What? Worried Naruto's going to surpass you soon?"

Yagami realized what was on Sasuke's mind and couldn't resist teasing him.

"No way! Naruto's such an idiot—even with a strong teacher, I won't let him surpass me! I, Uchiha Sasuke, will be the strongest!"

Sasuke looked a bit flustered but still tried to keep his cool.

Keep it up, Sasuke! Just wait until Naruto signs the contract with Mount Myōboku. Let's see if you start worrying then.

Yagami thought with amusement, then considered trying out senjutsu himself. Part of Senju Hashirama's immense strength came from his mastery of Wood Style and chakra control, but senjutsu also played a role.

It wasn't that Yagami wasn't interested in the Sage Body available in the system, but saving up for it was proving difficult.

Maybe it was time to pay a visit to Danzo in the prison. As unpleasant as Danzo was, he was useful for gaining feedback points.

With that thought, Yagami didn't hesitate and teleported directly to the Police Department Prison using Flying Thunder God. Since Flying Thunder God was one of his trump cards, he preferred not to expose it if possible.

The Police Department Prison wasn't only staffed by Uchiha—members from other clans were stationed there as well. Dropping in unannounced could raise questions, so entering discreetly was the safer option.

As for Danzo, with Orochimaru's help, he no longer had to worry about Hashirama cells. Though Uchiha occasionally cast genjutsu on him, he'd built up resistance by now, and the show was over.

There is a saying that Danzo is the only person in the ninja world immune to genjutsu.

Recently, Danzo had been doing well in prison. If it weren't for the Uchiha's genjutsu-blocking measures, he might have even regained some of his strength.

Danzo, who had been waiting for an opportunity to turn things around, suddenly spotted Yagami approaching with a displeased look. His eyelids twitched involuntarily, and he cursed internally: *Damn it! Why is Yagami here?*

As Yagami approached, Danzo felt increasingly unsettled, and his system's feedback prompts grew more frequent.

When Yagami finally stood before him, the feedback point refresh stopped. Clearly, Danzo had given up any mental defences in Yagami's presence.

"Uchiha Yagami! What do you intend to do? I'm warning you, I—"

Without a word, Yagami activated his Mangekyō, casting a genjutsu that sent Danzo into full-body spasms.

"Tch! No more feedback points, huh? What use are you then… wait, something's not right with this guy!"

Yagami was disappointed to receive less than 30,000 feedback points, but his eyes quickly picked up something unusual in Danzo.

Last time he checked, Danzo's two Sharingan were barely functioning, struggling to contain the Hashirama cells within him. He'd been weakened by his confinement and the Uchiha's frequent "care," with his chakra severely drained.

But now, Danzo's Hashirama cells were stable, and his physical condition had improved considerably. Could it be that the clan members had gone soft on him?

No, that doesn't make sense. Physical recovery is one thing, but how did the Hashirama cells stabilize?

Yagami narrowed his eyes, realizing Danzo must have pulled something off in secret. He had to hand it to Danzo; even under constant surveillance by the Uchiha, he still managed to hide his tricks.

*In the Third Hokage's era, Danzo always acted this way. The Third never cared enough to act decisively—it's almost unreasonable. So why did he want to keep Danzo alive?*

Yagami thought back to the Third Hokage's final order for Danzo to be kept alive.

"It seems the last move wasn't enough! If we want the Third Hokage to take harsher measures, I'll need to add a little more pressure!"

Yagami spoke with a hint of menace. Though he had an outsider's perspective, he didn't underestimate the people of this world. They were more than just characters in a story; they were real individuals with powerful minds and wills.

Remembering the construction still underway at the harbour, Mingfeng suppressed the urge to kill Danzo now. Danzo needed to die, but the time wasn't right.

Recently, Tsunade had left the Uchiha clan to travel to the Daming Palace. Upon hearing this, the Third Hokage finally felt some relief.

*That's it! No matter her personal feelings, Tsunade is still loyal to the village. Although she hasn't visited me since her return, she wouldn't just sit back and watch Konoha decline.*

The Third Hokage cast a proud glance at Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura beside him. Whatever Tsunade's attitude, her actions still reflected well on him as her teacher, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Hiruzen, though Tsunade went to the Daming Palace, she's been spending far too much time with the Uchiha. In the long run, this could become a problem."

Utatane Koharu frowned. She had already raised this issue with the Third Hokage several times.

As the last visible member of the Senju clan and one of the Sannin, Tsunade's reputation was not to be underestimated.

She was highly regarded, as evidenced by her visit to the Daming Palace to improve the Daimyō's opinion of Konoha.

If Tsunade had wanted the Hokage title before, Namikaze Minato would likely have had to step aside.

For Koharu and Homura, Tsunade's alignment with the Uchiha was unacceptable. While they didn't share Danzo's extreme view of eliminating the Uchiha, suppressing the clan was a shared goal.

"Koharu, you need to understand that Tsunade has strong grievances against the village now.

She didn't even return because of Jiraiya but rather because the Uchiha hired her as a medical consultant for their clan.

She's already shown a willingness to cooperate by going to the Daming Palace.

If you keep pressuring her, do you think that will improve her relationship with the village?"

The Third Hokage's face darkened. He wished he could summon Tsunade back to his side, but he had no grounds to do so.

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