Ping Shuise arrived in the yard like a shadow cut from moonlight.
"Ye. Mission accomplished. Lord Danzo asked me to deliver these."
Two scrolls changed hands silently.
Yuuma nodded without expression.Root operatives weren't supposed to bond. They barely exchanged oxygen, let alone conversation.
Shuise vanished, his chakra signature fading into the wind.
Only when the silence settled did Yuuma return indoors, unroll the scrolls, and read.
One scroll held a fire-style technique—Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique.
The other contained Danzo's "praise," written like a military report:
—Acknowledgement of mission performance.—Commendation for integrating fully into the Ninja Academy.—Reward: advanced fire-style ninjutsu.—New directive: Continue observing Uchiha Shisui; expand surveillance to all Uchiha students.—Future promise: If performance remains excellent, Root will "ensure" Yuuma becomes a Special Jōnin and gains an important Academy post.
Yuuma stared at the scroll for three seconds.
Then conjured flame between his fingers and reduced both scrolls to ash.
"Special Jōnin… an important position…"His lips twisted."Heh."
Maybe the original owner would've wagged his tail at Danzo's praise.
But Yuuma?
He already had Great Dragon Fire at Master Level.He had zero interest in Danzo's "career path."
His only desire was survival and power—not Root's leash.
He dismissed his clone's reading, intending to train—only to realize:…he'd already finished every ninjutsu book in his house.
He hesitated.Then turned toward the door.
Konoha's library.
If he wanted even a chance at dismantling the Tongue Eradication Seal, he needed sealing-theory materials.Even if it meant stepping into public and risking unwanted eyes.
The afternoon streets buzzed with villagers, merchants, shinobi on errands.
Yuuma moved through them quietly, hood drawn low.
More than half a month… and this is the first time I'm going outside as myself, not a clone.
His paranoia hadn't been baseless—Konoha was a shinobi world soaked in knives and shadows.
But after stacking chakra, skills, and rewards over these past days…he finally felt a sliver of confidence.
At the library entrance, Yuuma handed over his ninja ID notebook.The gatekeeper glanced at it, nodded, and let him through.
He hadn't yet taken two steps when a figure approached from the opposite aisle—
Golden hair.Gentle eyes.A calm smile like sunlight in human form.
Namikaze Minato.
Yuuma froze.Minato felt Yuuma's gaze and returned a polite nod before walking past.
The System pulsed sharply.
[Name: Namikaze Minato][Chakra: 40,000][Rank Potential: S][Evaluation: Kills jōnin like stepping on ants. Looking at him longer than 1 second = instant death.]
Yuuma kept his expression still.
Inside, he was screaming.
Forty thousand chakra?That was the equivalent of eighty Shisui at age six.
Minato hadn't even earned the title Yellow Flash yet—and his stat page was already nightmare material.
If he looked at me too long, I might really explode.
But Yuuma also felt… envy.
Minato's sealing skill was near-genius level.If Minato already had a child at the Academy?
Yuuma could've used the "concerned teacher" route to approach him naturally.
But Kushina's pregnancy hadn't happened yet.Too early.
And too dangerous.
Yuuma grabbed two books on sealing techniques and three decoy books, made his checkout, and left immediately.
The next day, in the southern forest—
Yuuma stood before his three disciples as the wind swayed the trees above them.
"The exam is tomorrow. You two remember what you promised," he said, eyes narrowing at Obito and Guy.
"You pass. No excuses."
"Of course!" Obito puffed up his chest."If I fail, Sensei, you can punish me however you want!"
Guy nodded with blazing determination."And I'll run eight hundred laps around Konoha if I fail!"
Yuuma hid his smile.
Obito had reached 30 points on last year's test paper—several points above passing, since the Academy passed students at half of the average score.
Guy scored 30 too.
Both had a real shot.
"I'll get first place in the combat test!" Obito declared with fiery confidence.
"I won't let you!" Guy roared back.
Yuuma watched them bicker.
He didn't break their spirits—but the truth was different.
The strongest student in Grade 4 wasn't either of them.
It was the Hyūga student in Class 1—A-Rank potential, already refined in Gentle Fist basics.
Obito hadn't awakened the Sharingan.Guy hadn't unlocked the Eight Gates.
Their peaks were far away.
But the one student Yuuma was certain of?
Shisui.
Quietly reading next to a tree, as if the world around him didn't exist.
Yuuma smiled to himself.
This kid is first place in the entire year. Maybe the entire school.
If the System gives teacher rewards for their exam performance…
His heart quickened.
…then tomorrow's going to be very profitable.