"Night, your performance has been exemplary. Lord Danzo sent these for you." Hira Mizuiro handed two scrolls to Luke.
Luke took them with a curt, silent nod. Root operatives didn't waste breath on small talk.
Mizuiro didn't linger. As soon as the scrolls were transferred, he flickered out of existence, careful to avoid any stray Anbu eyes that might compromise Luke's deep-cover position at the Academy.
Only after his Sensory Ninjutsu confirmed the operative was miles away did Luke retreat into his house and break the seals.
The first scroll contained the Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique.
The second was a formal commendation from Danzo. The "Godfather of Scapegoats" expressed high satisfaction with Luke's "proactive initiative" in integrating into the Academy's social structure. To reward this loyalty, he had granted the "powerful" fire jutsu.
Danzo's instructions followed: Maintain this momentum. Continue your close observation of Shisui Uchiha and begin profiling other Uchiha students in the lower grades.
Finally, Danzo dangled the carrot: if Luke maintained this level of excellence, Danzo would pull the strings to have him promoted to Special Jonin and placed in a high-ranking administrative position within the Academy.
Luke summoned a small flame and watched the scrolls turn to grey ash.
"Special Jonin... a high-ranking post... haha." Luke let out a dry, hollow laugh.
If he were the original host, he'd be buzzing with zeal right now, ready to die for Danzo's vision. But Luke? The "reward" was a jutsu he had already mastered through his disciples, and he had zero desire to climb the ranks of a doomed organization like Root.
He had no emotional reaction. He just found the irony hilarious.
Luke prepared to set his Shadow Clone to work on theory while he refined his chakra, but he realized he had already burned through his personal library of Ninjutsu texts. After a moment's thought, he decided to visit the Konoha Public Library.
The Great Library was a relic of the Second Hokage's era, housing a massive archive of data and scrolls. While it only offered D and C-rank jutsu for public rental (at a steep price), its real value lay in the technical references. Luke wasn't looking for a new "fireball"; he was looking for research on Fuinjutsu (Sealing Techniques)—specifically, anything related to restrictive cursed seals.
His system-granted jutsu were great, but they didn't help him understand the logic of the seal on his tongue. He wanted to see if he could crack it himself.
Walking through the streets of Konoha, Luke felt a strange sense of vertigo. He had been in this world for nearly a month, but this was the first time his main body had gone for a casual stroll. Usually, he sent a Shadow Clone to buy groceries while he hid in his courtyard. The inherent danger of this world and his precarious status in Root made him paranoid.
Only now, with a more versatile toolkit and a slightly larger chakra pool, did he feel enough "base security" to not worry about dying from a random explosion or a stray kunai.
At the library entrance, he handed his ninja ID to the guard. The archives were restricted to active-duty shinobi. The guard checked the ID and waved him through.
As Luke turned the corner toward the technical section, a figure approached from the opposite direction. It was a man with vibrant blonde hair and a smile so warm it felt like sunlight.
Sensing Luke's gaze, Minato Namikaze looked up. The two men shared a polite, fleeting nod as they passed one another—one entering, one leaving.
Name: Minato Namikaze
Chakra: 40,000
Potential: S
Evaluation: Kills Jonin like ants. One look and you're history.
Luke's face remained a mask of professional indifference, but his heart was hammering against his ribs.
It was his first time seeing a five-digit chakra pool. 40,000. That was the equivalent of eighty six-year-old Shisuis.
The evaluation was terrifying. Currently, Minato hadn't yet earned the title of "The Yellow Flash." To the public, he was simply a highly talented Jonin, often overshadowed by the fame of his master, the Sannin Jiraiya.
But Luke knew better. A man who had mastered the Flying Thunder God didn't "fight" average Jonin; he erased them.
If only Minato had a son in the Academy right now, Luke thought regretfully. He would have loved an excuse to get close to the man. Minato was a genius of Fuinjutsu, and having him as an "advisor" would make breaking the Tongue-Cursed Seal a walk in the park.
As for Kushina Uzumaki... her status as a Jinchuriki was far too sensitive. Luke wasn't about to draw the attention of the village's highest surveillance by hanging around her.
Luke checked out two books on sealing theory and three miscellaneous texts to camouflage his intent. After paying the fee, he made a quick exit.
In the southern woods, Luke stood before his three disciples on the eve of the Academy exams.
"I hope you haven't forgotten our deal," Luke reminded Obito and Might Guy. "Tomorrow is the theoretical exam. You must pass."
"Don't worry about it, Teacher! I'm a new man!" Obito shouted, brimming with confidence.
They had spent the last two weeks grinding through Luke's custom workbooks. In a practice test an hour ago, Obito had scored a thirty. Based on historical data, where the passing mark was usually half the class average (around twenty-five), he was sitting pretty.
"If I don't pass, I'll run eight hundred laps around the village!" Guy roared. He had also scored a thirty.
"I'm not just going to pass the theory," Obito added, his eyes burning with ambition. "I'm going to take first place in the combat portion!"
"I won't just give that spot away!" Guy countered, his fist clenched.
Luke offered a small, supportive smile but didn't say much. He knew the competition in Grade 4, Class 1 was stiff—there was a Hyuga student with a very solid A-rank potential who wouldn't be easy to beat. Obito hadn't awakened his Sharingan yet, and Guy hadn't touched the Eight Gates. At this low-level stage, the "Genius Clans" still held the edge.
Luke glanced at Shisui, who was quietly reading a scroll in the corner. He had no doubts about the six-year-old. Shisui was going to be the absolute, undisputed number one of his grade—theory and combat combined.
I wonder, Luke thought, if my students topping the rankings gives the Teacher an extra bonus?