"Hokage-sama."
"Uzumaki Naruto has been attending school as usual this month."
"There have been no abnormalities."
Yūgao Uzuki knelt on one knee before the Hokage's desk.
After a long while.
Hiruzen Sarutobi put down the mission report form in his hand.
Then he lit his pipe.
Whoosh—
After exhaling a puff of smoke.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked down at Konoha Village.
"Yūgao."
"What do you think of that child?"
Hearing this, Yūgao replied in a deep voice: "He is an ambitious and kind child."
"Please forgive my subordinate, the time I've had contact is too short."
"I cannot give a more thorough evaluation."
Ambitious?
Hehe... she knows too little. If I hadn't repeatedly warned Naruto not to over-train...
Hiruzen Sarutobi had his back to Yūgao Uzuki.
A smile unconsciously appeared on his old face.
Kind?
A child who deeply understands the Will of Fire would naturally be so.
Very good.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag from his pipe.
Then his old face returned to normal.
He turned his chair.
Looking at Yūgao Uzuki, who was half-kneeling.
"Yūgao, find a way to approach him."
"Then, gain his trust."
"I will revoke your Anbu status."
Saying this, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly stood up.
He said earnestly: "Yūgao, the future of the Village is entrusted to you."
"The significance of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is extraordinary."
"I hope you can become the closest person to him."
"With you there, the Nine-Tails Rampage will be a thing of the past, and will never happen again."
"..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi said a lot.
But Yūgao Uzuki could no longer hear him.
She stood frozen in place.
Feeling a little at a loss.
But it was within an acceptable range.
After a long while.
Hiruzen Sarutobi finally stopped speaking.
He took a puff from his pipe.
Then he took out a scroll from a drawer.
"I know this is unfair to you."
"But it's all for the Village; some things are necessary."
"If you find it difficult, it's fine; I will find another candidate."
"Also, this matter needs to be kept secret."
"Alright, all in all, this matter is still a bit too early, so there's no need to worry."
"You may go now."
With that, he pushed the scroll to the edge of the Hokage's desk.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Yūgao Uzuki's heart was complex.
She slowly stood up, preparing to take the scroll.
But with just one glance, Yūgao Uzuki noticed the annotation on it.
'White Fang's Sword Style'.
White Fang... Sword Style?
Konohas White Fang's sword style?
The sword technique of Konohas White Fang, who was famous throughout the Ninja World?
Yūgao Uzuki's breath hitched.
At this moment, she felt as if she could hear her own heartbeat.
Yūgao Uzuki seemed to be frozen in place.
Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's lips curled slightly, then he turned around and continued to smoke.
He did not rush her.
He believed Yūgao Uzuki would not refuse this mission.
Mainly, among the new generation, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't have a suitable candidate.
Moreover, there was already the Yamanaka clan's little girl... it's just that the cost would be higher.
"Hokage-sama, I will try my best to approach that child."
Not long after, Yūgao Uzuki proactively picked up the scroll containing the White Fang's Sword Style.
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly, not looking back, merely waving his hand.
"No need to rush."
"Naruto is still too young; the time limit for this mission is long."
"You may go."
"From now on, everything concerning Naruto will be entrusted to you."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
Yūgao Uzuki bowed deeply.
Then, according to custom.
Yūgao Uzuki slowly removed the animal mask she was wearing.
She placed the animal mask on the Hokage's desk.
Only when Yūgao Uzuki opened the office door did Hiruzen Sarutobi say: "Starting today, you are no longer an Anbu Ninja, but a Konoha Special Jonin."
Click—
The Hokage Office door was slowly closed.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the animal mask on the desk.
A scene from years ago flashed in his mind.
That night, Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the entire process of Kushina being kidnapped through a crystal ball.
He ordered the Anbu Ninja to guide Minato Namikaze to see the hair Kushina had left behind.
And strictly forbade anyone else from intervening.
Inside the Shinigami's stomach, Minato grew tense once more.
However, what left him bewildered was that.
In the chat room, Kushina's message had not appeared for a long time.
In the Pure Land World.
Uchiha Mikoto also looked at her good friend with some concern.
But her good friend was very calm.
It was as if what was said next to the black-framed large screen just now was about someone else, and did not affect her at all.
However, many people were not calm now.
As one of the protagonists in the Hokage Office this time.
Yūgao Uzuki naturally felt overwhelmed.
However... thinking from another perspective, if in this world, at that time, she was given such a mission, with the White Fang's Sword Style as a reward... and with subsequent rewards only getting better.
She would definitely agree.
Thinking this way.
Yūgao Uzuki felt a little guilty towards Gekkō Hayate.
But Yūgao Uzuki searched all around.
Still couldn't find Gekkō Hayate.
Instantly, a bad premonition welled up in her heart.
Just then.
Anko Mitarashi directly put her arm around her shoulder.
"You can do it, Yūgao!"
"Future wife of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!"
Kurenai Yuhi's shoulders trembled slightly.
She was also trained; unless she couldn't help it, she wouldn't laugh out loud.
Of course, Hinata was naturally nervous.
"It was me first... it was me..."
In a flash, spring turned to autumn.
Naruto was nine years old.
On this day, he sent a Shadow Clone to attend school.
He himself went to the Konoha back mountains to train.
Over this past year or so.
He had focused on cultivating his spiritual power.
Now, his body had grown another year older.
He could begin cultivating Fire Release.
Mainly because, after spiritual power cultivation reached a certain level, it became difficult.
Currently, Naruto could use Shadow Clone to create fifteen Shadow Clones.
The progress was also not fast.
Shadow Clone was, after all, not complete; Naruto had tried to deduce it.
But it caused his blood and qi to churn several times.
Once, he even suffered severe internal injuries.
At that moment, Naruto understood why the Second Hokage died so miserably in his later years.
He tried to deduce the complete Multiple Shadow Clone Technique based on the original, and a slight error resulted in such severe injuries.
How much more so for the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, who possessed a multitude of forbidden jutsu?
But there were still results; Naruto's Shadow Clone count increased from ten to fifteen.
However, after that, Naruto stopped trying to deduce further.
Another injury would be too painful.
Over this past year or so, Uchiha Izumi remained in a deep slumber.
However, her body had finally begun to grow.
Her features also became more prominent; every time Naruto wiped and cleaned her, he would blush profusely.
For the first six months, Uchiha Izumi had almost stopped growing.
This clearly showed the harm of activating the Mangekyo Sharingan too early.
Now, she was finally slowly recovering.
A few days ago, after Naruto helped Izumi wipe herself, something that hadn't happened before occurred.
The skin where the warm, damp towel passed actually turned red... even Izumi's face flushed.
Perhaps her consciousness was beginning to recover.
In short, everything was developing in a good direction.
Additionally, Naruto had a feeling that if Sasuke had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan at this age, he probably wouldn't have suffered such severe damage.
Rumble—
Just then, a commotion in the distance interrupted Naruto's thoughts.
He said somewhat helplessly: "Great Fox, that woman is here again..."