After finishing their bath, the two of them set off to return to Konoha Village.
At the main gate of Konoha, two guards saw Hiruzen Sarutobi returning and immediately greeted him.
Hiruzen was the disciple of the Second Hokage, and it was widely believed that he would become the Third Hokage in the future. Building a good relationship with him was naturally very important.
"Lord Sarutobi, you've returned."
"Yes, we came back today," Hiruzen replied casually. "It was just a simple mission , so we returned immediately after completing it. No need to waste time."
"Is that so? As expected of Lord Sarutobi—truly impressive!"
"Hahaha, it was nothing special," Hiruzen said, clearly enjoying the praise. After all, everyone likes a little flattery.
At that moment, a harsh voice suddenly rang out.
"It was only a B-rank mission, Sarutobi. How long did you expect it to take? And you're actually proud of it?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Hiruzen didn't even need to turn around to know who it was.
Danzo Shimura.
"Oh? Danzo, you're back too," Hiruzen said as he casually snatched the mission scroll from Danzo's hand.
"Let me see what rank of mission you did."
After opening it, Hiruzen nodded.
"An A-rank mission, as expected. Well done, Danzo."
Danzo snorted proudly.
"That's only natural. I am Danzo Shimura, the man who will become Hokage in the future."
He then glanced toward Isamu, who was standing behind Hiruzen.
"I'm not like you—wandering around leisurely with a little teammate doing low-level missions."
Isamu quietly observed Danzo.
This man would one day become the leader of Root, and one of the key figures behind the destruction of the Uchiha Clan.
Right now, however, Danzo looked much younger and far more energetic than the man he would become in the future. There were no bandages wrapped around his body yet. The current Danzo was full of vitality—very different from the frail figure he would one day turn into.
However, just like his teacher Tobirama Senju, his eyes were filled with disdain toward the Uchiha Clan.
It could be said that his temperament was almost identical to Tobirama's.
If Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't existed, the position of Third Hokage would almost certainly have belonged to Danzo.
As for Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, they were still far behind Danzo and Hiruzen.
And Uchiha Kagami—because he was an Uchiha, he had no chance at becoming Hokage from the very beginning.
Seeing Danzo direct the conversation toward Isamu, Hiruzen quickly changed the subject. He knew very well that Danzo disliked members of the Uchiha Clan.
"Danzo, since you've returned, let's head into the village. I'm treating everyone to barbecue tonight."
Hearing this, Danzo walked straight into the village without another word.
The guards at the gate remained silent. Both men were candidates for Hokage, and they couldn't afford to offend either of them.
Watching Danzo leave, Hiruzen turned to Isamu and explained,
"Danzo is usually quite a good person. Maybe he's just in a bad mood today. Don't take it to heart."
Isamu nodded.
He knew very well what kind of person Danzo was.
Danzo was absolutely loyal to Konoha. But as for everything else… well, that was another matter entirely.
"Alright, Isamu, you head home first," Hiruzen said. "I'll go submit the mission report. Tomorrow at our usual spot, I'll give you your share of the reward. See you then."
Watching Hiruzen leave, Isamu also returned home.
He pushed open the door. As expected, the house was empty.
Looking at the photos of his father and mother hanging on the wall, he couldn't help sighing.
"Madara… I wonder where you're hiding now. Are you wandering alone like me?"
"Damn it! Why did I suddenly think of that old bastard?"
"Bah! That old bastard ran off on his own. I don't pity you at all. You deserve to be suppressed by Hashirama Senju for the rest of your life!"
After completing his daily routine of cursing Madara, Isamu began cleaning the house.
It had been too long since the last cleaning, and the house was covered in dust.
After finishing, he sat down in the courtyard and opened the system.
Completing the mission had rewarded him with 5,000 points, enough to exchange for an A-rank Ninjutsu.
Opening the system shop and looking at the dazzling selection of A-rank techniques, Isamu almost drooled.
He looked left and right.
This one looked good.
That one also seemed amazing.
After half an hour of internal struggle, Isamu finally set his sights on two seal-less techniques:
Rasengan and Chidori.
Although he understood the principles behind them and could theoretically develop them himself, doing so would take far too much time.
With Hashirama Senju already dead, the First Great Ninja War would break out soon. He needed to increase his strength as quickly as possible, or he might not survive the coming war.
He still had to see Naruto, the Second Pillar, and also Madara and Kaguya.
He couldn't die here.
However, looking at the two techniques, Isamu hesitated again.
Chidori was undoubtedly more suitable for an Uchiha. Combined with the Sharingan's precise perception, it could allow someone to fight opponents above their level—even challenging a Jonin.
But its weaknesses were obvious.
As the name implied, Chidori produced a sound like a thousand birds chirping when activated.
On the battlefield, this was a huge disadvantage.
It might work against Genin or Chunin, but against a Jonin, no one would stupidly charge directly into your ultimate technique—unless they were brainless.
Unless his own strength reached the Jonin level, it wouldn't be reliable.
At that point, he could dominate below Jonin level and still trade blows with those above it.
After considering this, Isamu gave up on Chidori for now.
That left Rasengan.
This A-rank technique created by the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was not weaker than Chidori—perhaps even stronger.
It had no loud noise, and unlike Chidori's single-point piercing attack, Rasengan created a small-area explosion.
Naruto had relied on this technique for most of his life.
If Naruto could survive to the finale using Rasengan, maybe he could too.
As for Chidori… he could always exchange for it later when he had more points.
With that decision made, Isamu immediately exchanged for Rasengan, and his 5,000 points vanished instantly.
He couldn't wait to test it in the courtyard.
Condensing chakra in one hand, a small sphere appeared in his palm. It slowly expanded until it reached the size of his hand.
Unlike Naruto or Konohamaru, he didn't use a Shadow Clone to assist.
There was no need—and besides, he didn't know the technique yet.
Next time, he would ask Hiruzen Sarutobi to teach him Shadow Clone Jutsu.
With that thought, Isamu struck a tree in the courtyard.
The moment the Rasengan touched the trunk—
Boom!
The tree was instantly shredded, leaving a large crater where it had stood.
Fortunately, no one lived nearby. Otherwise, they might have thought someone was bombing the village.
Looking at the massive hole, Isamu couldn't hide his excitement.
"So this is Rasengan."
"With my Chunin-level chakra, I can now compete with an ordinary Jonin."
"My strength has finally taken a huge step forward."
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's Office, Tobirama Senju was listening to Hiruzen's report while deep in thought.
The boy truly was worthy of being Madara's son.
Without anyone guiding him in the early stages, he had already awakened the two-tomoe Sharingan, and his chakra had reached the level of a Chunin.
With a bit more polishing, he would probably reach full Chunin-level strength.
Tobirama couldn't help wondering whether his decision had been the right one.
"Monkey," Tobirama said suddenly, "what is that brat's temperament like? Has he shown any dissatisfaction with Konoha?"
"Teacher," Hiruzen replied, "that kid has a very good temperament and a gentle personality. We joke around quite often. As for dissatisfaction with Konoha… I haven't seen any signs of it so far."
Instead of reassuring him, this answer only made Tobirama more uneasy.
No one understood the Uchiha Clan better than he did.
The love in the hearts of Uchiha was stronger than anyone else's.
But because that love was so strong, it was also easier for it to spiral out of control.
When an Uchiha who deeply understood love lost that love, their heart could easily become consumed by hatred.
Just like Uchiha Madara.
Tobirama feared that Isamu might become the next Madara.
His elder brother Hashirama was no longer alive.
If another Madara appeared now, the village might have no way to resist him.
Seeing Tobirama's worried expression, Hiruzen spoke up.
"Teacher, you don't need to worry so much. Based on Isamu's character, I believe he will become the next Uchiha Kagami, not another Uchiha Madara."
Thinking of Uchiha Kagami, Tobirama slowly relaxed.
Yes.
Kagami was proof that an Uchiha could succeed within the village.
If Isamu could follow Kagami's example—placing the village above the clan and becoming a loyal supporter of the next Hokage—Tobirama would gladly accept him.
And the best candidate for Hokage…
was clearly Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Unknowingly, Isamu's existence had just added another weight to the scales supporting Hiruzen's future as Hokage.
If Danzo ever found out about this…
he would probably explode in anger.