With Uchiha Kagami, Uchiha Isamu, Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, and Danzo Shimura, along with the support of the various clans, the next generation of Konoha Village would likely remain very stable.
However, when Tobirama Senju thought about Danzo, he felt another headache coming on. This disciple truly suited his tastes, and he was reluctant to simply give up on him.
"Sigh… forget it. We'll deal with it when the time comes. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
Hiruzen Sarutobi had no idea that, in that brief moment, his teacher had already considered the future Hokage succession.
He spoke up.
"Teacher, what have you decided?"
Hearing Hiruzen's question, Tobirama snapped back to reality.
"Monkey, since you trust that boy so much, I'll believe you this once. Train him well. If he can achieve something in the future, it's not impossible to give him a certain status."
Hiruzen let out a quiet sigh of relief.
To be honest, setting aside his Uchiha identity, he genuinely liked Isamu after spending so much time with him.
"Thank you, Teacher. I'll take my leave now."
"Go ahead."
With that, Hiruzen left the Hokage's Office.
Meanwhile, after experiencing the benefits of increased strength, Isamu felt an even stronger sense of urgency.
At night, he no longer went to bed early. Instead, he spent several hours refining his chakra.
Four hours later, he stared at the tiny increase in chakra with a miserable expression.
"This increase is so small it's barely noticeable unless I check carefully. What a waste of time…"
He couldn't help but feel envious.
"People like Hashirama Senju and Naruto have absurd amounts of chakra. They throw around Ninjutsu like it costs nothing."
"And then there's me… the more I think about it, the more annoyed I get."
After complaining for a while, he sighed.
"Sigh… there's no point envying others. Even if it's just a little more chakra, it's still progress."
"I'll treat it like grains of sand building a tower. Once I get enough points, I'll check the System Shop to see if there's something that can increase chakra."
---
The next day, as agreed, Isamu arrived at the place where he had first met Hiruzen Sarutobi.
He sat on a rock by the water, casually tossing small stones across the surface while waiting.
Half an hour later, Hiruzen finally arrived.
Today, however, he didn't show up when the sun was already high in the sky.
After arriving, Hiruzen handed over the mission reward.
Isamu didn't even bother looking at it before stuffing it into his pocket. He had little concept of money. What he cared about was strength.
Seeing this, Hiruzen spoke.
"Isamu, since you've just completed a mission, it's the perfect time for some training."
"Once your strength fully reaches the Chunin level, we can start taking B-rank missions regularly. If possible, we might even try A-rank missions."
What Hiruzen didn't know was that Isamu was already a Chunin and could even fight against an ordinary Jonin.
However, Isamu didn't explain. He still needed time to stabilize his abilities.
"Brother Hiruzen," Isamu said, "I want to learn the Shadow Clone Technique."
"Huh?" Hiruzen looked confused. "Why do you suddenly want to learn that?"
In his opinion, Shadow Clones were mostly useful for reconnaissance or tricking enemies. In most situations, they weren't very practical.
After all, dividing chakra from the original body meant weakening yourself.
It would be better to learn a stronger Ninjutsu.
"It's like this," Isamu explained. "During the last mission, there were too many enemies. If I had Shadow Clones, the time needed to complete the mission would've been cut in half. I wouldn't have had to run around everywhere searching for people."
After thinking about it for a moment, Hiruzen nodded.
"That makes sense."
"Alright. Since you want to learn it, I'll teach you."
"This Ninjutsu is very simple. It only requires one hand seal."
Hiruzen crossed two fingers from each hand together.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Poof!
An identical Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared.
Seeing such a strange scene, Isamu asked curiously,
"Brother Hiruzen, doesn't it feel strange to see someone who looks exactly like you?"
Hiruzen looked puzzled.
"Strange? Why would it be strange? It's just like looking in a mirror."
Isamu then began experimenting.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Poof!
A limp, soggy version of Isamu appeared beside him—then disappeared with another poof.
Seeing this, Hiruzen offered guidance.
"Pay attention to your chakra control. You split too little chakra that time."
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Poof!
This time, a fat version of Isamu appeared.
Then it vanished again.
Hiruzen laughed.
"That one was quite close… but you used too much chakra this time."
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Poof!
This time, Isamu finally succeeded.
Looking at the clone standing beside him, he felt as if he were staring into a mirror.
Standing nearby, Hiruzen was secretly shocked.
A genius…
He succeeded in just three attempts.
This kid's talent really is exceptional.
"Congratulations, Isamu," Hiruzen said. "You've learned the Shadow Clone Technique."
"But be careful with this Ninjutsu. Keep at most three or four clones active. Any more than that and your body won't be able to handle it."
"I understand."
Poof!
Isamu dispelled the clone.
Then he suddenly said,
"Brother Hiruzen, can you take a look at something for me? I recently developed a new Ninjutsu. Tell me what you think."
Isamu didn't hide the Rasengan at all.
After all, Minato Namikaze would invent it in the future. Instead of waiting for that, he might as well reveal it early and slap his own 'original creation' label on it.
Hearing that Isamu had created a Ninjutsu, Hiruzen immediately became interested.
"What Ninjutsu? Come on, use it on me and let me see."
"Uh…"
Isamu was speechless.
Use it on you?
I'm afraid one Rasengan might send you straight to the afterlife.
"What are you hesitating for?" Hiruzen urged. "Go on, let me help you test it."
Seeing Hiruzen insist, Isamu suggested,
"How about I use it on this tree stump instead? You can judge the effect from that."
Hiruzen nodded curiously.
"Alright. Let me see it."
"Watch carefully," Isamu said. "This Ninjutsu requires no hand seals. It's simply condensed in the palm, which makes it very convenient."
He slowly raised one hand.
"A seal-less Ninjutsu?" Hiruzen said thoughtfully. "That means the casting speed is extremely fast. In battle, your opponent needs to form seals while you don't—that's a big advantage."
"I'm just not sure about the power yet."
Soon, a blue sphere of swirling chakra formed in Isamu's palm.
Hiruzen examined it closely.
"So that's what it looks like… such a small ball doesn't seem very intimidating."
"You can't judge a Ninjutsu by its appearance," Isamu replied. "Watch closely."
Without hesitation, he slammed the Rasengan into the tree stump.
BOOM!
With a loud explosion, the entire stump vanished.
A two-meter crater appeared in the ground.
Hiruzen stood there in complete shock. His mouth hung open wide enough to fit three eggs.
"Th-this… this…"
"The power is incredible! If that hit a person, they'd die instantly!"
"Holy crap, Isamu! That's amazing!"
"With power like this, it's definitely an A-rank Ninjutsu!"
"You're a genius!"
Hearing the praise, Isamu awkwardly rubbed his nose.
After all… it wasn't really his invention.
Feeling a little embarrassed, he quickly changed the topic.
"This is only the initial form. My next plan is to add elemental chakra to it."
"If that works, the power will increase exponentially."
"At that point, it won't just be an A-rank Ninjutsu."
"It might even reach the level of a Super S-rank technique."
Hearing this, Hiruzen was shocked again.
A Super S-rank…
That's practically the level of a Forbidden Technique.
A forbidden technique was either:
Too dangerous for ordinary people to practice
Harmful to the user
Or simply too powerful
"Brother Hiruzen," Isamu asked, "do you want to learn it? I can teach you."
For a moment, Hiruzen was tempted.
But he quickly shook his head.
It was someone else's original technique—he felt awkward learning it.
Besides, he already had Enma's Adamantine Staff, which was powerful enough in close combat.
Seeing Hiruzen refuse, Isamu didn't insist.
"I call this technique…"
"Rasengan."
"So? Pretty good name, right?"