(At Hokage's office)

  Bear appeared in front of Hiruzen.

  "Good m, Lord Third," Bear said, bowing slightly.

  "Oh! Good m. Did something happen?" Hiruzen asked.

  "Lord Third, I know you asked me to keep watg him, but it's being increasingly difficult. Kaida has been training with Shisui Uchiha for a month, and Shisui's sudden appearances have made it harder to stay hidden. A few times, I’ve slipped up, and Shisui spotted me. However, for some reason, he hasn’t told Kaida about my presence.

  Also, the boy hasn’t shown any suspicious behavior iire month. I ’t think of any reason to keep monit him. I apologize if I’m overstepping," Bear said, tinuing to kneel.

  "No, you're correct. The suspi I had was cleared within the first week. I only asked you to keep watch as ara precaution, but there's o take further risks. You don’t have to follow him anymore. Anything else?" Hiruzen said.

  "Yes, Lord Third. In my previous report, I mentiohat his future potential was nearing S-rank. I was wrong. After seeing his progress in just one month, I fidently say he *will* reach S-rank iure," Bear replied.

  "What did you see this month that leads you to say this?" Hiruzen asked.

  "He’s already learned jonin-level genjutsu and mastered the Uchiha kenjutsu teique, enough to spar evenly with Shisui Uchiha. He also treated hundreds of patients and pleted thousands of D-rank missions daily," Bear reported.

  Hiruzen’s eyebrows rose slightly. Impressive achievements for a nine-year-old, he thought.

  'He’s already at jonin level. Elite jonin might be a stretch, but he could probably take the in exams this year. However, with Iwagakure hosting this year, they might try something shady if they see such a talented individual. No matter. Konoha is not in desperate need of ninja like before. Kaida should be nurtured as a future pilr of the vilge.'

  "That’s excellent. You may go unless you have anything else to report," Hiruzen said.

  With that, Bear disappeared from the office, leaving Hiruzen to sider the report.

  ...

  (At Root headquarters)

  "Sir, we’ve been spreading rumors about the Uchiha , but the impact has been minimal. We 't push further without raising suspiong the Uchihas. Additionally, an Uchiha is treating patients freely at Konoha Hospital,

  Improving their reputation among civilians. He also casually dismisses our rumors with logical terarguments, like, ‘If the Uchiha wao attack Konoha, why didn’t they strike when they had the perfect opportunity?’ Because of this, the rumors are slowly fading," the Root ninja reported.

  "What’s the likelihood that he’s doing this iionally?" Danzo asked in his heavy voice.

  "Very low, sir. No other Uchiha seems to care about these rumors, as you predicted. He cims he’s doing this because he’s not yet certified," the ninja replied.

  "Then why is he allowed to treat patients?" Danzo asked.

  "Sir, he’s Mitsuru Nara’s disciple. He could easily get certified whenever he wants," the ninja responded.

  "Is he worth it?" Danzo asked.

  "Yes, sir. He already has jonin-level strength, and he’s only nine years old," the ninja firmed.

  "Bring me his file," Danzo ordered. The ninja ha over.

  "Hmm, Kaida Uchiha... this name sounds familiar," Danzo said, trying to recall.

  "Yes, sir. You attempted to recruit him when he was in the academy, but Lord Third rejected your proposal," the Root ninja reminded him.

  "Wasn’t he an orphan at that time?" Danzo asked rhetorically, though the ninja knew better than to respond. Danzo tinued reading the file.

  "I khat was the perfect time to recruit him into Root. Now that he’s back with the Uchiha , it’ll be much harder. But with his potential, it’s worth trying. If not, I’ll have to eliminate him. I ’t let him interfere with my pn to stabilize Konoha," Danzo muttered ao meet Hiruzen.

  ...

  (Hokage's office)

  *Knock, knock.*

  "What is it?" Hiruzen asked.

  "Sir, Danzo-sama is requesting to meet you," the receptionist said.

  "I’ve been expeg him. Let him in," Hiruzen replied.

  Two mier, Danzo was seated in front of Hiruzen.

  "Before you say anything, I’m not giving you Kaida," Hiruzen said firmly, cutting Danzo off before he could speak.

  "Then I’ll have to eliminate him. He’s interfering with my pns to stabilize the vilge," Danzo said, his tone calm, as though he were discussing the weather instead of someone’s life.

  "If a nine-year-old boy uand that the Uchiha had nothing to do with the ails attack, why ’t you?" Hiruzen said.

  "You know as well as I do that the ails was being trolled by an Uchiha," Danzo replied.

  "Yes, *an* Uchiha. Not the entire . You ’t accuse aire based on suspi. Stop spreading those rumors," Hiruzen said.

  "You’ve bee too soft, Hiruzen. We o take a so future geions won’t have to live in fear," Danzo tered.

  "The Uchiha is one of Konoha’s pilrs. Eliminating them would cripple the vilge. Our future geions *would* live in fear if we destroy one of our own," Hiruzen said.

  "Konoha won’t be crippled as long as we have Root," Danzo snapped, anger briefly surfag in his voice.

  "I don’t want tue about this. You will not target the Uchiha again," Hiruzen said with finality.

  Danzo stared at Hiruzen for several minutes before standing up to leave without another word.

  "O thing, Danzo. If anything happens to Kaida, you won’t like the oute," Hiruzen warned.

  Danzo paused for a sed but then tinued walking. He had survived an assassination attempt on Hiruzen before; a simple warning wasn’t going to deter his pns.