Chapter 34: Uchiha Itachi?
"This wasn't some random encounter—there's no way. It had to be intentional!"
Sitting in his home, Haruta looked at the scroll in his hand, recalling the events with Naruto and Yūgao earlier that night. He couldn't help but shake his head and mutter to himself.
Running into the old man had been way too coincidental.
It felt like Naruto's appearance was an accident, but the Third Hokage had clearly come to give him something.
Naruto just happened to be there, and Haruta got dragged into a little performance for the kid's sake.
Not that it really mattered. Haruta had no reason to complain.
"Whatever. If I'm just playing a background role, fine—but as long as I get my reward, I don't care."
He glanced at the scroll in his hand, then at the room he was living in, finally nodding in satisfaction.
Anbu was different from Root.
Root had no employee benefits—everything, including food and shelter, was provided inside the Root base.
Anbu, on the other hand, only required operatives to be on standby during missions. They were free to live outside if they wanted.
Of course, some still chose to stay in Anbu's facilities, but Haruta wasn't one of them.
The apartment he had now was assigned by Anbu, so in a way, this was also a job perk.
It wasn't huge, but it was way better than sleeping on the floor in a Root barracks.
Plus, Anbu paid pretty well.
Just earlier, Yūgao had covered the whole dinner bill and even bought Naruto a ton of food.
If the salary wasn't decent, she definitely would have felt that in her wallet.
"Alright, let's check out this Flying Thunder God Technique."
Haruta set aside his thoughts and unrolled the scroll.
He knew that once a scroll like this was opened, there was a time limit before it would self-destruct.
That meant he had to memorize everything quickly.
Besides, he had always been fascinated by Flying Thunder God—one of the few true space-time techniques in the ninja world.
From what Haruta remembered, space-time jutsu were mostly exclusive to the Ōtsutsuki clan.
Among humans, only Obito's Kamui had achieved true dimensional travel.
Other techniques, like Kumogakure's Heavenly Transfer Jutsu and Summoning Jutsu, technically counted, but they weren't useful for combat.
Flying Thunder God, however, was different.
It was one of the only jutsu that fully integrated space-time manipulation with battle.
An Hour Later…
Watching the last remnants of the burning scroll, Haruta rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"So this is how Flying Thunder God works…"
The technique wasn't as complex as he had imagined—its structure wasn't overly complicated.
But calling it "easy" would be a massive understatement.
There were too many intricate components that had to be mastered simultaneously, making it extremely difficult for the average ninja.
"The three key factors are physical conditioning, sealing techniques, and summoning principles…"
Physical conditioning was critical.
Traveling through space-time put an immense strain on the body, and intense disorientation was something most people couldn't handle.
Sealing techniques were the foundation.
The Flying Thunder God markers were essentially a variant of a sealing jutsu.
At a basic level, the marks had to be pre-etched onto kunai or surfaces.
But to fully master the technique, one had to be able to place marks instantly, in combat.
Finally, there was the summoning aspect.
This was the core of Flying Thunder God's teleportation mechanism.
On top of that, chakra control and reserves also played a crucial role.
All in all, it was one of the most difficult techniques in existence.
However…
"…Aside from summoning, I already have everything else!"
Haruta's eyes lit up.
He already had exceptional physical abilities and high-level chakra control and reserves.
And thanks to his paranoia about Danzo, he had even trained himself up to Level 5 in sealing jutsu!
Everything was lining up perfectly—except for summoning, which might be a minor hurdle.
But then—
[New jutsu detected. Theoretical structure: complete and valid.]
[Ability "Shinobi Scholar" activated. Would you like to proceed?]
---
Meanwhile, at the Root Base…
"You worthless trash! Train harder!"
Danzo's furious gaze swept across the Root shinobi, who were undergoing brutal drills.
Today had been a disaster for him.
Not only had Anbu completely surrounded Root, but worse—the elite soldiers he had trained so meticulously had been beaten to a pulp by Haruta.
The humiliation and frustration made it impossible for him to sit still.
So instead of waiting until the next day, he had ordered immediate, intensified training to restore his pride.
As he watched his subordinates push themselves to exhaustion, he felt a little better and finally turned to walk back to his office.
Seeing their boss in such a terrible mood, Aburame Ryoma didn't dare say a word.
But he still faithfully delivered the daily intelligence reports.
"Danzo-sama, here is today's report."
"Hm."
Danzo took the scroll, but for once, he didn't open it right away.
His mind was still occupied with something else.
Haruta Shigaru…
There was no direct evidence, but today's mission had caused too much of a stir.
And based on his own report, Haruta had deliberately concealed key details from his conversation with Ebizō.
Still, just the fact that he had successfully pressured Sunagakure and secured a stronger alliance for Konoha was already a major achievement.
Danzo couldn't shake the feeling that Hiruzen was planning to steal Haruta away from him.
After all, today had felt like a message—
"Even 'A' follows me now. Even Danzo listens to me. So, Haruta… you should know who to obey, right?"
"Damn it… Why am I not Hokage?"
The thought made Danzo's blood pressure spike, but he quickly calmed himself down.
In hindsight, he felt a little afraid.
He always criticized Hiruzen for being too soft, but now, he was grateful for that softness.
Because if Hiruzen had been even slightly more ruthless today…
It wouldn't have been just an Anbu blockade—it would have been Root's complete annihilation.
"…Tch."
Danzo let out a long sigh.
He needed to find a way to strike back, but without drawing too much attention from Hiruzen.
And if he could somehow make Hiruzen lose faith in Haruta at the same time?
That would be ideal.
Shaking his head, he decided to distract himself with work and unrolled the scroll.
After all, work was the one thing that still gave him control.
But then—
"Hmm?"
His eyes narrowed as he scanned a particular section of the report.
"Uchiha… Itachi?"
Konoha's "most dangerous prodigy factory" had yet again produced a new problem child.
And Itachi had already made a name for himself in Root.
At the age of eight, he had humiliated Root's elite operatives in combat.
That wasn't just a defeat—it was a direct slap to Danzo's face.
"…This brat is taking the Chūnin Exams?"
Danzo knew that Hiruzen had high hopes for Itachi.
The boy was already an exceptional Sharingan user, and Hiruzen had even described him as 'a genius with the mindset of a Hokage.'
"And he's close with Shisui… which means, in the future…"
Danzo's expression darkened.
Dealing with Shisui was already a headache—and now another one was emerging?
"…Wait."
Danzo suddenly had an idea.
Itachi was strong for his age, but so was Haruta.
What if Haruta were the one to put Itachi in his place?
At the same time, in a dimensional space, a masked man also nodded to himself.
It seemed like he had come to the same conclusion.
***
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