Uchiha Jiyue didn't pay much attention to the stunned looks around him. Instead, he turned to the man, gave a cold smirk, and said,
"If this is the level of training you're offering, I don't think you're qualified to teach me."
"Oh? Is that so, little pinky?"
The man gave a light chuckle, his gaze flicking downward at Jiyue. Without another word, he casually picked up a single leaf and tossed it toward the same large tree from earlier.
What's he trying to do?
Show off that he can hit the bullseye with a leaf?
That kind of thing—relying on brute force and a bit of skill—didn't seem impressive to Jiyue in the slightest.
But then, he froze.
Before his eyes, that tiny leaf split the trunk—laden with target boards—clean in half.
"This… how is this possible?!"
Jiyue's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Well? Interested in learning?"
The man took a swig of liquor, deliberately leaning close and letting his alcohol-laced breath wash over Jiyue's face.
Jiyue shoved his broad, square face away in annoyance, curiosity flickering in his eyes.
"What was that just now?"
The shove made the man stumble back a few steps, but he quickly regained his balance, grinning.
"Wind-nature chakra transformation. So? Little pinky, am I qualified to teach you now?"
Jiyue's face flushed red. He held back for a long moment before finally grinding out two words through clenched teeth:
"I'll learn!"
The man burst out laughing.
"Ha! Now that's interesting!"
He handed Jiyue a scroll containing his insights into Wind Release, then shook the now-empty bottle in his hand, looking bored.
"Drank so much I'm getting sleepy… I'll head back for a nap."
He took two steps toward the base before suddenly stopping and turning back toward the group of trainees.
"You kids know why the trees here grow so thick?"
All of them—Jiyue included—looked at him curiously.
The man gave a cold smile.
"Because they're nourished by the bodies of every generation's failures."
"What?!"
A chill ran through them like ice water. Faces went pale.
Without breaking stride, the man began walking toward the base, his voice floating back to them:
"Next June is the Root Reserve Selection. If you don't want to become fertilizer, you'd better get stronger."
"What's the elimination rate?" Sai asked with a frown.
The man stopped and glanced back at him.
"Not high—only two-thirds."
"Two-thirds?!"
The trainees' faces blanched further, and several gasped in horror.
Once the man was gone, Yamanaka Kaze unsheathed the tachi on his back, ran to a nearby tree, and began digging into the soil beneath it.
It didn't take long before he sat back, white as a sheet.
"All bones… he was telling the truth!"
Jiyue stepped over and peeked into the hole. The sight of the pale skeletons inside made a cold sweat break out down his back.
"Even as fertilizer, you can't leave Root? This rule is disgusting."
"It's real."
"If you get eliminated, you die."
"That's terrifying!"
"No way—I have to train harder!"
Seeing the pile of skeletal remains was enough to crush any hope of luck. One after another, the trainees threw themselves into practice with renewed desperation.
A week passed in a blink.
By now, Jiyue had fully adapted to life in Root.
From early morning drills…
To catch up on sleep during Danzo's lectures…
Two afternoons spent training Wind Release with the man called Kyomoto Sho…
And ending the day in the archives, picking a medical scroll to study for an hour before turning in.
…Yeah, right.
Just like the past few days, after leaving the archives, Jiyue made his way to the forest outside the base, holding on to the chicken drumstick he'd deliberately saved from dinner.
"Squeak, squeak!"
He called out a few times.
Before long, an adorable little white fox bounded out from a nearby bush.
"Elbow, come inside with me."
Stuffing the drumstick into the fox's mouth, Jiyue bent down, offering his arm for it to climb up to his shoulder, then headed toward the dorms.
Even though this wasn't the first time, the fox still looked thrilled to be riding so high. It turned its head left, then right, then left again—never tiring of the view.
Gotta admit… this tall, warm ride isn't bad at all.
Back in his room, Jiyue locked the door, rubbing his hands together in excitement.
Yes!
Time to test the powers of the Ope Ope no Mi and medical ninjutsu again.
"Eat up—there's plenty more."
Noticing the fox's gaze drifting to the mountains of snacks in the room, Jiyue decisively activated his ROOM, picked up his katana Fūrin, and neatly sliced the fox into countless pieces.
At first, the little glutton resisted, but Jiyue offered so much food that it eventually gave in.
While he worked, Jiyue used his newly learned Healing Technique to tend to the fox's "wounds," keeping a close eye on any changes.
After a while…
He suddenly saw the fox pop a tuft of white-furred meat into its mouth. Jiyue's face darkened.
"You idiot, you just ate your butt! Spit it out!"
The little white fox froze in shock.
"???"
That was my butt? No wonder it tasted so bad!
Ptoo! Ptoo!
Noon sunlight bathed the solemn Hokage Building in golden light.
Inside the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage, exhausted after a morning of paperwork, rested his head on his desk. A knock at the door stirred him awake.
"Come in."
A moment later, a female Anbu with long purple hair stepped inside.
"You called for me, Lord Hokage?"
"Yes," Sarutobi Hiruzen said, steadying himself as his eyes landed on the sunflower on his desk. "I have an important mission for you."
The woman straightened.
"Please give your orders."
"From today," Hiruzen said, lowering his voice, "you will withdraw from the Anbu and take charge of contact with a Root informant."
"An informant? Who is it?"
She looked puzzled.
Hiruzen didn't answer. Instead, he took a file from his drawer and handed it to her. After reading, she burned the document and nodded.
"I understand, Lord Hokage."
Once she left, Hiruzen picked up another file—a shinobi registration record for a woman named Uchiha Yame, marked deceased. In the upper corner was her photograph, and had the Anbu from moments ago seen it, she would have been shocked at how much the woman resembled herself.
"Yūgao… whether we can keep that boy steady depends on this face of yours…"
Sighing lightly, Hiruzen tucked away the file and called to the Anbu outside.
"Summon Moonlight Gai."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Half an hour later, a young man in a Chūnin vest stepped inside.
Before he could speak, Hiruzen asked with a smile,
"Gai, how many years have you been a Chūnin?"
The young man, a bit confused but cheerful, answered,
"Five years, Lord Hokage."
Hiruzen nodded.
"I reviewed your mission record yesterday and believe you're qualified to be promoted to Jōnin. So, Gai… what do you say?"
"Jōnin? Of course I'd love that!" The young man's face lit up, muttering under his breath about how now Kakashi-senpai won't be able to push me around so easily.
Hiruzen smiled as well.
He might have taken away Gai's love, but he had given him a career as compensation. For Konoha—and Gai—this was, in Hiruzen's mind, a fair trade.