"Danzo, are you still arguing with me?" the Third Hokage said coldly upon hearing this.
Danzo's expression changed slightly as he heard this: "It seems that coming to discuss this with you was a wrong decision!"
Having said that, Danzo turned and left.
Watching Danzo's retreating back, the Third Hokage frowned deeply. He tapped on the table, let his secretary in, and ordered: "Have Kakashi come to see me."
The secretary acknowledged the order and left. Before long, Kakashi, dressed in his Anbu uniform, appeared before the Third Hokage.
"Hokage-sama, what are your orders?"
The Third Hokage said in a low tone: "Help me keep an eye on Danzo, and don't let him do anything excessive!"
"Danzo? Hokage-sama, what do you mean?" Kakashi asked, confused.
"It's Uchiha Sora! I intend to recruit him into the Anbu to prevent Danzo from interfering. You'll have to work a bit harder these next few days; go watch over Uchiha Sora. Once I am free, I will personally talk to Uchiha Sora!" the Third Hokage revealed his plan.
"Yes, Hokage-sama!" Kakashi replied.
...
After the finals, Uchiha Sora discovered that his fame in Konoha Village had risen to a significantly high level.
Walking down the street, people would point at him from time to time.
"Look, is that the genius of the Uchiha Clan who crushed Uchiha Itachi?"
"It's said he's only 10 years old this year! He doesn't look like a child of that age at all!"
"Yeah, yeah, he looks so handsome! I really want to be his girlfriend!"
Uchiha Sora automatically filtered out these discussions.
His perception spread out, and he keenly sensed that there were already quite a few special gazes focused on him from the surroundings.
These gazes were likely partly from spy forces of other nations and partly from the higher-ups of Konoha.
It could be described as a mixed bag.
From this moment on, he was destined to live under the public's attention.
"I have the Flying Thunder God Technique, so I'm already in an invincible position. However, that guy Danzo won't stay quiet, so I have to be on guard against him." Uchiha Sora thought to himself while walking down the street.
Actually, he wasn't afraid of Danzo targeting him, but he was worried that this guy Danzo might harm the people around him.
And the ones closest to him were the mother and daughter, Uchiha Izumi and her mother.
He needed to take some protective measures for both of them.
Thinking this, Uchiha Sora found a jewelry store, bought two necklaces, and then added special materials to the jewelry, subtly engraving the Flying Thunder God Formula Mark coordinates onto them.
In this way, the two coordinates were set.
As he became more and more proficient with the Flying Thunder God Technique, creating two extra coordinates didn't cause any issues.
After doing all this, Uchiha Sora waited until evening and went to Uchiha Izumi's house for dinner.
After dinner, Uchiha Sora stopped Uchiha Hazuki, who was about to clean up the dishes. He took out the two necklaces and said: "Auntie, thank you for taking care of me all this time. Today, while I was shopping, I bought some jewelry for you and Izumi as a token of my gratitude. I hope you like them."
"Ah? You child, why are you being so polite? Auntie hasn't worn necklaces for a long time; why are you giving me this!" Uchiha Hazuki hurriedly refused.
"This is just a small token of my appreciation, please don't refuse!" Uchiha Sora said, looking at her earnestly.
"This... Alright then!" Uchiha Hazuki was a bit hesitant, but upon meeting Uchiha Sora's sincere gaze, she had no choice but to nod and accept the necklace gift.
"And Izumi, this one is for you!" Uchiha Sora then put the other necklace directly around Izumi's neck and smiled.
"Thank you, Sora, you're so good to me!" Izumi was very happy, looking like she couldn't put it down.
"Sora, could you help Auntie put it on too?" Uchiha Hazuki said at this moment.
"Okay." Uchiha Sora nodded in agreement.
He went behind Uchiha Hazuki, who was kneeling there, and put the necklace on for her...
Uchiha Hazuki gently brushed her hair and smiled: "Thank you, Sora."
"You're welcome, Auntie." Uchiha Sora smiled and sat back in his seat.
"Well, you and Izumi go play, I'll clean up the dishes first." Uchiha Hazuki said, then got up to do the chores, her movements seeming much lighter.
"Sora, thank you." Uchiha Izumi suddenly said.
"Why are you thanking me again?"
"Hehe, of course I'm thanking you on behalf of my mother. My mother hasn't received a gift in a long time, and I forgot to tell you, today is my mother's birthday!" Uchiha Izumi smiled.
"Is that so?" Uchiha Sora shook his head and chuckled; it seemed his gift-giving today was quite a coincidence.
...
After leaving Izumi's house, it was already very late. Walking in the night, Uchiha Sora's mood was inexplicably calm.
The continuous growth of his strength gave him more and more sense of belonging and security in this world.
Three days later, Uchiha Sora received a summons from the Third Hokage.
In the Hokage Office, the Third Hokage personally awarded him his Chunin certificate, smiling as he said: "Uchiha Sora, congratulations on becoming a Chunin of Konoha Village. I hope you continue to work hard and strive to become a Jonin soon."
"Thank you for your encouragement, Hokage-sama." Uchiha Sora said.
"Hehe, since you were able to defeat Uchiha Itachi, in my opinion, becoming a Jonin is just a matter of time." The Third Hokage smiled: "Come to think of it, letting you be just a Chunin is really a waste of your talent. If you are interested, how about joining the Anbu for some training?"
"The Anbu?" Uchiha Sora pretended to hesitate upon hearing this: "It is said that the Anbu are all elite seniors. With my qualifications, would that be okay?"
"If I think you can do it, then you definitely can! Just bring the same spirit you had in the finals, and you are fully qualified to be in the Anbu!" the Third Hokage said.
"Hokage-sama, you flatter me. I will go back and consider it." Uchiha Sora thought for a moment and said.
He really wanted to join the Anbu, but he wouldn't agree immediately to the Third Hokage's recruitment.
This was a psychological tactic.
He couldn't let an old fox like the Third Hokage see through his thoughts all at once.
"Hmm, that is only proper. Come back and see me after you have considered it." The Third Hokage sighed: "It is precisely because Konoha Village, this great tree, has flourishing leaves like you that it can continue to thrive!"
Uchiha Sora said his goodbyes and left.
A figure appeared beside the Third Hokage; it was Kakashi wearing an Anbu mask.
"Kakashi, do you think he will agree?" The Third Hokage walked to the window sill, looked at the bustling Village outside, and asked in a low voice.
"Hokage-sama, I believe that regardless of whether he agrees or not, he will strictly abide by his identity as a Konoha Ninja." Kakashi replied.
"Kakashi, you don't know that the Uchiha Clan has been making big moves these past two years!" The Third Hokage shook his head: "The conflict between the Uchiha Clan and me, this Hokage, has reached a critical point."
"Hokage-sama, then what is your intention in recruiting Uchiha Sora into the Anbu?" Kakashi was slightly startled.
"Hehe, regardless of anything, I don't want things to develop to that point. Whenever there is a chance, I will definitely strive for it, and Uchiha Sora is a very good breakthrough point." The Third Hokage smiled helplessly: "If he joins the Anbu, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you to put in more effort in the future."
"As a link between the Village and the clan? Hokage-sama, you have given me a very difficult problem!" Kakashi sighed.
"Copy Ninja Kakashi, any genius who comes before you is no longer a genius. I absolutely trust in your abilities." The Third Hokage patted Kakashi on the shoulder.
Kakashi immediately felt the responsibility on his shoulders become heavy.
The next day, Uchiha Sora came to the Hokage Office and agreed to the Third Hokage's proposal to join the Anbu.
The Third Hokage handed the Anbu mask and some documents to Uchiha Sora, smiling as he said: "Uchiha Sora, I knew you would agree, because the Anbu is the place where a genius like you should go to hone your skills."
Uchiha Sora took the items and, led by the secretary, arrived at the Anbu base.
The Anbu base was actually located within the Hokage Building and was divided into two parts: the underground base and the above-ground department.
The underground Anbu base was the core of the Anbu, while the above-ground department was usually used for the Hokage to convey orders and for Anbu members to hand over missions.
After completing the formalities and walking all the way to the underground base through a long underground corridor, Uchiha Sora arrived at a dimly lit hall.
In the hall, a Masked Man was waiting there.
Seeing Uchiha Sora arrive, the Masked Man took off his mask and said indifferently: "Uchiha Sora, from now on, I will be responsible for leading you in executing Anbu missions."
The man had silver-white hair, wore a mask over his face, and had a deep scar over his left eye, revealing that scarlet Sharingan.
It was none other than Kakashi Hatake!
At this moment, he was dressed in his Anbu attire, exuding a serious aura, and his Three-Tomoe Sharingan was fixed on Uchiha Sora, releasing an imposing presence.
Clearly, this was a show of force from Kakashi.
Facing the aura coming from Kakashi, Uchiha Sora smiled slightly, and his eyes also turned scarlet.
A pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan suddenly appeared in Kakashi's eyes.
A powerful aura emanated from Uchiha Sora.
"Copy Ninja Kakashi-senpai, I am very happy to be working with you!" he said with a smile.
"Hehe, I didn't expect you to know me." Feeling the aura from Uchiha Sora, Kakashi's heart skipped a beat; he hurriedly withdrew his aura and laughed it off.
He even incidentally used his headband to cover his Sharingan.
Upon seeing this, Uchiha Sora also deactivated his Sharingan and chuckled: "The name of the Copy Ninja is a household name. Please take care of me in the future, Senpai."
"Hmm, let's take care of each other." Kakashi nodded: "Now, let me take you to meet your other two teammates! One of them is an acquaintance of yours!"