Chapter 29: The Thoughts of Konoha's Higher-Ups
"I never expected Uchiha Itachi to be so ruthless. Didn't he specifically ask to spare his little brother?"
In the room next to Sasuke's ward, Koharu Utatane, one of Konoha's elders, sat in a chair. She looked at the examination report in her hand with clear suspicion.
Was Sasuke's coma caused by something else Itachi had done?
"Probably not. Uchiha Sasuke has been spoiled since childhood. Other than having a bit of a temper, he's just an ordinary child.
I suspect Itachi used genjutsu to torment him on purpose — to force him to grow stronger.
Unfortunately, the boy's potential is limited. Facing the massacre of his entire clan, he only awakened a single tomoe. What a waste of the Uchiha bloodline…"
Danzo Shimura sat on the side and casually tossed the report onto the table.
They had already confirmed that Uchiha Sasuke's Sharingan had only opened one tomoe, and he would suffer lingering aftereffects from the heavy genjutsu damage for some time.
They had hoped to keep a genius, but now it seemed they were left with a useless child with almost no room for growth. Danzo had temporarily lost interest.
"Even if an Uchiha has low potential, we cannot relax our guard. Make sure someone keeps a close eye on him in the future.
As for Uzumaki Naruto… it seems he got so worked up about wanting to see Sasuke that he slammed his head into the wall. Have people examine him thoroughly a few more times. Find out exactly why he keeps fainting. If there's a problem with the Nine-Tails seal…"
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, also showed some disdain when speaking about Sasuke, but his concerns ran much deeper.
Especially the relationship between Sasuke and Naruto. Over the past year, Sasuke had been bringing food to Naruto. This made him suspect that the Uchiha clan might have had other intentions.
If the Nine-Tails were to be controlled by the Sharingan again, Konoha would face another major crisis.
He was already old. He absolutely could not afford to ruin his reputation in his final years…
"We've already sent people to examine him. What should we do next? Should we separate the Uchiha survivor from the Nine-Tails?"
Koharu glanced out the window. The fact that the Nine-Tails jinchuriki cared too much about Uchiha Sasuke was definitely not the outcome they wanted.
"No need. As long as the Nine-Tails seal remains intact, with only a single-tomoe Sharingan, it's nothing but a pipe dream for him to try anything against the Nine-Tails!"
Danzo slammed his hand on the table. After speaking, he stood up and left without waiting for the others' opinions.
He had collected some Sharingan last night and needed to contact Orochimaru. When it came to transplanting eyes, no one could do it better than Orochimaru.
"Danzo's temper is getting worse and worse…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen watched the door slam shut. Although he complained about Danzo, there wasn't much real anger in his eyes.
"Since there's nothing else, we'll take our leave as well. If anything unusual happens, we can adjust then…"
Koharu Utatane also stood up and left.
"I'll be going too…"
Mitokado Homura had barely spoken the entire time. Since these matters didn't concern him much, he might as well go home and see his grandchildren. After all, when there were benefits to be had, they would never be left out.
Once everyone had left, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, sat alone in his chair. He stared at the swaying leaves outside the window, lost in thought.
Everything that had happened in this room was seen and heard by Naruto, who quietly added a few more thoughts to his mind.
'Sasuke's talent is poor? As expected — only when he's considered useless will they feel at ease. Once it gets dark, I should go check on Sasuke's actual condition…'
While "unconscious," Naruto endured multiple thorough examinations by medical ninjas and the sealing team. No one knew about the sigh his soul let out.
He spent the entire day lying there without waking up, quietly waiting for night to fall so he could go see Sasuke.
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