Naruto: I, Shikotsumyaku, Byakugan Princess

Chapter 191 The Five-Year Change
Inside the Hokage's office.

Golden light streamed through the window, casting several beams of light into the room, while choking smoke danced wildly within them.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, a brown pipe dangling from his mouth, narrowed his eyes to slits as he pulled out three special lists and placed them on the table, while piling up the rest to the side.

He laid out the three lists in front of him one by one, looking at the two men and one woman who were very unusual, and a thousand thoughts were swirling in his mind.

The Senju and Uzumaki, the lone Uchiha, the Taketori no Tsubaki, the Nine-Tails, the Three-Tails fusion...

Familiar yet unfamiliar words intertwine and mix. These three people, who would never have been able to coexist in the turbulent Warring States period or the era of the five great nations dividing the ninja village, are now assigned to the same class and become partners in carrying out missions together.

Fate is truly wondrous!
The classic setup of two men and one woman, along with the gathering of all five major bloodline families that dominated the Warring States period, made Hiruzen Sarutobi take a deep drag on his pipe. He felt as if his obsessive-compulsive disorder had been cured, the wrinkles on his face had been smoothed out, and he was visibly pleased and satisfied.

Dang Dang Dang!
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Kakashi, wearing a classic green vest and a black mask, strode into the office.

Five years hadn't changed him much; he was still as lazy as ever. But the white dagger he carried on his back and his noticeably more composed demeanor reminded the nostalgic Third Hokage of the former Dark Guard captain.

Sakumo...

"Third Hokage, you wanted to see me?"

Kakashi seemed to read something in Hiruzen Sarutobi's nostalgic gaze, steadying White Fang behind him, and a slight fluctuation appeared in the coldness in his eyes.

That's why he doesn't want to use the knife; it always reminds him of unpleasant memories.

"What, you're willing to use that knife now?"

Noticing Kakashi's subtle actions, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes revealed a hint of satisfaction.

Although Kakashi had fallen into despair after experiencing numerous setbacks, he always held high hopes for this former number one genius. Now, seeing that Kakashi seemed to be emerging from the shadows, he felt much more relieved.

"There's nothing I wouldn't use, it's just a knife. What mission do you want me to undertake?" Kakashi changed the subject, clearly not wanting to talk any further.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, being an old and shrewd man, would naturally not reopen old wounds.

He pushed the three lists on the table toward Kakashi, and said indistinctly while smoking his pipe, "There's no mission, I just want you to take care of three students."

Kakashi glanced down at the neatly arranged list, skipping over the intelligence descriptions and graduation transcripts, and was genuinely startled when he saw the three familiar headshots.

Obito's clansman, his teacher's son, and his best friend's adopted daughter.

It's fair to say that everyone here is someone I know.

Picking out the girl in the middle whose art style was completely different from the other two, Kakashi wiped the table and retreated back to Hiruzen Sarutobi. He then picked up only the lists of Naruto and Sasuke and said calmly:
"I can teach both of them, but as for that one... you'll have to do it yourself."

Seeing Kakashi immediately back down, Hiruzen Sarutobi stroked his beard and chuckled, then smacked his lips and shook his head, feigning bitterness:
"I can't teach you now!"

After he finished speaking, the room fell silent for a long time, with thick smoke swirling around the beam of light.

"Why not let her join the Dark Guard?"

"She said that the fighting and killing in the dark forces made her feel irritable, and she preferred a peaceful and tranquil life."

"You really let her be willful..." Kakashi pursed his lips. Even the Third Hokage couldn't teach her. In the entire Hidden Leaf Village, the only people qualified to take her on were him and Guy, two acquaintances.

He pulled the returned list back and looked at Hui Li, who was mixed in between the two lists. She seemed to be just an ordinary Konoha genin.

"It's not being willful."

Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned back in his chair, his expression grave, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.

"She seems to have really changed."

"really."

Kakashi wholeheartedly agreed with this.

Having lived under the same roof for the past five years, he was able to appreciate the changes in the other person even more than Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Her personality, appearance, way of doing things, and even her hobbies are completely different from before. Sometimes he finds it hard to believe that the current Hui Li is the same person as she was five years ago!
"It's a good thing that her personality has changed; at least she's much easier to get along with than before."

"What I'm more afraid of is..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

In the past five years, he had never seen Hui Li make a move, nor had he ever seen her practice taijutsu for even half a day. Her powerful taijutsu, which once allowed her to kill Kazama Yue with a single kick and compete with Yotsuki Yu, seemed to have disappeared. When she was 'playing' with her classmates at the ninja academy, she only used the most basic Five Elements Escape Techniques.

Although his Five Elements Escape Technique was indeed incredibly sophisticated and its power was no less than his own, it still made him very worried.

The bones that turned everything to ashes were truly terrifying. He vaguely felt that Hui Li's current changes were likely directly related to her bloodline disease.

Is it possible that her body is about to give out because she's not using physical techniques...?

This worry lingered in his mind. Although he had asked Hui Li several times in person and received answers such as "there are no problems, everything is going smoothly, don't worry," he still felt uneasy.

Amidst the anxieties of gain and loss, one naturally shows even more care and favoritism towards it.

"What are you afraid of?"

Kakashi, standing opposite him, waited for a long time, craning his neck, but still didn't hear Hiruzen Sarutobi continue. He inexplicably thought of an interesting word he had heard from Kairi—the riddle master!

“No, nothing.

Aside from Hairi, you need to keep a close eye on Naruto and Sasuke; they are both pillars of Konoha's future.

Hiruzen Sarutobi abruptly changed the subject.

"These three students are not easy to teach." Taking on three hot potatoes at once, even Kakashi felt extremely troubled.

Naruto and Sasuke competed with each other in strength, and with his and Guy's guidance, they improved very quickly, and the two of them probably reached the level of a special Jonin.

Since the year before last, a light red barrier has always surrounded Hui Li. His Sharingan can no longer see through the opponent's chakra. Even if the opponent has not improved in the past five years, he is at least an elite Jonin.

But that is obviously impossible.

After all, if even the Third Hokage couldn't provide guidance, the opponent's strength was likely beyond his imagination. Considering the actual skill level of the three and his own personal safety, he decided to slightly modify some of the traditional skills.

"If you have nothing else to do, I'll head back to make preparations."

"Well, let's go!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, then seemed to suddenly remember something and reminded him, "By the way, Hairi doesn't like waiting, so don't be late when the classes are assigned."

"My subordinate understands!"

Kakashi nodded solemnly. He knew that Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't concerned about his disciple, but rather worried about his safety.

……

Root Base No. 3, four underground floors. A dark and long staircase spirals downwards, with dim yellow candlelight flickering in the wind on both sides, casting distorted shadows onto the walls covered with cursed seals.

thump... thump...

The scepter struck the stairs with a dull thud, and the dark figure descended step by step until reaching the top of the stairs, before turning into the adjacent passageway.

The candlelight on both sides of the passageway grew even brighter, illuminating the way for the visitors.

The man had a bag slung over his shoulder with his right hand and a scepter in his left. His narrow, shadowy eye gleamed with a cold light. He was none other than Danzo Shimura, the leader of the Root organization.

He raised his head, looked at the vermilion gate at the end of the passageway, raised his scepter, and walked straight toward it.

"Wait a minute, Lord Danzo!"

As soon as he reached the door, an arm blocked his way. Danzo narrowed his long eyes and looked coldly at the fox-faced ninja guarding the door.

"Lord Gray is taking a bath and has instructed that no one should disturb him." Foxfire felt a chill run down her spine under Danzo's cold gaze, but she still stood firm and raised her arm to block him from entering the room.

"Do you know what you're doing?"

He finally spoke, his voice as cold as an icicle hitting the ground, the murderous intent in his eyes almost tangible.

"Excuse me, my lord!"

Foxfire quickly bowed his head in apology, but the figure standing in front of the door remained unmoved, as if he did not feel the biting coldness in Danzo's words.

There's really a problem with the roots!

Anger surged within him, and Danzo clenched his left hand tightly, the wooden scepter creaking under his grip.

Five years ago, he successfully received the Sharingan arm through Hui Li's skillful surgery.

Not only did he obtain the Wood Release bloodline limit he had always dreamed of, but he was also surprised to find that the speed at which his Mangekyou Sharingan replenished its power had increased, and even the damage to his eyes when using eye techniques was repaired by Hashirama's chakra.

This means he will no longer have to worry about eye damage, and the downtime of Kotoamatsukami will also be reduced, allowing him to use it as a regular ninjutsu.

The amazing synergy effect made him ecstatic, but after calming down, he discovered the drawbacks of using Wood Release and Sharingan in this way.

The ten Sharingan eyes and Hashirama cells counterbalance each other, which does indeed minimize the consumption of Sharingan eyes and the corrosiveness of Hashirama cells, but maintaining this balance is extremely difficult.

Normally it's fine, but once you enter a tense and exciting combat state, it's easy to accidentally break the balance and cause Hashirama cells to erode your body. At that time, it becomes even more difficult to use Wood Release or eye techniques.

The change in his dominant hand, the lack of coordination in his ninjutsu hand seals, and the need to constantly maintain balance during combat all contributed to the fact that transplanting this Sharingan arm not only failed to make him stronger but actually made him much weaker.

To adapt to the new arm, he had to stay at the base to gradually adjust and re-explore his fighting style.

This process is painful and lengthy.

Fortunately, with Ryoma Aburame managing the internal affairs and keeping Root in good order, and Ash Blossom, skilled in combat, in charge of external operations, suppressing all enemies who attempted to harm Konoha, he was able to focus on adapting to his new arm without having to worry about Root's miscellaneous matters.

Everything was going well, the arm was adapting perfectly, and the roots and even the leaves were thriving.

But one day, when he was restless and inspecting the roots, he was surprised to find that the roots seemed to have undergone some unknown change.

He was surprised to see a group of children laughing happily.

Right there in the training grounds at the root, those who should have been locked in cages, gradually losing their personal will under the training of Panxiong and becoming mere consumables, were laughing loudly without any restraint!

The bonds were not severed, and personal will still existed, as if they had never undergone training at all!
He flew into a rage that time, punished all the personnel in the Root Training Department, and ordered the children to be executed.

After that.

The roots returned to their former appearance, and such a scene never occurred again in the training department.

But he always felt that something was wrong.

As he walked through the Root, the way everyone looked at him changed. It seemed as if they were avoiding him, or as if they were monitoring him. No matter where he looked, he could see ninjas spying on him.

The same applies to the Training Department, Medical Department, Equipment Department, and Barrier Department!

Sometimes he could clearly hear noises coming from various departments, but when he entered, the ninjas inside were always deathly silent and somber, as if the sounds he heard outside were some kind of illusion.

The feeling was terrifying and bizarre; even everything that was once familiar seemed strange.

He told Aburame Ryoma about the situation and ordered him to investigate. After waiting for a long time, the other party did not find anything unusual. Chihaya Toru even comforted him, saying that this was a side effect of excessive mental energy consumption from controlling ten Sharingan at the same time, and that it would be fine in a few days.

He remained skeptical until now, when he finally found some clues!
Danzo stared at the red lacquered wooden door in front of him, its surface sealed with countless cursed seals, blocking all sensory ninjutsu attempts to probe it. Foxfire remained standing in front of the door, motionless, like a cold statue.

"I'll say it one last time, get out of the way!"

The last two words seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth. Danzo's terrifying chakra fluctuations made Foxfire's mind tremble, but a certain power hidden deep in his subconscious made him grit his teeth and insist on standing in front of the door, refusing to move an inch.

The chakra within the two began to stir restlessly, the atmosphere tense, as if a great battle was about to erupt at any moment.

"Let the teacher in."

A command came from behind the vermilion gate, the voice sounding like someone just waking up from a deep sleep, elegant yet languid.

"Yes!"

Foxfire bowed to the person inside through the door, and then finally made way.

Seeing this, Danzo's expression grew even colder, but he ultimately did not lash out. He simply pushed open the red-lacquered door and stepped into the mysterious dark room.

As Danzo's figure was completely swallowed by darkness, Foxfire closed the door and stood silently guard at the entrance.

Orange-red candlelight danced joyfully on the corridor walls, and two dark figures with Sharingan eyes emerged from the reflection of foxfire on the wall.

The three of them formed a triangular formation, guarding the vermilion gate...

Danzo was unaware of the situation outside.

Upon entering this secret room for the first time, he was already awestruck by the breathtaking scenery before him!
His throat tightened, and he kept swallowing the foam in his mouth. He smelled the pungent, burnt smell and looked at the dazzling blue and white in front of him. Danzo's left pupil had already shrunk to the size of a needle prick.

In the center of the secluded chamber, there is a pool of water made of blue gemstones.

In the pool, boiling, surging, and exploding incandescent liquid plasma hissed and burst, reflecting off the ceiling of the sealed chamber as if it were a chilling ice prison, with scorching air waves carrying the smell of burning.

In the center of the Thunder Pool, an unbelievable silver-haired girl lay.

A massive fan-shaped silver wire floated on the plasma surface, with strands of electric snakes climbing and coiling between its strands.

The girl's body was completely submerged in the 'pool water,' obscuring her exact appearance. The raging thunder lifted her up like gentle spring water, with electric snakes coiling and roaming around her. She slept peacefully as if in a cradle, coexisting with the thunder.

(End of this chapter)