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　Ye Chen spoke softly, then picked up the teacup on the table—the one poured by Sarutobi—and took a sip. It tasted quite good.

　That's true. Without Konoha, Ye Chen might have died in that village long ago. At that time, he didn't have any power.

　Hearing Ye Chen's words and seeing his actions, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes flickered slightly, and his smile became more natural.

　This is exactly the answer I wanted; a bond can keep a person's heart forever in a certain place.

　The power of bonds

　History can prove that it cannot be completely severed; it is the desire of one's heart and soul.

　(1/2)

　However, the treatment Konoha received afterward, coupled with the advantages and victories that Ye Chen secured for Konoha on the battlefield, reduced Konoha's casualties to a historical low, which was enough to offset these losses.

　To put it bluntly, even without Ye Chen, Konoha could still achieve victory, but the losses would be at least five or six times greater.

　For example, Senju Nawaki, who should have died in this war, did not die and is still alive and well.

　However, things cannot be generalized. Ye Chen doesn't expect to use gratitude for personal gain. Everything must be weighed with a clear distinction between gratitude and resentment; crossing the line is unacceptable.

　They took another small sip of tea and remained silent.

　After a few breaths, he put down the teacup.

　Ye Chen disliked politics and beating around the bush, and he didn't like trying to guess people's thoughts. He knew what Hiruzen Sarutobi was thinking, so he said directly, "Hokage-sama, I utterly despise..."

　I prefer the leisure of being alone and dealing with troublesome matters. As for the battle achievements this time, let's not bother calculating them. I don't want to deal with Konoha's trivial affairs. You can relax, and everyone can relax."

　With this statement, Ye Chen directly stated that he didn't need a higher position in the future, much less a role like Hokage's assistant, lest some cunning old foxes become envious.

　Ye Chen wasn't even interested in the Hokage position.

　Ye Chen's words brought a wave of relief to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

　He could tell that Ye Chen was telling the truth; Ye Chen genuinely had no interest in power. This instantly lessened Hiruzen Sarutobi's initial apprehension towards Ye Chen.

　People without ambition need not be feared too much.

　But do such people really exist in this world? As the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi thinks much more deeply! He believes now, but he may not in the future! Just like Ye Chen, young and full of vigor, if he's not interested in power now, what about in the future? Young people are highly malleable; no one knows what will happen in ten or twenty years.

　There are people in Konoha who lack ambition! Hatake Sakumo is one of them! But Hatake Sakumo also wanted to become Hokage, which is the wish and ideal of every Konoha ninja! To some extent, ambition is equivalent to ideal; both are goals to be achieved for a certain purpose.

　"Then what do you want, Xiao Yechen?"

　Hiruzen Sarutobi said in a gentle tone

　Upon hearing this, Ye Chen stood up from the sofa, walked to the wide window, and gazed at Konoha in the night. He said, "I don't want to be bound by anything. I want to be able to protect the people I want to protect, and to be free."

　That's all.

　"Hehe, Ye Chen, you're thinking too simply."

　When I was young, I thought the same thing.

　But within this world, within the rules and regulations of the ninja system, things are not so simple.

　We will all change eventually. You are still young and have more paths to choose from.

　Hiruzen Sarutobi walked up to Yoruichi and said earnestly...

　"The rules were set by the ninjas, so the ninjas can also break them."

　Hokage-sama, what do you think?

　Ye Chen turned around and stared directly at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Chapter 287 Show Me the Book of Sealing

　This content was first published here (second update).

　After the ninja system was established, a certain set of rules naturally formed in this world to maintain balance, allowing everything to develop in an orderly manner.

　Ninjas are powerful, but they don't make up a large percentage of the world's population.

　Nevertheless, ninjas remain an indispensable part of the world today.

　They possess immense power, the power to decide the outcome of a war, and even the power to change the world! Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage of Konoha, is a living example, even being called the God of Shinobi, which demonstrates the high status of ninjas.

　The more this is the case, the more necessary it is to establish rules.

　Unrestrained power can easily lead to massive disasters. The history of ninjas is a bloody lesson; over thousands of years, there have been countless instances where excessive power has triggered world wars, resulting in the deaths of countless souls.

　It wasn't until the Warring States period that Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha single-handedly ended the chaos and established the ninja village system.

　A ninja village is a place used to restrain and gather ninjas.

　In a sense, the ninja village is the rule! And the Kage is the one who sets the rules, the rules that countless ninjas must abide by.

　Back then, when Hashirama Senju of Konoha pacified the world, which of the five great ninja nations did not fear the power of this god of ninjas?

　In particular, Madara Uchiha was a killing machine on the battlefield, advocating for the violent resolution of conflicts.

　That period can be described as a rare time of peace.

　However, after the deaths of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, these rules were challenged once again! The ninjas' desires swelled, and they became dissatisfied, beginning to plunder resources from each other. Conflicts escalated, leading to the First Shinobi World War! Now, the Second Shinobi World War has ended! Clearly, there will be a third, a fourth! The rules are challenged time and again, and the death toll continues to rise! It has never stopped.

　Now, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, exhaled a deep, complex breath. Although Ye Chen didn't say anything, he could still sense the courage and confidence this young junior possessed in challenging the rules.

　Of course, the starting point isn't necessarily to start a war! In the world of ninjas, there is no right or wrong, no justice or evil! What you see as justice is what others see as evil! People protecting sheep from wolves is itself a form of cruelty towards the wolves! All things in heaven and earth follow their own course.

　The food chain also has its own rules of survival: sheep are weak, wolves are strong! Those who kill wolves for the sake of sheep will eventually become wolves themselves! They'll open thriving hot pot restaurants, simmering succulent meat, their mouths greasy with oil, talking about it with relish—that's all.

　Hokage's Office

　Ye Chen, unaware of Hiruzen Sarutobi's identity, asked, "Speaking of which, isn't Kushina's matter coming to an end soon?"

　After speaking, he glanced around again. This was, after all, the Hokage's office. Although there were Anbu ninjas who were ready to obey the Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's orders at any time, they wouldn't deliberately monitor the Hokage's office.

　"Um"

　Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded directly, tacitly agreeing with what Ye Chen said. He wasn't surprised that Ye Chen could sense that Kushina Uzumaki was about to become the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki.

　However, the fact that Kushina became the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki is still a top secret in Konoha, and even the Sannin don't know about it yet.

　After all, Kushina is still young and weak.

　The previous Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is still teaching her how to develop the power of the Uzumaki clan.

　"Lord Hokage, I don't want anything to happen to Kushina."

　What other conspiracies might fall on him? You should understand what I mean.

　(1/2)

　Ye Chen said

　"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is a matter of utmost importance. As the Hokage, I will not allow any mistakes to occur. You can rest assured about that."

　Hiruzen Sarutobi swore an oath to return

　"In that case, I have nothing more to say."

　I just remember you promised me I could look at the Book of Seals once, you're not going to let that go, are you?"

　Although Ye Chen possessed the power of a Devil Fruit, he still harbored some longing for the Book of Seals.

　Since some of the forbidden techniques mentioned above are no less powerful than Devil Fruit abilities, mastering them would be ideal.

　Having many skills is never a bad thing! Who would complain about being too powerful? But I wonder if Hiruzen Sarutobi would still agree to this at this point.

　The Scroll of Seals is top secret; only ninjas who have rendered great service to Konoha are allowed to view it.

　Ye Chen's achievements are sufficient, and he deserves it! But the current situation in Konoha is unusual, with undercurrents surging! Hiruzen Sarutobi listened to Ye Chen's words, his eyes flashing slightly, then smiled and said, "There's no problem with that, Ye Chen. You don't need to overthink it. Even if you didn't say anything, I would still let you see the Scroll of Sealing."

　Of course, there is a time limit.

　"Um"

　Ye Chen was slightly surprised that Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed so readily! Something seemed off; that was a top secret of Konoha.

　To be fair, although Ye Chen has stated that he has no interest in power, his current strength has likely made him a thorn in the side of some high-ranking officials in Konoha.

　While still under control, Ye Chen was an extremely useful tool in the eyes of the higher-ups. However, once he escaped control, someone like Danzo would absolutely not tolerate Ye Chen's existence.

　Moreover, if Ye Chen were to betray the village one day, wouldn't that be a huge loss for Konoha? And now, Ye Chen wants to see the Book of Sealing.

　The Book of Seals records various secret and forbidden techniques since the founding of Konoha, most of which were developed by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. Almost every one of them is extremely powerful, but they are also very difficult to learn.

　In the original story, Orochimaru spent many years researching the Impure World Reincarnation technique before finally succeeding. Even then, it wasn't perfect at first; the resurrected First and Second Hokage didn't even possess half their original strength.

　What was Hiruzen Sarutobi thinking? Ye Chen had only asked with a try-it-and-see attitude, without much hope, and instead it became...

　He'd read the Book of Sealing Seals; if he could learn even one or two of its secrets, his strength would undoubtedly increase! Konoha actually tolerated this; would that old schemer Danzo just sit idly by?

　Or rather, the Third Hokage actually agreed. But then Ye Chen thought about it again and felt somewhat relieved; Hiruzen Sarutobi would find it difficult to refuse his request, almost unable to find a reasonable excuse.

　If you insist on refusing, you'll directly bring the relationship to a freezing point.

　After all, he had sent a letter to Ye Chen during the Second Shinobi World War to reward Ye Chen for his contributions.

　Once words are spoken, they're like water spilled; can you pick them up again? A Hokage, unless he's shameless, wouldn't do that!

Chapter 288 Reincarnation by Impure World, What a Sin!

　This content was first published (third update).

　"Come with me!"