In addition to Uchiha Obito’s comment, Uchiha Jiro’s death also made Uchiha Tonan feel a sense of crisis. In Konoha, who would dare attack a jonin like Jiro? It could only be Orochimaru or Shimura Danzo.
Tonan didn’t need to worry about Danzo checking people’s memories for time being. The human experiment was very important and Danzo was a cautious person. He must have just let a few of his confidants know any details.
Judging from how the corpse was destroyed after the eyes were dug out, the Yamanaka clan also would not be able to do much. But Tonan didn’t dare to be careless as this matter was not completely under his control.
There were two options in front of him now. One was to secretly kill the Uchihas who knew his secrets. The advantage of this option was that it would thwart all future troubles. But the disadvantage was clear. Unless he killed everyone in one go, they would suspect him and might even spread rumors. That would be troublesome.
Moreover, killing more than a dozen Uchihas who had three tomoe Sharingans and were scattered throughout Konoha, and doing so within a limited time window without leaving any traces, would be near impossible.
The other option was to do nothing and let Orochimaru and the others kill these people, and then secretly find out whether their corpses were destroyed or not. If not, he would have to either do it himself or chase after the culprits.
But the consequence of that would be a very high chance that he needed to face one of the three sannin, who had shaken the Ninja World. Not to mention whether he could win against Orochimaru, the key point was that once he fell out with him, whether he could kill him or not would be the biggest issue.
If he won without being able to kill Orochimaru, the scale of the fight would attract people. Then, regardless of how Hiruzen treated Orochimaru, Tonan, would be crowned with titles of the new generation genius of Konoha, a sannin rival, and so on.
That was equivalent to putting him under the spotlight, making it very difficult for him to act in the future. Both options were too risky and gave him a headache. He put down the book to sip on the tea and rubbed his temples.
There was much going on lately that made him a little tired. “I thought I could finally rest, but intentionally or unintentionally, someone or the other is making life difficult for me.”
Tonan took a deep breath and walked to the window. He looked at the night sky in deep thought. The lotus-like clouds had dispersed, and the moon was shining like a circular mirror. It was as pure and flawless as Tonan’s spirit at this moment.
As Tonan looked at the bright full moon, a sudden thought appeared in his mind.
Bald head!
………
The first rays of the morning sun passed through the dawn sky and awakened the sleeping earth. A new day had begun. Tonan packed up his things and stuck three incense sticks on the altar of the wood carvings.
“If this trip goes well, I’ll send a virtuous person of prestige to accompany you.”
Half an hour later, Tonan came to the Hokage Building alone. When Sarutobi Hiruzen saw him, he was stunned for a moment, and asked with a puzzled look, “Tonan, why are you here? Didn’t I give you a holiday?”
Tonan pursed his lips and timidly asked, “Sensei, I feel a little tired recently. I want to go out for a trip, is that alright?”
Generally speaking, Leaf ninjas couldn’t leave the village unless it was for a mission. However, rules were set by people, and those with status could break them. Hiruzen frowned hearing Tonan’s words. He blew out a mouthful of smoke and asked, “Where are you planning to go?”
Tonan thought for a moment and replied, “I want to take a look around and also pick up the orphans on the way. The construction of the welfare institution is almost complete.”
Hiruzen nodded, “Tonan, I’ve to tell you something.”
Seeing Hiruzen’s expression, Tonan responded immediately, “Please do, sensei.”
Hiruzen said in earnest, “Konoha is a ninja village. If you don’t have enough qualifications to enter, you need to pay a huge fee. If it’s one or two people, I can help you save the costs. But if there are many, even I can’t go against the rules.”
Tonan nodded and lightly said, “Sensei, do I have enough money?”
Hiruzen replied solemnly, “It’s enough for the time being, but once the fee is paid, not much will be left.”
Tonan smiled brightly, “That’s fine. If there’s no money left, I can just find a way to earn more. But if I leave them in the Fire Capital for a long time, no one will take care of them.”
“After all, a lot of time has already passed. It’s almost time for the slow poison I’d given to Masaki to work. After he is dead, no one will take care of the orphans.” Tonan thought in his heart.
A hint of heartache flashed through Hiruzen’s eyes, and he sighed, “Tonan, you are not only my disciple, but in my eyes, you are like my biological child. There are some things I’ve to tell you. We are ninjas, and there is nothing wrong with being kind, but we cannot sacrifice ourselves for kindness.”
Tonan was stunned for a moment, “But doesn’t the Will of Fire teach us to…”
Before he could finish, Hiruzen interrupted him, “Tonan! The Will of Fire is to make us have good qualities and protect our village. It’s to make us remember the ancestors who sacrificed themselves for the village and cherish the hard-earned peace. It’s not to encourage us to fearlessly make sacrifices. The world is too big but our strength is limited. The most important thing for us is to take care of our comrades in the village.”
Tonan lowered his head and solemnly replied, “I understand sensei. It seems my thoughts were a little biased.”
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, not giving any indication of what he was thinking. After a while, he continued, “I want to tell you one more thing, you can go and play anywhere, but you must not go to the Fire Capital.”
Hiruzen leaned forward slightly and solemnly added, “I’ve sent three Anbu members to the Fire Capital but none of them returned alive.”
Tonan was shocked to hear this and asked in disbelief, “Is the Daimyo going against Konoha?”
Hiruzen shook his head, “It’s not as you think. The ninjas in light are fine. In any case, this matter is very complicated. The most critical problem is very likely to lie within the village. But you cannot be involved in all this now. You just have to remember that you must not go to the Fire Capital.”
“As for the orphans, forget them this time. In a few days, I’ll issue a mission for you and dispatch a ninja team to bring them back. By the way, you’ve to remember one more thing. Among the Konoha higherups, don’t believe anyone else other than me. This includes Danzo and the two Hokage advisers.”
Tonan seriously replied, “Yes.”
After all that should be explained was explained, Hiruzen took out a certificate and filled in Tonan’s information. He stamped a seal and gave it to him, “Go, give this to the registration officer at the village entrance. You’re my disciple. You don’t need to register when you’re leaving the village in the future. While going out to relax, you’ve to be careful as well.”
Tonan took the certificate and bowed deeply to Hiruzen, “I’ll leave now, sensei. You must also take care of your health when I’m away.”
With a kind smile on his face, Hiruzen waved his hand, “You don’t have to worry about me. Have fun outside and come back.”
