Naruto Paradise: An Evil Uchiha's Rise-Chapter 78: Orochimaru’s Midlife Crisis: Is Anbu the New Black?

[T/N: Hiya! 👋 Chapter's out! Hope you enjoy this one. 😊 If you're looking for more reading material, feel free to check out my other translation projects. Let me know what you thought about this Chapter in the comments! I'm always curious to hear your reactions! 😄 Happy reading! ✨ ]

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"That outfit... you joined the Anbu?"

After leaving the Hokage's lounge, Sasuke finally found an opportunity to voice his doubts to Uchiha Kage, who was decked out in Anbu gear.

"Yeah."

"Don't think you can get cocky just because you joined the Anbu. I'm still making breakfast tomorrow!"

"..."

It was anyone's guess what had motivated Sasuke to say that.

But Uchiha Kage still silently praised him as a filial child.

Still, he hadn't expected Orochimaru to be so thick-skinned. He'd barely been beaten up when he'd already reappeared here.

After greeting Sasuke and Naruto, Uchiha Kage glanced coolly at Orochimaru, who had already changed back into his 'Fourth Kazekage' skin and was even calmly chatting with the Third Hokage.

And the topic of discussion was him , of all people.

"How rare, in this age of peace, that Konoha has such a young Anbu ninja."

Although Orochimaru didn't believe that the Uchiha youth in the distance was the one he'd known as a child, that didn't stop him from being interested in Uchiha Kage.

Perhaps he was a genius who could rival Sasuke?

"Konoha has always selected the best talent. As long as someone is capable, no matter how young, I treat them equally. Just like the Fourth Hokage back then, whom I supported despite everyone else's objections..."

He glanced subtly at Hiashi Hyuga beside him, and after receiving an affirmative nod, Sarutobi Hiruzen continued, "The Fourth Hokage..."

Orochimaru gritted his teeth inwardly.

So, back then, the old man thought his abilities were inferior to Minato's?

He never missed a chance to mock him.

"Indeed, compared to the Fourth Hokage, any ninja seems less excellent."

However, even though he was cursing Sarutobi Hiruzen a thousand times over in his mind, on the surface, Orochimaru still acted just like an outsider.

He even sarcastically mocked Sarutobi Hiruzen, using Rasa's tone. "It's just, what a pity, to die so young."

"Minato died to protect the village. As long as leaves dance, fire will burn. With the fire's shadow illuminating the village, new buds will quickly sprout. That is the Fire Will of Konoha."

Knowing that the 'Fourth Kazekage' before him was Orochimaru again, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but launch into a habitual lecture.

He also hoped that his disciple could remember the Fire Will he had imparted.

"How very touching."

Orochimaru didn't want to listen to the old man's drivel any longer and turned his head directly towards the Exam Hall.

----

"Kage, this is great! Asuma-sensei is busy, so now our Team 10 is under Kurenai-sensei's care along with your Team 8."

Ino sneaked back to Uchiha Kage's side while her father wasn't watching.

And through a bit of casual chatter, she had learned from Hinata and Shino the reasons they had been promoted to Chunin, and Yuhi Kurenai had also told her that Team 10 was now under her guidance as well.

The naive Ino didn't grasp the deeper meaning in Yuhi Kurenai's eyes and happily assumed that this meant she could do missions together with Uchiha Kage.

"Is that so?"

What could have happened to Asuma?

Uchiha Kage glanced at Yuhi Kurenai as she approached.

She not only perfectly blocked Ino's body, but also leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Asuma is confined by the Hokage."

"Reason?"

"Don't know."

Yuhi Kurenai shook her head. Why did Asuma say so much useless stuff without getting to the point?

"The Hokage-sama has been acting really strange lately, hasn't he?"

"Sensei, don't doubt the Hokage-sama."

"You..."

Watching Uchiha Kage seriously lecturing her, his teacher, again, Yuhi Kurenai couldn't help but feel exasperated.

If there weren't so many people watching, she would definitely give this guy's head a good ruffle.

"Never mind, let the Hokage-sama do whatever he wants. Don't you think that figure looks a bit familiar?"

Ever since Uchiha Kage had left for the Hokage's lounge, Yuhi Kurenai had slowly started to notice Samui, who was wearing a mask and Anbu gear.

That explosive figure, and that silhouette... Yuhi Kurenai found it strangely familiar.

"Probably sensei's acquaintance."

Wasn't she a 'familiar' face who'd stabbed her in the back?

Uchiha Kage saw that Samui was also afraid of being recognized and had automatically kept a good distance from Yuhi Kurenai.

So sensible. He'd add chicken to her dinner tonight.

"No, I don't know anyone in the Anbu... except you."

Distracted by Uchiha Kage's words, Yuhi Kurenai lost interest in investigating further.

"Sakura, have you ever thought about cutting your hair shorter?"

If it weren't for the fact that Yuhi Kurenai was his teacher, Ino vowed that she wouldn't have left so easily.

But watching the female teacher chatting so happily with Uchiha Kage, she could only silently comfort herself, Sensei is so old, there's no way Kage would be interested in her.

Then she slunk over to Sakura's side and deliberately paid attention to the other girl's long hair.

"Eh? Cut it short? Why?"

Because Uchiha Kage had interfered with Orochimaru's plans, Sakura had basically not encountered any dangerous situations in the Death Forest.

Naturally, the event where she cut her hair short with a kunai hadn't occurred.

So right now, she was just a little curious as to why Ino suddenly wanted her to cut her hair.

"Nothing, I just think Sakura might look prettier with short hair."

"Is that so?"

Touching her cherry-blossom pink hair, Sakura imagined herself with short hair.

It would certainly look a bit more mature.

"But, more than that, I'm really envious of Team 8. They can become Chunin just by completing missions. I wish I had been assigned to Team 8 from the start."

Sasuke and Naruto were two idiots who only paid attention to each other. Being in Team 7 was simply a waste of her youth.

Sakura had recently been fantasizing from time to time about what it would be like if she and Uchiha Kage were in the same team.

"Yeah, I'm so envious. But it's still because Kage is so strong, right? Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to complete such a special mission."

Ino said casually, while thinking that she could be with Team 8 in the future, and couldn't help but curl up the corners of her mouth slightly.

---

"What, you already learned it?"

Seeing that Orochimaru was stubborn, Sarutobi Hiruzen could only deal with Uchiha Obito's problem first.

But he hadn't expected that after calling Kakashi into the lounge, the latter had clearly stated that he had learned the Flying Thunder God Technique a long time ago, but he simply didn't have the talent to master it.

"Yes, I will definitely not let go of the guy who caused Minato-sensei's death, but..."

The Flying Thunder God Technique was just like a math problem. If you couldn't do it, you really couldn't do it.

There was no way to fake it.

Kakashi was also very helpless.

But he was still very interested in what Sarutobi Hiruzen had said about the mysterious Masked Man who had appeared in Konoha during the Nine Tails attack appearing again.

However, could this Masked Man really only be defeated by the Flying Thunder God Technique?

Didn't he, who had copied thousands of ninjutsu, have any chance of winning?

"Try a few more times, maybe you'll get it this time!"

Did this Kakashi not want to inherit his teacher Namikaze Minato's title at all?

Sarutobi Hiruzen had thought that Minato was also keeping secrets, which was why he didn't teach Kakashi. He hadn't expected that he was wrong...

Cough cough, he, the glorious Hokage, had been mistaken.

"It's no use. Sensei said I think too much, I can't learn it."

Kakashi remembered that Namikaze Minato had said that learning the Flying Thunder God Technique required emptying your brain.

But ordinary people always thought too much, so it was impossible to learn.

Like him, for example.

In fact, this was also why the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, the inventor of the Flying Thunder God, didn't use it as well as Namikaze Minato.

"There's such a trick?"

No wonder I can't learn it either ...

Sarutobi Hiruzen was hearing this for the first time.

"Yeah, according to Minato, this was also the method his teacher taught him."

"Minato's teacher, huh..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen had indeed heard before that Namikaze Minato had a mysterious teacher, and that the Rasengan and Flying Thunder God were both taught by that person.

He just didn't know who that person was.

"In any case, this matter is critical. Only you can deal with that mysterious Masked Man. I will have Genma help you research the Flying Thunder God Technique together."

As a Hokage guard of the Fourth Hokage back in the day, Shiranui Genma had also learned the Flying Thunder God Technique, although he could only perform a part of it, it was still better than outsiders like him and Kakashi.

"Got it."

Kakashi looked troubled, feeling as if he had returned to his school days.

"Eh? The Hokage-sama wants me to... then who will be the referee later?"

Because Gekko Hayate was still lying in the hospital, Shiranui Genma was also acting as the referee for the preliminary rounds of the Chunin Exams.

"Kage, you go be their referee. Be careful not to let the examinees cause any life-threatening situations."

He glanced at Orochimaru, who was enthusiastically sizing up Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Kage, then Sarutobi Hiruzen announced, amidst everyone's surprised gazes, that Uchiha Kage would be the referee for the Chunin Exams.

He likes Uchiha?

Then let Uchiha tempt you for a while longer.

Once the internal affairs of the village are settled, then i'll deal with you, my dearest disciple.

---

"Didn't expect the Byakugan to be able to see through Shisui's Kotoamatsukami."

Soon, the news that Sarutobi Hiruzen planned to deal with Root was brought to Danzo's ears by a spy.

Then, through information such as Asuma being confined, Danzo quickly deduced that Sarutobi Hiruzen had most likely found out about his previous control of Asuma.

And linking that to Sarutobi Hiruzen's recent close proximity to Hiashi Hyuga...

"Hmph, what a load of crap, the strongest Illusionary Technique."

It had caused him and Sarutobi Hiruzen to be restless about the Kotoamatsukami ninjutsu, but he hadn't expected the Byakugan to see through it at a glance.

What a joke.

"Go and close the gates of Root. I will close the doors myself, so that Sarutobi Hiruzen doesn't need to issue a sealing order."

After so many years, Danzo had long since figured out Sarutobi Hiruzen's temper.

Although he was angry, he wouldn't really do anything to him.

After a while, when the anger subsided, he would come out again.

However, with this accident, the 'treasure' left by Tobirama-sensei would...

Tobirama-sensei, if you are still alive in heaven, give me another dream.

---

"Arrest all Anbu ninjas who haven't arrived and whose whereabouts are unknown!"

Daring to go back to report at this time, they were definitely spies.

Sarutobi Hiruzen deliberately spread the word first that he was going to seal Root in order to deal with the spies planted by Root.

"The rest of you, follow me to Root headquarters."

"Yes!"

Uchiha Itachi and Tenzō walked at the front as pathfinders.

A group of people marched towards Root in a mighty manner.

"Break down the door for me!"

Looking at the closed gates of Root, Sarutobi Hiruzen directly ordered.

If it were before, he would have turned back when he saw this, but not today.

He absolutely couldn't let Danzo possess something like "Kotoamatsukami"!

"Yes."

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

Uchiha Itachi used a fierce Great Fireball Technique to blast open the tightly locked gates of Root.

The rest of the Anbu turned their heads in surprise.

Being able to use ordinary Fire Release ninjutsu with such great power was rare.

"Tenzō, sense Danzo's location."

"Got it."

Using his Wood Release sensing ability, Tenzō quickly pointed out Danzo's location to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Danzo-da... Danzo is in his office."

Even as a former Root member, Tenzō still addressed Danzo respectfully.

"Hiruzen! Where have I offended you? How dare you break into my Root like this!?"

Danzo, who came out of his office, had an expression of not knowing anything.

"You controlled Asuma and secretly possessed Uchiha Shisui's eyes, Danzo, your crimes are unforgivable!"

"That's all nonsense, Hiruzen, there must be some villains instigating this!"

While denying it, Danzo stared intently at Uchiha Itachi, whose face was wrapped in bandages.

So it was Itachi who revealed that he had Shisui's Sharingan.

That hateful white-eyed wolf.

"I have always been wholeheartedly for Konoha, how could I harm my Konoha comrades? As for Shisui's Sharingan, Uchiha Itachi clearly killed Uchiha Shisui back then. His Sharingan should be on Uchiha Itachi, so how does it have anything to do with me?"

Although Uchiha Shisui had committed suicide back then, only Uchiha Itachi knew this.

Thus, the common assumption was that Uchiha Itachi killed Uchiha Shisui for the Mangekyo Sharingan.

"Uchiha Itachi isn't in the village right now, how can we verify this with you!?"

Fortunately, this guy Danzo wasn't completely senile and said that Uchiha Itachi was Ita in public.

Sarutobi Hiruzen calmed down a little.

"Then how can you convict me based on such ethereal rumors!?"

Even if the Heavenly King came today, Danzo would not hand over the Sharingan in his hand.

Although the Byakugan could see through it, Kotoamatsukami was still really easy to use.

Without realizing it, you could control a person.

"Although Uchiha Itachi isn't here, that doesn't mean no one can prove that you secretly possessed the eyes and attacked your Konoha comrades."

"Who?"

"Shisui himself."

"Are you kidding me? Uchiha Shisui died a long time ago, how could he still be..."

"I brought a fresh corpse and the remains from Shisui's grave, which is enough to summon him with Impure World Reincarnation."

Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't plan to deal with Danzo by conventional means. He wanted to cut the Gordian knot quickly.

Hiruzen Sarutobi pressed forward, both offering Danzo a way out and threatening him at the same time. "Danzo, are you going to admit your mistake and obediently hand over Shisui's Sharingan, or are you going to let everyone know that you attacked Shisui and secretly possessed his eyes?"

"You..."

Was this really the Sarutobi Hiruzen he knew?

Danzo hadn't expected that in order to deal with him, this old friend would even use such a Forbidden Technique.

In the past, the indecisive Sarutobi Hiruzen would never have done such a thing.

Sure enough, that 'treasure' gave him the confidence!

Damn it...

Danzo's teeth itched at the thought of this.

The biased Tobirama-sensei, the lucky Sarutobi Hiruzen, it was always him, the diligent and hardworking Danzo, who was injured.

"Hurry up and hand over Shisui's eyes, and from today onwards, Root is sealed and must not take any action. If you do these things... in view of your past merits, I will no longer pursue your faults."

"Hiruzen, do you really want to force me like this?"

The situation had completely fallen into a disadvantage, and Danzo could only play the emotional card.

"Danzo, aren't you going to obey the order? Are you planning to defect from the village?"

But Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart was as cold as iron at this time, and he resolutely dispelled Danzo's last bit of luck.

"I... I understand."

Biting his teeth.

Looking at the crowd of Anbu, Danzo slowly began to take off the bandages on his face.

Revealing the half of his face that had been disfigured by burns and a pair of scarlet blood-colored eyes.

Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan had always been installed in his eye socket.

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Uchiha Itachi's disgust for Danzo deepened as he looked at this eye.

"Is this the eye?"

After watching Danzo personally take off the eyes and hand them to him, Sarutobi Hiruzen turned to Uchiha Itachi beside him for confirmation.

"Yes."

As Shisui's good friend, Uchiha Itachi would not mistake the other party's eyes.

"Danzo, from now on, you will honestly stay here and retire, but... it's not like there won't be a chance for you to make a comeback."

If the war situation deteriorated in the future, people like Danzo could still be useful.

"Hmph!"

Looking at Sarutobi Hiruzen's operation of not trusting him and finally drawing a pie for himself, Danzo just snorted coldly.

Heaven was unfair. If he was the Hokage, if he was the Hokage, he would never be bullied by Sarutobi Hiruzen like this!

Tobirama-sensei, did you see that?

This guy Sarutobi Hiruzen is determined to monopolize your treasure!

---

"Me, the referee?"

Uchiha Kage was still thinking about how to pick up the ninja fragments that fell in the preliminary rounds without attracting attention when he heard Sarutobi Hiruzen's appointment.

It really came without any effort.

However, Sarutobi Hiruzen's recent movements were indeed a bit strange, and he had to think of a way to find out.

Being driven out of the village by Sarutobi Hiruzen to do missions, Uchiha Kage found it a bit difficult to grasp the current state of Konoha Village.

I've got it, I'll enter his dream again tonight. Maybe I can get something out of him by using Senju Tobirama's identity.

"Oh? Your name is Uchiha Kage?"

Looking similar was one thing, but to actually have the same name?

Orochimaru became even more interested in Uchiha Kage.

"Yes."

Uchiha Kage nodded politely towards Orochimaru, who was disguised as the Kazekage-sama.

This guy Orochimaru didn't know where he had hidden the corpses of Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama.

If he wanted to obtain these two corpses through him, he was afraid that he could only use a more powerful Illusionary Technique, or...

Wait until he summons these two people with Impure World Reincarnation, and then snatch them away.

"A pretty good name, it reminds me of an old friend."

Orochimaru sized up the Uchiha youth in front of him, but didn't find any traces of Living Corpse Reincarnation on the other party.

This was definitely not the Uchiha Kage he knew.

But were there too many coincidences...

"Me too, I felt a sense of closeness to the Kazekage-sama at first glance."

Uchiha Kage also remembered the little snake from many years ago.

Orochimaru was quite cute when he was a kid.

Despite admiring Uchiha Kage, Naruto still felt a pang of resentment about the fact that this former classmate was today's Chunin Exams referee. "Hey, referee-sama, hurry up and announce the start. We've been waiting for so long!"

They had graduated together, but the difference was too big.

"Naruto, no one will think you're mute if you don't talk!"

Before Naruto could finish complaining, Sakura and Ino began to accuse him.

And Ino also thought at the same time, now that Kage was the referee, did she still need to give up later?

No, no, even if Kage took care of her, she couldn't cause any trouble for Kage.

"That's right, can't you let people look at a handsome guy for a while longer?"

Temari and Tenten were also complaining about Naruto.

After Gaara was okay, Temari was no longer worried.

But the sudden appearance of the mysterious Masked Man also gave the people of Sunagakure a reminder.

In the near Future, Sunagakure's plan to attack Konoha might not go so smoothly.

"The first match, Uchiha Sasuke versus Akado Yoroi."

Uchiha Kage disappeared from the spot like a gust of wind, and then suddenly appeared in the center of the Exam Venue.

"Except for the two combatants, everyone else please go to the stands."

The first match was the strongest Genin against an unknown cannon fodder...

Sarutobi Hiruzen's arrangement of the preliminary rounds to establish Konoha's prestige was too obvious.

Flipping through the battle table in his hand, Uchiha Kage could clearly see this Third Hokage's bias.

Well, but after all, the Chunin Exams were being held in Konoha Village, so this bit of 'home advantage' had to be taken.

"This guy, is he not an examinee, but an Examiner?"

Gaara gave a serious look at Uchiha Kage, who had suddenly appeared on the Exam Venue as an Examiner.

He was so young... was he already at the Chunin level or higher?

How exciting.

"So handsome..."

Watching Uchiha Kage appear on the field like a whirlwind, the girls all showed heart-like expressions.

"Hmph, showing off like Sasuke."

Hearing the girls' shouts, Naruto couldn't help but feel even more resentful about Uchiha Kage's limelight.

"But, don't get cocky, I will use the Rasengan you taught me to win back the limelight you won!"

Eh... did something seem wrong?

Never mind, although he was very grateful to this guy Kage, he also really wanted to be in the spotlight once!

Wuwuwu.

"Is the Hokage-sama doing this on purpose?"

Seeing that more and more girls were paying attention to Uchiha Kage, Yuhi Kurenai couldn't help but put the blame on Sarutobi Hiruzen again.

If Ino fell into her hands, she would never have any chance to contact Kage again! "It's normal for Kage-san to be popular..."

Hinata didn't think so much. She was only happy that Uchiha Kage could serve as the Examiner of the Exam Venue and be valued by the Hokage-sama.

And even without the Hokage-sama's appointment, Kage already had a lot of girls who liked him.

"You.... it seems that I, as your teacher, will have to help you more in the future."

For example, that Yellow-Haired Girl Ino.

"This Body Flicker Technique is exactly the same as the one used by that ninja named Haku we met in the Land of Waves..."

Did this guy Kage even learn this move?

Uchiha Sasuke, who walked to the center of the Exam Venue, couldn't help but be surprised by Uchiha Kage's skills.

But no matter how much he learned of this escape ninjutsu, it couldn't compare to a Sharingan-wielding Uchiha.

"Don't lose in the first match, Sasuke."

Uchiha Kage remembered that this ninja named Akado Yoroi seemed to be one of Orochimaru's men. Although he was not strong, his abilities were a bit strange, and were similar to Kisame's abilities in some ways.

"How could I possibly lose?"

Sasuke glared at Uchiha Kage and then looked at his opponent.

He could win against this trash opponent without opening his Sharingan or using ninjutsu.

But Naruto was right, watching this guy Kage actually become our Examiner, it was really inexplicably annoying!

"Damn it, I really want to have a real fight with him again..."

Neji Hyuga, who walked to the stands, was still brooding over Uchiha Kage.

"Forget it, Neji, his strength is indeed not something we can deal with right now."

Compared to the last time when he could still see a little, Lee completely couldn't see the speed at which Uchiha Kage knocked down Neji this time.

"Even so, I..."

Neji was still a bit unwilling.

He considered himself the most genius ninja in the village, but he couldn't even last one move under Uchiha Kage's hands.

Such a huge gap made it difficult for him, as a genius, to control his self-esteem.

Just wait, sooner or later, he will not only break the Caged Bird Seal, but also defeat this hateful guy Uchiha Kage.

"Neji seems to have become different from before. Did something happen?"

Gai next to him noticed the changes in Neji's body.

If the former Neji always seemed to be carrying some shackles and was always gloomy and lazy, then the current Neji was like he released the seal, and he became 'youthful'.

Was it the effect of Uchiha Kage?

It was youth.

Gai was very pleased with Neji's change, especially with Neji's next words.

"Gai-sensei, I want to learn the Eight Gates Formation too!"

Neji, who had always been self-sufficient as a member of the Hyuga clan and didn't pay much attention to the Eight Gates Formation, actually took the initiative to ask to learn it this time.

"Okay! After the exam is over, let's have our four disciples run together in the sunset!"

This guy Neji finally agreed to join the youth team. Teacher, I'm so happy.

Gai was moved to tears by Neji's change.

"I don't want to learn this smelly ninjutsu."

Tenten, who was coerced by Gai, helplessly pushed away this teacher who was hot-blooded and moved to tears at every turn.

Alas, if only I could learn that Wind Release ninjutsu that Kage used to make his appearance.

So handsome.

"What's so special about a guy who's only got girls on his mind!"

Hearing the shouts of the surrounding girls, Samui, who was hiding in the dark and secretly observing Uchiha Kage, couldn't help but complain.