The Shimura Actually Has Ice Release

News of several geniuses emerging from Konohagakure quickly spread after the training exercise ended, eventually reaching Orochimaru's ears while he was studying commissions at the assignment office.

"Shimura Takeshi? The son of Shimura Danzō? I see... those two samples..."

Upon hearing the intel from a nearby shinobi, Orochimaru immediately connected Takeshi with that sample.

Damn Danzō, so this is why he cut ties with me?

Orochimaru's expression darkened.

Ever since he severed ties with Danzō, life had become much harder for him.

Though he had left with harsh words, saying Danzō would regret it—

A year had passed, and whether Danzō regretted it or not was unknown. But Orochimaru himself… did have some regrets.

Simply put, being broke was just too miserable.

Back when he had Danzō's support, Orochimaru could buy experimental equipment by the kilo, get land for testing by the acre, and never had to worry about food or drink. He didn't even have to take on missions.

But now, he couldn't even afford lab supplies, and the testing site had been repossessed by Danzō's subordinates under the claim that it was Root property.

Not to mention the various rare materials he'd painstakingly collected—now all sealed up and confiscated by Root's shinobi.

With nowhere to stay, Orochimaru had no choice but to return to the tiny house left behind after his parents passed away, tidy it up, and live there.

"Genius? Hmph. Compared to eternal life, it's not worth mentioning."

Orochimaru murmured in a raspy voice, seemingly reminded of something.

"So scary... is this the Orochimaru-sama, one of the Sannin?"

"A fearsome shinobi who shows no mercy to enemies or allies alike… truly lives up to the legend."

"Just standing near him makes my whole body tremble."

Several Konoha shinobi, frightened by the gloomy aura emanating from Orochimaru, backed away and whispered among themselves.

But Orochimaru, immersed in his own thoughts, ignored them completely and sank into his world.

Genius... Once upon a time, he too was called that.

But during wartime, so-called geniuses were nothing more than expendable tools in the hands of the higher-ups.

Having participated in the Second Shinobi World War, Orochimaru had personally witnessed countless geniuses perish—

Some blown up by explosive tags,

Some bizarrely disemboweled,

Some poisoned by a mysterious man who rode a fish...

No matter how great your talent or how profound your ninjutsu, death was inescapable.

So then, Kakashi, Takeshi, Asuma...

How will you meet your end in this cruel shinobi world?

Though Orochimaru thought this to himself, if he couldn't find a proper commission to fill his stomach soon, he too might become one of the fallen geniuses.

Most of the missions listed at the assignment office were like children playing. Anything truly dangerous was assigned directly by the Hokage.

In other words, Orochimaru was now stuck between stealing minor commissions from genin, or swallowing his pride and begging Hiruzen for work.

Damn that Danzō!

Orochimaru didn't even know how many times he had cursed Danzō inwardly by now, but his expression grew increasingly grim.

...

"Achoo!"

Sitting at home, listening to a report from his subordinate, Danzō suddenly sneezed.

"Are you alright, Danzō-sama?"

Gin, who had been reporting, was sprayed in the face. Wiping it off, he asked with concern.

"It's nothing. Continue."

Danzō shook his head, chalking it up to the evil Uchiha plotting behind his back again.

"Yes. Takeshi-sama defeated Sarutobi Asuma in just two moves. On Captain Ryōma's instructions, we've begun spreading the news in secret."

Gin lowered his head and continued the report.

Hearing that the villagers now knew just how exceptional his son was, Danzō nodded with satisfaction.

"You've done well. The only one who can reform this decaying Konoha is Takeshi, who has inherited my will. Only when he becomes Hokage can the darkness shrouding the village be lifted."

"Alright, Takeshi's back. You may leave now."

Hearing movement at the door, Danzō waved his hand to dismiss him.

Pushing open the door, Takeshi glanced at Danzō sitting in the living room and gave a slight nod in greeting.

"I heard you defeated Sarutobi Asuma?"

Danzō took the initiative to ask.

Takeshi wasn't surprised by the question from his cheapskate father. After all, Danzō was Konoha's Head of Intelligence—if he didn't know this, he might as well retire.

Takeshi replied briskly,

"Yes, but it was just a training exercise."

"Hmm. Not arrogant, not complacent—just as expected of my son."

Danzō was very pleased with Takeshi's performance and, unusually, praised him directly:

"But it's true that this isn't something to boast about. My son defeating Hiruzen's son is only natural."

Worried that his praise might go to Takeshi's head, Danzō quickly added.

You're one to talk—if it's so natural, why didn't you beat the Third Hokage yourself, instead of following behind him like a bootlicking scapegoat?

Takeshi thought to himself sarcastically.

"In any case, keep training. After graduation, aim to enter the Chūnin Exams and get promoted as fast as possible. I'll make arrangements to have you transferred into the Anbu and become a Jōnin."

Danzō, in high spirits, began laying out plans for Takeshi's future.

...

Meanwhile, Asuma hummed a tune as he returned home.

The moment he stepped in, he saw the Hokage's hat hanging on the wall—a symbol of Hiruzen's position.

"Tch."

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Asuma took off his shoes and walked into the living room, glancing instinctively toward the study.

Sure enough, Hiruzen was inside, brush in hand, writing swiftly across a sheet of rice paper.

Occasionally, he'd pause in thought, exuding the scholarly air of a refined man.

"Not busy today?"

Seeing his father ignore him, Asuma couldn't help but speak up.

"Oh, Asuma! Sorry, sorry, I got so absorbed in writing that I didn't notice you, hahaha."

Hearing his son's voice, Hiruzen chuckled awkwardly, set down the brush, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked into the living room to stand before Asuma.

"How was academy today?"

Looking his son up and down, Hiruzen was relieved to see no injuries on him.

"Hmph. As Hokage, you didn't already know what happened at academy today? Playing dumb again. You always treat me like a kid!"

Asuma bristled at Hiruzen's pretense and instinctively raised his voice.

"You two again! Every time you meet, it's an argument! Can't you ever be quiet?"

Sarutobi Biwako's voice rang out from the kitchen. She poked her head out, waving a spatula and scolding loudly.

(T/N: I strongly recommend you to read my new fanfic "Starting From Being Adopted by the Second Hokage!"

Quite an interesting fanfic. What really caught my attention is that the protagonist becomes stronger through a gradual process — this is not a brainless power fantasy. It's the first time I've seen something like this, and I have to say, I'm satisfied.

The main character has a pretty unique background, he's an Uchiha who was adopted by Tobirama (which is already unusual) thanks to Hashirama. As you might've guessed, the story takes place in the early timeline of the Naruto world. He's in the same generation as Hiruzen, which is another plus.

The MC is talented and works hard, but his efforts only make him slightly stronger than Hiruzen (at least for the first 100 chapters). He also has a well-developed personality, he's not a madman, but he is ruthless toward his enemies. One particularly interesting aspect is that he uses poison, a very underrated element in the Naruto world. We know from canon that poison can be deadly even to powerful shinobi, yet it's mostly associated with Sunagakure and usually used against genin or chunin.

The only downside is that the fanfic gives more attention to cooking than necessary (the MC is apparently very impressive at it, and everyone praises his cooking). It's manageable for me, but still a bit much. There's even a whole chapter about it at the beginning. For readers who aren't into that, I noted at the top that the chapter focuses on cooking and can be skipped. Thankfully, after that, the fanfic doesn't dwell on it this much.)

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo