I just returned to Konoha and found that my entire clan was gone.

Neji realized that the reason the other party was able to attack him accurately in the thick fog must be because of this child.

"Raiga...Raiga..."

Ranmaru seemed to be having a nightmare, constantly calling out Raiga's name, which made people feel a little sorry for him.

"Neji, Lee, you two go and take care of the remaining members of the Kurokuchi clan, then inform the villagers that our mission is complete." Ye Lan picked up Ranmaru again. He planned to hand the child over to Tsunade. He had witnessed Ranmaru's healing abilities, and if they could be used properly, he might become an excellent medical ninja. As for how Tsunade would arrange things for Ranmaru, let her figure it out herself.

Ye Lan and Tian Tian first went back to Grandma Shan Jiao's curry shop. Grandma Shan Jiao was moved to tears when she saw that they had returned safely. She made a dish of her signature curry, but this time it was not the secret recipe curry she used before. This time it tasted much better.

Soon after, Lee and Neji returned with a boy, presumably Sansho's son, Mustard. Ye Lan didn't ask any further questions; this was considered a way of repaying Sansho for the few meals of curry she had given him.

The aroma of curry filled the room, and smiles appeared on everyone's faces. Neji and the others seemed very happy after completing their mission. Ye Lan paused in his hand holding the spoon, noticing that Ranmaru, who had been lying in his sleeping bag, had sat up.

The sound seemed to be paused, and everyone's eyes turned to the boy. He had a gentle appearance like a girl, and a pair of red eyes that were very similar to the Sharingan except that they didn't have tomoe.

"Kill me." Ranmaru looked at everyone. Even without anyone explaining, he already knew that Raiga was dead.

"Why do you say that? Why would we kill you?" Tian Tian, ​​being the girl, spoke first.

“Raiga is dead. I’ve always been with him. Now that he’s gone, I’ll die with him. Besides, I’m your enemy, aren’t I?” Ranmaru’s eyes were dim and lifeless. All he wanted now was to die.

“He’s gone, but you can still live a good life. We won’t do anything to you.” Tian Tian hadn’t expected the child to have such a thought, and she showed her kindness.

“I have always lived for Raiga. I am his eyes, he is my brother. Now that he is dead, there is no meaning to my life.”

"Ugh, I hate people like you the most! Can you please stop saying things like that?" Tenten was getting a little frustrated. She hated people who lacked motivation. Ranmaru was very pleasing to the eye, but she didn't like him at all.

"Before Lei Ya died, he told me not to kill you, and I guess I agreed to that. You said the meaning of your life was Lei Ya, but that's because you only felt Lei Ya's kindness towards you while you were alive. You need to interact with other people and rediscover the meaning of life. If you still want to die after a while, then I won't stop you." Ye Lan wasted some words, he wouldn't have bothered if this kid wasn't somewhat useful.

"...So what do you plan to do with me?" Upon hearing Raiga's last wish, Ranmaru temporarily abandoned his desire to die.

"I plan to take you to the village and hand you over to the Hokage, who is essentially our leader. She will arrange your future life," Ye Lan said, revealing his plan.

"Assign it to Lady Tsunade?" Tenten didn't expect Ye Lan to think that way.

Ye Lan: "Yes, although he is not a ninja, he can use some chakra. If we want him to stay in the village, we still need to report to Lady Tsunade."

Seeing that Ye Lan had already made arrangements, the others stopped talking. However, the joy of having just completed the mission had vanished without a trace, and the once delicious curry now tasted bland.

...

"Little Li, come often in the future!" The next day, after saying goodbye to Granny Sansho, Little Li and the others returned to the village. Ranmaru was still carried by Yelan. Without any ordinary people following them, they returned to the village in no time.

After returning to the village, he told the others to go back and rest first, while he took Ranmaru to find Tsunade. Before leaving, Tenten told Yelan that the ninja sword he wanted should have been forged and that he could come and pick it up when he had time. Yelan smiled and agreed.

"Is this Konoha?" Ranmaru, who had been following Ye Lan, had never seen such a prosperous village before and couldn't help but feel curious. He also noticed that many ninjas greeted Ye Lan with a hint of respect in their eyes, which made him even more curious about Ye Lan.

Ranmaru didn't tell anyone that, in addition to seeing through things, his eyes could also see other people's feelings and thoughts. He had tried to observe Ye Lan before, but all he saw was endless darkness, and he had no idea what kind of person Ye Lan was.

"So you brought back a brat after completing your mission?" Tsunade's head seemed to be filled with confusion. She hadn't expected to get herself into trouble after seeing Ye Lan's report.

"Well, I'll leave him to you, Hokage-sama. Otherwise, he won't be able to survive outside." Ye Lan took out another scroll from his person. "This is the Thunder Blade. I've sealed it away for now."

Upon seeing the scroll containing the Lightning Blade, Tsunade calmed down somewhat. The Lightning Blade was an extremely important item for Kirigakure, and Yoru was not comfortable keeping it himself. Handing it over to Tsunade was considered an extra act of service.

"Silence." A woman with short black hair standing next to Tsunade stepped forward. She was Tsunade's apprentice and always took her with her when she went out. She was the person Tsunade trusted most.

"I'm entrusting this child to your care." Ye Lan had already explained Ranmaru's bloodline limit, but Tsunade wasn't very interested. She simply didn't have the time, so she handed the child over to her apprentice for now.

"Eh, Lady Tsunade, me?" Shizune pointed to herself, unable to believe that Tsunade would make this decision.

"Miss Shizune, Ranmaru is in your care now." After hearing this, Ye Lan untied Ranmaru's sleeping bag and handed it to Shizune.

Shizune took Ranmaru somewhat helplessly, finding the child rather cute. But she had never even had a boyfriend, so what was the point of suddenly asking her to take care of a child? She wanted to turn around and look for Ye Lan, but he was nowhere to be found in the office.

Chapter 53 Danzo

"Sasuke, this is for you." Ye Lan arrived at the training ground, found Sasuke who was training, and tossed him a long black bag.

Sasuke subconsciously took the bag, and its slight weight puzzled him.

"This is for you, consider it a gift for joining the Anbu." Hearing Ye Lan say this, Sasuke opened the bag with a puzzled look. Inside was a ninja sword without a hilt, its entire surface smooth, its blade sharp, and it looked quite expensive.

Ye Lan had already taken two ninja swords from Tian Tian's house, and he was quite satisfied with the craftsmanship of the two swords.

"You can try using Lightning Release to infuse this sword," Ye Lan suggested.

After hearing this, Sasuke tried it out. He only needed to release a little Lightning Release, and the sword reacted, with a power far greater than if he used it directly. Even the aloof Sasuke couldn't help but smile.

"I can teach you some Uchiha-style swordsmanship, but it would be best if you developed some swordsmanship that suits you. This sword has a strong sensory ability for lightning release, so you should make good use of it."

Sasuke doesn't need much guidance from others anymore. To grow, he needs to learn more about how to adapt and create his own techniques. Once he reaches that level, he'll be close to becoming a Jonin.

After listening to Ye Lan's words and giving a sheepish thank you, Sasuke turned around and went to study his new weapon.

"You spent your ten million taels on something like this?" Kakashi approached Ye Lan silently.

"I made one myself; Sasuke's was just something I did on the side." Ye Lan was already used to Kakashi's sudden appearances, then asked about Sasuke's two companions, "Where are Naruto and Sakura?"

"Naruto just left yesterday to travel with Jiraiya. I asked Tsunade to take Sakura on as a student, and she's probably reporting for duty now."

"Would Lady Tsunade have time to teach a little girl?" Ye Lan thought that with the Hokage's time, she probably wouldn't be able to teach her properly.

"Sakura is still very smart and won't cause Tsunade much trouble. The path she's taking now is actually very similar to Tsunade's when she was young." Kakashi couldn't help but feel a little ashamed when he thought of how Sakura could defeat enemies with just a few punches during missions. He hadn't expected Ye Lan to teach Sakura to be so violent.

"I see... When did Sasuke join the Anbu?" Ye Lan finally asked about Sasuke, her younger brother from the same clan.

"I've already spoken to them, so I'll be reporting for duty in the next couple of days." After years of living in the Anbu, Kakashi not only has friendships with many of them, but also enjoys a reputation that other Jonin don't have. As long as Tsunade gives her approval, Sasuke's entry into the Anbu is a done deal.

A few days later, Ye Lan, who had some free time, was summoned by Tsunade. It was unclear whether there was a new mission for him.

As Ye Lan approached the Hokage's office, she stopped before knocking. She could hear someone arguing with Tsunade inside.

"Tsunade, you can't just let the Uchiha clan members run rampant like this! How could Sasuke join the Anbu! He should be handed over to me. I will train him to be the best tool for missions." An old voice called out Tsunade's name directly. Ye Lan thought it sounded familiar and realized it was Danzo Shimura, whom he had met when he returned to the village.

"How I arrange things for Sasuke is none of your business!" Tsunade didn't give her teacher's classmate a friendly look, and the two of them were arguing fiercely in the office.

"Tsunade! Hiruzen agreed to let the Uchiha join the Anbu, and then things got out of control. This is a cautionary tale right in front of us. Are you still going to be so stubborn?" Danzo slammed his cane down. He was very dissatisfied with Tsunade. He never expected that Tsunade, who had been away from the village for so long, would agree to come back and become Hokage. Now, what chance did he have?

"Enough! I don't know about the past, I only know that Sasuke is also a part of Konoha, and wherever he goes, he is contributing to Konoha." Tsunade was getting annoyed with this old man who was acting like a big shot. She couldn't just take action like Jiraiya did, and she was afraid she would punch the old man.

"What about Uchiha Yelan? That guy's name has spread throughout the Five Great Nations! I don't know what's wrong with Sunagakure. They beat a few petty thieves and then started making a big fuss about it. What, the last pride of the Uchiha clan? His name is even more famous than yours, the Fifth Hokage!" Danzo knew that Yelan was not someone he could control like Sasuke, so he used his usual methods to smear him.

Hearing this, Ye Lan, who wanted to enter the room, held back, wanting to know Tsunade's opinion.

"Heh, old man, I know Ye Lan better than you do. He won't care about these things, and neither will I. Everything he did back in the village was a huge help. The more famous he is, the less pressure I feel. If Jiraiya hadn't begged me to come back, whoever wanted to be Hokage could have become Hokage." Tsunade's words were somewhat defiant, but they broke Danzo's defenses. How could he not be angry that the Hokage position he had dreamed of had become something that Tsunade could easily obtain?

"You...you'll regret this, Tsunade!" Danzo said, trembling with anger, pointing his finger at Tsunade.

Seeing that Danzo was already incoherent, Tsunade raised an eyebrow and, as if by some force, managed to say, "I am the Hokage, Elder Danzo."

Upon hearing this, Danzo's already wrinkled face contorted into a grimace. This familiar scene reminded him of Hiruzen from before, and now it felt like a million alpacas were stampeding through his mind. What had he done to deserve coming to Tsunade?

Danzo turned away without a word, opened his office door, and slammed it shut. He immediately saw Ye Lan waiting at the door.

Upon seeing Ye Lan, Danzo seemed to calm down again, looking directly at Ye Lan and saying, "Uchiha Ye Lan, although you disguise yourself very well, I can see the darkness in your heart! Don't have any bad thoughts, I'll be watching you!"

Before Ye Lan could answer, Danzo quickly left. He didn't want to stay there any longer. As he walked out of the building, Danzo glanced at the prominent fire character on the building. At this moment, his desire for the Hokage position had reached a morbid obsession. He couldn't help but mutter, "I must get the Hokage position."

Ye Lan watched Danzo leave without saying a word. There was something about their previous conversation that bothered him. Danzo had said that the Uchiha who had joined the Anbu had caused an uncontrollable situation. Before Ye Lan left the village, there were only two Uchiha who had joined the Anbu: his brother, Shisui, and Itachi.

Is Danzo referring to the night of the Uchiha massacre? After Hiruzen Sarutobi's death, he probably knows best what happened to the Uchiha clan, but he's not qualified to be involved yet.

This isn't a matter of strength, but of power. Even if you put a knife to Danzo's head right now, he probably wouldn't say anything. Ye Lan still needs a long period of exploration.

"What are you dawdling at the door for! Hurry up and come in!" Just as Ye Lan was thinking, Tsunade's voice came from inside the house. She had already noticed that Ye Lan had arrived, and she guessed that the boy had heard the whole conversation.

Ye Lan wasn't embarrassed at all. He pushed open the door and went inside, saying, "What does Lady Tsunade want with me?"

"You've been listening outside for a while now, haven't you? So, what do you think of my assessment of you?" Tsunade didn't answer Ye Lan's question, but directly brought up her conversation with Danzo.

"As the Hokage, Lady Tsunade, I believe your assessment is quite fair." Ye Lan didn't blush at all, knowing that Tsunade's question meant she trusted him.

"Hmph, alright, Elder Danzo is getting old, his mind isn't quite right, and he has some prejudice against your Uchiha clan. Don't take it to heart." Tsunade still chose to give her teacher's classmate some face when facing Yelan.

"Lady Tsunade, if I may be so blunt, Elder Danzo is an old man who has long reached retirement age. His actions will only delay the village's future decisions and development." Ye Lan showed no mercy to Danzo. His seemingly good temper was only directed at whoever was in charge. Danzo was practically mocking him, so he wouldn't hold back.

"This is none of your concern. Elder Danzo has an important position to hold." Seeing Ye Lan's expression, Tsunade decided not to continue the topic and changed the subject.

"You've taught Sakura quite well; she's built a very solid foundation. You don't blame me for taking your student, do you?"

Chapter 54 Repairing the Barrier

Hearing Tsunade mention the pink-haired girl, Ye Lan was somewhat speechless, then said, "How could that be? I'm still too young to take on apprentices. I still have a lot to learn. It would be best if Sakura were guided by Lady Tsunade."

Looking at Ye Lan's expression, Tsunade understood that he wasn't lying. Seeing this, she couldn't help but admire him. Ye Lan was not only powerful, but also possessed qualities that many people didn't have. Many people didn't notice these qualities, but Tsunade, who was both thoughtful and strong, felt them the most deeply.

No matter who is called a genius, they are bound to become a little arrogant and lose their sense of awe for many things. Even the three legendary Sannin were a little conceited when they were young. But Ye Lan did not have this problem at all. He got along well with everyone in the village, which was completely unlike a typical Uchiha.

Moreover, he is always a reliable support during missions. It's important to understand that mission reports not only contain summaries from Jonin but also reflections from Genin. Many people don't pay attention to these, but Tsunade carefully read others' evaluations of Ye Lan, and her wariness towards him gradually diminished.

Most importantly, he's too young. She's heard he still goes to the library to read books from time to time, and his training hasn't slacked off at all. Despite already having a considerable reputation, he hasn't lowered his standards for himself. She sees a shadow of Minato Namikaze in Ye Lan—a true genius. Even in a few years, Tsunade isn't sure if she'll have the strength to defeat Ye Lan.

After thinking for a while, Tsunade made up her mind and said to Ye Lan, "It was too easy for Orochimaru or Itachi to enter Konoha. Although they were both Konoha ninjas before, Konoha's vigilance is really too poor. The barrier team was the same; their sensory barrier didn't detect a thing. What do they think this place is? Their backyard?"

Ye Lan listened quietly, knowing that what Tsunade was about to say was the key point.

"From your teaching of Sakura, I can see that you have a strong learning ability and your own ideas. I plan to have you supervise the repair of the village's barrier again."

Tsunade made this decision with great difficulty. Only close confidants of the Hokage's faction could be responsible for the village's barrier, which was a matter of ensuring the village's safety. In other words, she was entrusting the village's lifeline to Ye Lan.

Ye Lan was surprised that Tsunade would make this decision, and even her usually calm face showed a hint of astonishment. "Lady Tsunade, I am not proficient in the field of barriers, and I have learned very little about it. You should entrust this task to someone else."

Tsunade closed her eyes and waved her hand. She knew this decision was sudden, and many people in the village would be dissatisfied, especially Danzo and the two advisors. That was precisely her concern. The two advisors and Danzo wielded too much power. With the existence of the Anbu, and Danzo even controlling Root, an organization that didn't obey the Hokage's orders, she had to consider their opinions no matter what she did.

She is indeed Hashirama Senju's granddaughter, but she has been away from the village for a long time, and there aren't many people she can truly trust. Many ninja clans have shown her goodwill, but it's actually a kind of transaction. Rather than giving benefits to these ninja clans, it's better to use the Uchiha clan, which only has two members. She saw that Ye Lan wanted to integrate into the village, and she was happy to help her.

The greater Ye Lan's achievements, the more it will solidify her position as Hokage, which will inevitably lead to discord with Danzo and the advisors, indirectly weakening the power of these elders. Tsunade doesn't crave power, but nobody likes making decisions that are constantly difficult to implement.

“I will give you some books about barriers and sealing techniques. You can try to learn them. There are no experts in the village who can use sealing techniques proficiently now, so it’s not a waste of their talents.” Tsunade took out several scrolls. “I will only give you one month. By then, the village’s barrier will need to be repaired. Whether you can hold your position as supervisor depends on your performance this month.”

"Yes, Lady Tsunade, I will definitely complete the mission." Ye Lan's expression showed a rare hint of excitement as he accepted the scroll with both hands.

Seeing that the desired effect had been achieved, Tsunade couldn't help but smile. This was the normal behavior of a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy. If Ye Lan had remained calm, she would have suspected that he might have other intentions.

After chatting for a few more minutes, Ye Lan left the Hokage Building. As he pushed open the building's door, sunlight once again shone on his face.

The excitement from before had vanished. Ye Lan raised his head expressionlessly and looked towards Tsunade's office. Tsunade, who was still in the office, seemed to sense something and turned to look out the window in Ye Lan's direction. She saw Ye Lan smiling and greeting her, like a sunny and cheerful young man.

Back home, Ye Lan wasted no time. He picked up the scroll Tsunade had given him and began studying. As a human who had experienced middle school and college entrance exams, he had his own methods for learning and understanding. For Naruto, reading such tedious and difficult books containing only theoretical knowledge (many people didn't know sealing techniques and had to learn them on their own) would have been the death of him.

From the simplest sealing formations and three-way seals to the more difficult four-element seal, Tsunade's scrolls for Ye Lan were packed with practical information. Before this, Ye Lan only knew some simple sealing items and low-level sealing techniques that weren't even considered sealing arts. Having never seen a sealing master before, Ye Lan's eyes were opened, and he would be more vigilant should he encounter one in the future.

Learning sealing techniques requires not only precise chakra control but also a vast amount of study. The principles behind each sealing technique alone are enough to deter many ninjas, not to mention the numerous hand seals required to perform them.