Each of those jutsu were quite detailed and in-depth, some of them had failure rates noted next to them, alongside the boy's thought process as he developed them.
He seemed to have been working on them for a while, if the dates marked on them were anything to go by. Hm, the Rasengan one though seemed recent.
If he cross-referenced it with the boy's battle report, which was roughly three-ish months ago—that was when the boy fought the Biju, and the creature created a Biju Bomb.
The Rasengan... was born from it.
Hm. He may be greedy—or the Dumbledore of this verse—but he couldn't take all of this for free. So—
"Konoha cannot simply accept all of these jutsu for free," the Hokage finally said, his voice slow but firm. "While your sentiment is noble, such contributions must be recognized officially. These will be converted into prestige markers within the shinobi database. You've earned enough to request one jutsu from the Scroll of Seals."
Seijuro nodded, unfazed.
"I understand, Hokage-sama."
"You don't wish to choose a jutsu right now?"
"No," he replied casually. "Right now, I'm back in Konoha. I'd like to relax."
The boy quieted down a bit before saying,
"Hokage-sama... is Mikoto back in the village?" he asked calmly, what seemed to be a light show of emotion flickering in his eyes.
As to why he would ask that—when he could just as easily have asked Yui or checked the Uchiha clan compound—well, sure, he wanted to know if she was back, but being a prodigy with no actual ties to the village would put him under heavy suspicion, and he didn't like that.
So, hm, yes, he did that. Of course it was calculated. While he respected Hiruzen, he didn't fully trust the man. I mean, who would trust someone who threw children into war and hoped for the best?
"Chunin Mikoto Uchiha is indeed back in the village."
He had a faint smile on his lips.
Ah, young love. How fun. Though... this boy would become one of Konoha's future pillars.
Well, who was he to stop it? Maybe he could use the boy to get close to the Uchiha clan.
He is thinking of using me to get close to the Uchiha clan, isn't he? Seijuro thought to himself. He found it quite easy to read people—some might say it was a talent of his.
The Hokage dismissed him with a nod.
Seijuro turned, boots silent on the polished wood floor.
As the door creaked open—there stood Danzo Shimura, his shadow seeming to cut across the room like a creeping curse. Seijuro offered a respectful bow to the elder.
"Danzo-sama."
Danzo merely watched him with cold calculation—one eye hidden beneath that heavy wrapping.
He said nothing.
As Seijuro passed by Danzo... something felt off. He felt another chakra signature in the man's eye. More precisely—the bandaged eye. Hm. Something was off.
He wouldn't press on it.
The door shut behind Seijuro.
"You know why I'm here," Danzo said without ceremony.
Hiruzen didn't look up from the scroll Seijuro had left. His fingers paused over the script of Shinkanshin no Jutsu / Shunpo, frowning in thought.
"You want him for ROOT."
"He's perfect," Danzo stated. "Loyal. Brilliant. Cold under pressure. Already tuned for psychological warfare. He would thrive under ROOT tutelage."
"No."
That single word dropped like a guillotine.
Danzo narrowed his visible eye.
"Hiruzen, that boy is a weapon Konoha desperately needs properly forged."
"He's a child."
"So were all of us once."
"Danzo, do you think I do not see your game? This boy is friends with the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, and is close with the Uchiha, alongside the civilians of this village. Handing him over to you? I may be old, but I am not senile."
Danzo scowled.
"The world is changing. The other nations—"
"—Will not turn Seijuro into a tool," Hiruzen interrupted sharply. "That is final."
Danzo stared for a moment... then turned and walked out, cane tapping rhythmically.
While the two old lovers were quarreling, Seijuro made his way to Training Ground 4.
For reasons.
Seijuro walked in slowly, hands in his pockets, scanning the field casually until—
Clang!
A kunai embedded itself in a tree next to his head.
He turned slowly.
There she was.
Mikoto Uchiha.
Hair tied back, sweat clinging to her brow, dressed in a combat gi with her clan symbol bold and proud. Her eyes widened the moment she recognized him.
"Seijuro?!"
She practically dropped the next kunai she was holding.
He gave a lazy little wave with two fingers.
"Yo."
She dashed over faster than she probably meant to, actually skidding to a stop in front of him. Her eyes scanned him rapidly—face, arms, clothes, even the faint line where his uniform had been patched.
"You're back. You're actually back. Are you okay?! What happened? When did you—?!"
"Yesterday. Walked in this morning. Had to report back to the Hokage." He paused, then sighed. "You're using a wider throw arc now."
She blinked.
"What?"
"Your kunai toss. Wider spread. You've been training for multi-opponent defense."
"Y-Yeah! It's a new thing I've been trying," she said, sounding a bit nervous.
"Good," he said simply. He then looked at her Sharingan, which she had forgotten to turn off.
She had the 3 tomoe in both eyes, and her Sharingan seemed perfectly stable.
Judging by how much chakra she had—Jounin-level.
She should currently be high-Chunin level right now. Hm. He needed to fight with her to fully gauge her level.
"How is Nawaki?" he asked, suddenly remembering—oh yeah, he had a teammate.
"Nawaki is still deployed on the Kumo front. He'll return back to the village in a month... so, when we're deployed back to the frontline."
Hm. Oh well. That was sad.
"Let's spar. I want to see how strong you are right now," he said calmly.
She smiled before getting into her stance.