Ling's performance as a tearful little loli was flawless, instantly making these Jonin feel a pang of conscience. Yes, how could they be afraid of this little loli just because she was scheming?
"Ling, thank you for your strategy. I've decided, because of your contribution to this plan, I'll reward you with a permit to exchange for an S-rank Ninjutsu. Are you satisfied?"
The Third Hokage was probably the first to realize that Ling was feigning her aggrieved look, but to win Uchiha Ling over, he decided to lure her with benefits.
"Oh, an S-rank Ninjutsu!! Really? Thank you, Sarutobi-sensei."
Ling's fatigue from the entire night seemed to vanish. She no longer had time to pay attention to the outside world, currently pondering which S-rank Ninjutsu to choose.
The Third Hokage arranged for the Anbu to take the captives. They were preparing to return to Konoha. As for Danzo's side, he believed Minato Namikaze could handle it.
He had to return immediately to preside over the overall situation. Danzo's defection was an endless disaster, and the border garrisons had to be strengthened.
The journey back was quite boring, just tiring travel. They rested for two hours around noon and finally returned to Konoha around ten at night.
As a Genin, Ling naturally had nothing to do, so she returned home quite relaxed. However, she wasn't sleepy at this point and decided to tally her gains from this trip.
Ling quietly arrived at her laboratory three hundred meters below her house. After confirming that the Sealing Technique she had set up had not been triggered, she took out a huge sealed scroll from the mouth of a Shikigami Toad.
These were all plundered from Danzo's Root base. Because they were in a hurry, everything was crammed into the sealed scroll.
However, before that, Ling first took out the spoils from cleaning up the battlefield, planning to sell them to a Ninja tool shop when she had time.
Among them was a Ninjutsu scroll obtained from an Iwagakure Anbu's tool pouch, a C-rank Ninjutsu called Rock Fist Technique, which could be combined with superhuman strength to make one's fists even more powerful.
Looking at the unfurled giant sealed scroll, Ling once again thanked the generous Danzo for leaving her so much inheritance, even though old man Danzo wasn't dead yet.
However, before Ling could start counting, Uchiha Shisui came knocking. Luckily, she had left a Shadow Clone upstairs making dinner.
Regretfully stuffing the sealed scroll back into the toad's belly, Ling used Technique Reversal to return to her room and emerged from the bathroom.
Hearing the familiar sound of footsteps, Shisui also composed himself and entered the living room.
"Ling! You're back, you—" Uchiha Shisui's expression was gentle yet somewhat joyful, with an inexplicable feeling of having recovered something lost.
"Shisui, you're awake. Congratulations on activating your Three-Tomoe Sharingan."
Uchiha Ling was a bit envious and jealous. Shisui, at only six years old, had actually activated his Revolving Sharingan with three tomoe. It was simply unfair.
"Ling, I don't want to possess such power. Power gained by losing love—I somewhat detest this kind of growth."
Sadness flowed from Uchiha Shisui's large eyes. He had gained power, but he couldn't reverse everything he had lost.
The hatred for Danzo and the love for the Village intertwined in his heart, a mix of emotions that caused him immense pain. Besides resenting Danzo, he seemed to resent himself even more.
"Shisui, the Uchiha Clan is a fortunate clan. Our bloodline allows us, in times of loss, to gain the ability to retain what we cherish."
Ling tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and handed Shisui a cup of barley tea. She didn't know how to comfort Shisui.
Shisui watched as that strand of Ling's hair was tucked away, revealing her clear, translucent earlobe. He couldn't help but lower his head, not daring to look again, and the sadness and pain in his heart unknowingly dissipated a great deal.
Ling naturally didn't know what Shisui was thinking. She still thought Shisui was immersed in his grief. Activating the Revolving Sharingan with three tomoe at six years old and not being shocked into idiocy by that chilling, chaotic Chakra already showed strong willpower.
Ling felt that Shisui was indeed a bit pitiful. She got up and gently stroked Shisui's head. This was all she could do. She didn't know how to comfort, but she could accompany him, couldn't she?
A captivating, subtle fragrance, unlike any floral scent, yet incredibly pleasant, entered Shisui's nostrils, but he dared not breathe deeply.
This subtle fragrance reignited the impure thoughts in his heart. He didn't understand why he felt this way, but his flushed face couldn't lie.
Ling got up and returned to her original kneeling position. As she moved, Ling's hair brushed against Shisui's neck, making his body tremble slightly. The fading of that subtle fragrance left Shisui feeling a little lost.
"Ling, thank you for your comfort. I feel much better." It was a long while before Shisui felt his face was no longer hot, and then he finally looked up.
He immediately saw a pale hand propping up half of Ling's face. Her baby-fat cheeks, supported by her palm, looked even plumper, and her slightly pouting, moist red lips were so beautiful.
Shisui was momentarily lost in thought, and Ling was also distracted, pondering the butterfly effects Danzo's defection would bring.
Children in the Ninja World are always emotionally precocious, and Uchiha Shisui was no exception.
Perhaps this was also related to the unique human structure in the Ninja World. Didn't Minato fall in love with Kushina when he was also five or six years old?
After this period of contemplation, Shisui realized what feelings he held for this strong girl who trained diligently regardless of the weather and possessed extraordinary talent.
Shisui's gaze was unwilling to leave Ling's face, and he even harbored some unrealistic hope that time would freeze at that moment.
Such a warm scene made Shisui's chilling Chakra no longer bring him negative emotions.
"Shisui! Shisui! Why are you spacing out?"
Ling was the first to snap back, then she saw Shisui staring at her, lost in thought. She waved her hand in front of him until she woke him up, just as he had finished thinking of his son's name.
"Ling, I'm sorry, I was a bit distracted. I'm much better now."
Shisui's quality as a Ninja allowed him to easily mask his recent emotions, and his expression returned to its usual brightness.
"Shisui, how is the Uchiha Clan doing now? Granny Chiri seemed to have moved my plan forward, didn't she?"
Ling recalled that before pursuing Danzo, Chiri seemed to have finalized matters within the Uchiha Clan. She wondered what the outcome was now.
Shisui looked at Ling's profile, suppressing the flutter in his heart, and began to recount everything he had seen at the Uchiha Clan meeting.
"Ah, Granny Chiri is very impressive. After scolding Elder Setsuna, no one raised any objections, not even Clan Head Fugaku."
Shisui was also somewhat happy to see the Uchiha Clan improving according to Ling's vision. This was the first time he had seen hope for the Uchiha Clan to integrate into Konoha.
And all of this was brought about by the girl before him, who far surpassed him in strength, talent, and intellect. This was also the girl he loved, the girl he swore to protect.
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