As for whether the Uchiha clan's madness was passed down only to men and not women, Natsuhiko wasn't sure.
But there was one thing he was certain about—
If Uchiha Sora wanted to enter the Medical Department, it would probably be very difficult.
The Medical Department lay firmly within Hiruzen Sarutobi's core sphere of power. Its importance was almost unimaginable.
Back in the day, Hiruzen Sarutobi had actually been the one who initially opposed the establishment of a Medical Department and the development of medical ninja.
However, he had always been an extremely pragmatic man.
When the Medical Department, under Tsunade's leadership, produced astonishing results—greatly boosting Konoha's morale and saving countless lives—
He swiftly tightened his grip on it.
Through the Finance Department, he continuously allocated funds, dramatically raising the status of medical ninja within the overall shinobi system.
In just over a decade, the Medical Department had transformed from a neglected, unimpressive "workshop" that no one valued—
Into one of Konoha's largest and most powerful institutions.
No ninja was truly unafraid of death.
With the Medical Department providing such strong logistical support, Hiruzen Sarutobi's approval ratings soared.
Its success even triggered changes across the entire ninja world. Almost every major village began attempting to establish its own Medical Department.
With a department like that in his hands, how could Hiruzen allow "outsiders" to enter?
He would never allow anyone he didn't trust to interfere with it.
He wouldn't even permit the idea of "contamination" to take root—let alone allow someone to act on it.
Control of the Medical Department meant immense political support.
And the Uchiha were people he did not trust.
How could a girl like Sora possibly be allowed in?
Of course, Natsuhiko would never say any of this to her.
It was a good thing that this quiet girl had her own ambitions. There was no need for him to crush someone else's hopes.
After a brief warm-up, Natsuhiko began his training.
His routine was simple—starting from the most basic fundamentals.
Although his "cheat" ability had already allowed him to push his control over his own strength to a near-peak level, he had never relaxed his basic training.
Having power and mastering it did not mean he could use it with maximum efficiency.
How to defeat opponents in battle while minimizing chakra consumption—
That had been one of Natsuhiko's key research focuses over the years.
The aftereffects of the reckless act he committed long ago still had no solution.
For now, he could only compensate through other means.
Uchiha Sora silently watched from the side.
This was the first time she had seen Natsuhiko train.
Back at the academy, she had been among the better students.
Natsuhiko had ranked slightly below her—but still quite impressive.
After he left the academy, she had never seen him again.
Her memories of him were mostly frozen in those school years—the relatively vivid ones.
Though she had occasionally heard bits and pieces about him from former classmates in the years that followed, those were merely secondhand accounts.
Seeing him again today, she realized that Natsuhiko had grown much stronger.
Yet he was still performing only fundamental exercises, which made her frown slightly.
"Is it because he doesn't have enough ninjutsu resources?"
She sighed softly to herself.
In her memory, Natsuhiko had been a civilian ninja.
That would explain why he lacked access to advanced techniques.
She was now wondering whether she should help Natsuhiko in some way—perhaps assist him in overcoming this predicament.
...
Inside Konoha's office, Kakashi knelt on one knee.
In front of him, Minato Namikaze was carefully reading a scroll.
The scroll fully documented the entire mission carried out by Kakashi and Natsuhiko—everything from identifying the attackers to the complete process of capturing Yashamaru.
To be honest, even Minato himself hadn't expected this mission to yield such significant results.
Although he knew that even if they confirmed who was responsible, Konoha couldn't realistically start another war—nor could they openly retaliate.
Konoha was far too weakened now.
Any military action could cause even greater losses.
Even knowing that Sunagakure was behind it—even if it were merely a smaller nation—Konoha couldn't act rashly.
At most, they could retaliate in secret.
As Hokage, there were simply too many factors to consider.
Political concerns.
Economic concerns.
Even the mindset of the ninja themselves—and the morale of the entire village.
This level of complex decision-making was something Minato was encountering for the first time, and the difficulty exceeded his expectations.
Still—
Capturing Yashamaru was an excellent bargaining chip.
Handled properly, Konoha could extract considerable advantages from it.
However, dealing with the Third Hokage was giving Minato a headache.
The Third Hokage was simply too cautious.
His desire to end the war had reached an extreme.
Even small-scale conflicts were likely something he wished to avoid.
Minato could understand him—
But he couldn't agree with him.
While such caution might benefit Konoha materially, it would damage the village's morale.
"It seems I'll need to think carefully about how to gain the Third Hokage's support on this matter."
Minato felt helpless.
Although he now held the title of Hokage, he was discovering that many decisions were not truly within his control.
Still, he reminded himself to remain patient.
After all, his position had been personally elevated by the Third Hokage.
"Good work, Kakashi," Minato said with a faint smile. "Your coordination with Natsuhiko was excellent. Congratulations on completing such a mission."
After saying that, Minato lowered his head and continued reading.
Kakashi had submitted not one, but two scrolls.
Clearly, after their previous experience, Kakashi had decided to report everything entirely through written scrolls when communicating with his teacher.
Minato understood Kakashi's reasoning.
Thus, when he opened the second scroll, his expression remained neutral.
Although he personally felt it unnecessary, the Anbu operative concealed within the office—who had not chosen to leave—made Minato sigh inwardly.
Setting aside those thoughts, he began reading carefully.
But as he read further—
His expression changed once again.