White-Eyed Brothers

That was fast.

"You just brought Aburame Shikuro into Root not long ago, wasn't that enough?"

The Third Hokage looked at his old partner with some dissatisfaction.

Root's reach was extending further and further, subtly crossing the line.

"Not enough. The roots buried deep underground need to absorb more nutrients to strengthen Konoha. The larger these roots are, the better! Hiruzen, you understand."

Danzo slammed his cane on the ground, then glanced at Shibi.

Aburame Shibi kept his head down, appearing indifferent to everything happening before him.

"Shibi, you've worked hard this time. Take a few days to rest, I have a new mission for you."

The Third Hokage took a puff from his pipe. After Shibi disappeared, he was silent for a moment: "Which one do you want?"

"Even clan ninjas need to contribute to the village now. Uchiha Ichie, Hyuga Iroha, Gen'ichi Shiranui, I want these three," Danzo said. "I originally wanted to recruit Kakashi into Root. He lost his father and his emotions are very unstable, but you refused!"

"I can assign Might Guy to you. If you want, I can give you Might Duy too."

"Hiruzen, I don't need fools! And two of them! They don't possess the qualities or talent to become excellent ninjas!"

"I think Gekko Hayate is also good. His Kekkei Genkai has a lot of potential..."

"That little thing from the Gekko Clan? Invisible when still, visible when moving. What use is a Kekkei Genkai like that? A few Shadow Clones are more useful than that Kekkei Genkai!"

Danzo was somewhat angry, and also very disappointed.

Are you just trying to fob me off? You've changed, you're not even putting effort into dealing with me anymore.

Recommending Guy is one thing, but even pushing Hayate?

"Ichie is definitely out. The Uchiha Clan won't allow it. As for Iroha and Gen'ichi... you can pick one."

"Then give me Iroha. Although being from the Branch Family is troublesome, with a Cursed Seal, they can still be trained, albeit barely."

Danzo's face darkened.

"Root has ninjas from mid-tier clans like the Yamanaka and Aburame, but targeting the Hyuga Clan to recruit Iroha into Root will face significant resistance. I think the child Gen'ichi is good. He got full marks in political theory and has awakened a new Kekkei Genkai..."

"It'll be Hyuga Iroha. Root treats everyone equally! Besides, Shikuro is more outstanding than Gen'ichi."

Having obtained what he wanted, Danzo turned and left.

Gen'ichi? A new bloodline? Okay, at least it's much more practical than that useless Clear Release.

But Root doesn't lack abilities like that!

The Aburame Shikuro he recruited miraculously mastered Nano-scale Poison Insects. With just a touch, he can eliminate enemies with countless nano-scale poison insects. That's much more useful than any Blood Poison.

"Hmph, it's a pity I still couldn't get a living Sharingan Kekkei Genkai."

Danzo walked away.

In the office, only the Third Hokage remained, puffing on his pipe intermittently, letting out a deep sigh.

"The new generation, grow up quickly."

In the Arena.

The shock brought by Gen'ichi stunned many people, so much so that many were looking at him with unfamiliar eyes.

And indeed, it felt strange. Being bandaged for years, and then suddenly revealing himself, gave off an indescribable feeling.

"I challenge Gen'ichi!"

Obito suddenly rushed out, shouting, "Gen'ichi, fight me!"

Swish!

The ever-loyal Guy suddenly appeared, immediately blocking Obito, and said calmly, "This isn't a challenge match. Please return to your spot. The match isn't over yet."

"Get out of the way, I'm challenging Gen'ichi!"

Obito instinctively reached out to grab him, but in an instant, Guy easily shoved him aside.

"Then I'll challenge you! Take this, Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" Obito quickly formed Hand Signs and puffed out his cheeks.

Then...

He choked on the breath, and Guy kicked him out on the spot.

A farce.

"Damn it, why is this happening? I was clearly trying so hard..." Obito ate a mouthful of dirt, feeling utterly defeated.

This only brought him greater ridicule.

No one paid attention to Obito. Even Gen'ichi merely picked up the bloodstained Kunai casually and calmly returned to the team, offering no response.

How pathetic. For Obito to get stronger, he either needs a cheat or to go dark.

Although, using the Great Fireball Technique at the age of ten is definitely excellent, he didn't actually manage to pull it off.

"Someone who chokes at the critical moment is more detestable than a mediocre person with limited talent, Gen'ichi-san, don't you think?"

Ichie brushed back her long hair, a smile on her face.

"Hey, hey, hey, is it really okay to talk about your own clan like that?"

"Heh, heh, the treatment for geniuses and mediocrities is bound to be different. I worked myself to the bone just to become the genius the clan values..."

Ichie focused intently on Gen'ichi Shiranui's profile, which drew another wave of attention.

Finally, after the match between Shiranui Genma and Ebisu concluded,

this large-scale Practical Training Class for the entire year group drew to a close.

The caliber of students displayed in this practical lesson was enough for the village's higher-ups to make a decision.

Some of the ninjas responsible for maintaining the Arena perimeter also relaxed their guard.

"Heh, saw a lot of interesting sights."

"Overall, the comprehensive quality of this year is quite good. From what I remember, while not quite matching the year of Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, and Aburame Shibi, it's definitely excellent compared to previous years."

"They... will become fine ninjas in the future."

Some of the ninjas chatted amongst themselves.

In fact, their task was to maintain and guard the entire school complex. The school itself was an important location, constantly patrolled by Anbu members.

These ninjas, whose overall skills were limited and the vast majority of whom were Genin, didn't need to worry excessively about enemy infiltration.

Might Duy trailed behind the others. No one wanted to walk with him, finding it embarrassing.

Everyone else had let their guard down, but Duy was still looking left and right.

"Haha, Duy, what are you doing? Are you expecting an enemy attack just as the match ends and people are leaving?"

Someone pointed at Duy and burst into laughter.

More people joined in the laughter.

"Oh! I just think that carrying out the mission until the very last second is the correct way to express youth..."

"Hahahaha, did you hear that? An Eternal Genin talking about youth, I'm dying of laughter!!"

"Hmm?"

"What, feeling defiant? Want to fight us?"

"No... someone's coming! Two of them!"

Might Duy quickly turned his head. His powerful physical instincts made his muscles tense up unconsciously. He suddenly twisted his head and looked in one direction.

Rumble, rumble, rumble...

Two mountains of flesh lumbered over.

"So hungry, big brother."

"Yes, the payment we earn from missions isn't nearly enough to feed us, little brother."

"We've worked so hard, but during wartime, we can't even get enough to eat. The village abuses us, so we can only find food ourselves. I'm starving to death."

"Hmm, that's the Ninja Academy up ahead. With so many students, they must have a large store of food."

"Then let's go eat quickly. If anyone gets in our way..."

"Then we'll just kill them."

Two massive, burly men charged forward in large strides. Their speed wasn't fast, but with every step, they stomped the ground, shattering it, and the Chakra bursting forth was incredibly astonishing.

The ninjas responsible for guarding the Ninja Academy's complex immediately changed expression the moment they saw the two of them.

"These, these two guys are... that legendary pair of brothers?!"

"This is bad, they've gone crazy from hunger again! Go report to our superiors quickly!"

One moment they were laughing and talking, the next their faces were ashen.

Might Duy's face also tightened, his heart heavy. "It's actually those two, the White-Eyed Brothers... Fūjin and Raijin!"