Shimura Danzō, the current Hokage's Assistant, had been granted tremendous trust and authority by Hiruzen Sarutobi. If Hiruzen Sarutobi represented Konoha's light in the open, then Shimura Danzō carried Konoha's darkness.
At the same time, he harbored the ambition of becoming Hokage.
With Hiruzen Sarutobi's trust, Shimura Danzō cultivated his own forces under the name of the "Anbu Training Department"—Root.
Root was even more deeply hidden than the Anbu, and the things it did were even more unspeakable.
As Root's leader, Shimura Danzō was extremely suspicious, cautious, and sinister. His methods were ruthless. He trusted no one and could not tolerate even the slightest possibility of an oversight. Only when everything followed his own plans could he feel at ease.
Now, the famous Veigar had caught the eye of such a man.
After reading Veigar's files, Shimura Danzō suddenly spoke while sitting in a dim secret chamber. "Pigeon, put Veigar on the close-watch list. Monitor him personally."
"Yes."
In the secret chamber, where Shimura Danzō had appeared to be alone, Pigeon, a Root ninja hidden beside him and wearing a pigeon mask, immediately answered and emerged before vanishing into the darkness again.
"Veigar Koshima..."
Shimura Danzō lightly tapped the wooden table, his mind calculating how to bring Veigar under his command.
Considering the talent and strength Veigar had displayed, along with a background so clean it could not be cleaner, Shimura Danzō neither wanted to nor could stop himself from taking an interest in him.
The last person with roughly the same talent and background as Veigar had already become one of the village's mainstays. Shimura Danzō had wanted to recruit him, but he also knew that the possibility was basically zero.
Veigar was different. He had not yet been formally taken under Hiruzen Sarutobi's wing, nor had he formed any deep ties with anyone else. Shimura Danzō felt he still had a very good chance of succeeding.
As long as Veigar was properly cultivated, he would definitely become one of the most capable subordinates at Shimura Danzō's side.
Sending his secret guards to monitor Veigar also showed just how highly Shimura Danzō regarded him.
Pigeon's actions were swift. After receiving Shimura Danzō's order, he immediately brought two other Root ninjas and began monitoring Veigar without Veigar noticing in the slightest.
The hunger rising from his stomach made Veigar stop training. As he looked at the sky gradually darkening and was about to go downstairs to cook, he suddenly heard someone calling from outside his door.
"Veigar, are you home?"
Veigar knew at once that the person outside was Might Guy, so he called back, "Is that Guy? I'm home. Wait a moment."
Soon, Veigar opened the door. But when he saw the scene outside, he was instantly surprised and asked, "Why have you all come?"
"Come in quickly!"
Besides Might Guy, the people outside included Iruka Umino, Ebisu, Genma Shiranui, Asuma Sarutobi, and Obito Uchiha—seven boys in total.
There were also Shizune Kato, Rin Nohara, Kurenai Yuhi, and Mitaraishi Anko—four girls.
Eleven people had come to visit him.
"Sorry to bother you."
After receiving Veigar's invitation, everyone quickly answered and entered Veigar's home.
After ushering them into the living room, Veigar sat down as well and asked, "Did you come looking for me about something?"
Might Guy replied, "We all heard today that you applied for Early Graduation, so we came to celebrate in advance."
"For that, I even brought you a gift."
As he spoke, Might Guy stood up and took out the gift he had prepared beforehand.
"This is it!"
Everyone stared at the gift Might Guy brought out with dark lines across their foreheads, but he remained completely unaware and loudly introduced it. "It's breathable yet warm, designed for freedom of movement while displaying perfect body curves. Once you put it on for training, you'll immediately feel how different it is, and you'll fall in love with it."
"And before long, you'll want to wear it all the time, just like me."
"This is my favorite."
Faced with Might Guy's good intentions, Veigar could not refuse. He could only smile awkwardly and reply, "Thanks for the trouble, Guy."
"Here, take it!"
Veigar accepted the green skintight suit Might Guy handed him and placed it to one side.
At the same time, Veigar decided to keep Might Guy's gift as a collectible. Even if someone beat him to death, he would never wear it.
It was not that the skintight suit Might Guy had given him had any quality problems. Its material and workmanship were excellent. Its only flaw was that it was the same green model.
"..."
Seeing the expression on Veigar's face as he accepted Might Guy's gift, everyone secretly covered their mouths and laughed. If they were in his place, they probably would have worn the same expression.
At the same time, they each took out the gifts they had prepared for Veigar. They were not particularly valuable, but each contained the deep affection of classmates.
Under the dimming sky, laughter and conversation continually drifted out of Veigar's home. After it continued for more than half an hour, everyone finally said their farewells one after another and returned to their own homes.
After seeing everyone to the door, Veigar deliberately spoke to Obito Uchiha, who was preparing to escort Rin Nohara home. "Obito, thanks for the Kunai you gave me. I'll use it to pass the exam."
Obito Uchiha smiled and replied, "I'm glad you like it."
If he had not known that Rin Nohara would be coming to see Veigar, Obito, who had fought Veigar just yesterday, would never have come over.
Let alone given Veigar a gift.
Speaking of which, Obito Uchiha and Veigar did not have any major grudge between them. Obito was also full of goodwill toward the people around him. His previous attitude toward Veigar had merely been meant to highlight himself by defeating Veigar and then attract Rin Nohara's attention.
However, after Veigar had exposed his true feelings yesterday, Obito had already changed his attitude toward him. This could perhaps be considered burying the hatchet with a smile.
At that moment, Veigar spoke to Obito Uchiha again. "To thank you for the gift, I also have a special gift for you."
Obito Uchiha asked curiously, "What gift?"
Rin Nohara, who had arranged to leave with Obito Uchiha, also looked at Veigar curiously. Then they saw Veigar take out that special "return gift."
"This is it."
When Obito Uchiha saw the object in Veigar's hand, he widened his eyes and stared at Veigar in disbelief, as if asking, Are you serious?
Veigar sincerely gave him a look that said, I'm serious.
At that moment, Obito Uchiha felt an overwhelming amount of malice from Veigar.
Rin Nohara could not help bursting out laughing.
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