Root Extra

Meanwhile.

Beneath Konoha, In a bottomless ravine, there was a steel bridge connecting the four directions to the abyss's rock walls. At its center stood a steel tower built underground, resembling a water intake tower within a dam.

This place was none other than Konoha's Anbu training department, Root.

At this moment, in the underground tower's office belonging to Root's upper echelon, Two figures stood before a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking a dark expanse.

One was an old man with black hedgehog-like hair, neatly trimmed sideburns, his head and right eye wrapped in bandages. His face was grim, creased with wrinkles. He was holding an unrolled scroll, and upon seeing the glaring characters "Hyuga" in the client section, he couldn't help but frown slightly.

This man was none other than the leader of Root, the man known as the "Darkness of the Shinobi World,"

Shimura Danzo.

The scroll in his hand was, in fact, the mission letter of appointment that Hyuga Yu had signed in the Hokage Building not long ago.

"Hyuga Yu... I recall this brat was already on the observation list."

Danzō glanced at the man beside him, whose entire body was shrouded in a hooded cloak and who wore black sunglasses. Danzō commented nonchalantly:

"Born from humble beginnings, harboring resentment."

"It's a shame, though. He's just an ordinary sparrow with mediocre talent."

Beside him, Aburame Ryūma nodded.

"Indeed. The Chunin Exam already proved his potential is no more than that."

"But if you ask why... it's because, now, this sparrow has actively sought us out."

"He seems to have realized our observation of him and has proactively presented you with conditions."

"Hmph."

Danzō couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

Ever since he became the Hokage's Assistant and established Root, For so many years, everyone had treated him like a venomous snake, wishing they could flee as far as possible. This was the first time he had encountered such a bold brat.

"How should we handle this?"

Aburame Ryūma also seemed a bit surprised, lifting a finger to adjust his sunglasses.

"The Byakugan holds significant strategic importance. Even if this brat is just a mediocre Hyuga Branch Family Genin, he still possesses considerable value to us."

"It's just..."

Aburame Ryūma's words trailed off, and Shimura Danzō understood his unspoken meaning—

The Caged Bird curse mark remained an unavoidable issue.

Hyuga Branch Family members branded with the Caged Bird were, in essence, slaves to the Main Family. Everything belonging to the Branch Family—information, bonds, wealth, power, status—was controlled by the Main Family, subject to their whims.

Under such circumstances, if Root were to recruit Hyuga Yu, even with the Tongue-Cutting Seal, it would be difficult to guarantee that information wouldn't leak.

And for ninja, for the countless Root ninja lurking in the shadows cast by the great tree of Konoha, Information was life.

Danzō couldn't help but furrow his brow, stroking his chin in thought.

Shimura Danzō and the Root he commanded were currently in a period of rapid power expansion.

Due to the two Ninja World Wars, Danzō, under the guise of compensating for the intelligence system's shortcomings, had obtained permission from the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, to act with considerable latitude, expand his forces significantly, and operate independently of the Anbu.

Currently, the number of ninja in Root, both overt and hidden, surpassed even the Hokage's direct Anbu forces.

However, Such a massive organization had a glaring flaw—

A singular structure.

Or, to put it more bluntly, too few strong individuals.

The only ones who could be considered strong were Shimura Danzō, Aburame Ryūma, and the disobedient "Sannin," Orochimaru.

Personnel below the high command were basically composed of civilian ninja recruited from the Anbu and the Ninja Academy.

Future elite ninja like Hatake Kakashi, Yamato, Fu Yamanaka, Torune Aburame, Shin, Sai, and others were either not yet born, under the Third Hokage's command, or still soaking in Orochimaru's laboratory.

To resolve this issue, Shimura Danzō had proposed to the Third Hokage that they recruit children with potential from Konoha's various clans for training.

The Third Hokage had agreed, but with a smile, he requested that Danzō himself personally negotiate with each clan.

Clearly, Konoha's various clans did not endorse Root's principles, nor were they willing to hand over their children to Danzō to be brainwashed into unfeeling shells.

They all guarded against Shimura Danzō as if he were a thief.

Danzō had visited multiple times, only to be met with outright rejections, or excuses that the clan head was away on business, or that the eligible children within the clan had contracted an incurable illness and were unable to serve Elder Danzō...

Even the closely allied Aburame Clan used the excuse that they had no children with suitable potential to refuse Danzo.

At this point, Danzo no longer lacked cannon fodder, spies, or low-level ninja. What he wanted were elite ninja capable of acting independently, the "geniuses" in the eyes of ordinary people.

Or rather, Shimura Danzo, who aimed to become Hokage, wanted elites who could directly match the specifications of the Hokage's guard.

Hyuga Yu, who was merely a glorified cannon fodder, clearly did not meet this requirement.

But...

"If he's meant to be a stepping stone, this brat... barely qualifies."

Danzō mused to himself, then turned to make his decision—

He took out a blue scroll bearing the Shimura Clan's crest from his robes, tossed it to Aburame Ryūma, and said expressionlessly:

"Admit that brat as an auxiliary member of Root."

"Auxiliary member?" Aburame Ryūma was taken aback, a strange look appearing on his face hidden beneath his hood.

Danzō stared indifferently at Aburame Ryūma and said:

"Do not reveal any information to him, do not let him participate in any missions related to Root operations, and do not provide him with any training related to Root's plans."

Danzō paused here, his tone turning slightly cold.

"But... you must utilize his eyes, and make him dedicate everything to nurturing the roots of Konoha!"

With that, Shimura Danzō turned and sat back down at his desk, continuing to process the mountain of intelligence scrolls and the majority of the tedious official documents Sarutobi Hiruzen had thrown his way.

The matter of Hyuga Yu was merely a small interlude for Danzō, who aspired to the position of Hokage. This method of handling it was just a fleeting thought that had crossed Danzō's mind.

Perhaps it would work, perhaps it wouldn't, but since he had made a decision, Danzō would no longer care about the process, only the final result.

The gap in status between the two was like a chasm, Like gently flicking away a small bug crawling on one's sleeve—

Hyuga Yu's fate began to turn.

But as the saying goes, The boss just has to say the word, and the subordinate runs themselves ragged.

Faced with Danzō's impromptu decision of an "auxiliary member of Root," Aburame Ryūma felt his head swell.

He couldn't help but bitterly twitch the corner of his mouth, thinking, "He won't let me do this, and he won't let me do that, yet I still have to perfectly utilize that brat's Byakugan without him having any contact with Root affairs or intelligence..."

"How am I supposed to arrange things for this brat?"

But soon, Aburame Ryūma suddenly thought of a position that seemed to perfectly meet Danzō's requirements.

"The Zero-Tails project research left by the Second Hokage has hit a bottleneck, and the project team was dismantled by Orochimaru... all members are currently on standby."

"I can have this brat join [Shigaraki Tanuki]'s squad!"