Elsewhere.
Beneath Konoha,
Within a bottomless chasm stood an iron bridge connecting all directions to the abyssal rock walls. At its center rose a steel tower built underground, resembling the intake tower within a dam.
This was the place known as Konoha's Anbu training division:
Root.
At that moment, inside an office belonging to Root's upper ranks within the underground tower,
two men stood before floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a sea of darkness.
One was an old man with black spiky hair and neatly trimmed sideburns, his head and right eye wrapped in bandages. His gloomy face was covered in wrinkles. As he read through an unfurled scroll and saw the glaring word "Hyuga Clan" in the employer field, he could not help frowning slightly.
This man was Root's leader, the man known as the "Darkness of the Shinobi World":
Shimura Danzō.
The scroll in his hand was none other than the mission commission Hyuga Yu had signed at the Hokage Building not long ago.
"Hyuga Yu... I recall this brat was already on the observation list."
Danzo glanced at Aburame Ryūma, who stood beside him with his entire body concealed beneath a hooded robe and a pair of dark sunglasses, then commented flatly:
"Born from the dregs, with resentment in his heart."
"A pity. He is merely a sparrow of mediocre talent."
Beside him, Aburame Ryūma nodded.
"Indeed. The Chunin Ninja Exams have already proven that his potential is nothing remarkable."
"But if one asks why... the reason is that this sparrow has now come to us of his own accord."
"He seems to have noticed our surveillance and has proactively offered you terms."
"Hmph."
Danzo could not help letting out a cold, sinister snort.
Since becoming the Hokage's Assistant and establishing Root,
everyone who saw him had treated him like a venomous snake or scorpion, eager to stay as far away as possible. This was the first time he had encountered such a bold brat.
"How should we handle him?"
Aburame Ryūma was also somewhat surprised. He raised a finger and adjusted his sunglasses.
"The Byakugan carries immense strategic value. Even if this brat is only an ordinary Genin from the Hyuga Branch Family, he still holds considerable value to us."
"Only..."
Aburame Ryūma's words stopped abruptly, but Shimura Danzō understood the implication—
the Caged Bird Cursed Seal remained an unavoidable issue.
In any meaningful sense, Hyuga Branch Family members branded with the Caged Bird were already slaves of the Main House. Everything belonging to the Branch House—information, bonds, wealth, strength, status... all of it was controlled by the Main House, to be taken or used as they pleased.
Under such circumstances, even if Root recruited Hyuga Yu and branded him with the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, it would be difficult to ensure that no information leaked.
And for shinobi—for the countless Root shinobi lurking in the shadows cast by Konoha's great tree—
information was life.
Danzo frowned, gripping his chin as he pondered.
At this time, Shimura Danzō and the Root under his command were in a period of rapidly expanding strength.
Following the two Shinobi World Wars, Danzo had used the need to remedy flaws in the intelligence network as justification to obtain special authority from the Third, Sarutobi Hiruzen. He was allowed to greatly expand his manpower and operate independently of the Anbu.
Now, the total number of Root shinobi, both publicly known and hidden, even exceeded that of the Anbu directly under the Hokage.
Yet,
such an enormous organization possessed one glaring flaw—
its structure was too uniform.
Or, more bluntly,
it had too few strong fighters.
The only ones who could be called strong were Shimura Danzō, Aburame Ryūma, and one of the "Legendary Sannin," Orochimaru, who answered orders but not summons.
Below the upper ranks, the personnel were largely civilian shinobi recruited from the Anbu and the Ninja Academy.
The future elite shinobi Hatake Kakashi, Tenzō, Yamanaka Fū, Aburame Torune, Shin, Sai, and others, each with their own specialties, were either not yet born, serving under the Third, or still soaking in Orochimaru's laboratory.
To resolve this issue, Shimura Danzō had already proposed to the Third that Root recruit and train talented children from Konoha's major clans.
The Third had agreed, but with a smile, he required Danzo himself to negotiate with each major clan.
Obviously,
Konoha's major clans did not recognize Root's principles, nor were they willing to hand their children over to Danzo to be brainwashed into people who recognized neither family nor kin.
Every one of them guarded against Shimura Danzō as though guarding against a thief.
Danzo had paid several visits, only to be either turned away outright, told that the clan head was away on business, or informed that the clan's children of suitable age had contracted incurable illnesses and would be unable to serve Elder Danzo...
Even the relatively close Aburame Clan had fobbed him off by claiming that their current generation had no children with suitable talent.
At this point, Danzo no longer lacked cannon fodder, spies, or rank-and-file shinobi. What he needed were elite shinobi capable of standing on their own, the "geniuses" in ordinary people's eyes.
Or rather,
Shimura Danzō, who aspired to become Hokage, wanted elites who could directly match the standards of the Hokage's personal guard.
Hyuga Yu, who was nothing more than an oversized piece of cannon fodder, clearly did not meet that standard.
But...
"If used as a stepping stone, this brat... barely qualifies."
Danzo pondered silently, then turned and made his decision—
He pulled a blue scroll bearing the Shimura Clan crest from his robes and tossed it to Aburame Ryūma. Expressionless, he said:
"Recruit that brat as an external member of Root."
"An external member?" Aburame Ryūma froze. A strange look appeared on the face hidden beneath his hood.
Danzo stared at Aburame Ryūma impassively and said:
"Reveal no information to him. Do not have him participate in any missions related to Root operations. Give him no training related to Root's plans."
At this point, Danzo paused, and his tone turned slightly colder.
"But... use those eyes of his. Make him give everything to lay the foundations of Konoha!"
With that, Shimura Danzō turned and returned to his desk. He sat down and resumed dealing with the mountain of intelligence files and the bulk of tedious paperwork Sarutobi Hiruzen had thrown at him.
To Danzo, who aspired to the position of Hokage, Hyuga Yu's matter was merely a minor interlude. This method of handling it was only a fleeting thought that had occurred to him by chance.
It might prove useful, or it might not. But once Danzo made a decision, he no longer cared about the process, only the final result.
The difference in status between the two sides was as vast as a chasm,
like casually flicking away a small bug that had crawled onto his sleeve—
Hyuga Yu's fate began to turn.
But as the saying went,
the leader moved his mouth, and his subordinates ran themselves ragged.
Faced with Danzo's sudden decision to create "external members of Root," Aburame Ryūma immediately felt his head grow enormous.
He could not help twitching his lips bitterly as he thought, He can't do this, he can't do that, yet I'm supposed to make perfect use of his Byakugan without letting the brat come into contact with any Root affairs or intelligence...
How am I supposed to arrange a position for this brat?
But soon,
Aburame Ryūma suddenly thought of a post that seemed perfectly suited to Danzo's requirements.
"The Zero-Tails project left behind by the Second Hokage has hit a research bottleneck, and Orochimaru has dismantled the project team... Every remaining member is currently holding an idle post."
"We could have this brat join Shigaraki Tanuki's squad!"
Before you continue