Investigation into Yamashiro Aoba

Beneath Konohagakure, Root Base.

In the dimly lit room, the flame of an oil lamp flickered silently.

Shimura Danzō sat in the dim room, leafing through the documents in his hands.

[Yamashiro Aoba: Both parents died when he was five. Adopted by Jonin Yuhi Shinku. Possesses outstanding business talent and is the actual owner of Yamashiro Hot Pot Restaurant. Performed excellently during his time at the Ninja Academy and caught the attention of the Third Hokage. Currently a member of Konoha Hospital's medical experimental class, valued by Tsunade, and has close ties with Jiraiya and Namikaze Minato...]

"Hmph, just a clever little genius."

Danzo snorted disdainfully, his voice sounding especially cold in the empty room.

"Just like Hiruzen, always fond of creating phony interpersonal relationships."

He did not pay much attention to the boy named Yamashiro Aoba.

In his eyes, the boy was merely a lucky fellow with some talent for medicine who had happened to latched onto Tsunade.

A genius like that, content with making money from a restaurant and seemingly lacking ambition, had no value to Root. He lacked the resolve to become a blade in the darkness.

There were plenty of people like that in Konohagakure. He would never amount to much.

"Continue observing him. No need to interfere."

Danzo casually tossed Aoba's file aside. The thin sheets of paper drifted to the floor, ignored by all.

His gaze settled on another, much thicker dossier.

It was a file marked with several eye-catching words—Hatake Kakashi.

The son of Konoha's White Fang.

"White Fang's death has already planted the seed of darkness in this child's heart. His obsession with rules and fixation on missions are exactly the qualities Root needs! But... it is not enough!!!"

The corner of Danzo's lips curled upward, as though he could already see his future pawn.

"Let him stew in the darkness a while longer. Once he fully understands the uselessness of comrades and the absolute nature of missions, then I will extend my hand to him."

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office.

The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, exhaled rings of smoke, his entire body shrouded in a bluish-gray haze.

A report from the Anbu also lay on his desk, though its contents were far simpler than Danzo's. It merely recorded the fact that Yamashiro Aoba had visited Minato during his hospitalization as a medical staff member.

It should have been a trivial matter, but seeing Yamashiro Aoba's name made Hiruzen realize that he had not paid attention to this unconventional genius for quite some time.

At first, he had watched the boy for a while. But as Kakashi became increasingly outstanding, his attention had gradually shifted elsewhere.

He had not expected the little fellow to begin training at Konoha Hospital and become involved with Minato.

Among the younger generation of ninja, Minato was the one he thought most highly of.

How had these two people, who seemed to have nothing to do with each other, become connected?

"Someone."

Hiruzen tapped his pipe against the ashtray.

An Anbu wearing a mask instantly appeared before the Hokage's desk.

"Go bring Jiraiya here."

Not long after, Jiraiya barged in with a stream of curses, carrying a faint smell of alcohol.

"I say, old man, I just got back. Can't you let me rest?"

Hiruzen ignored his complaint and said calmly, "Your disciple Minato was seriously injured. Didn't you go see him?"

Jiraiya's expression stiffened. He scratched his distinctive white hair. "W-Well, isn't he fine now? Kushina has been staying at the hospital with him. It wouldn't be proper for me to go disturb the young couple."

Hiruzen gave a cold snort. How could he not know what his own disciple was like? The moment Jiraiya returned, he had gone to those dens of pleasure and completely forgotten about it afterward.

"Tell me, what is going on with that boy named Yamashiro Aoba?"

"Oh? You mean that interesting little brat?"

The moment Jiraiya heard that, he grew interested and launched into a vivid explanation. "That kid is no ordinary fellow. Minato got stuck at a bottleneck while developing a new technique, yet the kid woke him up with a single sentence. To thank him, Minato wanted to teach him a ninjutsu. But guess what? That kid actually turned down Minato's technique and specifically asked to learn this Sage's original secret technique!"

At that, Jiraiya proudly puffed out his chest.

Hiruzen glanced at him and took a puff from his pipe. "That secret technique of yours for controlling hair?"

"That's right. And not only that."

Jiraiya leaned closer mysteriously and lowered his voice. "That kid also knows Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred! Looks like Tsunade thinks highly of him. Tsk, tsk, what a lucky brat."

Hiruzen's hand holding the pipe froze in midair.

Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred?

That was not a technique just anyone could learn. Then he remembered that Aoba seemed to have begun training at the hospital, so he should have mastered the basics of Medical Ninjutsu.

In that case, it did not seem so difficult to understand how he had learned Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred.

He knew Medical Ninjutsu, had mastered Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred, and had also learned Jiraiya's hair-controlling secret technique.

Although he did not think much of Jiraiya's hair technique either, he had to admit that it was quite practical and convenient.

That was already far beyond the techniques a Genin should possess.

And that was only what they knew now. Who knew whether he had mastered other ninjutsu even earlier?

Ever since he began paying attention to Yamashiro Aoba, he had felt that this little fellow was no ordinary child. He possessed an extremely mature, adult way of thinking.

But because of what had happened to his parents, he had lacked a sense of security from a young age.

He habitually kept a low profile, hid himself away, and disliked drawing attention. Even when opening a restaurant, he had used Yuhi Shinku's name.

If he had not summoned Jiraiya this time, he would never have imagined that Yamashiro Aoba had grown this far.

What a surprise!

"I understand. You may leave."

After dismissing the still-chattering Jiraiya, Hiruzen's expression became grave.

He summoned the Anbu again and issued a new order.

"Go. Retrieve every piece of information on Yamashiro Aoba so far. I want the most detailed records."

Several days later, dossiers were delivered to the Hokage's desk. The files detailed Aoba's movements over the past year.

[Frequently enters and leaves Konoha Hospital's laboratory. Currently cultivating some type of cell-adhering sand grains, suspected of developing a certain ninjutsu.]

[Assisted Doctor Ueno with high-difficulty surgery. Skilled hands and solid theoretical knowledge. Possesses Medical Ninjutsu at the level of a Chunin.]

[Has frequent contact with Namikaze Minato and participated in discussions on Rasengan development. Learned the Wild Lion's Mane Technique from Jiraiya and initially mastered it in only one hour.]

[Suspected of mastering Strength of a Hundred techniques. Extremely strong chakra control.]

[Training in Fire Release and Earth Release. Suspected of having mastered Chakra Nature Transformation...]

The more Hiruzen read, the tighter his brow furrowed. Although there were many "suspected" entries in the files, if the Anbu had written the information down, then it was basically ninety percent certain.

Any one of those achievements alone would have been enough for someone his age to boast about.

Yet Aoba had never displayed or flaunted any of them. The Anbu had followed him for several days and had not seen the boy use any of them.

The only record of him taking action had actually been found in a sealed archive.

It was a special report personally written and sealed by Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo.

That had been one year ago, shortly after Kakashi graduated early.

The report gave a detailed account of a private sparring match.

The two combatants were the genius Hatake Kakashi, who had just become a Genin, and Yamashiro Aoba, who had still been a Ninja Academy student at the time.

The result was Kakashi's complete defeat!