Ambushed, Encountering a Spy?

His taijutsu had been suppressed, his swordsmanship thoroughly seen through, and his ninjutsu used with extreme ingenuity. In the end, he had finished the battle with a bizarre movement technique combining the Body Flicker Technique and Clone Technique. According to Kakashi himself, it was a Body Flicker Technique he had never seen before.

While moving at high speed, he created tangible, deceptive phantoms that were impossible to distinguish from the real thing, blending illusion and reality. He had named it the Phantom Body Flicker Technique.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's hand trembled slightly as he held the report.

Thinking of that man, he could not help but feel a deep sense of guilt. If he had not allowed those rumors to spread...

Sigh...

This report had been submitted not long before his suicide. Perhaps out of protection, or perhaps for some other reason, Sakumo had classified it as top secret and sealed it away.

With his death, this report documenting the rise of another genius had also been buried in the darkness of the archives.

A super genius who could easily defeat Kakashi a year ago and even create his own ninjutsu had nearly been overlooked by him.

Despite already possessing such strength, the kid was still carrying the identity of a Ninja Academy student.

That was right. Although Yamashiro Aoba skipped class every day under the pretense of interning at the hospital, he really was still a Ninja Academy student.

Sarutobi Hiruzen took several deep drags from his pipe again, calming himself down.

He was delighted that another genius had appeared in the village. With proper training, he might become the next Minato. Yet he was troubled as well—why did these "geniuses" all have one problem or another?

There was no need to mention the three under his command. The Three Ninja Taboos had instead become their labels.

Kakashi had become increasingly extreme after his father's suicide, and Aoba was the same—so cautious that he was like an old turtle.

Why could they not be like Minato and spare people the worry?

Sigh.

It had been fine when he did not know, but now that he did, he certainly could not let Aoba remain at the Ninja Academy any longer. Even though he barely went there, the hospital would not do either.

The situation in the Shinobi World was so tense now. The new generation needed to gain experience and grow as quickly as possible.

However, getting Aoba to "graduate" voluntarily would be troublesome.

Now that he knew of Aoba's talent, he could not handle him the way he would an ordinary person, lest he damage the village's standing in Aoba's heart.

That was very important!

A genius who did not hold the village in his heart was more threatening than a hundred ordinary people.

"Shinnosuke."

"Third Hokage, you called for me?"

A ninja who looked seventy percent similar to Sarutobi Hiruzen appeared in the room.

"Help me check how much longer Yuhi Shinku's mission will take."

Sarutobi Shinnosuke soon reappeared. "Team Yuhi Shinku's mission duration is one month. They have been gone for one week. Based on Team Yuhi Shinku's past mission patterns, they should return to the village and submit their mission report in roughly ten to fifteen days."

"Good."

Meanwhile, on a remote street in Konoha's western district.

The setting sun stretched the shadows long.

Aoba carried a bag of freshly bought groceries in one hand, humming a tune as he slowly made his way home.

This period had kept him incredibly busy. His experiment had finally advanced smoothly into its next stage, but during the day, his surgery schedule had been packed. After letting Aoba serve as the lead surgeon a few times, Teacher Ueno had simply started acting like a hands-off boss.

Aoba was numb. He was being worked like a beast of burden.

He seriously suspected that Teacher Ueno might be a Senju too.

Why was she just like Tsunade, grabbing hold of one sheep and shearing it relentlessly?

Did beasts of burden not need rest?

Becoming a medical ninja had only been an interest of his, a way to improve his ability to stay alive. After all, the Shinobi World was too dangerous. But working was another matter entirely.

And he was still an intern medical ninja, the kind who did not get paid.

That made him even angrier.

Was this not bullying an honest person?

However, Teacher Ueno had just stuffed a scroll into his hands.

Aoba glanced at it.

[Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Technique]

An A-rank Medical Ninjutsu that could be performed by one or several medical ninjas together, using the injured person's cells to heal their wounds.

When Minato's internal organs had been damaged before, this was the technique used to regenerate them.

Moreover, this was a ninjutsu only the hospital's upper ranks knew.

Ahem!

Although Ueno had not formally accepted Aoba as her disciple, Aoba had already regarded her as his master.

As the saying went, when the master had work to do, the disciple served in her stead.

A mere few surgeries? Aoba said they were no problem at all.

He would buy some good food today and properly reward himself. Tomorrow, he would continue being a diligent beast of burden.

"Hm?"

Just as he turned a familiar street corner, the surrounding clamor suddenly vanished.

Children's laughter, neighbors chatting, distant vendors calling out... every sound that made up everyday life seemed to be cut off in an instant by an invisible hand.

The air became deathly still. Even the wind stopped.

[Warning: Environmental parameters abnormal!]

[High-density chakra particle disturbance.]

[Environmental scan in progress... confirmed: large-scale genjutsu coverage.]

The Chip's cold prompt sounded in his mind.

Almost at the same time, the world before his eyes began to distort.

The familiar street melted and warped like paint dropped into water. The warm orange sunset turned into ominous blood red, while the outlines of the houses stretched and spun into savage ghostly shapes.

"Fuck, could it be Root?"

Some time ago, he had discovered that Anbu had been monitoring him.

He figured he had not done anything.

The only thing that had entered the higher-ups' notice was exchanging a few words with Kushina.

After a few days of surveillance, it had stopped.

Why were they acting directly this time? After all, the only people who could attack one of their own inside the village were Root ninja.

If it were the Third Hokage, he would have sent Anbu to speak with him. There would have been no need to act.

As for why Danzo would seek him out, the only reason was that he had taken a liking to his medical skills.

Aoba let out an irritated sigh inwardly. His medical skills focused mainly on external injuries and had not involved human experimentation, so why would they come for him?

Aoba's thoughts raced, but for now, he needed to break the genjutsu first.

He immediately formed a hand seal with one hand, his movement simple and efficient.

"Release!"

The blood-red world before him cracked inch by inch like a shattered mirror, revealing the real street behind it.

A figure suddenly appeared at the entrance of the alley, which had originally been empty.

The person wore a dark gray skintight combat uniform. The symbol on his forehead protector was not Konohagakure's whirlpool, but three simply drawn clouds.

He was not from Root. He was a Kumogakure ninja.

Aoba relaxed slightly.

Spies were easier to deal with. If it had been Root, he really would have found it awkward to strike.

But.

How had these brutes gotten in?

And why were they blocking him?

He quickly ran through his identities in his mind: Yuhi Shinku's adopted son, Hot Pot Restaurant owner, Ninja Academy student, Medical Corps apprentice...

Which one of those identities was worth Kumogakure risking infiltration into Konoha to abduct him?

He did not have any special bloodline either.

Could it be because he had been too conspicuous at the hospital recently?

Or was this simply a random crime? Had they seen how handsome he was and wanted to take him back as breeding stock to improve Kumogakure's looks?

Though if it was someone like Samui, Aoba figured it was not entirely beyond negotiation.