Undercurrents and Schemes, Infinite Charm

Deep within a cold, damp underground base in Konoha, a place where sunlight never reaches.

This is the headquarters of the organization known as Root.

An elderly man with one eye, his face wrapped in bandages, sits quietly in the seat of honor. He is the dark side of Konoha, a ninja who will stop at nothing to protect the village: Shimura Danzō.

A Root ninja wearing a plain white animal mask, devoid of any identifying marks, kneels on one knee before him. In a tone stripped of all emotion, the operative reports the entire process of the recently concluded Chunin Exams preliminary rounds.

From Ling Xuan's perfect written exam answers—which read more like an analytical assessment report—to his calm, efficient command and slaughter in the Forest of Death, and finally, the combat footage of him crushing an elite from Sunagakure in a way that defied comprehension.

Every piece of intelligence makes the air in this secret chamber grow colder and more oppressive.

"That concludes the full report regarding the genin, Ling Xuan." After finishing the report, the Root ninja bows his head, kneeling in silence as he awaits his master's command.

Danzō says nothing, merely staring at the documents in his hands with his uncovered eye.

On the files, there are only a few lines of simple text.

[Ling Xuan, male, parents unknown, survivor of the Nine-Tails incident, no record of any Kekkei Genkai. Raised in the Konoha Orphanage, performance mediocre. After entering the Ninja Academy at age six, began to display learning and analytical abilities far beyond the norm...]

"An orphan... no background whatsoever..." Danzō's fingers tap rhythmically against the armrest of his chair, producing a steady tap-tap sound.

To Danzō, a ninja's strength is not terrifying; what is terrifying is strength that cannot be controlled.

The Uchiha Clan possesses powerful Kekkei Genkai, but their emotions and pride are hidden dangers that cannot be eradicated. The descendants of the Senju Clan inherited vast vitality, yet their so-called Will of Fire is far too idealistic and naive.

But this boy named Ling Xuan, in his eyes, is a piece of raw jade in its most perfect form.

Without the bonds of a clan or the shackles of bloodline, his past is like a blank sheet of paper. What he displays is wisdom and rationality in their purest, most extreme forms—traits that are exactly what is needed to forge the sharpest, most perfect tool for Root.

There is no excess emotion in Ling Xuan's eyes; every action is guided by the optimal solution. This style of disregarding all sentiment to pursue only results is practically tailor-made for Root.

"He cannot be allowed to continue growing in the sunlight," Danzō decides internally. "Hiruzen's Will of Fire is too gentle; such ethereal ideals will only dull the sharpest edge of this divine weapon. Only in the dark soil, rooted deep within the shadows of Konoha, can one nurture a true root capable of protecting the village and eradicating all threats!"

"Pass the order down: elevate Ling Xuan's surveillance level to Grade A. I want to know his every move over this next month, every person he contacts, every word he speaks, even every fluctuation of his chakra."

"Furthermore, begin drafting a guidance plan specifically for him. It is time he understands what the true darkness and will of Konoha really are."

"Yes!" the Root ninja responds respectfully, then flashes away, vanishing as if merging into the darkness itself.

The secret chamber returns to a deathly silence, save for the greedy, fanatical light flickering in Danzō's single eye, as if he has discovered a peerless treasure.

Meanwhile, inside the Hokage's office.

"Yes, Third Hokage-sama." Kakashi's voice still carries a lingering, unshakable shock.

"I confirmed it repeatedly with my Sharingan: what Ling Xuan used during the battle was not genjutsu. It was an extreme application of chakra nature transformation that I cannot comprehend at all. His combat style has already begun to deviate from our existing ninjutsu system."

Hiruzen Sarutobi falls into a long silence. He knows better than anyone what it means for a stable village when a genius appears who can break existing rules and even begin to formulate new ones.

Ling Xuan is a divine sword capable of forging the future, but he could also be a double-edged blade capable of overturning everything.

"Kakashi." Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone becomes incredibly grave. "My mission for you remains unchanged. Over this month, you must do everything in your power to bind him tightly to the village and his companions."

"At the same time, I will have Jiraiya approach him."

"Jiraiya-sama?" Kakashi is startled.

"Yes." Hiruzen Sarutobi nods. "Orochimaru has already set his sights on him; this matter is of great consequence. Jiraiya understands Orochimaru best and can provide necessary protection at critical moments. Besides..."

"For a seeker of truth like Ling Xuan, perhaps only a sage like Jiraiya, who has traveled the world and witnessed countless landscapes, can truly understand and guide him."

"I understand," Kakashi replies solemnly.

While the entire upper echelon of Konoha is stirred by the undercurrents surrounding one boy, Ling Xuan, the center of the storm, has already returned to his humble room at the orphanage.

He calmly declines Naruto's invitation to "go eat ramen to celebrate," and ignores the complex gaze cast by Sasuke, throwing himself entirely into his plans for the future.

The harvest from the preliminary rounds is immense.

Not only has he collected combat data on all opponents worth noting, but through his battle with Temari, he has verified his preliminary application of the brand-new theory: the "Chakra Annihilation Field."

The Annihilation Field is still at the primitive 1.0 version; it can only defend passively and consumes a massive amount of energy.

Ling Xuan's main body sits cross-legged, his Eye of Truth rapidly reviewing and optimizing the data in his mind.

There are two directions for optimization. First, reduce energy consumption and increase precision. Second, shift it from defense to offense. If I can compress the Annihilation Field into a single point and release it via throwing or attachment... it would become a rule-level attack capable of ignoring all defenses.

This month is a golden period of training and research for him.

Ling Xuan splits off five more Shadow Clones, each assigned more precise and higher-level tasks.

These include, but are not limited to, how Gaara achieves absolute defense, reverse-engineering the Eight Inner Gates, gathering and analyzing intelligence, and formulating optimal combat strategies.

Beyond that, while continuing to perfect the Domain of Silence, he must also design a defensive sealing jutsu targeting the soul. This is to prepare for Orochimaru and any more bizarre mental attacks that might appear in the future.

As for Ling Xuan's main body, he pours all his energy into the project he is currently most interested in.

He takes a faintly glowing scroll from his ninja tool pouch. Recorded on it is a fragmented, yet infinitely alluring technique.

The ultimate space-time ninjutsu created by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju—

The Flying Thunder God Technique!