I, Bai Lin, Declare You the 'Hardworking Genius'!

Shimura Danzō continued, "Hiruzen, this is a time when talent is needed. My Root requires capable individuals. With this crisis at hand, Root must expand its ranks to shoulder the heavy responsibility of monitoring the village, purging spies, and executing secret missions!"

Previously, during times of peace, although Hiruzen Sarutobi had allowed Shimura Danzō to organize an independent mobile unit within the Anbu, their numbers had always been strictly controlled. Shimura Danzō was now seizing this opportunity to press Hiruzen Sarutobi for an expansion of his personnel.

However, the current situation was indeed thorny; Konoha was surrounded by enemies on all sides.

Having recuperated for so many years, the fertile lands of the Land of Fire had never ceased to be coveted by other villages.

This move by Hanzo of the Salamander was highly likely to become the spark that ignited the ambitions of all the ninja villages, especially Sunagakure.

Sunagakure was always the most eager to stir up trouble for Konoha.

Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped his fingers lightly against the desk, a look of hesitation on his face.

As a close friend of Shimura Danzō, he was naturally well aware of his thoughts.

Shimura Danzō had always harbored resentment over the events of the past, feeling that he had only been one step behind Hiruzen Sarutobi, which was why Senju Tobirama had handed the position of Hokage to him.

Over the years, Shimura Danzō had considered his own abilities inferior to no one, and his obsession with power had only grown deeper. He had often found various excuses to demand more authority and expand his forces, only to be suppressed by him every time.

But the current situation was indeed severe, and the secret operational capabilities of Root could truly be put to great use.

After pondering for a moment, he finally nodded: "Very well. But there are two conditions for the expansion of Root—first, the personnel must be volunteers, no forced conscription; second, all Root operations must be reported to me and subject to Anbu supervision. No unauthorized actions are permitted."

A flash of imperceptible joy crossed Shimura Danzō's eyes, and he immediately nodded: "No problem, I will strictly abide by these two conditions."

As soon as he finished speaking, Utatane Koharu stood up, her brows locked in a frown: "Hiruzen, Hanzo of the Salamander is most adept at using poison, which is suitable for large-scale warfare. If we cannot find a solution, we will suffer heavy losses."

"I have already considered this," Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. "I will leave the Medical Department to Tsunade; she must develop an antidote as soon as possible."

As the high-level officials of Konoha, they quickly analyzed the situation in Konoha with clarity and reached a unanimous conclusion.

The war had begun!

"Knock, knock, knock!" A knock sounded at the door.

The Konoha F4 frowned.

"Come in," Hiruzen Sarutobi commanded.

An Anbu member pushed the door open and entered.

"Lord Hokage, this is a report from the Ninja Academy. They are unable to make a decision on their own," the Anbu member said, kneeling on one knee and handing over a document with both hands. "Most of the students at the Ninja Academy are applying for early graduation. I have come to ask for your instructions."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took the document, scanned it quickly, and raised an eyebrow: "..."

"Hiruzen, what is going on?" Utatane Koharu asked, puzzled.

Hiruzen Sarutobi handed the document in his hand to the others to read.

"Notify all high-level Konoha officials and Jonin to convene a Konoha meeting."

"All personnel currently completing missions abroad are to return to the village immediately to receive deployment!"

Soon, the high-level meeting of Konoha began.

In addition to discussing the situation in Konoha, they also discussed the news reported by the Ninja Academy.

Bai Lin remained completely unaware of all of this.

In the afternoon.

A clearing in the mountains behind Konoha.

"Eight Inner Gates, Gate of Life, Open!"

The thunderous shout pierced the tranquility of the mountain. Might Duy erupted with pale green chakra, his muscles bulging so intensely that they stretched the fabric of his green spandex into clear, taut lines.

His figure vanished from the spot, instantly crossing a distance of over ten meters.

His opponent, Bai Lin, frowned. He wasn't shocked by the strength Might Duy displayed; rather, he felt that while Might Duy's speed had reached a level surpassing most Chunin, it had yet to rise to the level of a Jonin.

The core side effect of the Eight Inner Gates was the overdrawing of bodily functions, and it relied heavily on physical constitution.

If Bai Lin could speak from a cross-dimensional perspective, becoming a ninja was a matter of talent, while the Eight Inner Gates were the "root bones" of the martial arts world.

Root bones could rapidly improve physical fitness, and the ceiling was high.

Might Duy did not seem to have talent in this regard; even in the later stages, his normal combat power could at most only match that of an average Chunin. (This refers to Might Guy's normal strength and the comparison between the two regarding the 'Gate of Death'.)

Bai Lin flashed, delivering a side kick to Might Duy's waist.

Might Duy took the hit to his waist and went flying, crashing heavily into the ground.

"Boss, you really are a genius!" Might Duy stood up, appearing not to have suffered any serious injuries, his eyes flashing with fanatical light.

"Boss, don't be careless. The current me can open the fourth gate, the Gate of Pain."

"I will become stronger step by step. I will become a ninja who is respected by everyone!"

"Eight Inner Gates, Gate of Pain, Open!"

Might Duy roared, his chakra instantly surging, the pale green aura churning and turning into a deep green.

The ground beneath his feet cracked under the pressure of his erupting chakra, far exceeding the oppression of the Gate of Life, with fine fissures spreading across the earth.

The Gate of Life could further improve attack and speed, but the burden on the body was equally significant.

Bai Lin had intended to stop Might Duy before he opened the Gate of Pain, but he swallowed the words back as they reached his lips.

He knew that the Gate of Pain was roughly Might Duy's limit, and it would be difficult for him to continue opening the next gate.

However, Might Duy clearly developed a paranoid desire to win against the strength Bai Lin had displayed.

Might Duy did not consider himself a genius, and in the eyes of others, he was often mocked for lacking the talent of a ninja.

Therefore, he spent most of his time desperately training in taijutsu; he was no genius, but he firmly believed that "hard work can make up for everything."

The Eight Inner Gates were his only reliance, his weapon against the theory of innate talent, and the obsession he held to be recognized.

At this moment, the excruciating pain from opening the Gate of Pain spread along his meridians, and his muscles could not withstand the agony, yet there was no trace of retreat in his eyes—only a fanaticism that would burn everything to ash.

"Boss! Take my punch!"

Might Duy roared as he kicked off the ground, his figure turning into a blurred afterimage, his fist aimed directly at Bai Lin's face.

Equipped with Sasuke Uchiha, Bai Lin was naturally unafraid; while he might be lacking in terms of genjutsu, his speed far exceeded that of an average jonin.

If he were to add lightning-style chakra on top of that, Might Duy would need to open at least two more gates just to match his speed.

Bai Lin knew that the Eight Inner Gates could not be kept open for too long, or the damage to the body would be too great, so he decided to end the fight quickly.

He arrived in front of Might Duy at an even greater speed, dropped his body low to dodge the punch, and landed a precise, heavy blow to Might Duy's abdomen.

"Bang!"

The dull sound of the impact made the air tremble, and the deep green chakra aura dissipated instantly like a punctured balloon.

Might Duy's eyes widened as he spat out a large mouthful of blood, his body flying backward like a kite with a broken string before slamming heavily into a rock over ten meters away with a muffled thud.

"That's enough, let's end it here."

"Duy, although you are not a genius,"

"Your hard work has already earned my recognition!"

"I, Bai Lin, am willing to call you a 'genius of hard work'!"