Ulterior Motives

Yuehua Ai walked slowly back to his residence. After unlocking the door and entering his room, he collapsed onto the bed, feeling no desire to move.

Staring blankly at the ceiling, his thoughts churned incessantly. He realized that the current flaws within Konohagakure were far more severe than he had imagined. Through Takeda Shin alone, he could see a microcosm of many clans within the village.

The barriers between clans were far too thick. Not to mention heavyweights like the Hyuga and Uchiha, even the ordinary minor clans focused their entire attention on their own interests; their concept of the "village" remained far too thin.

In their eyes, the village was not an organization meant to gather and protect them, but merely a cake representing profit. They placed their clan above all else, and the strength of their clan determined their share of that cake.

The clan-centric landscape of Konohagakure could not be easily changed. If not for this atmosphere of prioritizing private gain, the future tragedy of the Uchiha clan would never have occurred.

Years ago, the Senju clan recognized the flaws of the village and were the first to open their gates. The entire clan dissolved into the village, and the few Senju survivors of the wars spent decades intermarrying and shedding their clan boundaries to become ordinary villagers. They were no longer Senju who prioritized their lineage; they were commoners who had abandoned their clan name and viewed the village as everything.

Today, Tsunade is the only pure-blooded descendant who still carries the Senju name. The reason she is always addressed as Princess Tsunade in the village stems largely from this history.

The Senju clan originally intended to set an example for other clans to dismantle their barriers, cast aside the bonds of blood, and fully integrate into the collective of Konohagakure to achieve a harmonious future of equality. Unfortunately, although Senju Hashirama possessed a magnanimity that surpassed everyone else, he remained somewhat naive. He ultimately underestimated how deeply rooted the clan mentality was in the hearts of others. The dissolution of the Senju clan did not serve as a good guide; instead, it left a massive void of power and profit that the other clans fought over frantically, even plunging Konohagakure into internal strife for a time. If not for the fact that the First Shinobi World War had just ended and all the ninja villages had signed armistice agreements, the situation in Konohagakure might have been even more critical.

This chaos was eventually quelled by the absolute power of Senju Hashirama, but by then, the Senju clan had already fallen apart, while the barriers between the other clans remained as rigid as ever.

The God of Shinobi was, after all, not omnipotent. His greatest failure did not come from his enemies, but from those he sought to protect.

Of course, the flaws of Konohagakure were not something Yuehua Ai could intervene in. Setting aside whether he had the ability, he simply lacked the heart for it. To him, Konohagakure was merely a large supply station on his journey. He had no need to pay too much for it; he only cared about the few people who cherished him.

Three years had passed since the Second Shinobi World War. According to Yuehua Ai's memories from his past life, the Third Shinobi World War would soon show its signs. The interval between these two brutal wars was short, and the upcoming Third War would be even more devastating than the second.

Although Yuehua Ai had been near the front lines during the Second War, he had not been drawn into the conflict, at most being affected by the periphery. But now that he was a ninja and intended to stay in Konohagakure for quite some time, he likely wouldn't be able to avoid the Third Shinobi World War.

Despite having the strength of a Chunin, Yuehua Ai did not feel he had much self-preservation capability in a war. Since he possessed such outstanding spiritual talent, why did he choose to study medical ninjutsu instead of genjutsu? It wasn't just because of his deep research into biological medicine in his past life; a larger part of the reason was that medical ninjas were relatively easier to keep alive in war. After all, regardless of the situation, medical ninjas were always highly protected assets.

For now, Yuehua Ai needed to continue accumulating strength in the shadows of Konohagakure. At the very least, he had to get his hands on certain ninjutsu.

What was the most precious thing in the world of Naruto? It wasn't land or money; it was ninjutsu. Ninjutsu was the foundation upon which a ninja village stood, and every technique within the village was its most precious treasure.

In fact, it wasn't just the village; think of the clans within it—which one of them didn't value their own techniques more than their own lives?

Ninjutsu was the most direct expression of a ninja's strength. A powerful technique could change a ninja's fate. Think of Minato's Flying Raijin Jutsu, Naruto's Rasengan, or Sasuke's Chidori Current.

The Way should not be taught lightly, and neither should ninjutsu. The idea that one could transmigrate into the Naruto world and have a crowd of people eagerly teaching you ninjutsu, hoping to cultivate you into a peerless ninja, was pure nonsense.

Ninjutsu was a ninja's livelihood; no one would easily pass their unique techniques to others.

Konohagakure's foundation far exceeded that of other villages, and the techniques it possessed were incomparable. Yet, even so, aside from basic techniques, were those unique and powerful ones ever popularized?

Of course, the reason those powerful techniques couldn't be popularized was partly due to the difficulty of training, but the most critical point was the fear of leakage. A ninja's corpse was a massive treasure trove; for large villages, obtaining a corpse meant potentially acquiring the techniques the ninja had practiced during their lifetime. For a village, a powerful technique represented not just raw destructive power, but also a vital deterrent.

Just as in the anime, the Third Shinobi World War earned Namikaze Minato the title of "Yellow Flash," and the Flying Raijin Jutsu became world-renowned. Other villages even issued orders that one could abandon their mission and flee upon encountering him.

This showed just how powerful a single technique could be in war. Therefore, no matter the village, the selection process for those allowed to learn powerful techniques was extremely strict. Beyond talent, merit was equally important. This way, fewer people practiced them, which not only greatly reduced the possibility of leakage but also ensured the quality of the practitioners and their loyalty to the village.

Why had no one practiced the Flying Raijin Jutsu while it sat in the scroll of forbidden techniques for so many years? Was it because others lacked the talent?

No. Think of Orochimaru's talent for learning ninjutsu; he was someone who could open up a spiritual space through his own research. How many in Konohagakure could rival his understanding of space? So why didn't he practice the Flying Raijin Jutsu, instead letting a blond brat master it and become famous throughout the world?

It wasn't that Orochimaru didn't want to learn it; it was that he simply couldn't access it! The village's inheritance of ninjutsu was far too strict. Everyone knew the forbidden scroll contained powerful techniques, but how many could actually obtain them?

Think of how Orochimaru still obsessed over the forbidden scroll even after defecting, even planning several attempts to seize it. Think of how even as one of the Sannin, he couldn't get his hands on it while in the village, and one could imagine the difficulty of obtaining powerful ninjutsu.

It was by no means easy for Namikaze Minato to obtain the Flying Raijin Jutsu. Beyond a large portion of luck, the more important factor was the Third Hokage's desire at the time to cultivate a pillar of the village.

In terms of talent, Minato undoubtedly met the requirements to learn powerful techniques. As Jiraiya's disciple and the Third Hokage's grand-student, he also met the requirements regarding background and loyalty. The only thing left was his merit to Konohagakure, and with the help of fate and luck, he succeeded in that as well.

At the time, Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning was in desperate need of a Jinchuriki to suppress the Eight-Tails after it went on a rampage. Coincidentally, their spies in Konohagakure discovered the existence of Uzumaki Kushina. After plotting, several Kumo-nin hidden in Konohagakure launched a kidnapping plan and abducted Kushina, who existed to be the Nine-Tails' container.

Then, Namikaze Minato, who was familiar with Kushina, set out alone. Following the trail of hair she had left behind, he successfully found and rescued her.

Kushina's status as the future Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was a secret in the village. Although Minato didn't know it, that didn't prevent him from gaining the merit of rescuing the future Jinchuriki.

Through a twist of fate, Minato satisfied all the conditions for learning high-level ninjutsu, and only then did he gain access to the Flying Raijin Jutsu.

So, why had Yuehua Ai insisted on following Jiraiya to Konohagakure? Wouldn't it have been better to stay with Nagato, the third Six Paths, and join the Akatsuki?

No, of course that wouldn't be better!

Yuehua Ai's personality was not one that would settle for being under someone else. Yearning for life and freedom, he also had an obsessive fixation on strength. Only with strength could he do what he wanted and not waste his second life.

Coming to Konohagakure, Yuehua Ai wasn't there to cling to anyone's coattails. After all, could anyone's coattails be thicker than Nagato's? Therefore, besides experiencing the local customs of Konohagakure, his greatest goal was to learn ninjutsu, and his ultimate objective was to get his hands on the scroll of forbidden techniques!