Ryoma Aburame

Hearing Danzo Shimura ask for his opinion, Ryoma Aburame answered without hesitation, "Personally, I think the first possibility is more likely."

"First, I don't think he could detect the parasites. The Uchiha Clan has neither strong medical ninjutsu nor ninja skilled in medical techniques."

"Second, we acted very discreetly. There were no witnesses nearby, so I believe it was the first possibility."

After hearing Ryoma Aburame's analysis, Danzo Shimura leaned even more toward the first possibility.

After all, in Konoha, Uchiha Yato was synonymous with being unreliable.

Danzo Shimura said, "Ryoma, is there any way to keep that Uchiha Yato busy?"

"Otherwise, it'll be troublesome if he keeps watching me."

Although Ryoma Aburame was only seven years old at the time, his exceptional intelligence and abilities had led Danzo to groom him as an assistant.

After some thought, Ryoma Aburame said, "We can appropriately stir up some trouble for the Uchiha Clan. If it's only Uchiha Yato, he'll be extremely difficult to deal with."

As he said this, Ryoma Aburame's shoulders trembled ever so slightly.

Ryoma Aburame did not have a good impression of Uchiha Yato, either.

Because Ryoma Aburame was young, he had gone to a dango shop for a meal after completing a mission.

Then Uchiha Yato had also entered that shop to buy dango. Seeing a child his age with ninja tools in his hands, he could not help feeling curious.

"Kid, what's your name?"

Ryoma Aburame merely replied flatly.

"Ryoma Aburame."

The moment Uchiha Yato heard that name, he perked up.

He knew this was a character from the original work who was more than just a minor extra.

Both Ryoma Aburame and Orochimaru had served as Danzo Shimura's guards.

In other words, Ryoma Aburame's intelligence and abilities were rather high, or Danzo Shimura would not have valued him so highly.

That also meant Ryoma Aburame was someone from whom emotional points could be squeezed.

Uchiha Yato immediately changed his expression and said, "You little brat, did you skip school?"

"At such a young age, instead of studying properly, you've already learned to skip school!"

"When you grow up, won't you tear the roofs off every house in Konoha Village?!"

Upon hearing this, the dango shop owner instantly looked helpless and speechless.

Because the person standing before Ryoma Aburame was Konoha Village's number one shameless man.

When Uchiha Yato was at the Ninja Academy, he skipped class. When the teacher caught him, he directly claimed that he was helping the school inspect its anti-truancy measures.

Of course, after a round of his twisted arguments, he still could not escape being lectured.

The ninja who caught Uchiha Yato probably thought that was the highlight of his life.

Ryoma Aburame, who had already been somewhat taciturn, was even more confused now.

He had only wanted to have a proper meal after finishing his mission. How had things turned out so that even he felt like he was guilty of something?

Then, without giving Ryoma Aburame time to react, Uchiha Yato directly took him to the Ninja Academy.

Of course, to prevent him from running away or using the Aburame Clan's insect techniques—Aburame insects were rather disgusting—Uchiha Yato directly activated his Sharingan and cast the genjutsu—Chicken, You're Too Beautiful.

Chicken, You're Too Beautiful: A genjutsu later classified as a forbidden technique by the Uchiha Clan.

The victim would constantly see dancing chickens dancing before them. Only by learning and imitating their movements with a similarity of 99% could they escape the illusion.

If the victim attacked a dancing chicken, the chicken would split after being injured, continuing until they filled the entire world.

Good heavens, this dealt no small psychological blow to the young Ryoma Aburame.

Later, after taking him to the Ninja Academy, Uchiha Yato added fuel to the fire and told an exaggerated tale about Ryoma Aburame skipping school.

He claimed Ryoma had used an insect clone to deceive the teacher.

He claimed the Aburame Clan's secret techniques had allowed him to leave the school, and so on.

The teacher on duty immediately told Uchiha Yato to release the genjutsu so that he could personally discipline this truant student.

Uchiha Yato gave him some face and directly released the genjutsu.

Once Ryoma Aburame escaped the illusion and understood the situation, he immediately ignored everything else and told the teacher that he had skipped class, asking the teacher to punish him.

The teacher on duty looked at the boy before him, who had suddenly burst into tears, and felt somewhat at a loss. He had never seen such a scene before and did not know how to respond for a moment.

After symbolically criticizing and lecturing him a few times, the teacher on duty explained the whole story to Uchiha Yato, and the truancy incident came to an end.

For Ryoma Aburame, that level of criticism and discipline was nothing more than child's play. Root's education and training were far crueler than that.

However, Uchiha Yato's genjutsu was different. That chicken, which constantly strutted and danced gracefully before him, made him feel utterly miserable.

Whenever he tried to attack the chicken, it split into even more chicks. Each one was about the same size as a parasite, and there were thousands of them.

That was because his attacks were carried out by those parasites, so they could only split into that size.

Even worse, those chicks gradually assimilated him, making him start dancing like them.

The key was that the dance was incredibly addictive, making it impossible to stop.

Even now, Ryoma Aburame's shoulders would twitch involuntarily from time to time, as though he had been deeply affected by that addictive dance.

Now that he worked at Danzo's side, Danzo had always thought highly of Ryoma Aburame. His abilities suited assassination and intelligence work alike.

His intelligence was sufficient as well, and he could occasionally offer advice, serving as half a strategist.

But for some reason, the boy's shoulders would twitch now and then.

As a result, Ryoma Aburame gained another strike against him in Danzo's eyes.

Ryoma Aburame was filled with bitterness yet unable to speak of it! Anyone who had personally experienced that terrifying genjutsu would surely understand the unspeakable suffering in his heart.

Even Sand Shinobi far away, upon hearing of the matter, expressed their deep sympathy and said they could fully empathize with his pain.

That genjutsu brought not only endless torment on a mental level, but also horrifying physical pain.

After all, when someone was trapped within an illusion, every tiny movement they made would be accurately reflected onto their body in the real world.

That meant even the slightest injury suffered within the illusory realm would be faithfully reflected upon the physical body, inflicting double the pain and torment upon the victim. Such a terrifying situation was enough to send chills down anyone's spine!

Ryoma Aburame was one of the lucky ones. Uchiha Yato released his genjutsu, so he did not have to perform that addictive dance in reality. The Sand Shinobi, however, had all danced through it once. It was far too addictive.

Remembering the genjutsu Uchiha Yato had used on him still made Ryoma Aburame's heart tremble.

Danzo Shimura said at this point, "Good. The evil Uchiha Clan, they're all the same anyway."

"This will both strike at Uchiha Yato and punish the Uchiha Clan—killing two birds with one stone."

At that moment, the more Danzo Shimura looked at Ryoma Aburame, the more pleasing he found him.

"Ryoma, I'll leave this matter to you. Remember, you must be cautious and careful. Don't let the Uchiha get any evidence against us."

"You may select a squad of Root ninja as your members. From this moment on, I appoint you captain of a squad."

Ryoma Aburame was delighted to receive the appointment. It represented Danzo's recognition of him.

"Yes, Lord Danzo. I will not disappoint your expectations. I guarantee the mission will be completed."