Wind-Chasing Sword

Konoha, Hokage's Office.

"Lord Hokage, this is the file on Aoba Kamikawa." A Hokage assistant placed a document in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Hmm."

After the assistant left, Hiruzen picked up the file before him and opened it to read through it.

Aoba Kamikawa—this was a very ordinary name. There was no shinobi clan named Kamikawa in Konoha. Aoba Kamikawa was an orphan whose rank was Chunin.

The first half of the file was very ordinary Chunin information. An orphan by birth, Aoba Kamikawa was just like countless other orphans: attending the academy, graduating early, and then being sent to the battlefields of the Third Shinobi World War to serve as cannon fodder.

The only noteworthy point was perhaps that Aoba Kamikawa's academic performance at the academy had been exceptionally stellar. Although he did not come from a shinobi clan, possessed no family secret techniques, and had no Kekkei Genkai, his grades across all subjects were remarkably outstanding and solid.

Even without a war, he would have met the standards for early graduation.

On the subsequent battlefield, his performance was mediocre. He rose to the rank of Chunin by accumulating battle achievements, turning into a higher-level piece of cannon fodder.

And it was from this point on that his file began to stand out.

During the Third Shinobi World War, Aoba Kamikawa had somehow managed to get in with Orochimaru. However, this was actually understandable.

This was because Aoba Kamikawa was one of the very few ninjas whose theories and practical skills were both exceptionally solid, and he possessed outstanding chakra control. Viewed now, he should have suited Orochimaru's tastes quite well.

Afterward, Aoba Kamikawa served under Orochimaru, working as an assistant in his laboratory. A few years prior, after Orochimaru defected, Aoba Kamikawa subsequently became the subject of an investigation by the ANBU.

The result was somewhat unexpected. Although many people stated that Aoba Kamikawa was an important assistant to Orochimaru, the ANBU failed to find any evidence that Aoba Kamikawa had participated in human experiments.

After multi-faceted investigations by the intelligence department, the final conclusion could only prove that Aoba Kamikawa had followed Orochimaru and participated in a large amount of experimental development, but he truly had not taken part in the most severe human experiments.

Therefore, theoretically speaking, Aoba Kamikawa was innocent.

However, in a place like Konoha, it was not enough to simply be innocent to be free of trouble.

Due to Orochimaru's defection, a large number of his veteran subordinates who had close contact with him during the Third Shinobi World War were marginalized, or even directly imprisoned.

Aoba Kamikawa was one of them. Following the conclusion of his interrogation, he was directly dispatched to the border to garrison an outpost. He spent three whole years there until he was only recently recalled.

Hiruzen continued flipping through the document. The pages contained information about Aoba Kamikawa from the past few years.

Oddly enough, Aoba Kamikawa had instead begun a transformation after moving away from the core of Konoha.

The records showed that at the border outpost, he had led teams on multiple occasions to engage ninjas from Kumogakure who had brazenly intruded.

In less than three years, he had slain over sixteen Kumogakure Chunin, three Jonin, and a number of Genin.

Yet because he had not been recalled for three years, his rank was never reassessed. Thus, he had achieved the aforementioned battle record while holding the status of a Chunin.

Originally, someone like Aoba Kamikawa would have found it nearly impossible to return to the core of Konoha. But there was simply no help for it; Hiruzen right now distinctly felt the frailty of Konoha.

That was right, frailty. Orochimaru had defected, Jiraiya was wandering the world, Tsunade was nowhere to be found, and subsequently, White Fang had committed suicide.

One had to bear in mind that Konoha was a purely military organization, and the four individuals above were its top-tier combat power. Any single one of them pulled out could stand alone as a pillar of strength.

Yet Konoha had lost all four of them.

Going further, Konoha had even lost its finest younger generation: the Fourth Hokage, along with the previous generation's Jinchūriki, Kushina Uzumaki. Consequently, this was yet another crippling blow to their vitality.

And this was still not the end.

Just a short while ago, Konoha had once again suffered an incalculable loss: overnight, only a single seedling remained of the Uchiha Clan.

Though people said nothing out loud, the eyes of the entire world were waiting to watch Konoha make a fool of itself. At this very moment, it was already Konoha's most vulnerable hour.

Meanwhile, Aoba Kamikawa was already a combat force at the Elite Jonin level. Upon seeing his information, Hiruzen had the intention of transferring him back to Konoha to serve.

However, this matter met with opposition from the two advisors.

This was because Orochimaru had still not been brought to justice, and Aoba Kamikawa's suspicions could not yet be completely washed clean. Of course, this was the ostensible reason; as for the hidden reasons, outsiders had no way of knowing.

"Aoba already passed the Intelligence Department's screening back then; we have no reason to continue suspecting him."

In truth, Hiruzen was extremely clear in his heart because the Interrogation Department had used methods back then. Ninjas from the Yamanaka Family had used mind-reading techniques, yet they still failed to find any traces of Aoba's betrayal.

According to the clues they obtained, Aoba should have noticed Orochimaru's human experiments, but he did not participate in them, choosing instead to avoid contact with those experiments.

Deep down inside, Hiruzen was inclined to believe Aoba Kamikawa. But his relationship with Orochimaru was indeed a problem.

The most crucial point was that back then, the Interrogation Department had used methods on those old subordinates of Orochimaru. After that, even those ninjas who had no problems could never hope to be heavily reused.

Anyone who went through the Interrogation Department without having committed any faults was bound to harbor resentment in their hearts. Therefore, even though Aoba Kamikawa was ultimately proven innocent, he was still thoroughly marginalized.

This also made Hiruzen hesitate. He did not know what Aoba's attitude toward Konoha had actually been over these past few years.

"We believe this matter requires deliberate consideration. Aoba Kamikawa may be innocent in the Orochimaru incident, but let's not forget the White Fang incident."

The two advisors consistently maintained their opposition. At this moment, however, another person spoke up.

"You can give him a test. If he passes the test, we will agree to transfer him back to active duty."

The speaker was Danzo, who had not shown his face for a long time. Hiruzen glanced at Danzo. Ever since the Uchiha clan extermination, this old friend had shut himself away behind closed doors for a long time, only showing himself today.

He knew what this old friend was thinking. Aoba Kamikawa was now an excellent enforcer, and the other party clearly had designs on him.

"Do you have a suitable mission in mind?"

"Of course: hunt down Orochimaru. This is a long-term mission for the ANBU and the Root. Not long ago, the Root tracked down Orochimaru's trail. But if we want to deal with a ninja of Orochimaru's caliber, we need more manpower and a more thorough plan."

Hunting down Orochimaru was Konoha's political correctness, so the two advisors could say nothing against it. However, both Hiruzen and Danzo knew very well in their hearts that Orochimaru was not so easily captured.

"I will have the ANBU cooperate with the Root's operation. As for Aoba Kamikawa... no matter what, process his Jonin appointment first. With his current combat power, holding the rank of a Chunin is truly unseemly."

Hiruzen turned the final page of the file, which recorded a moniker Aoba Kamikawa had carved out for himself at the border over the past few years.

He was called the "Wind-Chasing Sword" by his foes and rivals alike.