Analyzing the Ninja World Starting from Konoha

Chapter 222 Qingye Takes Office as Captain of the Shadow Guard

Aoba didn't dwell on the issue too much, stopping short of pressing it.

Next came the routine performance review report.

Aoba briefly recounted some of the things she had experienced during the past few months.

When he mentioned that he had destroyed a stronghold of an evil cult in the Land of Hot Water, Minato suddenly asked a question.

"Aoba, did you have a conflict with the people from Kumogakure?"

Aoba paused for a moment, then scratched his head sheepishly, revealing a helpless expression.

"Fourth Generation, you really can't blame me for this. I was forced to take action!"

I had already disguised myself as an ordinary traveling scholar, but those barbarians from Kumogakure kept chasing me. After we fought, I realized they had the wrong person; they thought I was from the Blood Pool. I had no choice but to fight back.

Aoba shrugged, looking completely innocent.

"However, I assure you that I handled it very cleanly and absolutely did not expose my identity as a Konoha ninja."

Minato was both amused and exasperated by Aoba's shameless behavior.

He turned to look at the third generation, then asked.

"So... you killed the Jinchuriki of Kumogakure?"

"It was purely accidental, an accident, really an accident..."

Aoba coughed twice, trying to cover up his embarrassment.

"What about the tailed beasts?" Minato pressed.

"They ran away."

Aoba sighed with regret.

"To be honest, I'm quite curious. It seems that the Jinchuriki of Kumogakure can freely control the power of the Tailed Beasts. I studied their sealing techniques and found that the sealing techniques themselves are terrible; it's not the sealing techniques that are the problem."

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name 1110 ...

"It seems that the Hidden Cloud Village has a special method to control the Tailed Beasts. If we can get our hands on this method, Kushina might also be able to control the Nine-Tails' power."

"I originally wanted to release the tailed beast to ask it a question, but as soon as that big cat came out, it breathed several large fireballs at me and then turned around and ran away. I was really helpless."

After listening to Aoba's explanation, Minato nodded slightly.

"It's alright, it's good that you're alright. Thank you for your hard work."

Minato stood up and patted Aoba on the shoulder.

"Come to my house for dinner tonight, Kushina has been talking about you for ages."

Then, Minato looked at the Third Hokage beside him: "Third Hokage, why don't you come along tonight?"

The third generation exhaled a puff of smoke, waved his hand, and put on his usual kind smile.

"Hehe, I, an old man, won't join in your fun. Qingye just got back, let him rest well."

After agreeing on a time, Aoba said goodbye and left the Hokage Building.

As he walked out of the Hokage Building, Aoba's expression gradually faded, replaced by his usual calm.

Don't be fooled by the seemingly relaxed exchange between him and Minato just now; the amount of information revealed in it was astonishing.

Based on the attitude of the Anbu towards him when he went to Kushina's house, Aoba roughly figured out some of the details.

First, the higher-ups, or rather the third generation, have developed a crisis of trust in him.

Furthermore, it seems that they suspect him of secretly plotting against the tailed beasts, which is why they strictly forbid him from getting close to Kushina.

Secondly, Konoha's intelligence network had a thorough understanding of his movements after leaving the village, and even knew that he had killed the Two-Tails Jinchuriki.

"It seems that my attack on the Two-Tails Jinchuriki has touched a nerve with some people..." Aoba sneered inwardly.

However, his half-truthful explanation was enough to smooth things over, and at least on the surface, the Third Generation couldn't find any fault with him.

Inside the Hokage's office.

With Aoba's departure, the atmosphere in the office quieted down a bit.

Minato looked at the Third Hokage and said earnestly, "Third Hokage, Aoba is a trustworthy comrade. I believe everything he does is for the village."

The Third Hokage tapped his pipe, said nothing, but gave Minato a deep look before slowly nodding.

However, it was evening.

Inside the Sarutobi clan's mansion.

A masked ANBU member knelt on one knee before the Third Hokage and gave a detailed account of Aoba's behavior since returning to the village that day.

"...When Yamashiro Aoba saw Kushina-sama's belly, he did not show much surprise on his face, as if he already knew."

The sounds from the shadows were cold and precise, without any unnecessary embellishment.

Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a thick cloud of smoke and remained silent for a long time.

Kushina's pregnancy was a top-secret fact in Konoha.

Only a handful of people knew the truth.

Yamashiro Aoba was not on the list of those in the know before he left Konoha.

What concerned him even more was something else.

Today in the Hokage's office, when Minato mentioned that the seal would loosen during childbirth, Aoba Yamashiro's reaction was far too calm.

That kind of composure is not the composure of "trying to remain calm after hearing important information for the first time".

Instead, it was the calmness of "I already knew about this."

The problem is that he himself told Minato the information that the seal loosened during childbirth.

In the entire Hidden Leaf Village, the only ones who know the most about this matter are these old guys.

How did Yamashiro Aoba know that?

Furthermore, upon returning to the village, his first stop was not the Hokage Building to report for duty, but rather Kushina's residence.

It was as if the purpose of returning was to confirm something with my own eyes.

"Keep an eye on him."

Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped his pipe, his voice calm and even.

"Yes."

The operative vanished into the darkness in a flash.

The room fell silent again, with only the crackling of sparks from the pipe.

Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned back in his chair and slowly closed his eyes.

This child is becoming increasingly unfathomable to him.

……

After resting for two days, Aoba officially took up his post as the captain of the Kage's guard under the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

The primary duty of the Kage is to protect the Hokage's personal safety and to assist in devising strategies.

That sounds impressive.

However, in reality, Minato basically spent all his time in the Hokage Building and never left the village. His combat strength was also among the strongest in the entire Hidden Leaf Village.

As for offering advice and suggestions, this is a job that has been done for three generations.

An old man who's retired but still doesn't want to leave, he's done all the work he can do, so who gave him a chance to interrupt?

So, to put it bluntly, Aoba's position as the Shadow Guard Captain is currently just a sinecure.

However, since I'm just idling around anyway, I can't really slack off, can I?

...Okay, he did want to slack off.

But before he could slack off, he had to first assess the quality of his three nominal subordinates.

Genma Shiranui, Raido Namiashi, and Iwashi Tsubasa.

Looking at these three familiar faces, Aoba couldn't help but mentally complain.

The inertia of history is truly powerful; after many twists and turns, these three eventually became Minato's shadow guard.

The Third Hokage had originally recommended Sarutobi Asuma to Minato.

As it turned out, the kid went through his rebellious phase and somehow got information that the Fire Country Daimyo was forming a ninja squad, so he took it upon himself to become the Daimyo's bodyguard.

It almost gave the third generation a stroke.

The inertia of a plot can sometimes be quite magical.

Asma, deep down, doesn't like being in his father's shadow.

Minato merely shook his head slightly at Asuma's departure and did not try to stop him.

Some roads you have to walk yourself.

Now that he had subordinates, Aoba naturally wouldn't be idle.

In the days that followed, he began to subject Genma and the other two to intensive special training under the name of the Shadow Guard Captain.

Physical skills, ninjutsu, team tactics—one skill after another is piled on top of the other.

The three of them were initially quite happy to work under Aoba, after all, he was their former classmate, and it would be good for classmates to look out for each other.

But once they actually started practicing, the three of them realized that Aoba was serious.

One week later.

"Captain Aoba...can you take a day off tomorrow?"

Genma Shiranui lay on the ground, utterly despondent, trying to awaken the last vestige of conscience in his captain.

Both Namishita Raido and Iwashi opened one eye and looked over.

What do you think?

Aoba looked at him with a smile.

Genma sensed the malice behind that smile and silently shut his mouth.

Sigh~ X2

……