Analyzing the Ninja World Starting from Konoha

The base of the roots beneath the leaves.

In the dimly lit room, the flame of the oil lamp flickered silently.

Danzo Shimura sat in the dimly lit room, flipping through the documents in his hands.

[Yamashiro Aoba: Orphaned at age five, he was adopted by Jonin Yuhi Shinku. A shrewd businessman, he is the de facto owner of the Yamashiro Hot Pot restaurant. He excelled during his time at the Ninja Academy, garnering the attention of the Third Hokage. Currently a member of the Konoha Hospital Medical Experiment Team, he is highly regarded by Tsunade and has close relationships with Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze…]

"Hmph, just a genius with a bit of cleverness."

Danzo snorted disdainfully, his voice sounding particularly cold in the empty room.

"Like Hiruzen, he enjoys cultivating fake interpersonal relationships."

He didn't pay much attention to the boy named Yamashiro Aoba.

In his view, this was just a lucky guy who had some medical talent and happened to get close to Tsunade.

This kind of genius, who is content with opening a shop and making money and seems somewhat "unambitious," has no value to be absorbed by the "root" and lacks the awareness to become a sharp blade in the darkness.

People like that are a dime a dozen in Konoha; they'll never amount to anything.

"Continue to observe, no need to pay attention."

Danzo casually tossed Aoba's file aside; the thin sheet of paper fluttered to the ground, untouched by anyone.

His gaze fell on another, even thicker, file.

This is a file with the words "Kakashi Hatake" written on it in large, eye-catching characters.

Son of Konoha's White Fang.

"White Fang's death has planted a seed of darkness in this child's heart. That stubbornness towards the rules, that obsession with the mission, are precisely the qualities that 'Root' needs! But... it's not enough!!!"

Danzo's lips curled into a smile, as if he could already see the pawns of the future.

"Let him dwell in the darkness for a while longer, until he fully understands the uselessness of his companions and the absolute importance of the mission, before reaching out to him."

……

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, exhaled smoke rings, his entire body shrouded in a cloud of bluish-gray smoke.

On his desk was another report from the Anbu, but it was much simpler than Danzo's, merely recording that Yamashiro Aoba had visited Minato as a medical worker during his hospitalization.

This was originally a trivial matter, but the appearance of the name Yamashiro Aoba made Hiruzen Sarutobi realize that he seemed to have not paid attention to this unconventional genius for a long time.

He initially paid attention to Kakashi for a while, but as Kakashi became more and more outstanding, he gradually shifted his focus.

Unexpectedly, this little guy actually got an internship at Konoha Hospital and even got involved with Minato.

Among the younger generation of ninjas, he had the highest opinion of Minato.

How did these two seemingly unrelated people get involved?

"Someone come here."

Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped his pipe against the ashtray.

A masked ANBU member suddenly appeared in front of the Hokage's desk.

"Go and fetch Jiraiya."

Not long after, Jiraiya barged in, cursing and swearing, with a faint smell of alcohol on him.

"Hey old man, I just got back, can't I rest for a bit?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi ignored his complaints and said calmly, "Your disciple Minato is so badly injured, aren't you going to go and check on him?"

Jiraiya's expression froze, and he scratched his signature white hair. "Well, it's all alright now. Kushina has been staying with them at the hospital the whole time. I couldn't very well go and bother the young couple directly, could I?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi snorted coldly. He knew his disciple's character all too well. As soon as he returned, he went to places of entertainment and then forgot about the incident.

"Tell me, what's going on with that boy named Yamashiro Aoba?"

"Oh? You mean that funny kid?"

Upon hearing this, Jiraiya immediately became interested and began to describe it vividly, "That kid is no ordinary person. Minato was stuck on a bottleneck in developing a new technique, but he was enlightened by just one sentence from him. As a token of gratitude, Minato wanted to teach him a ninjutsu, but guess what? That kid didn't even like Minato's technique and specifically asked to learn this sage's unique secret technique!"

At this point, Jiraiya puffed out his chest proudly.

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at him, picked up his pipe, took a puff, and said, "Is that your secret technique for controlling your hair?"

"That's right, not only that,"

Jiraiya leaned closer mysteriously and whispered, "That kid also has Tsunade's superhuman strength! Looks like Tsunade thinks highly of him. Tsk tsk, what a lucky brat."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand holding the pipe froze in mid-air.

Tsunade's monstrous strength?

That's not a technique that just anyone can learn, but then I remembered that Aoba seems to have gone to the hospital for an internship, so he should have mastered basic medical ninjutsu as well.

So it's not so hard to understand why someone could learn Tsunade's superhuman strength.

He possesses medical ninjutsu, the superhuman strength of Tsunade, and the secret technique of manipulating hair like Jiraiya.

Although he also looked down on Jiraiya's hair technique, it is undeniable that this ninjutsu is quite convenient in terms of practicality.

This is far beyond the techniques that a genin would master.

And this is only what we know now; did they master other ninjutsu before?

From the moment he started paying attention to Yamashiro Aoba, he felt that this little guy was not an ordinary child, but possessed an extremely mature adult mindset.

He has always felt insecure since childhood because of his parents.

He habitually keeps a low profile, hides his true self, and dislikes being in the limelight. He even uses the name of "Yuri Shinburi" when opening a shop.

If Jiraiya hadn't been summoned this time, he would never have imagined that Yamashiro Aoba had grown to this extent.

That's really surprising!

"I understand, you may leave."

After dismissing the still-chattering Jiraiya, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned serious.

He summoned the Dark Guard again and gave them new instructions.

"Go, retrieve all the information about Yamashiro Aoba up to this point. I need the most detailed information."

A few days later, files were delivered to the Hokage's desk, detailing Aoba's movements over the past year.

[He frequently visits the Konoha Hospital laboratory, where he is cultivating some kind of cell-attached sand particles, suggesting he may be developing some kind of ninjutsu.]

[Assists Dr. Ueno in performing complex surgeries; possesses skillful techniques, solid theoretical knowledge, and Chunin-level medical ninjutsu.]

[He had close contact with Minato Namikaze, participated in discussions regarding the development of the Rasengan, and learned the "Wild Lion's Mane Technique" from Jiraiya, mastering it in just one hour.]

[Suspected of possessing superhuman strength and extremely strong chakra control.]

[Having practiced Fire and Earth Release techniques, it seems he has mastered chakra nature transformation...]

……

The more Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the file, the more his brows furrowed. Although there were many "suspected" cases in the file, the fact that the Anbu had written the information on it meant that it was basically a done deal.

Any one of these, taken individually, would be something any peer could be proud of.

Aoba never showed off or flaunted it; the Anbu followed him for several days but never saw him use it.

The only record of him actually made a move was found in a dusty archive.

A special report personally recorded and sealed by Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo.

That was a year ago, shortly after Kakashi graduated early.

The report details a private discussion.

The two sides in the battle were the genius Hatake Kakashi, who had just become a genin, and Yamashiro Aoba, who was still a student at the ninja academy at the time.

The result was that Kakashi was completely defeated!

……