On the other side.
Konoha Underground.
In the bottomless ravine, a steel bridge connected four directions to the cliffs of the abyss. At the center of the bridge stood a tall steel tower built underground, shaped like the intake tower of a dam.
This place was called the Konoha Anbu Supplementary Training Department.
Root.
Inside, at this moment, in an office on an upper level of the underground tower, two figures stood before a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the dark void.
One was an old man with black, spiky hair, neat sideburns, his head and right eye wrapped in bandages, and a dark complexion etched with many wrinkles. He was reading an unfolded scroll. When his eye fell upon the glaring words "Hyuga" in the employer column, he couldn't help but frown slightly.
This man was none other than the leader of Root, known as "the darkness of the shinobi world."
Shimura Danzo.
The scroll in his hand was the mission assignment form that Shinji Hyuga had signed at the Hokage Building not long ago.
"Shinji Hyuga... I recall this brat was originally on the watch list."
Danzo glanced at Aburame Ryōma,who stood shrouded in a hooded robe and wore black sunglasses, and commented casually:
"Born of lowly status,harboring resentment in his heart."
"A sparrow in a cage.It's just a pity, nothing more than a mediocre sparrow."
Aburame Ryōma nodded beside him.
"Indeed,the Chunin Exams have already proven his potential is nothing special."
"But the question is...now, this sparrow has come looking for us."
"It seems he noticed our surveillance and took the initiative to propose a deal with you."
"Hmph."
Danzo let out a cold,sinister chuckle.
Since becoming the Hokage's advisor and establishing Root,
over the years,everyone had treated him like a venomous snake, wishing to avoid him at all costs. This was the first time he had encountered such a bold brat.
"How should we handle it?"
Aburame Ryōma was also somewhat surprised and pointed to his own sunglasses,saying:
"The Byakugan holds great strategic significance.Even if this kid is just an ordinary genin from the Hyuga branch family, he still holds considerable value for us."
"Only..."
Aburame Ryōma's words trailed off,but Shimura Danzo understood the unspoken meaning—
The Caged Bird Seal remained an unavoidable problem.
The Hyuga branch family, marked by the seal, were essentially slaves of the main family. Everything about the branch family—information, bonds, wealth, power, status—was subject to the main family's control and could be taken at will.
Under such circumstances,even if Shinji Hyuga were recruited into Root...
Even if branded with the"Tongue Eradication Seal," it would be difficult to guarantee information wouldn't be leaked.
For ninjas, and for the countless Root operatives lurking in the shadows cast by Konoha's giant tree,
intelligence was life.
"Troublesome." Danzo frowned, pinched his chin, and pondered.
At this time, Shimura Danzo and the Root organization he led were in a period of rapidly expanding influence.
Due to the two preceding Shinobi World Wars,Danzo, under the pretext of compensating for deficiencies in the intelligence system, had obtained emergency authority, greatly expanded his manpower, and operated independently from the Anbu directly under the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The number of Root ninjas,both overt and covert, now even exceeded the number of Hokage's direct Anbu.
However,
Such a massive organization had one extremely significant flaw—
A monolithic structure.
Or,to put it more bluntly, it lacked true elite strength.
The only ones who could be called powerful were Shimura Danzo himself, Aburame Ryōma, and Orochimaru—one of the "Legendary Sannin"—who obeyed orders but was not fully under command.
The personnel below the upper echelons were mainly composed of civilian ninjas recruited from the Anbu and the ninja academy.
Future elite ninjas like Hatake Kakashi,Tenzō, Yamanaka Fū, Aburame Torune, Shin, and Sai were either not yet born, under the command of the Third Hokage, or still in Orochimaru's laboratory.
To solve this problem, Shimura Danzo had proposed to the Third Hokage the recruitment of qualified children from Konoha's various clans for training.
The Third Hokage agreed but then smiled and requested that Danzo personally negotiate with each clan.
Unsurprisingly,
Konoha's major clans did not agree with Root's principles,nor were they willing to hand their children over to Danzo to be brainwashed into emotionless tools.
Everyone treated Shimura Danzo like a plague.
Danzo visited the clans several times, only to be met with closed doors, clan heads being "away on business," or claims that children of suitable age suffered from "incurable illnesses" and were thus unsuitable to serve Elder Danzo...
Even the Aburame clan,relatively closer to Danzo, used the excuse that there were currently no suitable children to refuse.
At this point, Danzo no longer lacked cannon fodder, spies, or low-level operatives. What he wanted were elite ninjas who could stand alone—"geniuses" in the eyes of ordinary people.
In other words,
Shimura Danzo,who aspired to become Hokage, needed an elite force that could directly match the standards of the Hokage's Guard Platoon.
Shinji Hyuga, who was at best large-scale cannon fodder, clearly did not fit this description.
"If we're talking about a 'stepping stone,' this kid... barely qualifies."
Danzo pondered silently for a moment,then turned and made a decision.
He took out a blue scroll bearing the emblem of the Shimura clan from his robe and tossed it to Aburame Ryōma,saying expressionlessly:
"Recruit that brat as a RootSide Member."
"A Side Member?" Aburame Ryōma was taken aback, a strange look appearing on his face beneath the hood.
Danzo stared indifferently at Aburame Ryōma and said:
"Do not disclose any intelligence to him.Do not involve him in any missions related to Root's core operations. Do not provide him with any training based on Root's curriculum."
"However," Danzo paused, his tone shifting slightly.
"...we must make use of his eyes.Make him give everything for the sake of nourishing the roots of Konoha!"
After saying that, Shimura Danzo turned and sat down at his desk, continuing to deal with the mountain of intelligence files and most of the tedious official documents that Sarutobi Hiruzen had dumped on him.
The incident involvingShinji Hyuga was merely a minor episode for Danzo, who aspired to become Hokage. The method of handling it was just a fleeting thought.
It might be useful,or it might not. But once the decision was made, Danzo would no longer care about the process—only the final result.
The difference in status between the two was as vast as an insurmountable chasm.
Like gently flicking away a tiny insect that had crawled onto one's sleeve—
Shinji Hyuga'sfate began to turn.
But as the saying goes,
The leader only needs to utter a few words,while the subordinates must run their legs off.
Faced with Danzo's last-minute decision to appoint"Root Side Members," Aburame Ryōma was immediately overwhelmed.
He couldn't help but twitch his lips bitterly, thinking to himself: 'They won't allow this, they won't allow that, and they still want that brat to perfectly utilize his Byakugan without ever touching any Root affairs or intelligence... How am I supposed to handle this brat?'
But soon,
Aburame Ryōma suddenly thought of a position that seemed perfectly suited to Danzo's requirements.
"The Zero-Tails project research left by the Second Hokage has reached a bottleneck,and the project team was dismantled by Orochimaru... Currently, all members are holding nominal positions."
"We could have this brat join[Shigaraki Tanuki]'s team!"