บท 114: Chapter 112: Before the exam
Danzo POV
-Danzo-sama. (???)
One of the Anbu men that works for me, under the root division, knocked on the door of my office, it has to be important if he decided to come here.
- You may enter.
- Excuse me. (Anbu)
The man entered the room and when he arrived in front of my desk, he prostrated himself before me.
Good.
Loyalty, devotion, submission, and self-sacrifice for the village, are qualities all should possess.
- Why have you interrupted me?- I asked the man.
- Please forgive my intrusion, Lord Danzo. However, I have brought the list of this year's promising students, for the outdoor field exercise. (Anbu)
I looked at the root member kneeling in front of me while also presenting a yellow folder.
- very well. you may leave.
-Yes! (Anbu)
As he said those words, the root member left as fast as he came in, by using high-speed movement.
That operative is not one that I personally trained, he still can't keep his composure controlled.
I could even feel a slight amount of fear, hidden within his voice.
A tool should be sharpened or it will become dull.
I will have to see as the level of recruits does not degrade any further, curse you Hiruzen for relegating me to the shadows after the Uchiha clan massacre.
But even in his old age, I doubt none of my current forces could pose him any threat.
I then stopped thinking about that topic and concentrated on the files in front of me.
-So these are this year's promising students from the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th year at the academy.
I looked at the 5th years students first.
Normally I would recruit younger candidates, but it would take too much time to mold every child that shows an inkling of talent, especially now that my circumstances are different.
It was already hard to recruit due to Hiruzen's interference, now it will be even harder.
I will have to see that more are recruited from orphanages from the all over our land, but some will still need to be from the academy or dropouts; as to give them a perfect cover.
- nothing really exceptional...but this one could become a satisfactory mole.
I look at the folder with the picture of a young boy with green hair.
Kunigawa Nanashi.
He was not from a clan and there was nothing special about him.
He was not even 1st in own his class, but the report did mention he had antisocial tendencies and was not much of a team player.
… I could work with that... Individuals like these are better used as root members than left alone and become a potential threat to the village.
Traitors, thieves, and schemers.
How many have turned tailed in recent years?
Hiruzen has become softer and more naive in recent years.
It is making this village weak.
Most have forgotten his former strength.
They no longer fear him…one needs power, in order to keep shinobi under control.
He truly no longer fits the title to be seen as the Hokage, he continues to support many of the reforms implemented by the late fourth.
It will lead to his inevitable death as well...
From reading the reports further, I could only see how truly unfit of being Hokage Hiruzen truly is.
The academy truly needs major reforms if the promising recruits are at this level.
The seeds for another shinobi world war are slowly being sowed.
Hanzo is certainly dead.
I no longer am able to send anyone to Amegakure for years...all the men I sent have never returned or sent any information.
It has to be...that rinnegan user...only he could have killed Hanzo of the salamander.
sigh
- If it wasn't for that stunt Orochimaru pulled and the other villages acting in peculiar ways as of late, I would have... that is of no importance right now. Consolidating power takes precedence.
However, underestimating Orochimaru's thirst for power and greed was a big mistake… with my current elderly body, I am no match for a Sanin, and that brat Jiraiya has failed to deal with his former teammate; the same for Hiruzen.
I gave him the opportunity to easily deal with him, I even expected them to kill each other but that sentimental fool could not even act as a master should.
Now, I have no idea where he is.
Or what he is doing... Whatever it is...It won't bode well for Konoha.
He must be found as soon as possible.
- Tch, curse them all.
I went through the files of the 4th year students, and there were a few within the pile that could be deemed promising but most are rather lackluster choices for recruitment.
Especially now that my operations have to be carried under more secrecy since Hiruzen has officially disbanded my root organization.
It is not worth the hassle, to have many useless pawns that will not serve their intended purpose, and only draw the root further towards the light.
I then looked at the year 3 students and could see...a few future snakes in the mix as well, but nothing worthwhile besides the genius Hyuga family branch member in the mix.
Everything written about him is quite impressive.
2 years in a row at the top of his class is nothing to scoff at.
- He could be useful... With his talent and the death of his father still fresh in his mind, he is sure to bear hatred for the main branch of the family. Let's see how deep his hatred for the main family becomes in the future...having a powerful byakugan user as he could become under my grasp will certainly be advantageous.
However, having a branch family member from the Hyuga added to the root is a risk.
As much as the byakugan I want to have under my control, the Hyugas and their cursed seal… that seal they inflict upon their second branch members are nothing more than a threat to my plans.
I cannot take such a risk, they still hide many secrets… but they are overall still loyal but more importantly, they are still useful for the village.
…If I were to become Hokage, I believe they will ultimately submit themselves to any of my demands, and if they dared to challenge me…There are other ways to keep them in line.
Unlike the Sharingan, the Byakugan does not take a heavy toll on a member outside their clan to use…as long as I can manage a steady supply of those eyes; everything should still remain under control.
- …Now, let's see those in the 2nd year.
Seeing nothing worth of interest I dug into the 2nd year students.
-!!!
My one good right eye slightly opened from the shock I had by reading the file.
To my shock, although the Uchiha child, was ranked 1st in his class, it wasn't the case for last year.
One of his classmates, an orphan boy called Homura previously held that title, and his test scores in most other subjects were perfect.
Especially, when it came to written subjects.
Not only that but the speed at which he completed his tests is beyond abnormal…He had managed to complete a whole written exam in under 5 minutes?
Not only that but the speed at which he completes most of his written exams is about in the same timeframe.
Unless he knew the answers beforehand…the only way to complete it this fast is for him to be able to understand the contents and find the answer in a single glance.
That should be impossible.
Even the person with the highest test scores in the entire history of the academy, the fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato…was unable to perform such a feat.
And it cannot be that he stole the answers.
It is unlikely that those at the academy wouldn't have figured out if he did as much…this has been happening for almost 2 years.
Every test paper is said to be completed impeccably and around the same timeframe…
-…This is beyond what I expected.
This boy unknown as Homura…
I knew of him already from a few years ago.
I had a root member investigate him very thoroughly when I learned, that the 9 tails jinchuriki had made a friend within the village.
Although nothing came out of it, I had planned to deal with him as soon as that happened, but that d*mned Hiruzen got in my way once again.
He had assigned an ANBU to watch for him for a long period of time.
Nonetheless, they ultimately came up with nothing as well.
At the time the Uchiha clan was my biggest obstacle...infuriating Hiruzen by taking action against the child was not worth the gamble.
Regardless, the file we have on him is pretty impressive.
According to the information he is a hardworking and quite cheerful boy who causes a lot of problems.
Nonetheless, he does seem to have an attitude problem, judging by his cooperation grades that are quite low, he probably sees others beneath him.
He mostly reads books about genjutsu, sealing ninjutsu, medical ninjutsu, history, or geography at the library in his free time or spends it training further.
His physical prowess and talents in taijutsu and shurikenjutsu are one of the best in his class, however, his talent for ninjutsu does not seem to be above the average.
Wait? He doesn't seem to have particular deep knowledge about ninjutsu, even if he has read several scrolls and books about it.
The ones provided in the academy are usually only given depending on the year of the student or if recommended by a teacher; due to malpractice.
Has already understood that his chakra control is lacking, or is he planning to study different methods to try to better his chakra control?
...and he is still only a second year student.
Normally students do try chakra control exercises in the latter years of the academy, for not hindering the development of students since chakra control is quite difficult… but if that is that true...why are most of the books he reads have to do with topics that require extremely precise chakra control?
Genjutsu… Medical ninjutsu…
He shouldn't even have learned how to break free of a genjutsu yet...and medical ninjutsu isn't even taught at the academy, few have talent for attempting such a thing. It requires extremely precise chakra control and mastery of medical knowledge.
I don't know how or why he got that idea that he should study medical ninjutsu...It is just such a mystery...I truly don't understand.
The deeper I try to think about it, the more mysterious it all sounds.
I feel as if I am missing a crucial piece of information or perhaps I am thinking too deeply about this.
... a talented child and seemingly wiser beyond his years with a secret only he knows... or is he simply trying to figure out, which career path would fit him more in the future?
Perhaps his unruly behavior may be a front too...if that is true...how is he managing to deceive shinobi about 3 times his age?...that shouldn't be possible.
Am I thinking too much or is this pure childish idiosyncrasy.
He's certainly quite intelligent but if he lacks knowledge as to how things truly work than his behavior can somewhat be explained as him thinking of things ahead of time.
-...this could be a problem. A seemingly unruly brat that we do not know anything about, besides that, he was found as an infant in the nursery during the nine-tails attack almost 9 years ago...and he happened to become friends with the nine-tails jinchuriki?
This is too elaborate to be a cover…though I cannot say for sure that his background is unlikely to have been crafted by someone, it is unlikely that such a string of coincidences just happen to be the work of the wheels of fate turning.
That child has proven to be abnormal, perhaps it is someone else's ploy.
However, even that seems unlikely.
Why would someone create such an odd cover to get close to the nine-tails jinchuriki?
It doesn't make any sense… his file and the things he does are of someone beyond his years and at the same time a brat lashing out at the world.
Am I looking at this the wrong way or was there something that I am missing? A piece of this puzzle…
- Tch! This is pointless, I won't get anything concrete unless I try to approach him myself or see his actions firsthand.
I can tell from his character profile that the chances of him betraying the village at an opportune moment are quite high.
He desires power but beyond that, he has almost nothing to attach himself to the village...and if he truly is as talented and smart as they say...we could have another Orochimaru in our hands in the future.
Why is he so interested in history and medical ninjutsu? That's not what someone that is more talented at fighting and has good skills should be interested in for someone his age.
Especially since he seems to do odd jobs around the village.
It almost makes me want to use the power of the Sharingan on him to know what secrets he is hiding, but if I did and he was been used by someone, it would simply just give me away to whoever might be guiding him…playing into their hands…not that it matters that much.
The boy is no threat as of now, at least that much is clear.
Perhaps I will learn more from letting him grow for now, if I had enough manpower I'd assign someone to him at all times but I am likely to find nothing and give my cover away…He appears to also be some kind of pupil to Might Guy… That could even lead to Hatake Kakashi getting involved…
-…If only I had known of this sooner, I could have gotten rid of him much easier or even use him for myself.
That boy's profile is odd, more than that he seems to be power-hungry, or wants to be strong for some particular reason as fast as possible.
I am sure Hiruzen must have thought the same, but dismissed it because the boy's personality is total opposite from his former pupil.
- Hiruzen...you senile...*sigh* how can you not see the signs? Someone as smart and gifted as that boy will obviously chase for more power...all he needs is some kind of bait.
He is still too young, but he must have already realized his shortcomings.
Even with talent, it is quite hard to conquer one's disadvantages.
It is unlikely that he will be able to go too far, without genetic advantages or an edge.
If he proves to be useful by then, I could use that to my benefit.
Better watch him closely after he becomes a chunin...he could be a good tool to discard.
- however, Hiruzen if anything happens before that...it will be on you...You've let this seed of uncertainty grow this far, for your sake...I hope I am just overthinking things.
…Sensei, you truly made a mistake that day...or perhaps... I failed you... But as long as I breathe, I will protect this village...No matter what the cost.
Chapter end
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