After reviewing all the student records once, Hoshishita Shu realized something.
Aside from Yakushi Nono, none of the names were familiar.
All the academy students in the files were between 8 and 12 years old.
Yakushi Nono was 10.
That meant two other future legends should exist somewhere in this batch of students.
Minato Namikaze — probably around 8 years old.
Kushina Uzumaki.
But Shu hadn't seen their files.
He suspected Shimura Daichi probably hadn't either.
Most likely, those files had been removed earlier by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen would never allow someone like Minato—or the potential Nine-Tails jinchūriki candidate Kushina—to fall into Root.
Selecting Candidates
Shu began reviewing the files again.
This time, far more carefully.
He picked out promising candidates one by one.
Then he reviewed everything a third time.
Eventually, only 15 files remained in his hands.
By then, Shimura Daichi had already handed his own 15 selections to Shimura Danzo.
Danzo began reading through them.
After finishing Daichi's selections, Shu passed over his own.
Danzo took the stack.
Almost immediately—
He pulled out Yakushi Nono's file.
Danzo had noticed Shu's earlier reaction.
He glanced at Shu.
"Why did you choose this girl?"
Shu answered without hesitation.
"This child has talent for becoming a medical ninja."
"She has a gentle personality and excellent relationships with classmates."
"But her teachers also describe her as resilient and mentally strong."
"A medical ninja with those traits…"
"Combined with emotional intelligence and mental strength…"
"She would make an excellent spy."
Danzo narrowed his eyes slightly.
Using a medical ninja as a spy…
It was extravagant.
But undeniably effective.
Danzo nodded and set the file aside.
After about 30 minutes, he finished reviewing the candidates.
Including Yakushi Nono, 10 files were selected.
Among them were:
Civilian students.
Clan children.
However, two clans were completely absent.
Uchiha Clan.
Hyūga Clan.
Even though some of their students had strong evaluations.
Shu had skipped them intentionally.
Taking those children into Root would only cause political trouble.
Recruiting from the Orphanage
After the academy visit, Danzo and Shu left the school and went directly to the orphanage.
Compared to the academy selection—
This process was far simpler.
Danzo selected 50 children at once.
There was no careful screening.
There simply wasn't enough information.
Looking at the confused children who had just been chosen, Shu felt a heavy weight in his chest.
He knew the truth.
Even if half of them survived Root training, it would already be considered fortunate.
And yet—
Recruiting from the orphanage had originally been his suggestion.
A sense of guilt rose uncontrollably.
But Shu quickly hardened his heart.
He himself was no different from these children.
In this world—
Only the strong survived.
Become someone above others…
His gaze swept across the children.
The only thing I can do…
Is train them to become stronger.
That's all.
Training Begins
After returning to Root headquarters, Shu immediately resumed training.
Both Wind Release and Wood Release still had enormous room for improvement.
Wood Release training would be done at night.
So during the day he focused on Wind Release.
In the forest training ground, Shu drew his sword.
Wind-nature chakra flowed along the blade.
He experimented with sharpening the wind chakra even further.
Thinner.
Sharper.
Training was boring.
But time passed quickly.
By 8 PM, Shu ended his Wind Release practice.
After dinner, he found an even more secluded location and trained Wood Release until midnight.
Then—
The status panel refreshed.
Current Status: Swordsmanship Specialist
Description:
When it comes to using a sword, you are a professional.
Under this status, swordsmanship mastery and related talent are greatly enhanced.
Refresh Countdown: 167:59:58
Shu's eyes widened.
"What a great status!"
He immediately felt the difference.
Drawing the katana from his back—
A strange, profound sensation emerged.
The sword felt perfectly natural in his hand.
Almost as if he could feel the blade breathing.
Every sword technique he had previously practiced suddenly gained deeper meaning.
He estimated silently:
"Professional… specialized…"
"This should be jōnin-level swordsmanship."
Previously his sword skills had been decent.
But not quite at the jōnin level.
Shimura Daichi's swordsmanship had clearly been superior.
Now—
Shu felt he could finally compete with that jōnin.
"Unfortunately…"
"This status only lasts seven days."
But then a thought struck him.
"If this status temporarily pushes my swordsmanship to expert level…"
"Then during these seven days…"
"I can train as much as possible and permanently improve my real skill."
If he learned new techniques now—
The experience would remain even after the status expired.
Seven days of expert-level talent.
If he trained hard enough…
Maybe he could permanently reach that level.
With that realization, Shu made a decision.
Tomorrow he would apply to learn the A-rank kenjutsu technique:
Crescent Moon Dance.
A-Rank Kenjutsu
The next morning, Shu obtained the scroll from Danzo.
At the training ground, he opened it and quickly read through the technique.
He smiled slightly.
"Doesn't look that difficult."
He studied it several times carefully before drawing his sword.
The technique relied on two key elements:
Shadow Clones.
Simultaneous attack from the original body and two clones.
The three attackers created a confusing formation of:
Real strike.
Feint.
Illusion of multiple angles.
Timing and positioning were critical.
The first step was performing Shadow Clone Jutsu with one hand seal.
That technique alone was already highly valuable in battle.
For the entire day, Shu focused on sword training.
The status panel only refreshed once every seven days.
He had to use every moment.
After all—
Missions could interrupt his training at any time.
A New Mission
The next day.
Konoha Year 36 — September 22.
Shu led his squad out of the village on a mission.
On the road, Inuzuka Ryo couldn't hold back his confusion.
"Captain…"
"Lady Tsunade's team is a jōnin squad."
"Do they really need us to protect them?"
Even as an elite chūnin, Inuzuka Ryo understood the gap between chūnin and jōnin.
Yes.
Their current mission was to follow behind Tsunade's team.
Tsunade and her teammates were traveling to the Land of Hot Water.
Their goal was to meet with the Sky Ninja Village.
The official purpose:
To receive the individual responsible for planning the theft of Konoha's sealing techniques.
This was the result of Hiruzen's diplomatic reprimand.
Of course—
Everyone knew the truth.
The Sky Ninja Village would simply hand over some scapegoat.
But in Danzo's eyes, the enemy's lack of sincerity meant danger remained.
And sending Shu's squad along had another hidden purpose.
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