Sarutobi Hiruzen studied the file in his hand with a troubled look. It was Naruto's profile.
Despite being the child of two of Konoha's greatest shinobi—Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki—Naruto didn't seem to have inherited much of their prowess.
"Maybe it's the Nine-Tails," Hiruzen muttered with a sigh, shaking his head.
He was lost in thought when he suddenly sensed a presence at the door. Quickly, he closed the file and gathered the rest of the documents from the table.
Click.
The door opened slowly.
"What are you thinking?" a cold voice questioned immediately.
There was only one man in the entire village who would dare speak to the Third Hokage in that tone—Shimura Danzō.
"What is it you want to say this time?" Hiruzen asked, lowering his gaze and taking a slow drag from his pipe.
"Do I really need to explain it?" Danzō stepped in and shut the door behind him, his sharp gaze fixed on Hiruzen.
The Third Hokage raised his head and looked at the man who had once been his comrade. Over time, Danzō had become more forceful—perhaps as a result of Hiruzen's age and waning strength, or perhaps due to his own unchecked ambition.
"It's that brat from the Moonlight Clan," Danzō said coldly. "Why haven't you ordered him to hand over the swordsmanship he's developed—those Breathing Techniques?"
So that was it.
Hiruzen scoffed. "The clans of Konoha are under no obligation to surrender their secret techniques to the village."
"Don't give me that nonsense," Danzō snapped. "Among all the clans in Konoha, large and small, whose techniques aren't documented in the village archives? And now you're making an exception—for a child, no less. What is it, Hiruzen? Are you placing your hopes on this boy? Be careful, or we'll have another White Fang situation on our hands."
But Hiruzen remained unmoved.
He knew full well what would happen if Shigure handed over his sword style—the Breathing Techniques would end up in Root's hands by the next day.
It wasn't that Hiruzen couldn't protect the technique himself. The issue was that Danzō, as a village elder and Root's leader, technically had the authority to access anything entered into the archives.
By not submitting the Breathing Techniques, Hiruzen was shielding them from Root's exploitation and preventing Danzō from mass-producing elite swordsmen under his secret command.
He had seen Shigure's swordsmanship firsthand.
With it, even a Chūnin could fight on par with a Jōnin.
There was no way he would allow that kind of leapfrog combat power to be monopolized by Root.
"Drop it, Danzō. I won't allow the Breathing Sword Style of the Moonlight Clan to fall into your hands."
"Besides," Hiruzen added firmly, "this is swordsmanship, not ninjutsu."
Danzō's face twisted under his bandages. Though much of it was concealed, the bitterness in his eyes was clear.
"You're deliberately standing in my way," he said darkly.
Hiruzen didn't respond.
Danzō stepped forward, his voice growing sharper.
"That sword style isn't just swordsmanship anymore, Hiruzen. It doesn't require hand seals. It uses chakra nature transformation through the blade. Even the samurai of the Land of Iron can't do that."
"That technique is more dangerous than most ninjutsu."
"And yet," Hiruzen replied calmly, "I still won't allow it."
Danzō stared at him for a long moment before letting out a cold laugh.
"You're the Hokage. You have the final say."
Without another word, he turned and walked out.
But as he reached the hallway, Danzō looked back at the closed door behind him, his expression unreadable.
"You may wear the title of Hokage, Hiruzen," he murmured under his breath, "but someone like you doesn't deserve it."
He had assumed Hiruzen would treat Shigure like any other shinobi—strip him of his swordsmanship, archive it, and reassign it when convenient.
Just like with countless other clans before.
If the Moonlight Clan were to fall—if they were ever wiped out—Shigure's Breathing Technique would inevitably end up in the hands of another Konoha faction.
Preferably, his.
Passing on unique skills to the next generation was the foundation of Konoha's strength.
In the past, Hiruzen would have ensured that such techniques were safely archived within the village, never lost even if a clan were to fall.
But times had changed. Hiruzen's mindset was no longer the same.
Even now, with a technique as powerful as the Moonlight Clan's Breathing Sword Style, he refused to lock it away in the archives.
"Sarutobi... if you won't take it, then I'll do it myself."
With those parting words, Danzō vanished from the Hokage's office.
Once the room fell silent again, Hiruzen reached for the file he had hidden earlier and reopened it.
His gaze landed on Shigure's profile.
"…So you really are something special."
He let out a quiet chuckle.
"To think even he can't stay calm because of you…"
Hiruzen's eyes swept over to the other two profiles on his desk—Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke.
He placed all three folders side by side.
"That old man won't stop. I'll need someone strong to keep an eye on these three…"
He had someone in mind—someone capable.
Elsewhere, that same evening...
Shigure lay sprawled across his bed, sound asleep with a content smile on his face.
The integration of ninjutsu and swordsmanship—just as he had hoped—was proving far more effective than expected.
Even if the Great Sage wasn't currently busy calculating Ice Release, Shigure would've asked it to start analyzing combinations between ninjutsu and swordsmanship right away. There was so much potential waiting to be unlocked.
The Ice Release calculation would take a total of thirty hours. At this rate, he'd acquire his third Kekkei Genkai by tomorrow morning.
He already had:
Transparent Release
Boiling Release
And soon: Ice Release
Once Ice Release was completed, he'd immediately begin developing his next bloodline limit.
For now, he reallocated his passive skill slots:
[Passive Skill: Chakra Refinement]
[Passive Skill: Advanced Taijutsu]
[Passive Skill: Basic Genjutsu Perception]
[Passive Skill: Breathing Swordsmanship]
The next morning...
Shigure woke early, stretching as he rose from bed.
The first thing he noticed was his chakra reserves—they'd grown again.
The improvement brought by Advanced Taijutsu had also left its mark. He glanced at the mirror, mildly surprised.
Though still young, his body already showed clear definition. His muscle lines were distinct, and his abdomen displayed the beginnings of a six-pack.
"The physical boost from this passive is insane," Shigure muttered. "Way stronger than the academy's standard taijutsu training."
At least three times more effective, maybe more.
At the Ninja Academy—
As soon as he stepped onto school grounds, Shigure gave a casual wave to Ino in greeting.
Just then, he spotted Hinata walking shyly toward him.
"Shigure-kun… g-good luck on your exam tomorrow," she said quietly.
Shigure blinked. "Ah, thank you."
Then he froze.
Exam… tomorrow?
"…Wait, what exam?"
Before he could think further, Naruto ran over excitedly.
"Shigure! Are you ready for tomorrow's exam?"
"...What exam?" Shigure asked again, staring blankly at him.
Naruto looked at him like he'd grown another head.
"Huh!? You don't know? The graduation exam is tomorrow!"
Graduation—Exam—TOMORROW!?
Shigure's eyes widened.
Wasn't it supposed to be next week!?
Why did it suddenly get moved up!?
Seeing the shocked look on Shigure's face, Naruto—who had been nervous all morning—suddenly felt a little better.
Heh… I might not be the only one unprepared after all!
...
TN:
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