c9 - Legendary Stupid Brothers
It came so quickly.
"You just took Aburame Torune into your Root not long ago. Isn't that enough?" Sandaime Hokage eyed his old comrade with growing dissatisfaction.
Root's influence was spreading further, reaching deeper than before—it was starting to cross the line.
"It's not enough. The root buried deep in the ground needs more nutrients to strengthen Konoha. The bigger the root, the better! Hiruzen, you understand."
Danzo slammed his cane against the floor and briefly glanced at Shibi.
Aburame Shibi lowered his head, silent, indifferent to everything happening before him.
"Shibi, it's been hard on you this time. Rest for a few days. I have a new task for you."
Sandaime Hokage took a slow drag from his pipe.
As Shibi vanished from sight, the room fell silent for a moment.
"…Which one do you want?"
"Uchiha Kazue, Hyuga Iroha, Shiranui Yuuji I want all three," Danzo declared. "I originally intended to recruit Kakashi into Root. With his father gone, his emotions are unstable, but you rejected me."
"I can assign Might Guy to you. If you want, Might Duy can also be given to you."
"Hiruzen, I don't need fools! And you're offering me two of them? They lack the qualities and talent necessary to become excellent shinobi."
"I believe Gekkou Hayate is also a good option. His Kekkei Genkai has potential—"
"That child from the Gekkou clan? If he stays still, he becomes invisible. If he moves, he becomes visible. What kind of Kekkei Genkai is that? Sending a few shadow clones would be more useful than this so-called 'bloodline limit.'"
Danzo scoffed, disappointment clear in his eyes.
'You've changed. You don't even care about me anymore.'
It was bad enough that Hiruzen had recommended Might Guy. But now, he was pushing Hayate too?
"Kazue is out of the question. The Uchiha clan won't allow it. As for Iroha and Yuuji… you may pick one."
"Then give me Iroha."
Danzo's expression darkened.
"The Hyuga clan? Even though he's from the branch family, recruiting Iroha won't be easy. I believe Yuuji is an exceptional child. He achieved perfect scores in political studies and awakened a new Kekkei Genkai—"
"It's Hyuga Iroha. Konoha has no shortage of geniuses. Torune is better."
Danzo got what he wanted and turned to leave.
'Yuuji? A new bloodline? At least it's more practical than that useless Hayate.'
The Aburame he had recruited—Torune—had strong ambition and a unique mastery of nano-sized venomous insects. The moment they made contact, those microscopic insects could devour an enemy from the inside out. That was far more useful than blood poison.
"Hmph, what a shame. I still can't get my hands on a living Sharingan user."
Danzo disappeared into the darkness.
…
In the Hokage's office, only Sandaime remained, inhaling from his pipe before sighing deeply.
"The new generation must grow quickly…"
—
In the Arena
Yuuji's battle had left an undeniable impact. The shock of his victory still lingered in the air.
Many of his peers watched him with strange expressions.
It was odd—this boy who wrapped himself in bandages all year suddenly revealing his power. The sight was difficult to describe.
"I want to challenge Yuuji!"
A voice broke through the murmurs.
Obito rushed forward, pointing at Yuuji with a fierce glare.
"Yuuji! Come and fight me!"
Shua!
A figure moved instantly, cutting off Obito's path.
Might Guy had reacted the moment Obito charged forward. He stood in front of him, arms crossed.
"This is not a proper challenge. Return to your position. The competition is still ongoing," Guy stated firmly.
"Move aside! I want to fight Yuuji!"
Obito stubbornly lunged forward—only to be effortlessly thrown aside by Guy's counter.
"Tch… then I'll challenge you! Take this! Fire Release – Great Fireball Technique!"
Obito formed the seals quickly, taking a deep breath, his chest expanding—
Then… nothing.
Before he could even expel the flames, a sharp impact struck his stomach.
Guy's kick sent him flying across the field.
It was a complete and utter farce.
"Damn it… I trained so hard…" Obito groaned, spitting out dirt.
Laughter echoed around him.
No one took him seriously. Even Yuuji simply shook his head before turning away, ignoring him completely.
It was pitiful.
Using the Great Fireball Technique at ten years old was certainly impressive—but not if you couldn't even execute it properly.
…
"The person who fails at the crucial moment is more pathetic than an average nobody," Kazue remarked with a smirk, gently brushing her long hair behind her ear.
"Hey, hey, isn't that a bit harsh? You two are from the same clan," Yuuji commented.
"Heh, the difference between a genius and a failure is inevitable. I risked my life to become a recognized talent within the clan…"
Kazue's eyes lingered on Yuuji's face as another round of whispers spread through the crowd.
…
At last, after the final battle between Shiranui Genma and Ebisu concluded, the Annual Large-Scale Actual Combat Lesson officially came to an end.
This year's batch of students had proven themselves more than capable—so much so that even the village higher-ups had taken notice. The shinobi stationed around the training ground finally relaxed their guard.
"Hey, I saw some interesting performances."
"The overall skill level of this year's students is quite high. While they can't compare to past legends like Namikaze Minato, Uzumaki Kushina, or Aburame Shibi, they're still promising."
"They… will grow into fine shinobi."
The duty of these guards was to protect the Academy. Most of them were mere Genin, and foreign infiltration wasn't a significant concern.
Among them was Might Duy—standing alone, as usual. None of the other shinobi wanted to be seen with him.
They found him embarrassing.
While the others lowered their vigilance, Duy alone remained alert, constantly scanning his surroundings.
"Hah! Duy, what are you doing? You think an enemy will attack after the matches are over?"
Someone pointed at Duy and laughed.
More joined in.
"Oh! I just believe that maintaining the flame of youth means carrying out your mission until the very last second—"
"Hahahaha! Did you hear that? The Ten Thousand-Year Genin is preaching about youth! What a joke!"
"Oi?"
"What? You wanna fight us?"
"No… someone's coming! Two of them!"
Duy abruptly turned, muscles tensing as his instincts screamed at him. His sharp senses urged him to react.
Rumble
Two massive figures appeared on the horizon, their enormous frames advancing with heavy steps.
"I'm so hungry, brother."
"Yes, the reward for missions isn't enough to feed us, brother."
"We've worked so hard, but during wartime, there's never enough food. The village has abandoned us. We have no choice but to feed ourselves."
"I'm starving…"
"Hey, there's a ninja school up ahead! With so many students, there must be plenty of food."
"…If someone stands in our way"
"We kill them."
The two hulking men marched forward, their steps leaving cracks in the ground, their chakra radiating a suffocating presence.
The shinobi guards turned pale.
"T-Those two… it's them."
"Oh no. They've gone mad from hunger again. Quickly alert the higher-ups!"
The laughter from earlier vanished.
Even Might Duy's expression turned grim.
"It's them… the Legendary Stupid Brothers… Fuujin and Raijin!"