It was Aburame Ryoma from Root.
Seeing Aburame Ryoma being restrained in the palm of the Hundred-Armed Kannon, Namikaze Minato recognized him at a glance. Although he didn't immediately understand what had happened, he could make an educated guess based on Root's methods.
However, now that he had witnessed this scene, he naturally couldn't stand by and watch a Konoha shinobi be killed at Kawaki Aoba's hands — no matter the circumstances.
Just as Minato stepped forward to intervene, Kawaki Aoba greeted him first.
"Minato, you came at the perfect time. Look what I caught — a spy from who knows where. This guy impersonated a Konoha shinobi and tried to order me to hand over Shukaku!
Seriously, what was he thinking? If the village wanted to transfer Shukaku, the Hokage would personally issue the order — and it would be delivered through you, the battlefield commander, right?"
"Uh..."
Minato was momentarily lost for words. He glanced at Ryoma, who was struggling in the Hundred-Armed Kannon's grip, then at the swarm of Aburame clan insects writhing helplessly below him, unsure how to respond.
Kawaki Aoba's ability to lie so brazenly left even Minato speechless.
Even without detailed knowledge of Root, any experienced Konoha shinobi should recognize the signature techniques of the Aburame clan.
Yet Aoba had labeled an Aburame clan member — one using his family's signature insect techniques — as a foreign spy without hesitation. Truly audacious.
Of course, Root's existence was an open secret among Konoha's senior Jonin, but it was officially a black operation. It couldn't be exposed to the public.
Thus, the best outcome here was to treat Ryoma as a spy from an enemy village, rather than admit a Konoha clan member had "defected." No clan — not even a small one — would want that kind of stain on their reputation.
Minato quickly made up his mind. He confirmed Ryoma's "identity" as an enemy spy without hesitation.
Kawaki Aoba, giving Minato enough face, handed Ryoma over to him without further resistance.
Compared to killing Ryoma outright, it was much more appropriate for Minato to quietly hand him back to Shimura Danzo — Root's leader — for internal handling.
While Aoba was strong enough not to fear Danzo directly, it wasn't yet the time to move against him. Until Aoba truly held authority over the village, it was best to avoid stirring unnecessary trouble.
Of course, that didn't mean Danzo would escape forever.
Once Minato succeeded the Fourth Hokage's position, Aoba intended to deal with Danzo — and other decaying forces — once and for all.
"Trying to take a Tailed Beast from me for free? Not a chance."
After Minato took the injured Ryoma away, Aoba glanced at the ground, noticing several crushed insects beneath his feet.
The Aburame clan's insect techniques were indeed cunning, especially in traps and sabotage. If one wasn't careful, even a Kage-level ninja could suffer setbacks.
But Ryoma had grossly underestimated Kawaki Aoba's strength.
Aoba was no ordinary Kage-level shinobi.
Moreover, his max-level Observation Haki (a foreign power rarely seen in the ninja world) meant no sneak attack could ever succeed against him. Being caught off-guard simply wasn't possible.
At this time, Aokusa stepped out of the crowd and bowed deeply to Aoba.
"I apologize, Lord Aoba. I failed to detect the enemy's infiltration. It was my negligence. Please punish me."
As he spoke, Aokusa even began to perform a dogeza — a full kneeling bow — but Aoba quickly stopped him.
"It's alright, Aokusa," Aoba said calmly. "The intruder was extremely skilled at concealment. Even elite Jonin would have difficulty detecting him. But—"
Aoba's tone shifted to something more serious.
"—this incident made me realize something: your strength is still too weak."
Aokusa lowered his head even further, shame burning in his chest.
He had already pushed himself to the limit to reach Jonin level. His natural talent was limited, his body frail, and he lacked the benefits of secret clan techniques. Everything he had, he'd earned through bloody, relentless missions for the village.
Still, hearing Aoba's judgment stung.
"Everyone else, disperse," Aoba ordered. "Double the guard and patrols."
"Yes!" dozens of ninjas responded, quickly scattering.
Once the others left, Aoba clapped Aokusa's shoulder and said, "Come with me."
The two left the Konoha encampment, walking in silence.
It wasn't until they had gone far that Aoba finally spoke.
"Aokusa, you and the others were all transferred to me by Lord Orochimaru. Among you, even among the twelve or so Jonin-level shinobi, your talent was only average."
He paused, his sharp gaze falling on Aokusa.
"But do you know why I chose you as my deputy?"
Aokusa trembled slightly but answered without hesitation:
"Because I was the first to swear loyalty to Lord Aoba."
Aoba smiled faintly. "Exactly. Strength can always be improved, but loyalty — the kind of loyalty that puts everything on the line — is what matters most."
Aokusa smiled bitterly.
Loyalty? He had always been loyal — first to the village, then to Orochimaru when ordered, and now to Aoba after Orochimaru bartered him away.
As an orphan, he had no ties, no burdens. Loyalty was his only coin.
Still, what Aokusa cared about most was the one thing he lacked: strength.
His body was weak, his talent mediocre, and he had no clan techniques to fall back on. His promotion to Jonin was entirely due to sheer experience — hard-earned through missions where his life was always on the line.
Thrown into the harsh battlefields of the Wind Country two years ago, he and others had barely survived.
Only after intense tutelage under Orochimaru had he broken through to Jonin.
But that was his limit.
Even Orochimaru had commented that Aokusa's potential was exhausted — his path as a shinobi had reached its end.
Perhaps Lord Aoba, as a super genius, simply couldn't understand the despair of ordinary people like them.
But at this moment, Kawaki Aoba's heavenly words entered Aokusa's ears.
"Aokusa, do you want to become stronger again?"
"What?" Aokusa was stunned, subconsciously thinking he had heard wrong.
"I'm asking if you want to become stronger again — to break through the limits of your talent, to become an elite Jōnin, and even possess strength rivaling a Kage's," Kawaki Aoba repeated.
"I… I dream of becoming that strong!" Aokusa blurted out instinctively, looking at Kawaki Aoba with intense excitement, his eyes full of eagerness.
"Lord Aoba, what do you need me to do? No matter how dangerous the mission is, I'll do it!"
Kawaki Aoba smiled faintly. From the altar space, he took out two strange objects: one, a bloodline crystal of the Sandman mutation (from another world), and the other, a magic book of Sand Magic (originating from the Fairy Tail universe).
"Dangerous missions may come later. But if you want to become stronger, I can satisfy you right now."
After speaking, Kawaki Aoba pressed the bloodline crystal directly into Aokusa's forehead.
Aokusa didn't resist — he trusted Lord Aoba absolutely. If Lord Aoba wanted to harm him, there would be no need for such an elaborate method.
Kawaki Aoba was very satisfied with his obedience. After withdrawing his hand, he spoke again:
"Aokusa, carefully feel the new power in your body."
At his words, Aokusa closed his eyes and concentrated. Soon, he sensed an extraordinary change deep within himself.
"This power is…"
Raising his hand, Aokusa watched in amazement as his skin dried, cracked, and then crumbled into grains of sand.
In the blink of an eye, Aokusa's entire right hand disintegrated into yellow sand and scattered with the breeze.
Yet he showed no fear. Instead, guided by instinct, he bent down and plunged his severed arm into the sandy ground.
Moments later, he pulled his arm free — his right hand had regenerated, good as new.
"Is this a Kekkei Genkai?" Aokusa muttered to himself, his voice trembling with fanaticism. "It's incredible…! Now, even fatal wounds are meaningless to me."
Kawaki Aoba found Aokusa's expression amusing.
"Your current body is at most a pseudo-immortal state. Your overall combat strength hasn't substantially increased yet. As my future top subordinate, this is still far from enough," he said.
Kawaki Aoba then raised the magic book.
Interestingly, it had originally been a skill orb when he obtained it through sacrifice. Only after giving up on learning it himself did it crystallize into a book, with a peculiar method of use.
Without hesitation, Kawaki Aoba slapped the book against Aokusa's forehead.
The magic book disintegrated into countless specks of light and merged into Aokusa's body.
This was the correct way to use the magic book.
Because the magic book contained vast knowledge, Aokusa remained dazed for longer this time. But when he opened his eyes again, he had already mastered Sand Magic.
However, lacking magical power in his body, Aokusa could only substitute chakra. Thanks to his Sandman bloodline, the chakra cost for using Sand Magic was absurdly low — something normal shinobi could scarcely comprehend.
Moreover, the compatibility between his bloodline and Sand Magic was perfect.
Combining the two powers truly produced a synergistic effect, greater than the sum of its parts. If all went smoothly, Aokusa could at least rise to the level of an elite Jōnin.
"Aokusa, I have already given you the key to power. Whether you can push open the door yourself… depends on your own efforts," Kawaki Aoba said meaningfully.
"Yes, Lord Aoba! Your subordinate will not disappoint you. From now on, my life is yours!" Aokusa exclaimed, dropping to his knees in a deep bow.
This time, Kawaki Aoba didn't help him up.
He wanted Aokusa's loyalty — genuine, desperate loyalty. Otherwise, why would he have wasted two precious artifacts to raise his strength?
After Aokusa stood, Kawaki Aoba patted his shoulder lightly:
"Familiarize yourself with your new powers first. Once you've mastered them… show them off freely. Show everyone your strength. You understand what I mean, right?"
"Yes! I will let everyone witness the great power bestowed by Lord Aoba! I'll make sure those who still hesitate understand that loyalty to Lord Aoba is the only correct choice!" Aokusa said, trembling with excitement.
Seeing this, Kawaki Aoba nodded in satisfaction.
"Not bad, Aokusa. Oh, and if anyone asks where your power came from — tell them it's from the Tailed Beast Chakra experiment. Understand?"
Aokusa was momentarily stunned, then responded firmly:
"Yes, Lord Aoba! I obtained this power after undergoing the Tailed Beast Chakra experiment. And I will say it was only after begging you many times that you finally agreed to let me undergo it!"
Kawaki Aoba sighed lightly. Aokusa was a natural-born deputy — only under his own leadership could he truly flourish.
After encouraging Aokusa again, Kawaki Aoba left.
---
Back at the Konoha camp, his tent had already been fully repaired. However, instead of returning immediately, Kawaki Aoba headed toward another location — to find the little boy, Kabuto.
"Brother!" Seeing Kawaki Aoba arrive, Kabuto stood respectfully to the side.
Kawaki Aoba smiled and patted Kabuto's head.
"Kabuto, you've familiarized yourself with the things I taught you these past few days, right?"
"Yes, I have mastered them all! Brother, do you want to test me?" Kabuto asked.
"No need. I trust you," Kawaki Aoba said warmly. "But today, I'm here to teach you something new. For a ninja, besides theoretical knowledge and chakra reserves, one crucial foundation is precise chakra control."
"Today, I'll teach you how to control chakra precisely."
During the past half-month — while waiting through the tedious negotiations — Kawaki Aoba hadn't been idle. He had been personally teaching Kabuto basic ninja theory.
Kabuto had shown exceptional talent — mastering theoretical knowledge at astonishing speed. His chakra extraction ability was also extraordinary.
Even now, after only familiarizing himself with the most basic chakra extraction methods, Kabuto's chakra reserve already rivaled that of an ordinary Genin.
Importantly, the method Kawaki Aoba taught Kabuto was just an ordinary one — Kabuto's rapid progress was due purely to his outstanding physique.
Clearly, in the future, once Kabuto matured, his chakra capacity would likely surpass that of most Jōnin.
And it wasn't just his chakra.
Kabuto's talent for the ninja path had already been determined. His potential definitely wouldn't stop at the Jōnin level.
Thus, Kawaki Aoba began teaching Kabuto the next step: tree climbing training — a classic chakra control exercise foundational to becoming a true ninja.
Visit patreon.com/Akeyno to get 30+ chapters