A Sage's Pursuit of Power

In the Land of Rain, Hiruko was conducting his first live training after performing the Chimera Technique. His sparring partner was Shin (Hidan), who had already opened the second gate of the Eight Gates, significantly enhancing his speed.

However, it still wasn't enough to keep up with Hiruko's movements. Even so, Shin's Sharingan provided dynamic vision, and his immense stamina and recovery ability meant he could wear Hiruko down eventually.

If Hiruko were to use his Wood Release without restraint, Shin's current mastery of Swift Release would still fall short.

Swift Release, as the name suggests, is a technique focused on high-speed movement. It was the first Kekkei Genkai sample Hiruko requested for himself.

Hiruko's talent was unremarkable... At least when compared to Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru back in the day.

In truth, Hiruko was already at the level of a jōnin. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to defect and evade pursuit for so many years.

Unlike Orochimaru, who had powerful connections, Hiruko faced relentless pursuit from Konoha's ANBU, who showed no mercy. His ability to avoid capture all this time was a testament to his skill.

That said, his ambitions were too lofty and he constantly compared himself to the likes of Orochimaru.

Being a ninja is a profession that demands extreme talent. While effort can compensate for a lack of natural ability to some extent, the difficulty increases exponentially. Success also depends heavily on opportunities and specialized techniques.

For example, most people are born with only one or two chakra natures, and converting chakra natures is a skill that requires rigorous training.

But look at the entire ninja world, how many ninja could wield all five chakra natures?

Aside from a select few in Konoha, most ninja in other villages specialize in only one or two natures. Even the Kage of each village usually falls into this category, let alone other ninja.

Yet in Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Kakashi were all capable of mastering all five chakra natures.

Although not explicitly confirmed, it's likely that the Second Hokage also possessed this mastery, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to conduct such complex research.

Before mastering the transformation of Yin and Yang chakra, Aoba found researching Hashirama cells to be extremely challenging.

Mastering all five chakra natures and wielding them skillfully is a surefire path to reaching Kage-level strength.

While theoretically possible for anyone, in practice, it's an almost unattainable goal.

Becoming a ninja requires money and time, but most ninja lack time. Missions, battles, rest, and family responsibilities drain all the energy of civilian ninja.

Few have the time or resources to pursue such complex training. Ultimately, it still comes down to innate talent.

This world has always been unfair. Some people achieve mastery effortlessly and even go further, creating their own paths.

Take Hiruzen Sarutobi as an example. While his governance left much to be desired, as a Hokage without Kekkei Genkai or secret techniques, his path serves as a beacon of hope for ordinary civilian ninja.

Of course, most civilian ninja overlook the fact that Hiruzen, despite lacking Kekkei Genkai or secret techniques, was not actually a civilian. The Sarutobi clan is one of Konoha's elite clans.

During his tenure, Hiruzen intentionally downplayed the Sarutobi clan's presence, leading most people to believe they were merely a small ninja clan.

The Sarutobi clan, too, kept a low profile. The number of registered ninja in the village only reflected a mid-sized clan.

But Aoba was well aware of the Sarutobi clan's true strength. Despite lacking secret techniques or Kekkei Genkai, the Sarutobi clan had access to countless ninjutsu resources during Hiruzen's time as Hokage.

Today, the Sarutobi clan has evolved into a large ninja clan specializing in Fire Release techniques. Their actual number of ninja far exceeds that of traditional noble clans like the Hyuga or the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.

Such a large and powerful force hiding within a single clan represents a tremendous waste of resources. More importantly, this clan grew by drawing upon Konoha's resources. Isn't it only natural for them to serve Konoha in return?

Aoba had long developed a plan for dealing with the Sarutobi clan, but Tsunade had put it on hold. She was hesitant, concerned that targeting the family of the previous Hokage so soon after taking office might damage her reputation.

Aoba agreed to delay the plan. However, Tsunade herself brought up the matter not long after.

When Aoba was summoned for a meeting regarding this issue, he was completely taken aback.

"I thought you were going to wait a while longer."

"That was the plan, but Konoha is severely short on manpower right now. I need more personnel."

"Short on manpower? Are there really that many missions in the village recently?" Aoba asked, surprised. If that were the case, he would have noticed as the Hokage's assistant.

"...It's not about missions. It's because three days ago, Gato's shipping business delivered its first revenue."

"Was it significant?" Aoba began to realize where this was headed.

"Hmm, a total of 20 million ryō."

To Aoba, 20 million ryō wasn't much. After all, he was the one secretly controlling the Gato Group. Although he hadn't directly interfered much, with Zabuza overseeing operations and his Mangekyo Sharingan influencing many of Gato's company executives, Aoba was well aware of the group's overall scale.

For the current Gato Group, a 20-million-ryō deal was relatively small. He had initially estimated at least 40 million ryō. It seemed Tsunade had been conservative in her projections.

"So, Hokage-sama intends to strengthen the partnership?"

"Exactly. The village desperately needs funds. The damage from the wars, combined with the rollout of new policies and welfare programs, requires significant expenditures. Relying solely on the daimyo's funding is far from sufficient. We need more revenue streams.

However, Gato's operations require a substantial workforce. If I allocate too many personnel to his projects, the village's missions will suffer, potentially harming Konoha's reputation.

I need to strike a balance between both sides, which means I need a large number of skilled personnel."

"That's not a major issue. The various ninja clans all have their own manpower. Several have already expressed willingness to align with us. Offering them some benefits will secure their support, so manpower shouldn't be a problem. However, the Sarutobi clan has always been low-key. I doubt they'll volunteer."

"I'm aware. But how should I put this? The Sarutobi clan's low profile is only on the surface. Recently, I've gathered some intelligence on them. Take a look."

Tsunade handed Aoba a stack of documents.

Aoba skimmed through them, and his expression quickly turned to one of shock.

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