Konoha, Hokage's Office.
"Hokage-sama, here are Kamikawa Aoba's records," a Hokage assistant placed a file in front of Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Hmm."
After the assistant left, Hiruzen picked up the document and began flipping through it.
Kamikawa Aoba—a very ordinary name. Konoha had no ninja clan named Kamikawa. Aoba was an orphan, currently holding the rank of chūnin.
The first half of the file was standard chūnin material. Like countless other orphans, Aoba attended the Academy, graduated early, and was sent to the frontlines of the Third Shinobi World War as cannon fodder.
The only notable point was that Aoba had excelled academically. Despite not being from a ninja clan, lacking secret techniques or bloodline limits, his performance in all areas was outstanding and well-rounded.
Even without the war, he would have met the criteria for early graduation.
On the battlefield, his performance was average. He earned his promotion to chūnin through accumulated merits—becoming higher-grade cannon fodder.
But it was from here that his records began to stand out.
During the Third War, Aoba somehow caught Orochimaru's attention. Though this wasn't entirely surprising.
Aoba was one of the rare shinobi with both solid theoretical knowledge and practical skills, along with exceptional chakra control. In hindsight, he must have been exactly the kind of talent Orochimaru favored.
After that, Aoba served under Orochimaru as his lab assistant. Years later, when Orochimaru defected, Aoba was subsequently investigated by the Anbu.
The results were unexpected. Though many claimed Aoba had been Orochimaru's key assistant, the Anbu found no evidence of his involvement in human experiments.
After thorough investigations, intelligence could only confirm that Aoba had participated in numerous experimental developments under Orochimaru—but not the most severe human trials.
Thus, technically, Aoba was innocent.
But in Konoha, innocence didn't guarantee safety.
Due to Orochimaru's defection, many of his former subordinates from the Third War were marginalized—some even imprisoned.
Aoba was among them. After interrogation, he was immediately dispatched to guard a remote outpost at the border. Three years passed before he was finally recalled.
Hiruzen continued flipping through the file, reviewing Aoba's records from the past few years.It was strange, but Kamikawa Aoba began to transform only after being distanced from Konoha's core.
Records showed that at the border outpost, he had repeatedly led teams in engagements against Cloud Ninja who trespassed without permission.
In less than three years, he had eliminated over sixteen Cloud Chunin, three Jonin, and several Genin.
Yet, because he was never recalled for a rank reassessment during those three years, he achieved all this while still officially holding the rank of Chunin.
Originally, someone like Kamikawa Aoba would have had almost no chance of returning to Konoha's core. But there was simply no choice—Sarutobi Hiruzen now keenly felt the village's weakness.
Yes, weakness. Orochimaru had defected, Jiraiya was wandering the world, Tsunade's whereabouts were unknown, and later, Sakumo Hatake took his own life.
Let it not be forgotten—Konoha was, at its core, a military organization. Those four had been its most elite combatants, any one of them capable of holding their own on the battlefield.
And Konoha had lost all of them.
Later, the village suffered another devastating blow—the loss of its most outstanding young leader, the Fourth Hokage, and the previous Jinchuriki, Kushina Uzumaki.
But that wasn't the end.
Not long ago, Konoha suffered yet another immeasurable loss—the Uchiha clan was wiped out overnight, leaving only a single survivor.
Though no one said it aloud, the entire world was watching, waiting to see Konoha's downfall. This was the village's weakest moment in history.
By now, Kamikawa Aoba had reached the level of an elite Jonin. After reviewing his records, Hiruzen considered recalling him to serve in the village.
But the two advisors opposed the decision.
Orochimaru was still at large, and Aoba's suspicions had never been fully cleared. That was the official reason, at least—the real motives remained unknown.
"Aoba passed the Intelligence Division's screening back then. We have no grounds to continue doubting him."
Deep down, Hiruzen knew the truth. The Interrogation Department had employed harsh methods. Even the Yamanaka clan's mind-reading techniques had found no evidence of Aoba's betrayal.
According to the information they gathered, Aoba had likely discovered Orochimaru's human experiments but avoided involvement, steering clear of the research.
Personally, Hiruzen was inclined to trust Kamikawa Aoba. But his past association with Orochimaru remained problematic.
Most crucially, the Interrogation Department had been ruthless with Orochimaru's former subordinates. Even those proven innocent could never be trusted with important roles again.
No one could endure interrogation without resentment, especially when innocent. Thus, even after his exoneration, Aoba was completely sidelined.
This left Hiruzen hesitant. He had no way of knowing how Aoba truly felt about Konoha after all these years.
"We believe this matter requires careful deliberation. Kamikawa Aoba may have been innocent in the Orochimaru incident, but let us not forget the White Fang incident."
The two advisors remained firmly opposed. But then, another voice spoke up."We can give him a test. If he passes, we'll agree to transfer him back for duty."
The speaker was Danzo, who hadn't shown his face for a long time. Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at Danzo. After the Uchiha clan massacre, this old friend had secluded himself until today's appearance.
He understood this old friend's intentions. Kamikawa Aoba had now become an excellent enforcer. Clearly, Danzo had taken an interest.
"Do you have a suitable mission in mind?"
"Of course—capturing Orochimaru. This has been a long-term mission for both Anbu and Root. Recently, Root tracked Orochimaru's trail. But to deal with a ninja of his caliber, we need more manpower and thorough planning."
Hunting Orochimaru was Konoha's political imperative, so the two advisors couldn't object. Yet both Hiruzen and Danzo knew well that Orochimaru wouldn't be easily caught.
"I'll have Anbu coordinate with Root's operation. As for Kamikawa Aoba... Regardless, let's finalize his Jonin promotion first. With his current combat strength, keeping him as a Chunin is simply inappropriate."
Hiruzen flipped to the last page of the dossier, where a title Aoba had earned along the borders in recent years was recorded.
Enemies and rivals called him the "Wind Chasing Sword."