Naruto: Forbidden Arts and an Immortal Agenda

Everyone turned their gaze toward the voice—it was Shuichi, the one appointed by Fugaku.

Shuichi remained calm and said, "I think Aozora is more suitable than me. In both strength and wisdom, he far surpasses me."

After Shuichi spoke, everyone naturally looked toward Aozora.

Under normal circumstances, Aozora wouldn't have sought such attention, but now he had ambitions of building his own influence.

The three—Shuichi included—were all strong and quite young, with bright futures ahead.

If he could become their acknowledged leader, then he would have a basic team of his own.

Therefore, Aozora stepped forward confidently and said, "Shuichi speaks truly. I do believe I'm more suited for this position."

In any other clan or department, Aozora's confidence might've been seen as arrogance.

But this was the Uchiha Clan, where confidence and responsibility earned respect.

Fugaku nodded approvingly. Although Shuichi had matured significantly after the escort mission, Fugaku still trusted Aozora more.

Initially nominating Shuichi had simply been to prevent any discontent from him; since Shuichi had no objections, Fugaku was naturally pleased with this outcome.

"Then, Aozora will be the team leader for this mission."

This time, Fugaku did not ask again but directly announced the appointment.

Although Genya and Kagenbi harbored doubts, they dared not voice them openly, and the appointment was thus confirmed.

Aozora first thanked Fugaku, then gently nodded at the three of them, saying, "We're in this together."

Shuichi and the others politely returned the gesture.

After the team exchanged greetings, Fugaku's expression turned serious as he began explaining the mission details.

"One month ago, Zhengren left the village to capture a suspect but vanished without a trace. Two weeks ago, Yingtai, who took over his task, also disappeared without leaving a single message."

Upon hearing this, the four—Aozora, Shuichi, Genya, and Kagenbi—immediately grew grim-faced.

Though Zhengren and Yingtai were only Tokubetsu Jonin, their actual strength equaled that of Jonin. Both had awakened the [Three Tomoe Sharingan]—in theory, even if they ran into famous ninja, they should've still been able to send back word.

"Now, you four will replace them and swiftly apprehend the suspect."

With that, Fugaku handed a scroll to Aozora.

Once the mission was assigned, Fugaku added, "Aozora, stay behind. The rest of you leave first."

Hearing this, Aozora handed the scroll to Shuichi and said, "Wait for me downstairs and look through the mission details first."

After the three exited the office, Fugaku gave Kyudai a wave to send him off too.

Kyudai let out a resentful "humph," walked out, and shut the office door tightly.

Fugaku got up slowly, moving to the window and staring out at the village below.

"Aozora, this mission is extremely dangerous. Your enemy isn't merely a fugitive suspect, but an unknown hand in the shadows."

"I understand!" Aozora replied.

Fugaku turned around, looking seriously at Aozora. "You're right. The higher-ups don't give us any leeway. We've barely just moved our compound when someone in the village has already begun sabotaging us again. If it weren't for the fragile peace we're currently holding onto, perhaps they'd already started plotting the annihilation of our entire clan!"

Aozora could clearly detect the bitterness in Fugaku's tone.

"In such circumstances, my original intention was to have the Uchiha retreat and consolidate our strength."

Still, I couldn't accept it. The massacre of my innocent clansmen... I just can't let that go. If some low-level suspect got away, I wouldn't even blink. But I want to know who killed Zhengren and Yingtai. Who's secretly plotting against the Uchiha?"

"If it's another ninja village or a bounty hunter, that would be one thing. But if it's..."

Fugaku didn't finish his sentence. Aozora didn't ask either. He simply said, "I'll get to the bottom of this!"

Fugaku patted Aozora's shoulder and said, "Go!"

After a brief pause, he added, "Prioritize safety. If you can't complete the mission, just make sure all four of you return safely."

Aozora's expression turned solemn. "Yes sir!"

...

Shuichi and the other three exited the office and sat down to rest in the first-floor lobby.

Shuichi took out the mission scroll and began reading it, but Genya and his brother couldn't contain themselves.

Genya asked first, "Shuichi, is Aozora really that powerful?"

Absorbed in the scroll, Shuichi didn't lift his eyes as he casually replied, "Of course!"

Genya continued, "But he looks only about fourteen or fifteen years old..."

Shuichi responded, "Aozora is only twelve, but he's a true genius."

Genya exclaimed in shock, "Twelve years old?"

Kagenbi, who hadn't spoken until now, also shook his head in disbelief. "That can't be right! Even Shisui was only jonin-level at twelve."

Although he resented Shisui for leaving the Police Force to join the Hokage's elite Anbu unit, Kagenbi still deeply admired Shisui's talent and strength.

In his eyes, Shisui's talent exceeded all normal limits—he was even more fearsome than Kakashi, the so-called "Genius" everyone in the village kept praising.

Shuichi paused and shook his head. "Back when Shisui was twelve—even at his peak—he wasn't nearly as strong as Aozora is right now."

His words carried certainty and an inherent persuasive power.

Coming back to himself, Genya kept shaking his head.

"I don't believe it. With that pretty boy look, how strong could he possibly be..."

Suddenly, Genya heard footsteps on the stairs and quickly closed his mouth.

Aozora walked up to the three of them and said with a smirk, "Did I catch someone calling me handsome just now?"

The three were momentarily stunned.

Smiling slightly, Aozora asked, "Seems like you two have some doubts about me?"

Genya and Kagenbi didn't say anything—but sometimes silence speaks louder than words.

"No problem. We can get properly acquainted then. Follow me!"

With that, Aozora took the lead and walked out of the Police Force headquarters.

Shuichi put the scroll into his sleeve and immediately followed.

Genya and Kagenbi exchanged glances before hurrying after them.

After exiting the main gate of the Police Force, Aozora lightly jumped onto the rooftop and dashed in a certain direction using the Body Flicker Technique.

Shuichi and the others also leapt onto the rooftops, employing the Shifting Body Technique to follow Aozora.

As Aozora gradually increased speed, initially the three of them could keep up with him. Soon, only Shuichi remained behind Aozora. Genya and his brother were worried about crashing through roofs—probably because of their shaky chakra control—so they held back from speeding up.

Seeing this, Aozora also slowed down slightly to let the two catch up.

Before long, the group arrived at Training Ground Six.

Standing beneath a familiar large tree, Aozora recalled his first battle after graduation.

"I still remember that July when we'd just graduated. Our jonin instructor introduced himself to us right here in this training ground."

"A ninja is best known through battle!"

"Now, let's get to know each other!"

Saying that, he glanced at the three of them and asked, "Are you coming one at a time, or all together?"

Hearing this, Genya and Kagenbi bristled with rage — even Shuichi found himself glaring at Aozora.

Genya, with his short temper, stepped forward. "I'll go first! One of me is more than enough!"

As he finished speaking, he stomped one foot backward, instantly creating a deep crater beneath him, then shot toward Aozora like lightning.

Unbothered by the possibility of tearing up someone else's roof, Genya launched forward — his speed was terrifyingly fast.

Aozora appeared unresponsive, standing rooted in place without moving an inch.

Crack! Crack! Crack! The blows landed in rapid succession...

Fists and feet collided, sending a series of sonic booms echoing across the entire training ground.

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