A Sage's Pursuit of Power

"The first matter is that, since you've been stationed at the border for so long, your promotion to Jonin has been delayed enough.

Considering your achievements over the years, the council and I have unanimously decided that you possess all the qualities needed to become a Konoha Jonin. So, starting today, you are promoted to Jonin."

Aoba had anticipated this promotion. What concerned him now was the second matter.

After receiving the appointment letter, Hiruzen continued.

"As a Konoha Jonin, you are expected to fulfill certain responsibilities. I have an S-rank mission that requires your attention.

Don't worry, you won't be going alone. An Anbu team and a Root team, each with a Jonin leader, will be involved. Here are the details of the mission. Prepare accordingly."

Hiruzen didn't directly mention the mission but handed him a mission scroll, which was a formal and high-level procedure.

Aoba took the scroll and said his goodbyes.

Leaving the Hokage's office, he opened the scroll and took a glance.

"Pursue Orochimaru... Interesting."

The mission was somewhat unexpected. Aoba had guessed that the higher-ups wouldn't keep him in the village, so he was certain they'd assign him an external task. He just didn't expect it would be to pursue Orochimaru.

For a proper Jonin like him, being in the village wasn't just about being a high-level combatant. Usually, Jonin would also hold some significant positions with real authority.

But it seemed that the higher-ups didn't intend to assign him a specific position at the moment.

Since it was an S-rank mission, he had two days to prepare. So, he wasn't in a hurry. Instead, he wandered around Konoha.

After all, he hadn't been back here for three years.

The Land of Fire was considered a chosen land in this world. It had the best land resources on the continent. Konoha was also the most prosperous and flourishing among the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

Even from the perspective of his previous world, this town-level village was well-developed.

At a snack shop, he bought a few famous Konoha treats, the Three-Color Dango.

He wasn't particularly fond of sweets, but it had been three years since he last had them. Trying them again was no problem.

Just after buying them, he paused slightly, feeling like someone was watching him.

Turning around, he saw a short, blonde-haired kid standing not far away, staring at him.

Naruto Uzumaki, the absolute protagonist of this world. The future Seventh Hokage, the reincarnation of Asura, and the strongest user of verbal jutsu...

Shaking his head to rid himself of the silly thoughts, Aoba walked directly up to Naruto.

"Do we know each other?"

"Oh, sorry, big brother. I just thought you looked a bit unfamiliar. You're a ninja, right?"

Naruto pointed at the forehead protector on Aoba's head.

"Yes, I'm Aoba Kamikawa, a newly promoted Jonin of Konoha."

"Ah, I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I'm a student at the Konoha Ninja Academy. Watch out, big brother! I'll become a ninja like you soon. And I'll be the greatest ninja, the Hokage."

Naruto's attitude was somewhat similar to Guy's, though Guy's was more awkward. Naruto's was a sort of pure and foolish enthusiasm...

Aoba wanted to tell Naruto that being Hokage wasn't necessarily the strongest ninja. By later stages, even the Third Hokage wouldn't be among the top ten. But for Naruto at this time, he was willing to give him a bit of respect.

"You're really an energetic kid. Here, take this as an early celebration for you becoming Hokage."

"...Huh..."

Naruto suddenly shouted, startling Aoba.

"What's wrong?"

"Big brother, you acknowledge my dream?"

"Why wouldn't I? No one has the right to deny someone else's dream."

"That's right. No one can deny my dream." Naruto had a look of profound realization. It made Aoba feel awkward. The shouting had already drawn the attention of many passersby.

Turning around, Aoba got two cups of red bean soup and handed one to Naruto.

"Alright, we're attracting too much attention here."

In the crowd, many people were openly hostile towards Naruto. However, they were deterred from making a scene due to Aoba's forehead protector.

Aoba had rarely seen Naruto. After the Fourth Hokage's death, Naruto had just become the Nine-Tails' host. His identity was a strict secret.

Given Orochimaru's past rivalry with the Fourth Hokage, and as someone associated with Orochimaru, Aoba had naturally never come into contact with Naruto.

Later, when Orochimaru completely fell from grace and started conducting his experiments recklessly, he was eventually discovered by the village. The Third Hokage, who had been reinstated, personally captured him but let Orochimaru go at the last moment (the exact timing of Orochimaru's defection is debated, but this fits my setting).

This led to his exile. So, strictly speaking, this was Aoba's first time meeting Naruto Uzumaki.

In fact, as soon as he interacted with Naruto, he sensed four different angles of surveillance focused on him.

But he didn't care. He even seemed to be deliberately flaunting it. He continued to walk with Naruto, eating dango and red bean soup.

The four Anbu agents behind him were on edge, almost ready to intervene. Naruto was an absolute taboo, and Aoba was a key figure the higher-ups had instructed to focus on.

Pretending to appear to be oblivious to the tension. He continued chatting with Naruto.

"Do you know ninjutsu? I've been studying theory at the ninja academy, but haven't learned any ninjutsu."

"Of course, I know ninjutsu. Watch this." Aoba casually threw a bamboo stick. After a moment, a leaf fell from a branch.

"What? That's just shuriken throwing. Is that ninjutsu?"

"Be patient, watch carefully." Aoba instructed Naruto to calm down.

The leaf drifted gently in front of Aoba. When it was level with his eyes, the leaf suddenly split apart.

It was as if an invisible blade had sliced through it. The leaf turned into several fragments, floating in mid-air.

"Hey... What's going on? You didn't do anything!"

"Heh, that's ninjutsu. My own unique ninjutsu."

I see. Naruto didn't understand the significance of what had just happened. But he felt that it must have been impressive since Aoba had made the leaf shatter without apparent effort.

"Big brother, can you teach me that technique?"

"Heh, Naruto. Every ninja's jutsu is a personal secret. Understand? It's very impolite to pry into someone else's techniques."

"Oh, I see." Naruto looked somewhat disappointed.

"But I can teach you something. Have you learned how to extract chakra?"

"Of course, my chakra extraction is very good."

"That's good. Follow me."