Talent System In The Naruto Universe

"Hiruzen, hand over Hanekawa to me!"

Shimura Danzo spoke sternly, getting straight to the point. "He's too dangerous! He might even be a spy from the Hidden Cloud Village!"

"He's not," Sarutobi Hiruzen said calmly, tapping his pipe.

"Don't forget the incident where Kushina was kidnapped by the Hidden Cloud!"

Shimura Danzo snorted coldly, reminding him. "Hanekawa is an orphan adopted by Nono Yakushi. He should have been part of Root from the beginning."

"Are you teaching me how to do my job?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen narrowed his eyes slightly. "Let me remind you, the orphanage belongs to Konoha, not Root."

Danzo, hearing this, was visibly annoyed and couldn't help but retort, "Hiruzen, you—"

"Are you trying to say I'll regret this?"

Hiruzen interrupted sharply. "I won't."

Danzo froze, his words caught in his throat, his thoughts in chaos.

Damn it, Hiruzen, was this all part of your plan? Should I congratulate you for learning how to cut me off mid-sentence? Those were my lines!

He wanted to shout, "I'm the one who should be Hokage!" but couldn't.

Bang!

Danzo stormed out of the room in a fury.

After walking a few steps, he suddenly turned back and said, "Hiruzen, you will regret this!"

Saying that made him feel a lot better.

"..."

Hiruzen glanced at the now-empty doorway and shook his head.

Being the Hokage's advisor was simple: just argue.

But being Hokage? That required careful consideration.

"Iwa, have someone replace the door. Charge the cost to Danzo's account," Hiruzen said, turning his attention back to the dossier on his desk.

The file was about Hanekawa.

Hanekawa, male, six years old. A war orphan adopted by Nono Yakushi. During a mental examination conducted by the Yamanaka clan, he displayed terrifying spiritual power.

Investigations revealed that the incident was not caused by a spy technique planted earlier, but by his own spiritual strength.

Though untrained, Hanekawa's mental power was several times that of children his age.

"Nono is one of Danzo's subordinates. We can't let her stay in the orphanage," Hiruzen murmured thoughtfully.

Spiritual energy, or Yin Release, was the foundation for techniques like those of the Yamanaka and Nara clans, as well as the Sharingan.

However, secret techniques were rarely shared outside clans—unless the person was a civilian ninja.

"Yūhi Shinku."

Hiruzen's thoughts shifted to this name.

Yūhi Shinku, a civilian Jōnin skilled in genjutsu, also served as an instructor for Chūnin and Genin. A perfect candidate.

---

Hanekawa's eyes snapped open. His whole body ached, as if he'd won the lottery and then been trampled by dozens of housewives.

Staring at the unfamiliar ceiling, he instinctively looked around, his face filled with confusion.

Where am I? Is this still my room?

Where are my figurines of Rin Tohsaka, Celestine, Tsunade, and Tifa?

As he sat in a daze, a sudden force surged into his mind. Countless memories came flooding back.

He had transmigrated—or rather, awakened memories of a past life.

The good news? He was in Konoha Village.

Having watched Naruto, Hanekawa knew that, in the chaotic world of ninjas, Konoha was relatively safe.

If he played it safe and waited for overpowered Naruto and Sasuke to save the world, he might just survive to the end.

The bad news? He was a Hidden Cloud spy.

Hanekawa was born in the Hidden Cloud and selected as a spy for his exceptional wits, sent to Konoha to gather intelligence.

He soon faced his first major challenge: a mental examination.

In Konoha, the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques could make corpses talk—let alone living people.

During the examination, Hanekawa had fainted.

Now, cold sweat ran down his back, and he couldn't sit still.

Had he been exposed?

He remembered the grim fate of undercover agents in Infernal Affairs and shuddered at the thought.

At that moment, several lines of text appeared in Hanekawa's vision:

[System Loading...]

[You have activated the Ninja Traits System.]

[Meet specific conditions to unlock corresponding traits. Certain special traits can be combined and evolved into higher-grade traits.]

[Traits are divided into E, D, C, B, A, and S grades, categorized into Ninjutsu, Ninja Tools, and Talents.]

"Huh?"

Hanekawa's eyes widened in disbelief.

Was this his cheat finally arriving?

As a ninja without a bloodline, secret technique, or clan, life in the ninja world was almost impossible. Now, there was finally hope. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but hum with excitement.

After exploring the system, Hanekawa found it surprisingly simple, featuring only a single trait panel displaying his unlocked traits:

[A-Grade Talent Trait: Infiltrator.]

[Trigger Condition: Beginner's Gift Package.]

[Effect: Unless you willingly expose yourself, your memories cannot be probed.]

[Note: Cannot be synthesized.]

Classic beginner's gift package.

Hanekawa breathed a sigh of relief. Now he didn't have to worry about the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques.

[C-Grade Talent Trait: Innate Full Soul.]

[Trigger Condition: Fusion of Two Souls.]

[Effect: Enhances Yin Release aptitude by 100%.]

[Note: Cannot be synthesized.]

Why wasn't Innate Full Soul awakening Blue Silver Grass... wait, wrong story. Shouldn't it be Wood Release?

Hanekawa fell silent.

Yin Release was a tricky situation.

Without a Sharingan, and not being a member of the Yamanaka or Nara clans, was he supposed to learn genjutsu?

But let's be honest—genjutsu ninja weren't all that impressive.

Kurenai Yuhi spent her whole life mastering genjutsu, yet couldn't compare to an Uchiha casually activating their eyes.

For now, food came first.

Hanekawa felt a strong wave of hunger and suddenly showed a regretful expression.

"Damn! My sacred sword!"

He recalled that before transmigrating, he had been pulling an all-nighter grinding the Duel Arena while multitasking. Then, in the blink of an eye, he ended up here.

He had no idea what state his past self was in—if he went missing, his phone might eventually be cracked open.

The thought alone made him shudder.

Suddenly, the door opened.

Hanekawa instinctively looked up at the girl who had just entered.

Calling her a girl wasn't entirely accurate—she was more like a delicate, porcelain-like little loli.

What caught his attention most were her ruby-like eyes.

Hanekawa frowned slightly in confusion.

Who was this?

Where exactly was he?

This definitely wasn't the orphanage—he knew all the kids there by memory. But this, to him, was a good thing.

After all, the orphanage was managed by Nono Yakushi, one of Danzo's subordinates.

If he caught Danzo's attention, he'd inevitably be subjected to Danzo's Root Will indoctrination, ensuring a fate of being played to death.

"You're awake?"

The girl smiled brightly. "I'm Kurenai Yuhi."

"Hanekawa," he responded, relaxing slightly at her cheerful demeanor.

So this was Kurenai Yuhi, huh?

In the original series, she married Asuma Sarutobi and eventually became a widow.

"Can you walk?"

After a pause, Kurenai added, "I'll take you to see my dad. He'll explain everything."

"I can walk."

Hanekawa got out of bed, silently calculating in his mind.

Kurenai's father was Shinku Yuhi.

At least Shinku Yuhi wasn't one of Danzo's subordinates.

As a genjutsu Jōnin, Shinku was likely under the orders of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

It was almost certainly Hiruzen and not Minato Namikaze, given how young Kurenai was. It was probably before the Fourth Hokage's tenure.

Hiruzen might be controversial, but he undeniably dedicated his life to Konoha.

Compared to Danzo, Hiruzen could at least be called kind and gentle. At the very least, he wouldn't implant a curse mark on someone's private areas.

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