Mist Pond was once a Root ninja. That meant he had once been under Danzo's command. In fact, his real name was Shimura Kazehiro, a member of the Shimura clan. Danzo was also from the Shimura clan, but unlike Kazehiro, he didn't use the clan name as his surname—just like how Tsunade didn't use Senju as hers. This didn't mean Danzo had completely severed ties with the Shimura clan.
In other words, Mist Pond was not only once Danzo's subordinate—he was also his clansman!
So, his hostility toward Haruto Saito was likely rooted in Danzo's influence.
But that brought up an earlier question: Where did Danzo's hostility come from?
Haruto had figured things out, but it only left him feeling frustrated. It was like he had been thrown into this mess out of nowhere. He had inexplicably become the target of hostility from one of the Hokage's advisors, and to this day, he still had no idea why.
"Eh?" Haruto suddenly voiced his confusion. "Can Root ninjas join the Anbu?"
"Root has always been part of the Anbu. What do you mean 'join'?" Oni Shin gave him a strange look.
"Ah…" Haruto didn't quite know how to put it.
He had been thinking about how Root was an organization led independently by Danzo, where every member was absolutely loyal to him—so much so that even the Hokage had no authority over them. Essentially, all Root ninjas were Danzo's trusted followers. Given that, why would the Hokage allow Danzo's subordinates into his own direct force?
Danzo had always been ambitious about the Hokage's seat. This was evident multiple times in the original storyline. There was no way Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't know that.
"Even though Root is relatively independent now, it has always been part of the Anbu," Oni Shin continued. "Back when Lord Danzo established Root, his original intent was to train reserve forces for the Anbu. The meaning of 'Root' is the origin, the source—it was meant to be the foundation of Anbu's strength. That's why Root was also known as the Anbu Training Division.
"It wasn't until recent years that Root became fully independent. But even now, on occasion, some Root ninjas are transferred into the Hokage's direct Anbu forces. Captain Mist Pond is just one example."
"I see." Haruto nodded.
Deep within the Anbu base—The Prison
With a heavy creak, the cell door slowly opened, allowing light to seep into the dim room. Haruto and Oni Shin stepped inside. Sitting cross-legged on a cushion, Terao seemed to sense their arrival. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at Haruto.
"How did you know it was me?" Haruto asked with a smile.
"Your footsteps," Terao rasped in reply, his voice dry and hoarse.
"Have you figured out my magic trick yet?" Haruto stepped closer to him while casually glancing at the floor. Scattered in front of Terao's cushion were playing cards—many of them worn and faded, proof that Terao had studied them seriously.
Terao stared at Haruto, then slowly shook his head.
Haruto smirked slightly and sat down cross-legged in front of him. Then, he gestured behind him and said, "Lord Oni Shin, please have someone bring dinner—two portions, thank you."
Oni Shin said nothing and turned to leave.
"I'll show you another magic trick," Haruto said, looking at Terao as he reached into his cloak and pulled out a fresh deck of playing cards.
Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed since Haruto joined the Anbu.
His days had been packed with training. Mornings were spent in Anbu's special training sessions, afternoons in solitary practice, evenings chatting with Minato Namikaze, and nights talking about life with Terao.
It was a repetitive but fulfilling cycle.
Since he hadn't yet secured Minato's cooperation, Haruto had focused his training on chakra sensing, secret techniques, and the Gentle Fist style. His study of the Flying Thunder God technique had to be put on hold for now.
Recently, he had seen Tsunade less often. She was still busy strengthening her Yin Seal while also spending time with Uzumaki Mito. Mito didn't have much time left, and Tsunade wanted to be with her grandmother in her final moments.
One Afternoon—The Estate Next to Tsunade's Home
It wasn't exactly a mansion, but it was spacious, featuring a front yard, a back garden, and a five-story main building in the rear.
This was the residence that Hiruzen Sarutobi had prepared for Haruto. At his request, the estate included a fully enclosed indoor training hall. The walls, ceiling, and floor of the hall were reinforced with seven layers of sealing jutsu, making it impervious to any kind of sensory ability—even the Byakugan couldn't see through it.
Inside the training hall, the ceiling was high, and the polished floor gleamed under the light.
"Eight Trigrams Palm: Rotation!"
Haruto spun at high speed, forming a protective chakra dome around himself. Fierce winds roared through the hall.
"Eight Trigrams Palm: Grand Crescent Rotation!"
Suddenly, Haruto switched techniques. He lunged forward, slicing through the air with his arm. The chakra swirling around him gathered and expanded into a massive crescent-shaped shockwave that slashed forward.
The farther it traveled, the larger its attack range became—like a scythe growing ever wider as it cut through the air.
Boom!
The attack surged forward nearly thirty meters. The force was so strong that it activated the seals embedded in the walls and floor, causing the entire hall to tremble violently.
This training hall had an extremely high level of defensive reinforcement. Even if Haruto used a Rasengan on the floor, it wouldn't leave a scratch. Since the Grand Crescent Rotation was a wide-range attack rather than a concentrated strike, it had no chance of damaging the ground.
As the roaring winds settled and the shaking ceased, the training hall remained completely unscathed.
"I did it! Haha!" Haruto burst into laughter.
After countless attempts over the past several days, he had finally mastered a long-lost Gentle Fist technique—Eight Trigrams Palm: Grand Crescent Rotation!
Haruto had discovered that two key factors determined whether someone could master this move. The first was their proficiency with the standard Rotation technique, and the second was the strength of their Byakugan. With high levels in both, learning the Grand Crescent Rotation became significantly easier.
Starting from scratch, this technique would have taken years to master. But since Haruto already had a solid foundation in Rotation—and his Byakugan could perceive up to eight kilometers away—learning the Grand Crescent Rotation wasn't too difficult for him.
"At least I've made some progress. It wasn't a waste of time." He deactivated his Byakugan and let out a deep breath. "Next, I still have to work on Gentle Fist: Crescent Break and Eight Trigrams Palm: Phantom Seven Shadows…"
Of the five secret scrolls he had obtained from the Hyuga Clan, only three contained lost techniques—the Grand Crescent Rotation, Crescent Break, and Phantom Seven Shadows. Now, he had mastered the first.
The other two, however, were quite difficult. If classified by standard jutsu rankings, they would both be considered A-rank techniques.
Since he had no prior foundation in them, mastering them would likely take a long time.
"I wish I had someone to discuss this with, but…" Haruto shook his head. There was no way he could go to the Hyuga Clan for help. And outside of them, no one else had the Byakugan or trained in the Gentle Fist style.
He began pacing back and forth in the training hall, planning his next steps.
His Anbu training would take another month and a half. Terao… would be difficult to crack anytime soon. Learning new jutsu required long-term effort, so there was no rush. And without completing his Anbu training, he couldn't take on missions.
If he wanted to learn the Flying Thunder God, he had to win over Minato first.
Haruto had many things to do, but all of them required time.
"Hm…" He stopped pacing, his eyes firming with resolve. With a flick of his wrist, two cards appeared in his hands.
Two identical magic trick cards.
He had obtained them before returning to Konoha but hadn't used them yet—out of concern that they might trigger a mission he wasn't prepared for. But now, while still busy, he had more flexibility in his schedule.
It was time to use them.
Holding one card in each hand, Haruto raised the right one to his mouth and bit down, chewing it to pieces.
Ding! Host has used a Magic Trick Card. Limited-time mission triggered!
Mission: Learn the secret technique "Barrier Breaking Jutsu" within fifteen days.
Reward: Two Boss Cards, Ten Mental Enhancement Cards.
Failure Penalty: Mental energy reduced by half.