"Yes. That's Lightning Release: Pseudo-Darkness."
Minato's pupils contracted sharply.
He had already guessed as much, but hearing Hiroki admit it so plainly still struck him like a thunderclap.
Hiroki didn't give him much time to process the shock. The moment he'd been caught, he had already anticipated being questioned and had prepared an explanation.
"After we were captured, one of the Cloud ninja carried me on his shoulders," Hiroki said calmly, as though talking about someone else's story. "During that time… I awakened my bloodline limit."
"Bloodline limit?" Minato repeated. It was, admittedly, the most logical explanation.
Hiroki nodded. "Yes. I don't know what to call it exactly, but I can feel people's thoughts—as if I'm reading an open book. Everything they know about ninjutsu or combat just… unfolds before me. The Lightning Release: Pseudo-Darkness was something I 'read' from him."
It was, in fact, the truth—just not the whole truth.
He really did "read" it, but not through perception. He had literally opened the other man's "brain folder" and read his thoughts, concepts, and memories directly.
Minato frowned, his mind working quickly to digest what he'd just heard.
"So, you learned a B-rank jutsu on the spot… while you were being held captive?"
"You could put it that way," Hiroki replied evenly. "It's thanks to this bloodline ability that I was able to resist at all."
"At first, I was just pretending to be unconscious, waiting for the right opportunity. Later, I sensed your chakra approaching. I tried to establish a mental link with you—to warn you of the situation."
"I got that signal," Minato confirmed.
"But at that moment, the enemy captain noticed the chakra signature from my bloodline limit. I was exposed. He was about to kill me, so I had no choice but to fight back." Hiroki sighed softly. "I didn't have time to wait for you. I just used the ninjutsu I'd copied, took my shot, and hoped it would work."
"In the end, I simply gambled—and struck first."
"…According to Hiroki Sawada, realizing he'd been discovered and was about to be silenced, he had no choice but to gamble and attack first."
In the Hokage's office, an ANBU wearing a cat-faced mask repeated Hiroki's testimony almost word for word.
Sarutobi Hiruzen listened silently, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the desk.
As Hokage, Hiruzen knew far more than Minato. He had already reviewed every report—the interrogation notes, the autopsy on the Cloud ninja, the background checks on Hiroki's parents and ancestors, his life history, his school records…
Nothing was out of place.
Hiroki Sawada was a child of Konoha, born to two ordinary ninja who had died in battle. If one stretched far enough, there might be a faint ancestral link to the Yamanaka clan—known for their spiritual techniques.
That alone made the idea of a psychic-based bloodline plausible.
Why did he know a jutsu from another village? —Because he could "read" and "copy" it.How did he communicate with Minato? —Because his bloodline allowed "mental linking."Why didn't he wait for reinforcements? —Because he was discovered and forced to fight back.
There were still gaps and oddities, but the ANBU's investigation left only one plausible conclusion: bloodline limit.
What else could explain how an eight- or nine-year-old child had instantly killed two enemy ninja—one of them a jōnin—and seriously wounded another?
It was a perfect explanation. Too perfect.
Sarutobi Hiruzen finally nodded, accepting it as the official answer.
But the man standing in the shadows beside him was not convinced.
"A bloodline limit that can copy ninjutsu and establish long-range mental communication…" Danzo Shimura's rasping voice sounded like sandpaper scraping metal.
"Hiruzen, that's a natural weapon. He must be strictly contained. Hand him over to me—under my training, his potential can be fully realized."
Here we go again, Hiruzen sighed inwardly.
He knew Danzo far too well. His old comrade wanted to turn everything useful—be it tool or human—into something under his control.
But ninjas weren't tools. They were people.
"Danzo, no." Hiruzen's tone hardened, his eyes sharp. "He's still a child—a child who risked his life to protect his comrades. He's a hero of Konoha. If you take him to Root, you'll strip away everything that makes him human."
If even children like this were forced into Root, what future would Konoha have?
"Besides," Hiruzen added deliberately, downplaying Hiroki's significance, "this so-called bloodline limit isn't as impressive as you think. The mental connection is unstable and easily detected by sensory ninja—far inferior to the Yamanaka clan's techniques. The Cloud captain only realized he was awake because of that link."
"And copying ninjutsu? The Uchiha's Sharingan does that better—and instantly. If we send him to Root, what will the Uchiha think? What about the Yamanaka? You can't just look at one advantage in isolation—you must consider the village as a whole."
Hiruzen rose and turned toward the window, gazing at the Hokage Rock.
"Konoha doesn't belong to you or me, Danzo. Konoha belongs to everyone."
"Too soft-hearted," Danzo sneered, stepping out of the shadows. "You think love and peace will make Konoha great again? Ridiculous."
"You'll regret this, Hiruzen."
"I am the Hokage, Danzo."
Danzo's expression didn't waver. "Then tell me—what do you intend to do? The village needs new blood. We can't rely forever on Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and the others to hold the line."
Hiruzen frowned slightly. The man wasn't wrong. Ever since the Second Hokage's death, the world had entered a rare peace. But without war, there were no fields for young ninja to grow—no crucible to temper them.
In the past, children had gone to the battlefield at five or six years old.
After a moment of thought, Hiruzen finally spoke. "Sawada Hiroki and Namikaze Minato have already demonstrated strength far beyond academy level. Keeping them there would only waste their potential."
Danzo's eyes narrowed. He understood immediately—Hiruzen was compromising.
"You mean… early graduation?"
"That's right," Hiruzen said, nodding. "But to convince everyone—and to properly gauge their abilities—we'll organize a formal graduation assessment."
So that was his plan: a compromise wrapped in bureaucracy. A way to stall for time.
Danzo sneered inwardly. He could already guess what Hiruzen wanted—to delay until Jiraiya returned to the village and personally took Hiroki under his wing.
Still, that suited him just fine. Orochimaru would be back soon, too.
"Very well," Danzo said, retreating back into the shadows. "Then we'll need to choose the examiners carefully."
If Hiroki couldn't be brought into Root… then Danzo would simply make sure that this unstable variable never had the chance to threaten him.