[THIRD PERSON POV:]

"Fire?!"

Hiruzen was shocked by what his subordinate had just revealed, not only was being naturally attuned to three natures astounding, but the results directly went against what Orochimaru had recorded.

Hiruzen frowned as theories flooded his mind, 'Perhaps Orochimaru was wrong? No, he doesn't make such mistakes. Did he fabricate the reports? No, there is no reason to do so. Could the fire element have been too weak to detect when Orochimaru tested on Aoki? The potency of the reaction suggests otherwise…'

Every conclusion he came to was shot down by a plausible explanation as to why it wouldn't be the case.

The man in front of the Hokage, known as Tokei to Aoki, was similarly confused. He had received a Log similar to the one Aoki was shown, some of it was redacted, but not his elements as recorded by the Sannin… Tokei had no theories as to why there was a discrepancy between the Logs and reality.

The Hokage sighed with an unreadable expression, "It seems that the Logs Orochimaru produced aren't reliable…"

Tokei nodded, "I agree Lord Third, I suggest we run some tests on Aoki to understand why something like this could occur."

Hiruzen listened to Tokei's proposal and nodded, "While I do agree, I believe that it would be best if Aoki would ask us for help himself, subjecting him to tests might unearth some… unpleasant memories for the child"

Tokei understood the Hokage's intentions, while it was crucial to understand why someone as competent as Orochimaru would make such a simple mistake, it was imperative that they did not alienate or antagonise the child they had high hopes for.

"Your role as Tokei was coming to a close soon regardless," said Hiruzen. The man formerly named Tokei had already begun preparations for his next mission, it would be a lot more taxing than training a child.

The Hokage continued, "I will need to plan out Aoki's future in greater detail before he officially joins the Academy next week, he has a good relationship with you so I may call upon you to work with him again," this elicited a nod from the Chunin, while Aoki was a headache at times, he had warmed up to him.

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"Only inform him of this the day you leave. I trust that you've made preparations for your expedition to the Land of Tea?" asked the Hokage.

"Yes Lord Third, I am ready," he confirmed.

Hiruzen smiled reassuringly, "This mission may require you to use your skills as a medical-nin, contact with other ninjas is almost guaranteed, be wary." he said, warning the man of the impending danger.

"Tokei" nodded with a confident smile, he knew the risks but was not averse to the mission.

The Hokage dismissed his subordinate with a wave, his relaxed smile growing complicated as he pulled out a file he had hidden in one of his desk drawers.

'Aoki's file needs to be reworked.' thought Hiruzen as he opened it up, swiftly striking some information out and replacing it with what he had recently learnt. Looking over the report, he was reminded of how impressed he had been with the boy since he began training under a Chunin.

If Hiruzen was asked to describe Aoki in one word, it would be "exemplary".

In all mediums that you could judge the potential of a child, Aoki had excelled. His physical abilities according to his teacher are far beyond what was expected of even 10-year-old academy students, the volume of Chakra he possessed exceeded most Genin and his work ethic was phenomenal.

The possibility of a Kekkei Genkai only heightened the hopes that Hiruzen placed on Aoki, although even without it, he knew the boy would grow to be a valuable asset to the Leaf.

But now, the near-perfect file had been tainted with dirt of the unknown.

'Fire… why fire?' Hiruzen continued questioning himself.

'Chakra… a manifestation of physical and spiritual energies… it's clear that Orochimaru's tampering made way for the water and earth elements… but fire? Even if it were Aoki's nature before any augmentation, I'm sure Orochimaru would've recorded it alongside water and earth…' Hiruzen took out some of his notes on Chakra nature theory and assessed them with a frown.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had received many titles of prestige during his service to the leaf as a ninja: The God of Shinobi, Hokage, and finally, the one which was overlooked the most due to his overwhelming strength, The Professor. His knowledge on all things Chakra were among the highest in the continent.

While reading through his notes he briefly entertained an idea that he quickly shot down, 'Perhaps instead of physical energy, somehow the spiritual energies were altered?', he shook his head and moved onto more plausible reasoning, manipulating spiritual energy to develop Chakra natures was simply too far of a reach for him to consider as of now.

Just as he hoped he figured out Aoki, more questions reared their ugly heads. Hiruzen wondered what the added effect of fire would have on Aoki's potential wood release, he hoped that it wouldn't diminish its strength.

'However, if he managed to master fire release alongside earth and water... I wonder what tricks that crafty child could come up with..." Hiruzen thought with a wry smile, Aoki's mysterious nature just made the Hokage want to test him even more.

He continued contemplating for a while before stowing the file away, promising himself to follow up on it when he was less busy.

'Either way, I need Aoki to ask for deeper examinations… it should be possible to get him to do so…' Hiruzen started planning for the future.