Hiruzen and Shikaku were waiting in their office. By now, they had already received the news about the results of the Chunin Exam, and to say they were delighted would be an understatent. Well, at least Hiruzen was. Konoha didn’t just win; it won unilaterally—all the top positions belonged to Konoha. But Shikaku didn’t share that enthusiasm at all.
Not only was Konoha showing off, but it had also deaned other villages as well.
“Kumogakure lost, Darui and Kaida fought, and Darui was hospitalized. And Itachi won against Deidara when he was flying in the air, and still won easily. How is this a good situation? Both Kumogakure and Iwagakure are now going to get active. The number of ninja we’ll need to send to outposts is worrying—not to ntion the chance of them targeting our ninja when they go on missions,” Shikaku ranted with a cigarette in his mouth. Normally, he wasn’t allowed to smoke in front of Hiruzen, but he was so worried that he forgot his manners for a mont.
And Hiruzen didn’t do anything about it either, partly because he was happy about the success of their plan, and also because he understood why Shikaku was upset.
“Don’t worry, Shikaku. I know you’ll be able to handle it easily,” Hiruzen said with a smile.
‘That’s what I’m worried about. I knew you’d increase my workload again,’ Shikaku thought. But he didn’t try to evade this work because, now with Danzo gone, there weren’t many people smart enough to handle such situations alone.
“But there’s sothing else I’m worried about. Iwa now has two flying ninja, which will increase their danger level,” Hiruzen said.
“But it’s not necessarily a bad thing. With Iwa’s performance, Kumogakure will be a little wary of them as well. The chances of them forming an alliance will not be high in this case. Also, both of them are still not ready for war, so there isn’t anything major they could do anyway,” Shikaku replied.
“But once war starts, that boy’s flying birds will be very lethal on the battlefield,” Hiruzen said.
“Yes, Lord Third. And with his performance report, it’s only a matter of ti before he’s classified as an S-rank ninja. He might even lead Iwa after Onoki. If he participates in battle, we’ll have to deploy at least two S-rank ninja to counter him,” Shikaku said, analyzing the possibilities.
“Yeah, unless the younger generation produces soone like Minato, then such threats will beco aningless,” Hiruzen thought. But Shikaku didn’t sense any longing in Hiruzen’s words; instead, there was anticipation, as though it was not a re wish but a certainty. Before he could ask further—
Knock, knock
“Co in,” Hiruzen said.
“Sir, Jiraiya-sama and the others are here. They’re requesting to et you,” Hiruzen’s secretary said.
“Send them in,” Hiruzen replied, a natural smile replacing his serious expression.
The secretary nodded and left. After ten minutes, Jiraiya and the three newly promoted Chunin entered the Hokage’s office.
“Good evening, Lord Third,” all three of them greeted, followed by Jiraiya’s “Hello, Sensei.”
“Good evening,” Hiruzen replied, nodding to Jiraiya.
“Good job—no, great job, everyone. I have to say, you exceeded my expectations by a lot. Your performance in the Chunin Exam was spectacular, and it had the desired effect. Konoha’s reputation, which had taken a hit, is now bound to improve as rchants and spectators who saw the matches start to spread the news far and wide. It was all possible because of you, so as promised, you may each request a jutsu from ,” Hiruzen said with a smile.
“Lord Third, I don’t know much about the field I want to pursue at the mont, so I would like to ask for a jutsu after so ti,” Kabuto said.
“I’m perfectly fine with that. Explore everything you can, and when you’re sure what you want to learn, just co to ,” Hiruzen said with a grandfatherly smile.
“Okay, Lord Third,” Kabuto replied.
“What about you, Itachi?” Hiruzen asked.
“I’ve already learned an S-rank jutsu, Lord Third, and I need so ti to master it. So I would also like to wait before choosing,” Itachi said.
“Okay, then we only have Kaida, who already has a jutsu in mind,” Hiruzen said, turning to Kaida. He rembered when they had taken Kaida’s aptitude test to see if he had any potential for space-ti jutsu.
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(Flashback...)
Kaida had just completed his training for the day, and though he was exhausted, he felt anticipation. Hiruzen had asked him to co to his office after training to check if he could learn the Flying Raijin Jutsu or not. So after finishing up, he went to Jiraiya.
“Sensei, I should head to the Hokage Building. Lord Third asked to co to his office at 5. It’s already 4:30.”
“Yeah, let’s go,” Jiraiya said.
“You’re coming with , too, Sensei?” Kaida asked.
“Of course. I also want to know if you can learn that jutsu,” Jiraiya replied.
Kaida nodded, and both left for the Hokage’s office.
…
“Lord Third asked to et him today,” Kaida told the receptionist.
“I know, sir. Lord Third is waiting for you in the basent,” the receptionist replied with a smile. Kaida nodded and followed Jiraiya.
“Good evening, Lord Third,” Kaida greeted.
“Hello, Sensei,” Jiraiya added.
“Good evening to both of you. As punctual as ever. Just wait a minute, Kaida. The preparations will be done soon,” Hiruzen said.
Kaida and Jiraiya waited. Kaida stood in the corner, while Jiraiya watched the array Hiruzen was making with curiosity.
After so ti, the array was complete. When Hiruzen passed a little chakra into it, it glowed montarily before settling.
“Everything is ready. Just wait ten more minutes, and then we’ll start,” Hiruzen said, then Poof!
‘A shadow clone? I didn’t even notice,’ Kaida thought.
“Alright, let’s start the procedure,” Hiruzen said, reappearing instantly after his clone disappeared.
“Let’s begin. Jiraiya, go stand in that corner and take Kaida with you in case sothing unusual happens,” Hiruzen instructed.
“Unusual?” Kaida asked.
“These are seals I learned from one of the most powerful Uzumaki when it cos to fuinjutsu. I haven’t actually used them since then, so although I’m sure nothing will go wrong, it doesn’t hurt to be cautious,” Hiruzen explained. Kaida nodded.
“Go and stand in the center, Kaida, with your eyes closed. Let know if you feel anything, and if you can, point in that direction,” Hiruzen said.
“Yes, Lord Third,” Kaida replied, doing as instructed.
Once Kaida was in position, Hiruzen channeled chakra into the array, causing the closest seal to Kaida to glow. Kaida sensed a shift in the airflow from that direction, though it wasn’t exactly that—more like a similar sensation. As instructed, he pointed in that direction.
Hiruzen and Jiraiya smiled as Hiruzen activated the seals one by one, and Kaida kept pointing them out—sotis accurately, and as the distance increased, sotis incorrectly.
“Good job, Kaida. You can open your eyes now,” Hiruzen said.
“How did I do?” Kaida asked eagerly.
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