Hokage's office.
The most central do building in the entire Konoha Village.
A mber of the Anbu kneels on one knee on the ground, speaking chanically, reporting the latest news to the old man sitting at the desk, "Lord Hokage, there is news from the second alert area, intense vibrations were detected near Training Ground Nine..."
"Hmm."
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, wears his hat nonchalantly puffing on his pipe, looking down at a stack of papers in his hand, seemingly unconcerned about the Anbu's report, casually remarks, "I rember Training Ground Nine is allocated to the Anbu Training Class..."
Anbu training class.
Officially under the Anbu.
However, most Anbu mbers are well aware that the training class is really the Root, Danzo's organization, and in fact, the Root has far exceeded the size of a single class.
"Yes."
The Anbu ninja responded and continued reporting, "From a distance, a forest appeared in a short ti at Training Ground Nine..."
"Oh?"
The Third Hokage still has his pipe, still carefully flipping through the papers, "This situation, why does it sound familiar..."
"Yes."
The Anbu ninja quickly bowed his head to explain to his superior: "Tenzo, who was recently transferred to the Anbu by the Lord Hokage, released a Wood Release Jutsu called 'Deep Forest Ergence' in the Anbu training ground, creating a sea of trees in a short ti. It is initially suspected that soone used the sa Wood Release Jutsu at Training Ground Nine."
"Hmm, no need to look into it further."
The Third Hokage nodded, still unconcerned, still reading his stack of papers, "I've known about this, the matter of a Wood Release Kekkei Genkai ninja in the Anbu training class, Danzo has already inford ."
Obviously.
The Third Hokage lied to his subordinate.
After all, not long ago, he rallied the Anbu to surround the Root, ready to suppress it at any mont, and snatched a Wood Release Kekkei Genkai ninja from under Danzo...
Now that he knows there is another Wood Release Kekkei Genkai ninja under Danzo, is he going to mobilize the Anbu to surround the Root again and snatch the second one?
Such things...
Can be done once but not repeatedly.
Especially since the last ti was recent, doing the sa thing to Danzo again in a short ti would inevitably cause dissatisfaction and resentnt.
If the talent of the other Wood Release Kekkei Genkai ninja is good, he can find an opportunity to transfer him to the Anbu later, there is no need to provoke Danzo now.
Konoha needs Danzo to handle so dirty work.
The ninja world is still not peaceful, with major ninja villages still engaging in open and covert struggles, espionage, infiltration, assassination, and theft; these covert operations have never ceased.
Inside the Konoha, there is unrest. The most powerful and ambitious clan, the Uchiha, is increasingly at odds with the village, and conflict could break out at any ti.
These matters...
All require Danzo's help to handle.
But now...
It's necessary to give Danzo a warning.
Let him know that his every move is being watched.
He must put away any improper thoughts now; he can't get emboldened by having another Wood Release ninja under his command to attempt another assassination incident like the one years ago.
That old friend...
Narrow-minded yet timid as a mouse...
Once a flaw is caught, he would be scared enough to scurry into the sewer.
"Enough."
"No need to speak of this further."
"What's most important now is the village's Chunin Exam in the latter half of the year."
The Third Hokage is still looking through the stack of papers in his hand, which are the registration forms for the Konoha Village's Chunin Exam later in the year, the most important assessnt in the entire village.
The Chunin Exam is significant for selecting talents.
The Konoha Village has a large number of Genin who maintain the village by taking on low-level ninja missions. They are an important support to the village's prosperity, yet they can only rely on C and D rank ninja missions to sustain their lives.
However, Chunins are different.
If a Genin performs excellently in the Chunin Exam and is promoted by the village, it's akin to having a fixed job.
Chunins can undertake lucrative B-rank combat missions, work in certain departnts within the village, and even have the chance to enter the Anbu.
The Chunin Exam is the highest level of standardized testing in Konoha.
The Konoha holds two Chunin Exams each year, sotis in collaboration with other small ninja villages. Without exception, the passing rate for each Chunin Exam is very low.
Since the end of the Third Great Ninja War, the ninja world has entered an era of peace, and the Chunin Exam has gained new significance, becoming an important occasion to flaunt the power of the Konoha.
The financial revenue of the Konoha Village mainly cos from the Daimyo of the Land of Fire and ninja missions.
The Daimyo of the Land of Fire often watches the Chunin Exam to decide whether to increase or decrease financial support; other small village Daimyos or nobles also co to determine whether to give high-level missions to the Konoha.
Besides...
Of course, the most important thing is to deter and attract allies of the Konoha.
Generally, small ninja villages are allies that the Five Great Ninja Villages seek to win over. These villages often compare the power of the big village to choose a stronger one to ally with.
The Chunin Exam, undoubtedly, is the occasion where small ninja villages can most directly observe the power of the Konoha in peaceti, making it even more crucial for the Konoha to value the Chunin Exam.
"Are all the registration forms for the Chunin Exam here?"
The Third Hokage slowly put down the pipe in his mouth and suddenly asked, "Did Uchiha Itachi apply to take the Chunin Exam alone?"
"Yes."
An Anbu ninja nodded and explained, "According to the information we gathered, two years ago, all of Itachi's teammates died in a mission..."
"Since then, Uchiha Itachi has not ford a team again, and has hardly taken on any commissioned missions, naturally, he has no teammates to take the Chunin Exam with..."
"However..."
"During these two years, Uchiha Itachi has been training with Uchiha Shisui and even assisted Shisui in completing cooperation assessnt tasks..."
"Even though that assessnt task was interrupted, we can still determine that he is an excellent ninja capable of completing the Chunin Exam alone."
"The only unfair part is the three-person cooperative combat assessnt."
"There have been many precedents in the village."
"For instance, when Team Kakashi's teammates, Uchiha Obito and Nohara Rin, took the Chunin Exam, lacking a third for the cooperative combat assessnt, Kakashi, who was already a Chunin, was allowed to assist the two teammates in the final part of the exam..."
"However..."
"Uchiha Itachi's only teammate is Uchiha Shisui, involving the famously Body Flicker Shisui, a Jonin, in the Chunin Exam is a bit..."
"Hahaha..."
The Third Hokage laughed heartily, interrupting his subordinate and waving his hand, "That would be too much bullying of these kids and turn the exam into a joke."
"Yes."
The Anbu ninja nodded, then looked up at the elder and continued, "However, Uchiha Itachi is indeed capable of passing all the exams alone, as ntioned by Uchiha Shisui, all of Itachi's training scores are excellent..."
"Alright, let it be this way this ti!"
The Third Hokage nodded and seed to say casually, "Kakashi, Tenzo, go to the Anbu training class and submit an application form..."
"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
Two masked figures quickly stood up!
The Third Hokage looked at one of them, his eyes becoming sowhat sharp, "Go tell Danzo to also let the child with the Wood Release participate in the Chunin Exam!"
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