Chapter 53
Five dead. If Fugaku hadn't made the right decision, even more would have died. At least Hiruzen's trust wasn't misplaced, though he might have underestimated his foes. If he had sent Kakashi with Jiraiya, maybe none of them would have died. He couldn't dwell on what-ifs, but he couldn't help it.
After all, it was a price far too high to pay. Hiruzen truly hated his job when reports like these reached him. The worst part was that he didn't know how to react—whether to be angry, sad, or simply ignore it, and he didn't know what he should show to others, as death seemed quite common to the work of shinobi.
It felt sickening to overlook it and act as if nothing had happened, but getting angry wouldn't help anyone. And since Hiruzen didn't know any of these five, only their names, he found it hard to summon any sadness.
It just didn't sit well with him. So, he remained emotionless, sitting there while pondering what he should do next.
He was busy; that was all he remembered the rest of the day.
He greeted the new arrivals to the village and went out to Teuchi to eat and drink, and the next day, it was as if yesterday were nothing but a dream. New work came in, involving a lot of paperwork. At least it would keep him busy, and he could focus on it.
He also needed to prepare for what would happen in two days.
"Shizune, call in Inoichi and Tsume Inuzuka."
In the end, it didn't matter. The Chunin Exams were finally approaching. For better or worse, everything had been prepared. Now he could place everything in the hands of others and hope for the desired outcomes, even though Hiruzen knew it was highly unlikely to disqualify all the genin from Kumo by the last test.
Thus, the meeting with the Raikage wasn't avoidable. How he would convince him to sign the treaty was beyond his grasp. He still didn't understand what the Raikage was trying to achieve. All he could do was prepare for the worst, meaning he needed the genin of Suna to reach the final test so that Rasa could come to the village.
Hopefully, Suna's alliance would put pressure on the Raikage, and Hiruzen could utilize that leverage to push for the peace treaty. It was the only card Hiruzen could play right now, even if he knew he was betting a bit too much on it.
He also needed assistance right away. With two new jinchuriki in the village, Hiruzen expected nothing but chaos to follow. And as much as he disliked Rasa, he was a fellow Kage with remarkable power. If Kumo really did something, hopefully it would only strengthen their alliance.
…
Tsume Inuzuka was a proud woman—proud of her clan, proud of her children, and proud of her abilities. But sometimes, everything felt like too much for her. Sometimes, all she wanted was to escape from it all: her responsibilities, duties, and, most importantly, the image she felt she had to maintain.
She had to keep pretending to be the strong and dependable leader of her clan, someone that others respected and feared. It had been that way with her clan since she was a kid, and she reveled in it. She was a wild dog who wasn't afraid of anything, including marrying at eighteen and having a child the same year.
At least, that's what she thought. The lies were convincing to everyone, even to herself. But when Hana was born, she felt scared. She had no idea how to raise her or take care of her, and most importantly, she feared that she wasn't good enough for her. That she would let her down and fail.
When her husband chose to abandon them and die, her terror grew even more. Still, she continued to pretend to be strong and fearless, even to herself, because she didn't know what else to do. That was until the Third Hokage entered her life. He stormed in and shattered her masks effortlessly.
It left her vulnerable, and yet with him by her side, she had never felt safer. Then it got worse—far worse than she had ever anticipated. And now she found herself in full panic mode whenever she was near him.
She thought she loved her husband. It wasn't hard to like him; he had a bravado that she found appealing, and she couldn't bring herself to hate him since their marriage had been arranged before they were even born.
But that was nothing compared to what she felt for Hiruzen Sarutobi. She found herself relating to him, and she felt so secure with him that she could drop all her masks. And she realized she didn't really need them, as she was sure he could see right through those fragile facades.
It didn't help that her children needed a strong father figure.
Hana had already grown up—childish in many ways, but mature enough to care for herself and make her own decisions. But Kiba would grow up without a father; she knew how hard that was. And what better father figure could there be than him?
His strong and calm eyes took in everything, as if he saw not only what was around him but also looked into the future. His confident stance exhibited that he was the strongest wherever he went. And that gentle smile melted all her worries and fears. She just couldn't divert her gaze from him.
"I don't want to." Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't worried about what his subordinates wanted or didn't want, but he still listened to them. Rather than forcing them, he made them take on the tasks. He was a man you would listen to no matter what. "I helped you with the test, but I don't want to be the one to enforce it."
"I need someone to judge their mental strength, and there isn't anyone better than you," Hiruzen replied, not fazed by the refusal, calmly but authoritatively explaining that he wasn't accepting any disagreement. "Or do you have someone else more suited for it? Someone who could make the correct judgment and assess the genin accordingly?"
"I can think of only one, but I guess you'll be too busy for it," Inoichi sighed. "Fine, I didn't expect to get out of it in the first place; I just wanted to test my luck."
"Good," Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled. He looked so harmless, yet neither the most feared interrogator nor she could summon much strength to oppose him—perhaps for different reasons, but that only demonstrated how much power lay behind that smile. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Tsume. I called you to offer you the job of the second test proctor."
"Yes!"
"Yes?"
"I mean, of course, I will take on the task. No matter what it is."
"I should explain first, though," Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled at her, making her blush like a little girl, as if she felt at that moment. "The second test is survival. We will be using the Forty-fourth training ground and putting the genin who passed the first test to survive for five days. Those who survive will compete in the next test."
"Forest of Death?" Tsume knew how terrifying and dangerous that place was. "Do you want me to watch over the kids and extract them when their lives are in danger?"
"I didn't expect you to have that side to you." One sentence, and that smile was making her blush even more. Thank every god in existence that the only person who knew her feelings was in the same room and encouraging her. "Yes, but not just that. I want you to hunt them down; do not harm them physically, but I want them to feel like they are prey. And only you can do it. I trust you completely."
Tsume thought she had fainted for a moment. He trusted her completely. Nobody had done that before. Sure, people trusted her because she was the leader of a clan and a capable shinobi. But no one ever explicitly said that they trusted her completely. It was an incredible feeling to have someone like that.
"Tsume?" She quickly snapped out of it and tried to put on a mask, but even she knew she had failed. "I hope I didn't put too much pressure on you."
"No, I am happy to be able to prove that your trust in me is well placed."
"Good. I will give you control of a dozen of my ANBU to help with it, and I don't want you to show any mercy or put more pressure on our genin."
He was giving ANBU to her? She had never heard of anything like this. Even Inoichi looked surprised. Even the thought of him trusting her was taking her to the moon, but immediately proving his words weren't just words made her lightheaded. She couldn't stay a second longer because she knew she would fall too deep and would never be able to get out.
"Sir, Fugaku Uchiha is waiting for you."
"Thanks, Shizune. It seems I will be the first to leave then."
As the Third Hokage left upon his assistant's words, Inoichi encouragingly patted her on the shoulder and departed as well.
She felt a bit weak in her knees and couldn't move right away, and from Shizune's knowing smile, it seemed she had noticed what was happening too. She needed to compose herself, or she wouldn't stop acting like a girl with her first crush. That was not something she wanted to reveal to him.
He was a proud shinobi, someone who Hiruzen Sarutobi trusted. She at least needed to act like one. Because if that trust in her was gone, she didn't know how she would be able to take it.
…
"Ding!!! Hidden guest completed. Congratulations host. Because of your actions, a person fell in love with you. Ding!!!"
"Ding!!! For completing a hidden guest, you have increased your vitality exponentially. Ding!!!"
Age: 57/86
Just as Hiruzen left his office, the system announced itself most oddly.
Gaining three more years of life was certainly welcome, but he wasn't overly pleased about the message. It was probably Shisui. He recalled their conversation yesterday; the kid did seem to admire Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hopefully, that was the extent of it because he wanted no part of anything else. And it wouldn't be the first time the system toyed with him like this either. The system liked to annoy him in any way possible.
He dismissed the message for now and chose to be only happy with the reward, even if it didn't help him much right now.
He still hoped he could reach that age, even though it was becoming more unlikely with each passing day. Still, maybe his plan to retire in a couple of years was on the table. He could only hope that someone would be ready to take over at that time.
For now, all he needed was to see if Fugaku could uncover any secrets in Sasori's body. New poison was always useful to know, as it could be used against others, allowing them to prepare an antidote before it could be used against them.
And once it was done, the body would be delivered to Suna. There was no need to keep it, and doing so would only help maintain their relations. It costs little to nothing to do this, and the payback might prove significant in the future. Hiruzen just needed to ensure they understood how much they had lost to Sasori.
A.N. As always, thanks for reading and supporting me, so I can continue writing without any concerns, and if you want more, up to seven more chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852.