- Our genin showed better results than the candidates from the other greats," the elder continued, but was interrupted by a loud snort.
- Why don't we just call it what it is without embellishment - we screwed up in a way that no other village that has hosted the Chuunin Senbatsu Shiken has yet," the old woman in Senju clan robes snorted derisively.
- Toka-san? - Homura raised his eyebrows in surprise.
- Not only is the genin gap minuscule, but we don't have a single team that made it to the finals, unlike our competitors," the head of the founding clan grinned in disgust, "a real disgrace to our hosts! Even the war-weary Suna performed better! And we're the strongest village among the five great villages! What do you think, Sarutobi?
Carefully monitoring the shinobi's facial expressions, Shenesu could see that most of the council, the civilians not counting, agreed with her, for it was indeed a severe blow to prestige - the inability to show the strength of the next generation. The Senju head's words were harsh, but they accurately captured the essence of the situation.
A few strong fighters who made it to the finals wouldn't do much good - all jinchuriki are by definition strong as strategic weapons, and without Kushina, the only one who really stood out would be Namikaze, possibly Ryo-kun's student, but those present could only guess at that.
- Alas, it's the lack of preparation of our candidates that's to blame, not me," Sarutobi said, smoothly turning the tables on the team mentors who had failed to make it through the second stage, and also hinting to the clan heads that he was aware of an unspoken conspiracy to save their genin, which was why many of the Leaf's candidates had chosen not to work too hard and had withdrawn from the race.
The hint had an effect, causing some shinobi to moderate their facial expressions of displeasure under the Hokage's gaze.
- Really!? And how come eight of our genin finished the second stage, but only six made it to the finals? - Uzumaki lazily broke the silence, unexpectedly for the vast majority of those present, decided to visit the current council. - Hiruzen is not a complete fool, to believe in a "random" choice that fell on three of our genin at the reduction of candidates, it looks, - red-haired beauty indefinitely waved her hand, - doubtful.
Despite the informal breakdown in relations with Uzushiogakure, no one had dared raise the issue of disenfranchising the wife of the first Hokage from the village's governing body.
- I've already ordered an investigation into the matter," the older shinobi began, but was interrupted by a commanding wave of the kunoichi's hand.
- Your own orders? - The red-haired beauty grinned, sarcastic. - The rivalry between Jiraiya, Sakumo, and Ryo's teams is not known only to the deaf, and here, by 'coincidence', the chosen genin was from the rival teams, which was a very favorable tie and prevented all three of Nara's students from reaching the finals and beating their opponents.
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