Hiruzen quietly smoked his pipe, the room thick with smoke as he reviewed the incoming reports.
"Treating the shinobi from other villages as prey... I see."
With his understanding of Danzō, he instantly grasped the intent behind it.
This was nothing more than a move to establish authority.
To announce to the other villages that Konoha had a new genius, and he was none other than the grandson of Shimura Danzō.
Not only would this make Yami famous, it would also help establish a reputation that would follow him for years.
To be honest—
Hiruzen wasn't actually against establishing authority.
He wasn't as concerned about war as Uchiha Itachi.
Genin were just cannon fodder. Even if all of them died, it wouldn't be enough to start another Great Ninja War.
Replacing them with Jōnin would be a different matter entirely.
What truly displeased him was that Danzō had too many schemes.
He kept everything hidden and had exposed Yami to danger.
This was a promising seedling, but after all, he was only eight years old. Once he became a target of other villages, there was a real risk of premature death.
Is this really your grandson?
How cruel.
Sigh... you really should be under my command. That way, you'll be safer.
"Danzō's gone too far."
After a long silence, Hiruzen spoke and gave the matter a clear verdict.
"Agreed." Homura continued, "Such a major move wasn't even discussed with us in advance. It's left us in a passive position."
"Yami is being too high-profile. There will definitely be a lot of assassins targeting him in the future. It's far too dangerous!"
"He's still a child!" Koharu frowned. "He was doing fine, but now he's being manipulated by Danzō. Hiruzen, you should take Yami under your wing and raise him safely."
Among Konoha's F4, Homura and Koharu had always leaned closer to Danzō, balancing against Hiruzen to keep any one faction from gaining total control.
But this time was different. Danzō had gone too far, even using his own grandson.
Neither Homura nor Koharu had any exceptional descendants of their own. They had long hoped Yami might help elevate their family names one day. Naturally, they wouldn't let Danzō control him without limits.
If Hiruzen took Yami in, at least the connection wouldn't be severed. But if he stayed under Danzō... who knew what might happen?
Hiruzen smiled knowingly. Their reactions had been exactly as he expected.
"In that case, after the exam, let's have a talk with Danzō."
Meanwhile, the proctors nodded in unison, as if completely detached from the high-level political maneuvering.
Hiruzen looked at them and said with a chuckle, "Don't interfere with Shimura Yami's behavior for now. He won't target his own comrades. When there aren't many foreign Genin left, bring him to the tower and announce he's passed."
This time, he was the biggest winner.
Using Danzō's hand, he'd established authority... and when the time came, he could take Yami under his own command with perfect justification.
Hiruzen couldn't help but laugh.
Forest of Death.
Yami was tallying up his spoils.
In just two and a half hours, his bond point income had already surpassed 1,000, bringing a wide smile to his face.
As for the other stats... not worth mentioning.
These cannon fodder were all low talent, no special traits, and pitiful amounts of chakra.
Looking at his panel, his bond point balance had reached 2,200.
After a short pause, Yami decided to spend it.
Saving points doesn't spawn rewards. Right now, increasing combat power would help him harvest even more.
He opened the Senju Bloodline section and clicked upgrade.
2,000 bond points disappeared instantly, replaced by a pleasant, full-body sensation as if every cell was being massaged.
Warmth flooded his limbs, and Yami closed his eyes in comfort, waiting for the transformation to complete.
Chakra was the foundation of everything, especially for someone who liked firing ninjutsu like a machine gun. Twenty chakra cards weren't bad, but not enough.
Body Flicker Technique, wide-area Fire Release, Scorch Release—these were all chakra-intensive. Twenty cards wouldn't let him use them freely.
After about ten minutes, Yami opened his eyes and checked his system panel.
The Senju Bloodline had advanced to Excellent, and his total chakra had jumped to 35 cards—nearly doubled. (1 card = 1 Kakashi)
He also felt significantly stronger and had awakened sensory abilities.
"That was the right move."
Yami nodded in satisfaction. No other upgrade could've offered such a noticeable benefit.
The next upgrade to Ultimate would require 5,000 bond points, not something achievable within the Forest of Death.
He stretched lazily. His bones cracked like fireworks, and a sharp gleam appeared in his eyes.
Now that the power-up was done, it was time to continue harvesting.
This time, Yami moved faster than before, and his sensory range had greatly expanded.
No wonder the system said he needed time for his body to develop to fully utilize his talents.
The difference was obvious.
Five minutes later, Yami located another enemy team.
A gentle breeze blew across the face of three Kusagakure Genin. As the leaves stirred, Yami flashed in and struck them down before they had time to react.
They had just escaped pursuit by another team, only to die to the Kusanagi blade in seconds.
The straight-line distance from the entrance to the tower wasn't far for a shinobi, but with all the terrain obstacles and ambush threats, it gave him enough time to scan the area.
Still... Konoha had too many participants, so no matter how efficient he was, some targets slipped through.
Of course, not all Konoha ninjas survived either.
Yami ran into a team of three Suna shinobi whose strength was comparable to Chūnin. By the time he found them, they had already killed two Konoha teams.
Killing them served as revenge for those losses.
As night fell, Yami's killing spree continued.
With his chakra pool expanded, his recovery rate had also increased. He could sustain Body Flicker Technique for longer periods, allowing high-speed movement and more efficient searching.
The proctors watching from the shadows were stunned.
It had only been half a day, and more than 30 foreign Genin were dead. If this kept up, only a few would survive the exam.
Still, they didn't feel sympathy. On the contrary, they were impressed.
They had lived through the war years. Everyone held deep grudges against other villages.
If not for the rules, and if this weren't Konoha territory, they would've killed these foreign shinobi on sight.
Early Morning.
Feeling a bit drowsy, Yami reached the central forest area. He could now vaguely see the tower in the distance, about ten kilometers away.
Just as he was preparing to block the tower entrance to prevent any last-minute escapes, his Mind's Eye of the Kagura picked up something unexpected.
One... two... three... a total of eighteen chakra signatures, all tangled together in a chaotic battle.
They were about three kilometers northwest.
"A big score..."
Yami's eyes lit up and he rushed over without hesitation.
Beside a stream.
Six Iwa shinobi, six Ame shinobi, and six Suna shinobi were locked in a three-way brawl, apparently fighting over water.
Explosions from explosive tags rang out nonstop. One Ame shinobi had a strange weapon, almost like a gun, and was firing kunai.
The battlefield was utter chaos.
Suddenly, a Suna ninja twitched his nose and flung a kunai with a tag attached.
It exploded in the water, sending a pillar two meters high.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A huge fireball burst from the bushes, engulfing two Iwa and one Rain ninja.
But when the flames faded, there were no bodies only broken logs.
Substitution Technique.
At that moment, all eighteen Genin leapt from their hiding spots and surrounded Yami.
"Huh?"
Yami blinked at the Genin surrounding him and frowned.
"Surprised?" A Suna Genin sneered. "We finally lured you here, Shimura Yami. Thanks for making our acting worth it."
"You were looking for me?" Yami tilted his head. "Why?"
"You're hunting ninjas from other villages, aren't you?" A Rain ninja in a gas mask spoke. "So why can't we hunt you?"
"I think you've got the wrong guy," Yami said, blinking innocently. "I just came to watch the show."
A Suna ninja sniffed loudly, a pleased expression on his face. "Don't bother. You reek of blood—Suna blood, and some I can't even place."
"You really are Konoha's genius. You killed so many teams you forced three villages to form an alliance."
Yami looked disgusted. "Are you a stray Inuzuka that ran off to Suna? Why's your nose so sharp?"
"Enough talking. Go!"
The Suna ninja waved and triggered a pre-set trap. A wave of shuriken and kunai flew at Yami from above, while the others unleashed ninjutsu.
"Wind Style: Gale Palm!"
"Earth Style: Earth Spear!"
"Water Style: Thousand Rains!"
Attacks came from every direction. The Genin wore triumphant smirks.
If they killed a genius like Yami, even if they failed the exam, they'd still be promoted for merit.
But when the sky full of kunai hit "Yami," their smiles froze.
The terrified Yami they had seen... turned into a puddle of mud.
"No! It's a substitution!"
"Where's the real one?!"
"Nosu! Use your nose!"
"Quiet! I'm trying! East! West! Wait... why does it smell like blood everywhere?!"
"Because you're under a genjutsu."
Yami's voice echoed from every direction.
Four of him appeared at the four corners of the battlefield and slapped the ground.
"Earth Style: Earth Burial Formation!"
The ground trembled and surged upward, forming a massive mound and trapping all eighteen inside.
Yami's muffled voice rang out. "A bunch of idiots. I watched you pretend to fight for ten minutes. No one even got scratched. What, waiting for Uzumaki Naruto to get fooled eight years from now?"
None of them knew who Naruto was, but judging from Yami's tone, it wasn't a compliment. Their faces flushed with embarrassment.
Most embarrassed of all was Nosu. He was the one who'd united the teams and devised the plan.
He had felt so clever. Now, he looked like a clown.
"I'm done! I want to go back to the Land of Wind!"
"Stop standing around!" Nosu shouted. "Break the wall and run for your lives!"
He tied every explosive tag he had onto a kunai and hurled it at the earth dome.
Boom!
The explosion left a crater, but the wall quickly regenerated.
"Give up." Yami's voice returned as his Shadow Clone opened a gap in the dome. Yami reached in.
"Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder!"
"What?!" A Suna ninja's eyes bulged. "That's impossible!"
That was the technique of Suna's hero, Pakura of the Scorch Release. She had been killed by Kirigakure. Why could Yami use it?!
Boom!
A roaring fireball answered him. Four swirling fireballs merged into one massive sun-like sphere in the confined space.
Too close to the sun... and mortals burn.
The eighteen Genin had no way to dodge. Their blood and moisture evaporated in seconds. One by one, they turned into dried husks.
The heat wave expanded. Yami retreated instantly. After running fifty meters, a deafening explosion erupted behind him.
The entire earthen dome blasted into the sky. The shockwave echoed for kilometers.
Nearby Genin teams heard it and turned toward the explosion.
Seeing startled birds scatter into the air, Yami smirked.
"What a thoughtful bunch. Even in death, they lit up fireworks to help me attract more targets. I'm touched."
His body dissolved into leaves and vanished.
Time to see who was lucky enough to rush over and die next.
At the same time, Raidō Namiashi noticed the blast and hurried toward the scene with two special Jōnin in identical uniforms.
(To be continued.)
***
For every 200 PS = 1 extra chapter. Support me on patreon to read 30+ advanced chapters: patreon.com/Blownleaves.