In the past few days, Nara Shikaku had been feeling very, very uncomfortable.
What made him uncomfortable was not the fact that Kizaru had appointed him as assistant principal and dumped work on him.
To be honest, in the three days since he had been given the position, Kizaru had not assigned him a single proper task.
On the contrary, Shikaku had been taking full advantage of his title as assistant principal. Using the excuse that he was "helping Principal Kizaru with work," he and his two good friends had happily skipped class together.
Unfortunately, that happiness only lasted two days.
Then one person arrived and destroyed it completely.
Damn Hyūga.
Damn Byakugan.
With both hands behind his head, Shikaku had just slipped into the training room on the first floor, planning to slack off and take a nap, only to be caught again by Hyūga Hiashi, the newly appointed dean of discipline.
Hiashi walked ahead with an expressionless face, bringing Shikaku straight to the principal's office.
After knocking on the door and hearing permission to enter, Hiashi pushed the door open.
"Principal, pardon the interruption."
After giving a polite greeting, Hiashi entered the office with Shikaku, whose face looked as if his soul had already left his body.
Inside the office, Kizaru was leaning back in his chair, his long legs crossed and casually propped up on the desk.
Seeing that posture, Hiashi, who came from the etiquette-focused Hyūga clan, instinctively frowned.
He truly wanted to remind Kizaru that such behavior was inappropriate for the head of the Ninja Academy.
But considering that Kizaru was the principal, and after getting a sense of his personality over the past few days, Hiashi forcibly endured it.
"Principal Kizaru, Nara Shikaku skipped class during lesson time and went to sleep in the first-floor training room.
"After I found him, his teacher, Yamakawa Seiji, told me that Shikaku had taken leave under the excuse that he was helping you with work.
"So I would like to ask you directly. Did you assign Nara Shikaku any work today?"
Hiashi looked straight at Kizaru and asked in a firm voice.
Kizaru touched his chin with a playful smile, then slowly looked toward Shikaku.
Noticing Kizaru's gaze and that lazy smile, Shikaku rolled his eyes helplessly and pressed his lips together.
"Oooh~? That matter?" Kizaru said slowly. "I did arrange something for him."
The moment those words came out, both Hiashi and Shikaku froze.
Hiashi had not expected Kizaru to cover for Nara Shikaku at a time like this.
Shikaku also had not expected Kizaru to actually lie to protect him.
For a moment, Shikaku looked at Kizaru again, feeling strangely moved.
This guy Kizaru… he was actually pretty loyal.
"Kizaru." Hiashi disliked this kind of shielding behavior. As someone responsible for discipline, he was just about to point out the problem.
"I arranged for Shikaku-kun to clean the entire school." Kizaru's smile grew even more wicked. "I wonder how far he's gotten?"
Shikaku's expression went blank.
He had never imagined Kizaru could be this cruel.
Cleaning the entire school?
Wasn't that even more troublesome than being scolded or punished by Hiashi?
After hearing Kizaru's words, Hiashi, who was far from foolish, immediately understood what the principal meant.
He nodded, clearly satisfied with Kizaru's punishment.
"I understand. I will supervise Nara Shikaku carefully and make sure he completes the work today."
Hiashi spoke with a serious expression.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Hiashi-sensei."
"It is no trouble. This is my duty."
Kizaru nodded with a smile, then raised his right hand and waved his fingers at Shikaku, whose face had already turned hopeless.
Damn it.
Kizaru, you bastard.
Cursing bitterly in his heart, Shikaku was dragged out of the office by Hiashi with an expression full of suffering.
After the two of them left, Kizaru lowered his legs from the desk, bent down, and opened the drawer beneath it.
It was already getting late.
There was still an hour and a half until three o'clock.
Almost time to get off work.
After the lunch break, Kizaru had only been working for half an hour in the afternoon, yet he was already preparing to make himself a cup of coffee and calmly wait for closing time.
What a pain.
He bent down and reached into the drawer. Before he could take out the coffee, Kizaru sensed someone entering the office.
Not through the main door.
Closing the drawer and straightening up, Kizaru looked toward the front of the desk.
There, a masked ANBU ninja was standing silently.
"Oooh~? ANBU-san, want a cup of coffee?" Kizaru asked with a smile, resting his hands on the desk and propping up his chin.
"Kizaru, Hokage-sama is calling for you. Please go to the Hokage Building immediately."
After delivering the message, the ANBU ninja disappeared from the office with the Body Flicker Technique.
"Sarutobi-sensei really is getting better and better at calling people around."
Muttering a complaint, Kizaru stood up.
The Ninja Academy was right beside the Hokage Building, so the distance was short. Walking at an easy pace, Kizaru arrived there in less than ten minutes.
He went up to the second floor.
Remembering that Sarutobi-sensei had personally told him not to bother with formalities, Kizaru opened the Hokage's office door without knocking.
"You're here, Kizaru."
Sarutobi Hiruzen was standing by the window, smoking his pipe while looking out over the village. He heard the door open behind him.
"Sarutobi-sensei, did you call me here for something good?"
Speaking in a teasing tone, Kizaru walked over to the Hokage's desk and sat directly on its edge, leaning to one side.
Hiruzen removed the pipe from his mouth, turned back, and looked at Kizaru.
"The date for the Joint Chūnin Exams has been decided."
Holding his pipe, Hiruzen looked at Kizaru and explained why he had called him over.
"The Chūnin Exams?" Kizaru picked up a pen from the desk and began playing with it. "Haven't you already promoted me to Jōnin?"
"I want you to serve as an examiner for the Chūnin Exams."
"Examiner? That sounds troublesome."
"The Chūnin Exams will be held here in Konoha on the fifth of next month.
"Among the Five Great Nations, aside from the closed-off Land of Water, the other three nations will also participate.
"In addition, smaller countries such as the Land of Rain, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Waterfalls will also send participants."
At this point, Hiruzen paused for a moment. His gaze settled on Kizaru, and his tone became heavier as he emphasized the importance of this Joint Chūnin Exam.
"This will be the largest Joint Chūnin Exam since the establishment of the hidden village system.
"When the time comes, not only will a large number of shinobi from other villages gather in Konoha, but nobles, dignitaries, wealthy merchants, and famous figures from many countries will also come to watch.
"This is the best stage for Konoha to display its strength and raise its reputation.
"There can be no mistakes.
"That is why I want you to serve as examiner and take charge of maintaining order, ensuring that the exams proceed smoothly."
After saying that, Hiruzen looked at Kizaru and felt a trace of regret in his heart.
If only Kizaru's reputation had not already spread across the battlefield of the Land of Rain.
With Kizaru's age and strength, if he led a team and participated in the Joint Chūnin Exams, Konoha would definitely be able to display the strength of its younger generation in front of nobles and influential figures from every country.
Unfortunately, Kizaru's name had already become far too famous in the shinobi world.
If he participated, the other hidden villages would never cooperate.
According to the intelligence Hiruzen had received and his own analysis, the Wind, Earth, and Lightning Countries had agreed to cooperate with Konoha in holding the Joint Chūnin Exams for two reasons.
On one hand, Konoha's strength was too great, so they had no choice but to give Konoha face.
On the other hand, those three major nations also wanted to use the excellent performance of their younger generation in the Joint Chūnin Exams to recover some of the reputation they had lost during the Second Shinobi World War.
"You really handed me a big problem, Sarutobi-sensei."
Kizaru smiled and shook his head as he complained.
"In this Joint Chūnin Exam, the other villages may send young Jinchūriki to participate in order to raise their reputation.
"If a Jinchūriki loses control, aside from me, you are the only person in the village capable of subduing a tailed beast."
Hiruzen continued explaining.
"I see." Kizaru nodded with a smile. "It just so happens that Matatabi has been complaining to me again lately, saying it's boring being alone in the village."
Hearing Kizaru's words, Hiruzen froze.
What if, during the Joint Chūnin Exams, Kizaru took action and snatched the tailed beasts from the other villages?
That would become an international incident.
Konoha's reputation would be ruined because of it.
Unable to tell whether Kizaru was joking or serious, Hiruzen quickly said, "I want you to stop the Jinchūriki if they go berserk, not steal the tailed beasts!"
"Oooh~? I was only joking, Sarutobi-sensei."
Looking at the clearly alarmed Hiruzen, Kizaru smiled.
Joking?
You nearly gave this old man a heart attack.
If anyone else had made such a joke, Hiruzen would have immediately known it was just a joke.
But Kizaru, this disciple of his, was truly capable of doing it.
And doing it very easily at that.
So in Hiruzen's eyes, Kizaru's joke might not necessarily be a joke.
Shaking his head helplessly, Hiruzen sighed and said earnestly, "Kizaru, I'm already getting old. Don't make jokes like that so casually."
"I'm terribly sorry, Sarutobi-sensei."
Looking at Kizaru's reply, Hiruzen knew perfectly well that his student had not taken a single word to heart.
With a helpless expression, Hiruzen sat back down. He looked up at Kizaru and said, "I have already handed the detailed arrangements over to Homura and Shinnosuke. You can discuss the specifics with them later."
"Sarutobi-sensei, how many Genin teams from our village are participating in this Chūnin Exam?"
Kizaru asked this because he thought of his disciple, Might Duy, who was still a Genin.
Under Tsunade's continuous treatment, the old injuries Duy had accumulated from years of training had already healed.
In addition, with the nutritional medicine Tsunade had provided, Duy's physical condition had improved greatly compared to before.
Moreover, during this period, Might Duy had begun learning the Six Powers from Kizaru and had already grasped the basics of Soru and Shigan. His performance was very good.
According to Kizaru's own assessment, Might Duy already possessed the strength of an elite Jōnin.
"There are six teams in total," Hiruzen replied, his tone carrying a trace of worry.
Among the shinobi who had graduated in recent years, aside from Kizaru, the only one Hiruzen truly favored was Namikaze Minato.
As for the others, Uchiha Inari had potential. If he could be pushed a little harder, there was hope that he might reach Kage-level strength in the future.
In order to secure results in this Chūnin Exam, Hiruzen had already sent word to Jiraiya, telling him to return to the village with Namikaze Minato within a week.
"Did you call Minato back?"
Looking at Sarutobi-sensei's face, Kizaru knew exactly what he was worried about.
Hiruzen nodded.
"I plan to temporarily form an elite team around Minato."
"An elite team, huh?"
Kizaru dragged out his tone with a sigh, then touched his chin. Under Hiruzen's gaze, he recommended his own disciple.
"I have someone here I can recommend to you."
"Who?" Hiruzen asked curiously.
"The disciple I recently accepted. Might Duy."
Hearing that name from Kizaru's mouth, Hiruzen was stunned for a moment before reluctantly recalling the hot-blooded Genin in the village who specialized only in taijutsu and strange behavior.
"His strength?"
Looking at Kizaru, Hiruzen asked with some concern.
"He has mastered an S-rank forbidden technique, the Eight Gates, and his talent and strength in taijutsu are far beyond ordinary people."
"The Eight Gates?"
"How far can he open them?"
As the Professor of Ninjutsu, Sarutobi Hiruzen had heard of this forbidden technique from his teacher, the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.
The forbidden technique scroll left behind by the Second Hokage also contained records about it.
"The Sixth Gate. The Gate of View."
Hiruzen's expression turned serious.
He had not expected that there was a shinobi in the village who not only knew this forbidden technique, but had actually trained it to the point of opening six gates.
"This was my mistake. I overlooked such a talent."
As Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen did have one small virtue.
He dared to admit his mistakes.
Of course, admitting them was one thing.
Whether he would repeat them in the future was another matter.
After being reminded by Kizaru and learning about Might Duy's taijutsu talent and strength, Hiruzen no longer cared why Duy knew the Eight Gates.
In any case, this man had already been accepted as a disciple by his own disciple.
No matter how one looked at it, Might Duy's political position naturally belonged to the Hokage's side.
"Recently, he's been training taijutsu with me. He's doing quite well. His strength is already at Jōnin level."
Hearing Kizaru personally confirm Might Duy's strength, Hiruzen nodded in approval.
"I understand. I will arrange for him to join Minato's team."
After saying that, Hiruzen looked at Kizaru expectantly, hoping his disciple could recommend one or two more talents and completely solve his worries.
"I heard Nawaki has been performing well under Orochimaru-senpai. Why don't you ask Orochimaru-senpai about him?"
Knowing exactly what Sarutobi-sensei was thinking, Kizaru gave him a smiling hint.
The moment Hiruzen heard that, the problem weighing on his heart was suddenly solved.
Looking at Kizaru, this excellent and considerate final disciple of his, Hiruzen felt so satisfied that he could hardly describe it.
Taking Kizaru away from Danzō and accepting him as his own closed disciple really was the most correct decision he had ever made in his life.
"Kizaru, you've worked hard. Go back and rest early."
Looking at Kizaru with kind eyes, Hiruzen spoke in a gentle and caring tone.
"Then I'll be going, Sarutobi-sensei."
Sliding off the desk, Kizaru smiled, waved, and left the Hokage's office.
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